Picked up another Pontiac 455
- Thread starter G-Body_Vet
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I got around to cleaning up the front cover and it was pitted too bad to use, so I bought new one, along with a new aluminum water pump.
I know you guys are probably wondering why I'd make a big deal out of a timing cover right? Well....Pontiac parts aren't as common in the aftermarket and word travels fast if they're junk. I don't like buying junk, and if my opinion helps someone else then that weeds out the bs eventually.
I went the cheaper route and bought this cover off ebay....made in Mexico. http://www.ebay.com/itm/NEW-PONTIAC-TIM ... 0c&vxp=mtr
There's other vendors out there in the $200 range and I took a gamble on this one. From my assessment, the machined surfaces aren't bad and all of the water pump bolts line up fine. My biggest complaints are the casting imperfections on the radiator and heater hose outlets (which I will file down, no big deal). There's some casting imperfections along the top of the cover (and you can see where they roughly filed down the sharp edges) as well. Not a show piece as cast, but it will clean up. The timing marks aren't pretty either, but functional.
The pump is an aluminum GMB unit from Summit...made in Thailand. http://www.summitracing.com/parts/gmb-1 ... /overview/
Not as expensive as other well known names, but the casting is nice and it has a cast impeller which I like. I went this route for a little weight savings.
I know you guys are probably wondering why I'd make a big deal out of a timing cover right? Well....Pontiac parts aren't as common in the aftermarket and word travels fast if they're junk. I don't like buying junk, and if my opinion helps someone else then that weeds out the bs eventually.
I went the cheaper route and bought this cover off ebay....made in Mexico. http://www.ebay.com/itm/NEW-PONTIAC-TIM ... 0c&vxp=mtr
There's other vendors out there in the $200 range and I took a gamble on this one. From my assessment, the machined surfaces aren't bad and all of the water pump bolts line up fine. My biggest complaints are the casting imperfections on the radiator and heater hose outlets (which I will file down, no big deal). There's some casting imperfections along the top of the cover (and you can see where they roughly filed down the sharp edges) as well. Not a show piece as cast, but it will clean up. The timing marks aren't pretty either, but functional.
The pump is an aluminum GMB unit from Summit...made in Thailand. http://www.summitracing.com/parts/gmb-1 ... /overview/
Not as expensive as other well known names, but the casting is nice and it has a cast impeller which I like. I went this route for a little weight savings.
Steve, I remember a lot of discussion on the Pontiac sites about the cast impeller vs the stamped stainless steel one. Even though the stamped one LOOKS like it would flow best, it seems the cast impeller was the better performer. So you got the right one.
The stuff looks good now! I still get a chuckle from all the guys that put in new water pumps and forgot the cavitation plate.
Bonnewagon said:
I think I may have read that as well quite awhile ago. I believe there's even a recommended clearance between the impeller and plate.
Randy_W said:
I could see that being a bad thing! I have 2 brand new ones now. I should've taken pictures of the old cover. I had to knock the sleeves out with a bushing driver because of all the crust inside :lol:
This cover came with new sleeves too. I like new!
79GP6.6L said:
That's good to know! Progress is slow going since I got sent to Tennessee for work for 3 weeks
The original engine from this thread ended up having badly galled main journals so now I have another builder sitting in the corner of the garage.
So here we are, engine #3!
I picked this one up from a guy parting out a '73 Grandville that was being restored. The body man screwed up his quarter panels so he bought another and parted the old one out. This time I got to hear it run! Top end has been freshened up, 125 psi +/-3 across all cylinders. He's keeping his carb and RA manifolds but I can live with that. It may not be a high performance screamer at the moment but it's plenty to move the car around and I'm out of patience.
So here we are, engine #3!
I picked this one up from a guy parting out a '73 Grandville that was being restored. The body man screwed up his quarter panels so he bought another and parted the old one out. This time I got to hear it run! Top end has been freshened up, 125 psi +/-3 across all cylinders. He's keeping his carb and RA manifolds but I can live with that. It may not be a high performance screamer at the moment but it's plenty to move the car around and I'm out of patience.
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