Pulling a 455 out of a Tahiti - Help Ideas??

[neller840]

I am taking a trip cross country to pick up a 73 Kona. It has a Olds 455 in it, but has a rod bearing going I believe.. There is another parts boat there(Tahiti), with an identical Olds 455.. I have a cherry picker, but not too much experience with using it. I don't want to damage the engine. What is the best way to hook up the cherry picker to the engine?? Also, is there anything else I should look at stripping from the Tahiti, or advice extracting, and intalling the engine..?? Any help would be greatly appreciated!!

[BUSHWACKER]

NO, I removed my 455 & 425 BBO several times with a shop crane. You should buy a sling but chain only works. Put a BB Chevy back in. Parts are easier to get and cheaper, more reliable too!

[BIGA]

also one could get or make one of the carb plate brackets that bolts to the intake gives a good balanced point to remove from and not worry about hitting any components with chains or slings, also my .02 worth i would run the donor engine if at all possible to be sure it is live and well before the transplant. also if possible i would try to transplant it as an assembly, exhaust and all if possible ,should make a reasonably easy exchange.

[neller840]

Yeah I hear ya, I like Chevy engineering better too. I just figure with the two engines I'll have lots of spare parts. Money is tight right now, and I just want to get her runnin. I have a sling actually, just not sure the best place to bolt the chains on with.. Along with exactly what to disconnect from the jet pump. Thanks for the advice!

[neller840]

Ya I've seen the carb plate brackets before.. Where could you get one..? I know the donor engine works it was run last year, and had no problems from what I've heard.. The only problem taking the engine out as an assembly, is that the donor engine has chrome pipes that are exposed, where the Kona has Harman marine headers, and pipes that go out the back of the boat..

[Bies]

Take out left front intake manifold bolt and right rear intake manifold boltsmall piece of chain with carb removed should give you a pretty good center, may want to pull the distributor also. the bolts may have to be longer than what you take out, use a couple of washers at the head of the bolt Good luck

[neller840]

Thanks for all the help guys!! I'll post some pics durring my attempt to restore her.. Thanks again!

[71tahiti]

chain from front of one head to back of other head

[boatermike]

are the chrome pipes any good? wanna sell them?

[boatermike]

the olds comes out easy but there are a few possible snags. i preffere removing the exhaust manifolds and then the starter but both can be left on if you want the entire package still buttoned up.the entire electrical system is a two way street also. i imagine a qualified shop would leave the harness attached to the back of the engine and reinstall a complete system but i would unhook each wire at the engine leave the spaggetti in the boat with the starter and exhaust. the motor mounts in my boat was kinda a pain in the butt because the harmonic balancer covered the front bolts on the engine and having the whole mount still on there caused a clearance issue.so, i recommend removal.
the bellhousing,flywheel and coupler can all remain even in rather tight situations as long as you lift the engine with the front tilted upwards a tad.the bolts down low in the bck connect the rear mount and usually are nylockers . adjustability is recquired on the lifting device so either a balanced lift using the carb monts looks attractive. the four chain device with a crank to adjust, looks superb. unfortunately sometimes a tree limb a hand ratchet winch and a single chain diagonally across the engine to intake manifold bolts might be as fancy as it gets.strength wise i prefer the intake bolts. in fact i get longer bolts and make sure the washers combined with the bolt length equal a tight bolt holding the chain stedfast in position.the total weight on the ole 455 might be porky the pig and having a bolt bend over and break is a real possibility. engines landing in old boats might do some ugly damage.
im gonna do mine again and really think i need to do lots of pump work to slow down my engine a lot and get some longevity in return. this will be my last attempt with olds power and i dont plan on a repeat failure. the low dollar appeal has faded and reality says olds power is a mistake. the only reason it appeals to me is because i know my pistons and cam and heads all worked well and have not been damaged by the slight rod knock that i got at about hour 8 or so. the engine spun freely and the boat was definetly quicker. due to a lame carb issue i never achieved good wide open throttle performance and basically did my break in rides with 2 barrel and half throttle. with half throttle the boat was 2 or 3 mph below pre-rebuild WOT . this was encouraging and the gradual loss of oil pressure was very depressing.
i truely wish i would have switched to 454 or 460 power but here i am stuck in my oldsmobile. parts are limited and comlplications and limitations are many.
i guess im really in need of a rev limter and i should post a question about getting my rmps low . im thinking 4450 is a safe long term cruiser number.

good luck though and take a look at selling the pipes to inject a few bucks to yer wallet in case things get pricey!