Rock Rotella's 1976 TA 455 HO
Rocky has totally immersed himself into the Pontiac hobby and with the help of his family, automotive friends and acquaintances he's transformed his TA into something very special.
Those of you who are POCI members probably saw the TA gracing the cover of the November 2002 issue of "Smoke Signals." Rocky's article describes the multitude of people who helped make his restoration a success. PSP now presents the tech data on the car.
| Block | 1972 YC 455, 2-bolt main caps |
| Bore/stroke | 4.18" x 4.21", 462 cid |
| Deck height | +.001" - .002" |
| Crank | 1972 455 "N", cut .010/.010", all parts balanced |
| Rods | stock cast iron, magnafluxed, resized, ARP bolts |
| Piston/rings | TRW +.030" SD-455, forged aluminum, 3.3cc relief; Sealed Power E 300K, moly |
| Heads | 1971 454 HO #197 round ports; heads by Nunzi Romano; 100cc chambers (9.4:1 CR) Head flow @ 28" 2.11"/1.77" Nunzi's "Maximum Flow" stainless steel valves; Crower 1.5 ratio cast aluminum roller rockers |
| Camshaft | Nunzi's 2043NHL, advertised duration 308/320, 244/253 @.050", .503"/.500" lift with 1.5 rockers, 108 ICL, 110 LSA, 94 degrees valve overlap, 12" vacuum at 950-1000 rpm idle using Crane standard lifters. |
| Push rods | Stock |
| Timing set | Dynagear full roller |
| Gaskets | Felpro 1016 head gaskets, 1233 intake gaskets, 1436 exhaust gaskets, all others standard Fel-Pro |
| Intake/carb | 1972 455 H.O. aluminum 4bbl, reduced heat through separate cast iron crossover; 7041270 1971 455 H.O. Quadrajet. Unique casting with outer booster rings missing from primary venturi. 74 primary jet, 43B primary rod, CC .030" secondary rod, increased idle bleed diameter and throttle shafts narrowed by Karl Boe of Portland, OR. Estimated flow--860 cfm |
| Fuel pump | Carter mechanical, high volume. Return style inline filter with stock 3/8" feed line and " return line |
| Cooling | Rodney Red aluminum radiator, Robertshaw 160 thermostat, stock replacement water pump, stock clutch fan |
| Lubrication | M54D pump, 60psi @3000 rpm, Pennzoil 20W-50 |
| Ignition | MSD Pro-Billet distributor, MSD 6AL box, MSD Blaster II coil. Initial timing set at 15 degrees, 21 degrees mechanical advancefor 36 degrees total by 2500 rpm. Rev limiter set to 5800. Taylor "Thundervolt" 10.4mm wires. GPE high-torque mini-starter |
| Exhaust | Custom fabricated Tri-Y heads by Jim Hand, Tom Hand and Joe Hand. 1.75" primary tube, 2.25" secondary tube, 3" collector with all mandrel bends and hand-rolled junctions. 3" Dr. Gas X-kit with 3" pipe to roughly the rear seat. Flowmaster 3"-to-2.5" cone reducers into Flowmaster 17104 kit with 42585 transverse mount top inlet-side outlet muffler. Shop bent 2.5" tailpipe and 1974 Firebird exhaust tips |
| Drivetrain | Borg-Warner Super T-10 4 speed manual. 2.43/1.61/1.23/1:1 forward gear ratios. Cast iron case, cast iron midplate and aluminum tail shaft. Hurst Competition Plus shifter and linkage, Hurst T-handle shifter and CenterForce Dual Friction clutch |
| Rear gears | GM 10-bolt 71-81 8.5", 3.73 Yukon gears, rebuilt GM limited slip differential |
| Suspension | Full urethane suspension, Competition Engineering subframe connectors, Koni adjustable shocks. |
| Tires | 15x8" Wheel Vintique Rally II wheels on 255/60 Goodyear Eagle GT II tires. 275/60 BFG Drag Radials on 15x7" Rally wheels optional |
| Gasoline | unleaded pump gas |
| Weight | 3950 without driver |
| Performance | Untested |
The owner resides in Omaha, Nebraska.
