Hi i have a 1981 Trans am with a 301 and i would really like to find a pontiac 455 or atleast a pontiac 400 to bolt in i'm even willing to rebuild one i live in kentucky and would like to find one locally does anyone have one that their willing to sell?  

Hi-If you check e-Bay and enter "Pontiac 400" or "Pontiac 455" you'll usually find a complete engine/tranny. The easiest way to do it!
Most times they seem to go for about $150-$200. Very common to see 400's pulled from T/A's, Catalina's, Bonneville's, LeMans, GP's, etc.

I changed the 301 in my '79 Formula for a 400 from a '78T/A and absolutely love it! I did it with a bare block, so had to hunt for all the pieces. What a pain!

Your 301 Alternator bracket and front Power steering bracket will need to be replaced with those from a Pontiac 350, 400 or 455 because the 301 has a 1" lower deck height than the other Pontiac engines.

The 301 harmonic balancer is unique to the externally balanced 301. You'll need to use the balancer from a 350-455, although the 301 timing cover and tab will work fine.

Your old pulleys are OK too, although the belts will need to be 2" longer than those on the 301, again due to its 1" lower deck height.

The 301 also uses a unique valley pan, flexplate and starter motor.

Your 301 P/S pump and Alternator are the same on the 350-455. Just use the 350-455 brackets.

The exhaust manifold on one side of the 301 uses 3 center bolts vs two on the other Pontiac engines. Best to use headers or log-type manifolds from the 350-455's.

The 301's intake manifold is unique to the 301-265 engines. I used a late 70's 4 BBl w/EGR and a Q-jet Carb. The Q-jet from the 301 can be used, but should be jetted for the larger engine. Try to buy the entire manifold/carb ass'y as the EGR brackets and pressure transducer are completely different. Ditto on the throttle bracket and carb studs. The throttle brackets are difficult to find alone, but can occasionally be spotted on e-Bay for about $35 or so.

Check-out someone else's T/A or Formula for reference and good luck!!!

Kevin