73 Catalina 455

hey, i was just wondering if a 455 out of a 73 catalina would be a 4 bolt main block or was the 4 bolt mains only found in the 455 H.O and SD, cuz the idea of a 4 bolt main on a 455 excites me and i found a 455 that came out of an old police car. well he called it a 73 laurentian but from what i gather this is the same as a catalina  

Do you know the casting number and casting code.  
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Horsepower sells engines and torque wins races

no, i was just wondering if in general you could get a catalina with a 4 bolt main 455. I'm not sure if it was a special edition of the car as a police option that came with a more performance oriented 455 or if they just bought one with the 455 that came with every catalina. or were all 455's 4 bolt mains? i'm not sure lol.. any info would help  

No not all 455's had 4 bolt mains.  
professional hi-performance engine builder

Horsepower sells engines and torque wins races

ok, the guy just emailed me and told me the same, but he did say that the block was drilled for a 4 bolt, it just wasn't tapped from the factory, which i can deal with and just making it into a 4 bolt by getting it tapped. At least thats what it sounds like anyways. I"m not entierly sure. I'm as newb as they come to engine building.  

The center 3 bearing bosses will need to be tapped,you'll need to buy the 3  4 bolt caps, and have a machine shop align bore and hone the block with the caps installed and torqued to spec.  

Depending on how much power you plan on making the 2 bolt may be all you need.  
professional hi-performance engine builder

Horsepower sells engines and torque wins races

I have a 72 that is drilled for 4 bolts but not tapped. I just sold a 73 that was drilled but not tapped for 4 bolts. I think that most built between 70 and 72 were drilled and a few from 73 on up.  

4 bolt mains were originally designed for trucks hauling heavy loads to keep the engine from flexing under the weight. There is really no reason to go to all the trouble if you are using it for street or even strip.
Brazil  

i was thinking on doing it to help prevent the motor from going when i'm at the higher end of the rev limit  

Like the others have said the Mains on a 455 are 3.25 inches. Thats bigger than a big block chev. You really don't need 4 bolts. The pontiac motor makes its power and torque between 2500-6000 rpms. Reving one more than that on stock rods for any period of time and the rods will go long before the crank. Pontiacs are total different animals than the small block chev most people are used to with its NASCAR inspired 9000 rpm's. U don't need the high r's with the poncho it makes a great living on the lower end of the rpm scale. If you are building a 500+ hp/torque monster strip car with aftermarket internals and you have deep pockets by all means go for it the 4 bolts can't hurt.  

Are you planning on building a full out drag strip racer? What are you looking at as far as highest RPM?  

I ask USA Racing about the 4 bolt main issue once - their shop is a block from me, and all they do is build monster motors. They told me that 4 bolt mains were not common on anything they built.  

alright well that saves me some money, thanks a lot guys  

Yep most I have built was two bolt mains just use good bolts and the 2 bolt will hold up well.  
professional hi-performance engine builder

Horsepower sells engines and torque wins races