vic_V8

a guy at work and I got in a agruement, I was talking about the 400s in the ta, he started laughing, he said that all the guys came in the dealorship thinking they had 400s and they had 403s, and that they never put 400s in the ta (later he changed his mind), then I said there was two different 400s and he said I didn't know crap. he also said that the 403s were a great power engine, he did give props to the 400, but he said they always broke.

CobraKiller

The available engines for the second gen TA's i believe were the 350,400,403 and 455 If I remember correctly. And I'm sure they threw a 305 in there somewhere. That's all the info I've got off the top of my head.

ChillPhatCat

So is a 400 an SBC and the 403 a BBC? I question the point of the two displacements... weren't the engines still pontiacs at that point? I hear they burn rubber like it's their job. If the distinction between 400 and 403 is what I said, I'd see why one would break down more than the other... the 400 SBC is pretty flimsy in theory, design and practice.

Boy am I useless sometimes...

nothingssafe

i believe, although ithink it was only in firebirds, that they also had the 301, a turbo engine.

paul_huryk

The 400 was a Pontiac 400 (not that bad)

The 403 was an Olds 403

The 455 was a Pontiac 455

The 301 was a Pontiac 301

And the 350 was a Pontiac 350

Of all the motors, the Pontiac 400 was the best one, some aftermarket parts are available, as are for the 350 and 455.

Mark A Shields

I remember when I had my '76 TA. I was told I had a 455 in it. My brother told me the 400s were better blocks, I was like how can a smaller block be better. But 400s are good engines. Turned out I did have a 400 in it. I just never had the money then to fix it up like I'm doing with my IROC.

85transamtpi

Along with all the above engines listed the chevy 302 was offered in "canadian" cars. Racers liked this car because they could race it in the Trans Am races that limited displacement to 305ci.

Im not sure how many of these were produced, but Im pretty sure there were some.

or I could be loosing my mind

-peace

1991tealRSt-topGuy

hey paul, i still think that some people are ignorant to the fact that b4 1982, trans ams and firebirds used Pontiac motors.........which were different than SBC and BBC

SoCo80p

iTrader: (5)

pontiac never used a chevy engine stock except on the 80-81 "emmissions controled" cars inother words cars sold in california, colorado and other high places, the 70-79 all had 400 pontiacs the 70-76 optional 455 73-74 optional SD-455 (can you say low 13's stock with 8:1 compression? ) also 70-71 had the optional RAIII RAIV 400's and HO-455 77-79 they had the 400 pontiac on the t/a and formula, base birds and esprints got the low output 301 2bbl the 403 olds was avalibe on the 77-79 cars and that came in the "emmissions controled" areas also. the 400 pontiac had 20 more HP then the 403 olds but the olds had 5 more ft lbs of torque so really the 400 was the one to have on the later cars 80-81 had the 301 HO 4bbl on the t/a and formula and low output 301 2bbl on esprint and firebird, also with option turbo 301,......back in the late 70's they were really playing musical engines with the cars, should look at the subframe! theres like 10 diffrent holes for all the diffrent motor mounts

tpivette89

the 400s offered in the 2nd gen TAs were always rated higher in hp than the 403s. they were quicker down the quarter, also

Sho

The second generation T/A's Did come with the Pontiac 400 up until 1978. After '78 they came with the Oldsmobile 403. The 403 was a good power motor but was a slow revving engine, as are most big blocks. The 400, on the other hand, like the Ford 351 Cleveland is not really a big block or a small block. But it revs more like a small block. And no they don't break all the time. A friend of mine, Larry Anderson has a 1977 T/A with a 400 and it has 146,000 miles on the never rebuilt engine. And he dogs the **** out of that car. You know with every model car there are lemons, and there are freaks. But that guy needs a good swift kick to the *****!!! And you can tell him I said that!!!!

ws6formula89

Actually, the 403 was a small-block Oldsmobile motor not a "big block". The only "big block" Oldsmobiles were the 400 Olds and the 455 Olds. The 403 shouldn't be revved past 5,000 rpm, due to the poor oiling system. It wasn't a race motor or anything.

They also offered the Pontiac 400 through 79, not 78. One way of seeing if it were a real 79 T/A with a 400 poncho is to look for the Muncie 4-speed manual attached, seeing that the 400 was only offered with that transmission that year.

As far as the 400 "breaking", there is a theory that the cylinder bores are too close together, and is improperly cooled. So the result is frequent overheating. The 400 has a quite large bore. Or so I heard from a few other people.

-Todd-

SoCo80p

iTrader: (5)

actually olds also had the 425 big block but was put into the big cars,...the 400 overheating problem was with the 400 chevys, this was not a problem with the 400 pontiacs, there a ton of meat inbetween the bores unlike the chevy version.

slowV8berlinetta

The 403(small block olds) was put in a very good portion of 77-79 t/a's. All of them that say "6.6 Litre" on the shaker rather than "400" I believe. It replaced all of the 455's of olds/buick/pontiac. It was physically smaller, olds' burned rather clean, and they last forever. The poor oiling system and lack of a strong aftermarket are the only limitations. The oiling system is overcome by enlarging certain passages and a high volume pump. The 403 has the same stroke as all other olds small blocks- 3.38", and a bore of 4.350, making it greatly overbored, giving it torque with free revving ability and since the outer dimens are the same as other sm. blocks, you can say it's a 26o/307/350 and who's to know the difference. My father had a stock 403 with 225,000 on it and replaced it cs it was burning a quart of oil a week, and i had one in a 78 g-body with open 3.08's, true duals off manifolds, th350, and a 472/496 lift cam that could just squek past a six speed ls1 0-60/65. I bull$hit not, if i could afford to put one in my berlinetta, i would.

slowV8berlinetta

The 307 olds made in the 80's(just for those who don't know, different displacements don't mean too much, because the engine design is still the same, like chevy 305/350, same design, one has a smaller bore) Anyway, the 307 lasted until 90 or 91 in cadillacs, because people don't want to think that they have a chevy in their cadillac, and it was the only thing of its size that could pass emissions. All pontiac engines were gone after 81, all buicks in after 76? i think, and the conventional cadillac v-8 was replaced after 81 also i think. Chevy and olds were all that remained. I've even gotten in arguments with cocky older cadillac owners that their engine was a 307 olds, not a 5.0 liter cadillac.

Sorry guys, just wanted to get everyone as straight on things as i can. The 400 poncho in t/as may have been faster, but i believe that the 403 had more potential and was a better overall motor