455 1970

Pontiac V8 455 1970

The First Year — 455 1970 for Pontiac V8s

1970 is the first year of the Pontiac 455, and it sits right at the end of the high-compression era, before the 1971 casting change. Head parts for a 1970 455 come out of the 1967-70 D-port group, and as with every Pontiac V8 head, what fits is decided by the casting number rather than by the displacement.

A rebuild is assembled from Butler's cast iron head parts: Ferrea stainless valves in the length your casting takes, cast or bronze guides, seats, seals, springs matched to the cam, retainers, locks and shims.

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More About 455 1970

1. Where A 1970 455 Head Sits

1970 is a one-year window for a reason: the castings changed for 1971.

Before the 1971 change	Butler lists the 1971 castings such as 96, 7K3, 197 and 7F6 on a different valve length group than the 1967-70 heads, so a 1970 455 and a 1972 455 do not necessarily take the same valve.
Find the number	the casting on your head puts you in a valve length group, and that group is what everything else follows from.
Pushrods	the 455 is in the longer pushrod group with the 350, 400 and 428.

2. Rebuilding It

Guides	11/32" cast or bronze guides for Pontiac cast iron heads. Bronze if the engine is headed for a performance cam and heavier springs.
Seats and valves	Ferrea stainless valves in the length and diameter your casting calls for, matched to the seat work your machinist plans. Several Pontiac cast iron intakes are ground on a 30 degree seat rather than 45, so settle that before the seats are cut.
Springs	cast iron head springs are rated around a 1.600" installed height. Choose seat and open pressure against the cam, not against the 455 badge, and check coil bind at your actual lift.
Seals, locks, retainers and shims	the parts that set installed height and keep the ports dry.

3. Stock Or Built

Back to stock	a 1970 455 in a numbers-matching car usually wants stock-size valves, stock-pressure springs, fresh guides and seals, and a straightforward valve job.
Built for torque	a larger exhaust valve and a spring package matched to a performance cam. Butler's cast iron Head Builder Kit handles this by matching Ferrea valves at stock install height, springs to your cam specs, chromoly retainers and locks, seals for machined guides and a shim kit to your casting.

Give us the casting number and tell us what the car is. A 1970 455 is a good starting point either way, and the head parts follow from what is actually on the bench.

Not sure what your Pontiac needs?

Call our tech team at 866-762-7527. Tell us your engine, heads, car, and power goal, and we will put the parts together as one combination that works.