455 Buick Olds or Pontiac Which is most desireable, reliable etc

That's a lot of good info! Thanks for the read. Had both Olds and Buick 455s. Buick GS Stage I and Olds W30. Both ran like "striped assed apes"! Wish I had both of these cars today.

 

As far as having a high torque engine for streetable driving goes, it doesn't really matter which one you pick, they all will provide good strong torque. Probably be little difference as long as you use comparable HP versions. The thing in my mind is that while hot rodders like to put different engines in cars, there generally is a feeling that "its wrong to put certain engines in certain cars". Nothing wrong with putting a later model more powerful engine of a different brand in an older (say pre 54) ........but for some reason it just seems wrong to do it in MOST/MANY post 54 cars. The best engine for the Caddy is going to be a 472/500 Caddy. It just seems oddball to use a Pontiac/Olds in one. Same thing for the Buick. A Pontiac/Olds gains you nothing over using a big Buick. I just think the end result is more desirable if you stick with an OEM. That being said, you can put a Big Block Chevy in anything and pull it off. For some reason a Pontiac in a Buick just seems wrong to me.......perhaps just my personal bias showing, but in this case I think Buick in a Buick and Cad in a Cad is the best way to go.

 

My answer would be none of the above. I don't consider the Buick 455, Olds 455 or Pontiac 455 to be nostalgic motors for a HAMB relevant build. Came would be said for the big Cadillacs. They're all decent engines, but if I had to be stuck with an engine that isn't really period-proper but makes monster torque I'd just pick an engine that made the most power for the money which would be either a BBC or B/RB Mopar. People actually forget the B/RB came out in '58 and is very on-topic as this board goes.

In terms of the 455 Buick and Olds, they look significantly different than their first-gen counterparts and IMHO are muscle car engines that don't really look at home in a traditionally styled car.

The 455 Pontiac would be my choice of the engines you selected, as it would have the earliest look. The Pontiac is also probably the cheapest to build and would have the most parts availability, as there is more of a performance pedigree with that brand than with Buick and Olds.

That said, if the "WOW" factor matters that much to you, and you've got money to spend, you could certainly source an obsolete engine and make it look and run as nice you want/can afford. On the other hand, if you're building a car to keep the hood shut, you could just as easily put a SBC in there and nobody would be the wiser.