1968 GTO - Pontiac 461 Stroker w/Butler Performance CNC-ported Edelbrock Aluminum Heads

Installation, start-up, and break-in of the Pontiac 461 stroker in Jordan's 1968 Pontiac GTO. This build is based on the original, numbers-matching, 400 block. It's now equipped with an Eagle stroker kit from Butler Performance Pontiac, with forged 6.8" rods and forged Mahle pistons. It's topped with a set of Edelbrock d-port aluminum heads, that Butler Performance milled down to 68cc chambers, added 2.11IN/1.77EX stainless Ferrea valves, and then CNC ported to flow 310 cfm. Special thanks to our friend, Tim Schwendt, for machining and assembling the bottom end and, of course, Butler Performance for all of their help along the way. We'll have much more on this build in the days ahead, thank you all for watching and supporting this project!

[@butlerperformancepontiac]

Sounds strong!

[@RamblinAround]

Thanks guys, we're really happy with it so far. We can already tell this thing makes a ridiculous amount of torque. A little more sorting and we should be good to go.

[@randallhunsaker5766]

Awesome story. Actually, nothing sounds quite as good as the gurgling sound that a big Pontiac engine makes. People who hear my ‘73 Trans Am 455 always love it.

[@RamblinAround]

Thanks for watching Randall. I think it will sound even better with a little more sorting. I have some new mufflers coming for it on Wednesday and of course, I'm going to continue tuning it a bit. You're right though, Pontiac's in general have a really unique sound to them.

[@CJColvin]

Man that 461 Pontiac GTO is a pure beast.

[@RamblinAround]

Thanks for watching man, we'll have some better videos coming soon.

[@CJColvin]

@@RamblinAround Alrighty Sounds awesome brother. 😉👍

[@classicreaction5340]

It's been so much fun watching you guys discover the world of Pontiacs. Once you feel what a good Poncho engine can do, it's hard to like anything else!

[@RamblinAround]

After driving this one, we definitely believe you. This thing has us wanting to engine swap all of our other cars.

[@apachebill]

Reminds me of me 35 years ago. They got the magic. That’s a nice build.

[@tombankwel4822]

Man your dad is the Best dad in USA 🤩 🤩 🤩 i never had a dad he died when i Was 1 year old

[@RamblinAround]

Thanks Tom. I'm sorry to hear that about your Dad.

[@HomeImprovementInsider]

Thinking about installing my old 455 into my 72 Lemans, been sitting since 2010, your video helped inspire me.

[@not2fast4u2c]

This was great to hear and see it fire up the first time...It was actually relaxing to watch sitting back in my recliner with the head phones on listening to the engine...

[@RamblinAround]

Thanks for watching Jim! We'll get it dialed in a bit better as go along. Jordan has some different mufflers coming on Wednesday that we think will improve the sound a bit.

[@doublel7337]

The GTO sounds really sweet, you can just tell it's a beast ready to break out of it's cage. I just know a early 70's Trans Am with a 455 and a Muncie M22 is thrill, can't imagine what this car will do in the 1/4 mile. Good job Jordan !!

[@RamblinAround]

It sure feels plenty quick and we have just been rolling into it. I'm guessing it will run a low 11 on the motor alone. It feels similar to the Trans Am on nitrous.

[@56CrownVick]

I think your gonna have your hands full when you open this one up. Great video!

[@RamblinAround]

It feels really strong, even just tipping into it a bit. I do believe we have a real monster on our hands :) Thanks for watching, we appreciate it!

[@ianmacbrooke4617]

Just loving what you guys have been doing, but man do I miss the on-site features at Country Classics. God bless fellas and TTFN

[@RamblinAround]

Country Classic Cars has been temporarily closed due to the Coronavirus. We'll be back to making videos there shortly I'm sure.

[@keanecoquete4977]

I know a guy with a 2002 camaro ss convertible, 502 ci with a turbo, only doing about 9 or 10 psi. Anymore would just be unsafe. Really love the GTO. Your TA inspired me to buy my 86 with t tops, 383 stroker, hooker headers, dual exit exhaust with two mufflers, and an electric fuel pump. Only 87000kms on the odometer.

[@RamblinAround]

That's awesome man, sound like you have a great setup there. We're going to get back to working on the Trans Am again very soon. Thanks for watching, we appreciate it!

[@justinsharratt7282]

awesome video as always. I literally just last weekend finally put the 455 in my 69 gto and I agree 100000000% with you the headers sucked the most to put on lol took the most time lol. old engine out took 2 hours new engine in with headers took like 6 hours to line them up and get them on. I am only half way through the video as I type this and I FEEL your pain on the headers.

[@RamblinAround]

Thanks for watching Justin, I appreciate it. I'll spend some more time getting the headers sealed up, now that it's running well. I have some new mufflers coming on Wednesday too. I'm not really a huge fan of the flowmaster sound.

[@puddleduckist]

Looking good my friend, cant wait to see it ripping around. Gotta love the butlers, I have met jim and his sons. They are some of the nicest folks around.

[@RamblinAround]

Thank you very much, I appreciate that! We totally agree with you about the Butler's, and the people that work for them. Just a great group of people all around.

[@legodude19999]

Dang boys just got back from camping and 2 GTO videos ready to go! Awesome!

[@RamblinAround]

Thanks for watching man, we always appreciate it!

[@BB-rn6so]

YUP, THE PONTIAC DOES MAKE SOME POWER. YEARS AGO WHEN I WAS YOUR AGE I HAD A 78 TA. OF COURSE I STARTED OUT WITH THE ORIGINAL 400. BORED 30 OVER THE #16 HEADS RAM AIR 4 CAM. IT RAN VERY GOOD FOR MY FIRST ENGINE. MOVED ON UP TO A 60 OVER 455 WITH #48 HEADS THAT WERE ANGLE MILLED AND PORTED WAY OUT. WE USED A SOLID LIFT CAM. OH BOY DID THAT ENGINE MAKE SOME POWER. THOSE CHEVY AND MOPAR GUYS COULDN'T BELIEVE HOW BAD I'D LEAVE THEM IN THE DUST. NEVER SPENT MUCH MONEY TO MAKE A PONCHO RUN.

[@nrc17gto]

I still have nightmares from installing the headers on mine. Hope I never pull it again. Sounding good. Congratulations!

[@RamblinAround]

Thank you, we appreciate you watching! The headers really are the worst part of the whole build :)

[@frednewton9323]

Just finishing the same build (Butler Performance 461 stroker with ported Butler Edelbrock heads) on my 68 GTO. I decided to go with FIT EFI however due to years of fighting with the stock carb. We will see how that goes. Enjoy!

[@RamblinAround]

We're pretty old school when it comes to our own stuff, so Jordan decided to stay with a carb. At work, we use fuel-injection units on muscle cars all the time. I'm sure you'll like it just fine, good luck with it!

[@AndysDogHouse]

Hi guys. That sounds angry. I love it. Nice work. Thanks for sharing.👍👍

[@RamblinAround]

Thanks man, I appreciate that! I'm making some changes to the exhaust this week, bot some new mufflers coming on Wednesday. Hopefully it will sound even better.

[@eddiepatterson5025]

Dude that’s a sweet sounding Pontiac. I mean it sounds Nasty.

[@Olhighclass]

Happy to see you guys got the gto up and running sounds even better than before!

[@RamblinAround]

Thanks man, we appreciate that!

[@UsefulEntertainment]

convenient timing to upload this, I should be doing this in a few weeks with the 455 in my 68 cutlass. love watching stuff like this. Man you must have balls of steel, listening to music wile breaking the motor in, always a stressful situation on my end.

[@RamblinAround]

Man, you are right about it being stressful. It really is one of the most nerve-racking things you can do, especially with this kind of money invested. It never seems to go exactly perfect, but this one was pretty good. I think it's going to be just fine. We really are amazed by the torque this thing makes. I'm sure your 455 will be the same way. Good luck with it!

[@UsefulEntertainment]

@@RamblinAround thanks man. ill be waiting to see more

[@BigfootsnMopars]

SWEET! sounds wicked. Love the whole theme of this build.

[@RamblinAround]

Thanks man, we appreciate that!

[@coleboonecustoms]

I was on the edge of my seat watching, LOL.

[@RamblinAround]

We actually were pretty nervous about it firing for the first time. It's always a little nerve racking. Thanks for watching, we appreciate it!

[@oldschooltwist18]

@@RamblinAround I know that feeling...shitting down both legs,watching everything, and then the woohoo!!!!!!

[@RamblinAround]

@@oldschooltwist18 Yep, it's exciting and terrifying at the same time :)

[@mattspontiacta]

Great job guys. Your going to love that big Pontiac torque. Second to none. You got the heads that flow now to make some really good hp that will compliment that big torque. Your right it will smash that Chevy 350 in your TA , won’t even be close. Your problem now will be getting that GTO to hook. DRs will be a must. Can’t wait to see more videos on the GTO. 👍

[@RamblinAround]

We can already tell that the torque is on another level. It feels so strong even when you're just rolling into it.

[@GhostRider-ii7tz]

That’s awesome.sounds sick.nice job.💪👊

[@RamblinAround]

Thanks Steven, we appreciate you taking a look!

[@ronharris4125]

Sounds great. Congrats

[@RamblinAround]

Thanks for watching Ron!

[@tombankwel4822]

Awsome video you Are survivors if the World goes down you Will always be able to make things going No matter what wow you Are awsome

[@fvgc454ss]

Gets some miles on the beast and let me know how u like that set up! The 461 is a torque monster no matter what u do.

[@RamblinAround]

Will do. After we get it really broken in, we'll post some new videos too. We can already tell the torque is something else. Even keeping it below 4500 rpm's, the power is impressive.

[@empi4642]

Bientôt, moi aussi je vais vivre ce moment extraordinaire, mettre mon futur 461 Butler dans ma veille Firebird 69, bravo les gas merci, et bonne jouissance ! message de Suisse....

[@RamblinAround]

Merci de regarder, nous l’apprécions!

[@danheaton2522]

Congrats guys ....Goatzilla is sounding sweetly vicious!

[@RamblinAround]

Hey, if that name hasn't been taken already, we might use it :) Thanks for watching Dan!

[@danheaton2522]

I confer any and all naming rights of “Goatzilla” to the Ramblin Around crew. 🇯🇵😉. It definitely is a befitting name to the beast you guys created.

[@TheRooster1122]

Very, very cool it’s going to be Rad man!!!

[@RamblinAround]

Thank you, we appreciate you watching! We'll have some more videos coming soon.

[@firebird70]

great work, great fun guys

[@RamblinAround]

Thank you, we appreciate that!

[@firstgenerationgarage2803]

Great video guys GTO got some balls now

[@RamblinAround]

Thanks man, we appreciate you watching! It seems like it's gonna be a strong runner.

[@stanleyszymanowski8793]

Very nice motor

[@twincam825]

Sounds good i am restoring a 1968 gto 400 360hp 4 speed.

[@dan-xxx-8713]

Joined ur Facebook page man!! XD dint knew you had one! Like i said bumped into ur fids like a week ago ^^ im happy!

[@williamwintemberg]

Good Job! Best Wishes!

[@RamblinAround]

Thanks William, we appreciate that!

[@kurtzimmerman1637]

nice engine! want one!

[@RamblinAround]

It sure seems like a strong runner. The torque it makes is impressive to say the least. Thanks for watching Kurt!

[@kimjameson7979]

Sweet sounding with those mufflers, Jordon. Nice work. A guy might be tempted to see what a pair of cherry bombs sound like, though. "Old school," don't you know. ;-))

[@RamblinAround]

I am trying some Flowmaster FlowFX glasspacks later this week. We'll see how those sound. I really don't like the regular flowmaster sound very much. Thanks for watching, we appreciate it!

[@larryfischer1970]

I built a 461 for my 66 GTO 2 yrs ago. 72 400, .030 over. turbo 400, built, 2500 stall, 3.55 posi. with billet cover10 bolt. Scat crank kit. H beam rods. Balanced and blueprntd, decked and squared.flat top KB pistons, Chet Herbert cam 485. 495.Isky antipumpups, stock heads small valve 1.96 - 1.66 inch. # 7j2s smog. .rebuilt, milled, for 10 to 1.cc,d. Ported and polished.Scorpion 1.6 dbl roll rock, torker 2 ,quick fuel 750 . summit ceramic headers.3 hrs. a side on.ugh! Pioneer damper, Milodon alum. wat.pmp, Milodon pan. Melling pump. High volume,35 psi. idle 60psi off idle. Pertronix dist. blaster 2 coil ,2 1/2 inch pipes to back, 2 1/2 inch in and out thrush muff. 2 chamber directional, oval, welded seams, aluma dipped. Love the sound. Throaty at idle, not to loud, normal driveing, but get in it and what a sound they have, and get loud real quick . half the price of magnaflows. 40 dols. compared to 80 dols. This engines torque is fantastic for stock small valve ported and medium lift.but has long duration. Herbert cam recomended by long time chevy drag racer, boy was he right! For its size pulls hard all the way to 5500. Lobes came parkerized as part of breakin! new to me! Default settings on pertronix work perfect, rev. limit spot on. Can't wait to open headers and go to strip. Touch throttle and its burnin rubber. Sorry for long post, but i feel you're excitement! Gear heads unite! Poncho power. On my third GTO. 66, 69, and 66. By the way FYI, E3 plugs.

[@RamblinAround]

@@larryfischer1970 Sounds like a great setup for sure. I like hearing what other people have done and what works the best. I can already tell the torque is ridiculous on this thing. Thanks for watching, we appreciate it!

[@SteveHolsten]

I always loved those basic 24" glass packs.

[@RamblinAround]

@@SteveHolsten I actually just put some Magnaflow glass packs on my Studebaker too.

[@billmiller5075]

Nice job

[@RamblinAround]

Thank you, I appreciate that! We'll have some more videos coming soon, after it's fully sorted.

[@maxxmasson4263]

good job guys

[@tombankwel4822]

Jordan the magician at work cool 😎 car is just awsome and you Are phd in cars sounds awsome

[@RamblinAround]

Thanks for watching Tom!

[@savonbatt]

That’s what you call a Pontiac!

[@RamblinAround]

We can already tell that the Pontiac torque is no joke. Thanks for watching, we appreciate it!

[@markh4767]

Sounds Real Good 👍🇺🇸

[@RamblinAround]

Thanks Mark, we appreciate that! Still have some tuning to do and I'm going to try some different mufflers, but it's coming along.

[@dan-xxx-8713]

wauw man! I was born in the wrong country.. I never saw a GTO in real life XD...no realy...I used to have a 78 Malibu 2 door ,305 back in 2000, 75 Elcamino in 2005, and since my high skool years I always had a dream of once owning a 68 or 69 GTO. Thanks to the movie ''The faculty''...im 37 now...and I set my final goal of owning a GTO before I turn 40. Used to to work on a 76 Nova from a friend of mine back in the 2000s , he had a 455 Olds in there....lightned body you know the drill, Havent drove a decent car (US Muscle for 2 decades man) bumped in to your vids and I realy like them! just wondering if you have Facebook, My actual goal is to go to US in the future (3 years time lap) to buy a fair state GTO. Perhaps you can help me out :) would be awsome!!!...now im gonna watch the rest of the vid im @ 4:39 now :P

[@tombankwel4822]

I AM working on My wifes car rigth now No heat and is so cold we drove 200 km eysterday wow it Was cold now it works again

[@ziggassedup]

Should run real nice...Yep I like to break in the cam and bed the rings at the same time on the road.

[@RamblinAround]

So far, so good. I think it's gonna be a strong runner. Thanks for watching Zig, we appreciate it!

[@MrPONCHO467]

I vote for the aero chambers

[@RamblinAround]

This week we're trying a set of FlowFX glasspacks, we'll see how they sound. We don't really like the regular flowmaster sound. Aerochambers definitely are another possiblity.

[@Firebird400]

Great video, I have a 400 based 462 Pontiac . Different intake and carb tho , believe I have the edelbrock performer intake and edelbrock 800 carb with the drop base air cleaner. . Running dynomax super turbo mufflers , sounds wonderful lol. There’s a video of it on my channel if you want to hear what the dynomax sounds like . Cheers

[@RamblinAround]

Thanks, I'll go check it out. I am still deciding what mufflers to go with. I'm not a huge fan of the Flowmaster sound.

[@Firebird400]

RamblinAround flowmaster sounds great at idle and taking off but I find you need a turbo style muffler (s shaped inside I guess) to sound good and not drone on the highway. Happy medium I guess. Maybe I am getting old lol

[@RamblinAround]

@@Firebird400 Getting just the right sound can be tough sometimes. We'll just have top keep experimenting with different mufflers. The droning of some mufflers while cruising down the highway, can be pretty annoying. Turbo mufflers definitely could give it a cleaner tone.

[@markchirillo5083]

YEAH !!

[@RamblinAround]

Thanks for taking a look Mark!

[@johndee9719]

I know this is a old video but NEVER push down a loaded hood hinge. They can pop up at any moment, i've seen it and was close when it popped. Very lucky.

[@RamblinAround]

We strapped them down with heavy zip-ties.

[@levibrock5570]

I’m putting in a 74 455 in my 65 Lemans it’s stroked to a 468 . Pretty stock heads but a ram air 3 cam all roller and eagle rotating assembly. I’m taking out a 389 tri-power stock . I have H O exhaust manifolds. Love your GTO build!! Any helpful hints for me ? The engine is complete and on a stand . Hp is 409 and 529 ft lbs of torque . I’m gonna use a mini starter clutch fan also a pusher electric fan to help with cooling . It’s a 400th trans 355 posi gear . Any input is appreciated

[@UnityMotorSportsGarage]

Good Job guys!! Those Pontiacs are BAD!

[@RamblinAround]

Thanks man, we appreciate you watching! We can already tell this thing is a torque monster.

[@tombankwel4822]

Make in to a wonderfull batmobile from rambling around academy

[@oldschooltwist18]

Header leaks on a Pontiac just suck...plain and simple. I literally bent a wrench in a u for the back center bolt and use a 1/4 in drive socket on swivel for the back header bolts. Did you notch the center gaskets to just slide in and then tighten up? Makes it a little easierThat motor would love an 850 dp manual secondary. I did 2 650 quick fuel dp on mine. The torque is gonna really surprise you. Literally from just off idle. Good to see it running

[@RamblinAround]

I did notch the header gaskets, that is a tip that I try to pass on to everyone else too. It does make things easier, but they're still a pain. I think you're right, it's going to need an 850, but this 750 will work for the break in period. We can already tell that the torque is ridiculous :) Thanks for watching, we appreciate it!

[@ichanfirdaus9330]

Good 🤟🏻

[@RamblinAround]

Thanks for watching, we appreciate it!

[@SteveHolsten]

Thanks again, Guys. Is that a 400 block bored out to the 461? I figure any advertising is always good.

[@RamblinAround]

It is the original 400 block, bored .035 over...the majority of the cubes come from the stroke, which is 4.25 now vs the factory 3.75. Thanks for watching, we appreciate it my friend!

[@SteveHolsten]

@@RamblinAround And thank you for all the info. I look forward to seeing Jordan burning the road up in front of Y'all's house!

[@02tactical72]

I would love to build a 461 stroker but what about the steem holes with the heads

[@srenjustsen6749]

Just performer top end kit ? OR rpm performer top end kit ??

[@paulstuck5268]

I was real disappointed when you guys sold the 461. I now realize you probably needed to get the money to start the 69 GTO project. By the way. I still own my first car! A 1968 GTO. 427 1962 SD 13.5 to 1. Ram air 4 heads. Currently I'm trying to decide what intake to run. It did have a Wensler dual quad tunnel ram but I sold the intake. Th 400 manual reverse valve body with a 8.2 factory rear with a 4.88 gear. I plan to pull the motor and install a 455 SD.

[@RamblinAround]

Honestly, we had issues with the 461, and it never made the power we expected. The current setup is much faster and has been way more reliable. We might try a Pontiac engine again in the future, but it just didn't make sense right now.

[@A_Chicken_Salad]

Wish I could buy the firebird

[@justanobserver530]

I know this is a very old video, so I will not be surprised if I don't get a response. I noticed you've got power brakes, what cam are you using and does it produce enough vacuum for the brakes?

[@GTOJuby]

What cam you guys running?

[@RamblinAround]

It was an Comp XE284H flat tappet.

[@f-bodyjon2189]

Pontiac headers.....easy once you do it a few times. Put that center bolt on, hook the header, slide in place and tighten.

[@RamblinAround]

Slotting the gaskets so they slide right in helped a lot this time.

[@geop5054]

What brand off headers did you use.

[@RamblinAround]

At first I used Hedman headers, but now I have Doug's 1 3/4" primary, 3' collector, headers. Both required quite a bit of hammering to get them to fit without rubbing.

[@MR_UNOoo]

How difficult were the headers

[@RamblinAround]

They are kind of a pain to put on. I learned to slot couple of the bolt holes on the gaskets, so I can drop them in after I've put a couple of bolts in the headers. That helped quite a bit.

[@noeltheshemale]

Listening to some Alice In Chains and the Crue. Haha engine sounds mean.

[@RamblinAround]

Thanks for watching!

[@tombankwel4822]

I saw this awsome video again, how is bad company doing, so you have 2 gtos to compet in, what kind of coolant Are you using, i AM using pure coolant blue one, My son Jimmi is coming today and we Are going to have a drive in his japanese rocket, have a great Day to asher Sam and beans erika from tom your now and always 🤩 🤩

[@RamblinAround]

Thanks for watching Tom, we appreciate it! We just use the standard green coolant that is premixed 50/50, though I have heard that the GM Dexcool lasts longer.

[@tombankwel4822]

@@RamblinAround the coolant is long life, it is good for the cross country car i have, it realy keep the engine healthy, thanks jeff and Jordan from tom your now and always 🤩 🤩 USA 😎

[@jamesanderson83]

👍! Are you running with a x or h pipe?

[@RamblinAround]

It has a 3" H-pipe right now. I'm putting some different mufflers on it next week. I really don't like the flowmaster sound that much.

[@fvgc454ss]

@@RamblinAround big fan of the Borla XR 1 mufflers. Not too intense at idle but raspy up on the big end.

[@davidbartch8917]

Are you interested in getting the GTO painted? I live in NW illinois,run a restoration & rod shop have 33years experience. Why I ask is i want to break into social media with my business you have been in it for a while 126 k subscribers what do you think?

[@RamblinAround]

We certainly appreciate the offer, and obviously we would normally want to discuss it. However, we do work for a restoration shop, Manns Restoration in Festus, MO, so we have access to the paint booth when we need it. We just haven't gotten to that point yet. We wanted to get it mechanically sorted first. Thanks again though, and thanks for watching!

[@davidbartch8917]

THANKS for getting back to me. Does the Shop you work for use social media? You aready know advertising for our line of work is tough. I'm busy but I'm realizing my clients are getting up in age!

[@gustavomuniz5745]

Website for the Pontiac racing flag!!??

[@lcee6592]

All the turbos in the world stacked on a 4 or 6 banger will never match the sound of a healthy American V8.