231 to Buick 350 swap

Discussion in 'V-8 Buick Powered Regals' started by KGB, Oct 21, 2017.

  1. KGB

    KGB Well-Known Member

    Trust me, you don't need to remind me how bad gas in the oil is. There's a good chance this things already shot. I really screwed up today and had planned to check the float, but that didn't happen. I need to take it apart to adjust them, and I just ran out of time. I've been so focused on fixing everything else, I've probably destroyed this engine in the process.
     
  2. KGB

    KGB Well-Known Member

    Just got finished tearing into the carb. Surprisingly simple to take apart, three e-clips and eight screws. The manual says float level should be at 1.01", measuring from the plate to the top of the float. Mine were set at 1.063" for the right, and 1.123" on the left. So if I understand correctly, my floats are lower than what they should be. I set both sides to 1.123" and as I was about to put the top plate back on, I noticed a tear in the gasket. I had nothing to fix it, so it went back together and tomorrow I'll see if I can spot the leak.
     

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  3. KGB

    KGB Well-Known Member

    Alright, so the floats are too low now. All the same problems are there, as well as surging because I'm running the bowls empty. It's not leaking from that tear in the gasket, nor is it anywhere else on the carb. I've got an idea I'm going to try out tomorrow, but I'm not holding my breath.
     
  4. KGB

    KGB Well-Known Member

    Since my last post, I've been getting people to smell my dipstick. Not only are they calling me crazy, but they don't smell gas. I can't light the dipstick on fire with an open flame, and I haven't lost any oil pressure since changing the oil. I guess I'm just going crazy. Aside from that, my jets and gasket came in, so I'm finally getting it running right. I found out the carb had 80 jets in both the primaries and secondaries. I put 76 primaries in along with 60/52 rods, and left the secondaries. That woke it up. Now I can stomp it at any speed, and actually go somewhere. In a damn hurry. I've still got some tweaking to do, but I'm finally on the right track.
     
    docgsx and techg8 like this.
  5. techg8

    techg8 The BS GS

    Great work. Keep it up.
     
  6. DasRottweiler

    DasRottweiler -BuickAddict-

    Ya want piece of mind? Change your oil and filter. I had float issues twice and dumped gas into the engine when rear float stuck. Pulled plugs, spun it over, to pump gas outta cylinders. Immediately changed oil and filter. Joe Gibbs Driven Break-in Oil is not cheap, as far as oil goes, and this happened twice , but it is what it is. As 300sbb_overkill has said, gas in your oil is an engine killer. JIM
     
  7. KGB

    KGB Well-Known Member

    Yeah, I damn near had a heart attack when I first thought I smelled gas. I changed oil and filter then, and I've changed it once more after the initial scare. I'll be doing another this weekend, along with more carb tuning. Right now its liking full throttle a lot, slow starts and part throttle accel. is a little lame.
     
  8. DasRottweiler

    DasRottweiler -BuickAddict-

    Sounds like you should be good to go.
    Jim
     
  9. KGB

    KGB Well-Known Member

    Got the carb running a lot better over my time off. Ended up needing two steps richer on the rods, finishing at 58/52. Might need lighter springs now, but for the most part it's running somewhat right. There's a goofy spot around half throttle acceleration, but everywhere else it seems alright. Just in time too, because now I'm driving the abominable snow regal. I had a snow aero coupe this morning.
     

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    300sbb_overkill likes this.
  10. gymracer01

    gymracer01 Well-Known Member

    You should find one much closer. They are not hard to find. If the $150. is just a core, you will have more in it + shipping or travel.
     
  11. newmexguy

    newmexguy Well-Known Member

    Think this member is in Alaska. Talk about a challenge.
     
  12. gymracer01

    gymracer01 Well-Known Member

    These people that work on these cars overseas are brave.
     
  13. KGB

    KGB Well-Known Member

    They're harder to find than you think. At least in my area. Basically, if its not old Chevy or Ford, it goes to the scrapyard. Even Chevy stuff is getting harder to find. I ended up paying $125 for a rebuilt, 0-mile transmission, minus the torque converter and tailshaft.
    Not quite, about the middle of B.C.
     
  14. The_Fixer

    The_Fixer Member

    Kudos to KGB and those who contributed here! I'm close to dropping a sbb 350 +200-4r into a 2nd gen F body to replace the 231. Lots of helpful information here on the subject that isn't well documented anywhere else that I can find. If I uncover any gold nuggets of information, I'll add it to this thread.
     
    docgsx likes this.
  15. KGB

    KGB Well-Known Member

    Thanks man. There's a lot of things I should've done differently, to make this swap easier. Mainly, getting into the engine on the stand. A poly motor mount, and an air/fuel gauge would've been smart too. Not only was this my first engine swap, its also my first rodeo when it comes to tuning. So trial and a lot of error, is how my adventure has gone. I'm sure loving that Buick torque though, my goodness.
     
    docgsx likes this.
  16. KGB

    KGB Well-Known Member

    So I think my carburetor is too small. 625 CFM Street Demon. I'll admit, I didn't look very far on this board about carbs before I bought mine. I'm wishing I had. Everywhere I look I see properly built Q-jet, and at least 750. So even though I knew it wasn't a Chevy, I still tried to carb it that way.

    Since the snows been gone, I've been trying to dial it in. Every change I make is either too lean, or too rich. My plugs are either whitish-gray, or black. I've gone through almost all of the jets and rods in the calibration kit, aside from the leanest primary jet. I think the only reason I haven't shelved this carb, is because it runs half decent on the primaries.

    I took a couple videos today while I was fiddling away. I'm on a dead end access road in an industrial area, with no one on the road but me. I was more concerned with driving though, so they aren't the greatest.

    The first one shows from a dead stop and a bit of a rolling start from 40 mph. The rattling when I first go is the valve cover letting me know its still there.

    And the second really shows what I'm talking about. When cruising, if I stand on it, it just wants none of it.

    Having said all that, I'm not trying to open up a "which carb is best?" thread, but throw your suggestions here. I've been trying to find someone with a spare 750 anything, just to try. But it looks like I'll have to get my own, so I'd rather not screw up a fourth time.
     
    Last edited: Apr 14, 2019
  17. Mark Demko

    Mark Demko Well-Known Member

    Judging by your Tach, looks like the trans isn't shifting from 3rd down 2nd
     
  18. KGB

    KGB Well-Known Member

    Well Mark, it appears I may be retarded. Transmission is definitely not kicking down. After a few passes in second, I pulled #1 and #2 plugs out. Then I went one rod leaner, and made it worse. I should've tried one richer and pulled plugs, but it started raining pretty hard. It still doesn't seem as happy as it should though. Over the next few days, I'll put the smaller jet in the primaries and see what happens.
     

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  19. Mark Demko

    Mark Demko Well-Known Member

    LOL, noooo, your not retarded, your learning stuff, Im learning stuff, we all are:D
    What I would do is go back to the original jetting for that carb, take carb tuning outta the equation, focus on the trans. not down shifting.
    After the trans. is working like it should, contact one of the two EXCELLENT Buick Quadrajet guys here on the board, have 'em build you a proper Q-Jet carb for your combo.
     
    Last edited: Apr 15, 2019
    docgsx likes this.
  20. KGB

    KGB Well-Known Member

    Alright, transmission is kicking down again. The clip that holds the cable popped out, and the whole thing was moving with the throttle. I've also gotten a recommendation from Quadrajet Power, but I'll have to wait till payday for that. So for the time being, I'll play around with the carb some more. I took the linkage off the secondaries, just for fun. It runs good, but slow on just the primaries. From what I've read, the Street Demons' primaries are close to the same size as the Quadrajets'. But I'm sure as soon as a proper Q-jet gets put on, a lot of my problems will be solved.
     
    Mark Demko likes this.

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