231 to Buick 350 swap

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

  1. MrSony

    MrSony Well-Known Member

    Got a part number for your alt belt?
     
  2. 1987Regal

    1987Regal Well-Known Member

    Here it is but you might want to try the next size smaller belt because this is where mine sitting right now
     

    Attached Files:

    MrSony likes this.
  3. 1987Regal

    1987Regal Well-Known Member

    Here's a little bit better picture it's a Napa Gates belt I'm sure you can cross reference to whatever you like
     

    Attached Files:

    MrSony likes this.
  4. KGB

    KGB Well-Known Member

    Got the o.k on my bearings, just waiting on a pushrod checker and things will start going back together. Got a few pics. The two worst rocker arms. The remnants of my fan, still stuck on the pump. It doesn't show how mangled the pulley is, but it's mangled. My new cover and water pump. Can't believe my local parts store had a short body pump in stock. No luck on a pulley though. Almost there. Again.
     

    Attached Files:

  5. MrSony

    MrSony Well-Known Member

    i ended up finding one in my garage that's 48.5 inches long, right in the middle of the adjustment slot. i do have a 350 water pump pulley and v6 crank pulley if i remember right. Alignment is dead on.
     

    Attached Files:

  6. MrSony

    MrSony Well-Known Member

    I like my crower level 3 cam. decent idle, sounds good through exhaust. 16" vacuum.
     
  7. 1987Regal

    1987Regal Well-Known Member

    KGB I may have a pulley but it will need cleaning and paint, I ll check if you want and post picture make me an offer and pay for shipping. I'm 99% I have a 69 pulley and I few others
    I had them posted in the for sale area awhile back no takers, maybe I asked too much but im upfor offers. Josh
     
  8. KGB

    KGB Well-Known Member

    Josh, I appreciate the offer but, I have terrible luck with shipping and customs. I can't even get a pushrod checker in my own country. It got lost on the eight hour drive to my town, which doesn't surprise me. So I've got an idea, somebody tell me if I'm out to lunch. If I put the cam in, a lifter and stock pushrod, and the late style rocker shaft on. Could I put a dial indicator on the rocker arm and measure that for pushrod length? Then math my way to the right length that I have to order? Or am I completely bass ackwards and overthinking this.
     
  9. KGB

    KGB Well-Known Member

    So the pushrod checker showed up and I got the proper length. And its stock length. Feel like a bit of an idiot for not just asking when I ordered the cam, but that's life. Put the cam in, and the timing set on. Threw the front cover and pump on, just to see how everything fit. The new oil filter mount is clocked at a steeper angle than the stock one. Which should help out a bit with hose routing. Making progress, slowly but surely. But now I need to make sure I know what I'm doing before I go any further. In the last pic is the front of the drivers side cylinder head. In order to use the late style rockers, I need to block the hole directly above the rocker shaft bolt hole, right? And on both heads or just the drivers side?
     

    Attached Files:

  10. techg8

    techg8 The BS GS

    Block both sides.
     
  11. KGB

    KGB Well-Known Member

    Sweet, thanks. If the stars align tomorrow, my parts might be here.
     
  12. KGB

    KGB Well-Known Member

    Parts came in and I made some progress. I blocked those passages, but forgot pictures. Got the exhaust crossover plugs and pushrods in. To get the two rear passenger pushrods in, I used a big 'ol bar to tilt the engine up, and a paper towel slide on the heater box for the pushrods. Then I realized I bought a 455 pulley, because I haven't learned how to read just yet. But after getting laughed out of every auto wrecker in town I realized my biggest mistake. I should have cut the shaft off the old pump and saved the pulley, instead of trying to save the pump. So after trying, and failing to get the original pulley back to usable condition, I decided to space out the 455 pulley instead. Started by throwing the belt and pulley on and eyeing up where it looked happy. Then I found a couple washers that got me the distance I needed. I tried to find something that had the right size and thickness, but that went over about as good as the pulley. I was just about to use the measuring washers, when my uncle gave me the perfect piece of aluminum. There's a bit of a story behind where that came from, but that's for another post. I used a chop saw and a power drill to run the spacer down to fit inside the pulley, then punched a few holes. I must've been in a hurry to get home when I drilled the holes though. Stevie Wonder probably could've gotten the holes lined up better. But that's what a drill press and some pressure is for. After some hogging out, I finally got the spacer to fit. It's a little wonky, but it works. Now I just need to get some nicer bolts for the pulley. If things keep going smoothly, I should be ready for break-in by the end of the weekend.
     

    Attached Files:

    docgsx and 300sbb_overkill like this.
  13. KGB

    KGB Well-Known Member

    Picture post
     

    Attached Files:

    300sbb_overkill likes this.
  14. KGB

    KGB Well-Known Member

    Got a little farther today. Had a late start so not as much as I'd hoped. Put the timing cover on for good this time, and got the intake and carb back on. Before I started this whole thing, I considered painting the engine. But after getting the intake and carb on, I'm glad I didn't. I wasn't after a custom show car look. So I don't think I would've liked it half as much with a freshly painted engine. Now I need to figure out how to stop the engine turning over, in order to tighten the balancer. As well as a new dipstick tube for the transmission. I was in a rush to get out of the shop I was in previously, so I had to make do with what I had. I think I used the metric 200 tube, and cut a chunk of it off to work with my goofy pan. But now its leaking like crazy, so I've got to rethink that. I tried a Trans-Dapt tube before I put the trans. in, but I almost had my entire weight over it and it still wouldn't fit in. But I don't need gears to break it in, so I'll cross that bridge when I can get to it. Tomorrow I'll get everything else put back on and hoses and wires routed.
     

    Attached Files:

  15. KGB

    KGB Well-Known Member

    So I didn't get as far as I wanted on Sunday. I couldn't get the fuel pump on, because I had my fuel pump eccentric where my distributor gear should've been. I also couldn't get the valve cover on by myself. Got those both sorted out today. The valve cover put up a good fight, but we got it. Had to tilt it as far as I could possibly get it, and bolt it on before setting it back down. The valve cover is making its own clearance now, little bit of a dent in the heater box. I'm thinking about chopping the heat shield up as a skid plate for it. Just need to keep making progress.
     

    Attached Files:

    300sbb_overkill likes this.
  16. KGB

    KGB Well-Known Member

    itsalive.jpg
    I didn't get any pictures so I hope this will suffice. Since my last post, I've finished cleaning up the wires, and made my old dist. into a priming tool. I've ordered some electric fans and some other crap I needed. I was waiting on a friend for a hand with the break in, but after it tried to snow here the last couple days I decided I couldn't wait any longer. I got the oil pump primed, distributor in, water in, plugs and wires on, and the battery out of my project car that's taken up daily driver status. I put the key in and turned it to ignition, nada. Wires on the starter were loose. Tried again and it cranked. Dumped some fuel down the barrel and it fired up. Immediately got it up to 2500 rpm. But I had my grandpa helping me read the gauges while I throttled and adjusted oil pressure. Long story short, communication breakdowns were had, and I wasn't going to risk wiping the camshaft out at this point. I was trying to get the recommended oil pressure as per T/A Performance's oil pressure regulator instructions. Which I think is 50-60 psi at 2500 rpm for cam break in. From what he says, I was at 70-80 psi at 2500. Now just to make it clear, this is my first rodeo when it comes to cam break in. I didn't let it idle, and it had good oil pressure. It ran for maybe a combined total of a minute, three starts. Only problem was I couldn't get gauge readings. Only hand signals. So, all I've gotta do know is get a couple extra people and I'll be alright. But it runs, and that's all that matters to me right now.
     
    Last edited: Sep 17, 2018
  17. KGB

    KGB Well-Known Member

    Alright, tonight was cam break-in 2: electric boogaloo. Got the pressure lined out and got it running for longer than 30 seconds. I took a turbo dryer from work for a fan, but it didn't work as well as I'd hoped. I was about 10 minutes in when it started smoking really bad. Shut it down, then it really started smoking. ATF was leaking out of my hacked dipstick tube. So I waited till it stopped smoking and cooled down a bit, and fired it back up. After about another 10 or 12 minutes I let it cool down again. At this point it was getting a little late, so I went for one last hail Mary. I got maybe 2 or 3 minutes in when I noticed a pool in my intake, just under my throttle bracket. Killed it, and got a light on the fluid. ATF was coming out my kickdown cable. JESUS MURPHY. Cleaned it up and let it cool down, pushed it back in and called it a night. Tomorrow my parts should be in, so while I'm putting those on I'll take a look at my spitting transmission. Other than the trans shooting fluid out and heating up a bit, the break-in went alright. I want to run it at least once more at 2500 just to make absolutely sure. I also got a picture of my valve cover "clearance" for anyone interested.
     

    Attached Files:

  18. techg8

    techg8 The BS GS

    Yep that's tight at the airbox.

    If I remember right I actually rotated my 350 counter clockwise in the frame pads a few degrees to help at that corner.

    It was an 83 cutlass w a.c.
     
  19. KGB

    KGB Well-Known Member

    Bit of an update. More pictures than progress. Got my fans painted and installed. I should've gotten the next size down for the shroud, because its a hell of a tight fit. I've got about the tip of my finger worth of clearance between the rad support and the shroud brackets. Next, I got my adapter welded into my new trans pan for the temp gauge. After changing the pan, I took a closer look at the trans to see if I could find those leaks. I tightened everything up again, and tried seating the dipstick tube in a little further. Today I drained the oil to see what kind of horrors were in there. But surprisingly it wasn't too bad, for a first time break-in. I filled it with new break-in oil and tried for the last bit of running. I didn't get very far though because I started leaking ATF again almost immediately. I know enough about transmissions to know, that I know nothing about transmissions. I'm going to try a dipstick tube that isn't hacked and maybe block off the kickdown cable for now, just so I can finish the break-in.
     

    Attached Files:

    docgsx likes this.
  20. KGB

    KGB Well-Known Member

    So it's a couple hours short of a year since I started this thread, and I figured I'd better have an update. I built a new bracket for my oil pressure gauge that doubles as my switch panel. Out of the same aluminum, I tried to make a nicer rad hold down. In order to get bolts into the fan shroud, rad, and hold down, I used some of those U-nuts to go around the shroud brackets and rad. The white hold down was the first attempt, but after bending it was too brittle. The black hold down was the next attempt. I used a thicker piece of aluminum, but I didn't bend it close enough over the brackets so the hood slams into it. So for now, I've got my old ones hanging onto the rad. Next I messed around with the transmission to get those leaks to stop. I didn't do anything other than loosening and tightening fittings and bolts, and that seemed to stop the leaks. For now. Between my last post and this one, I finished the break-in. Today was the first day it idled. After getting it warmed up and idling at around 1000 rpm, I had 30 psi of oil pressure. And I realize that's not hot oil pressure, but it's miles away from what I had before. My only hang ups now are my fans that keep blowing fuses when they feel like it, and my leaky fuel pump. So after all that, I closed the hood for the first time in almost five months, and drove it around the driveway, just because.

    I also want to take a quick second to thank everyone that helped me out on this board. Without you guys I would have had nothing for information. And I'd like to thank everyone at TA Performance. They've been fantastic to deal with, and super helpful.
     

    Attached Files:

    300sbb_overkill likes this.

Share This Page