Hey guys, My name is Raye and I just bought a 1955 Buick Special Series 41 4dr Sedan. She's got a little surface rust and needs some TLC but she's all original. I call her Vivian. My problem is that this is only my second project car and the last time I did one it was a Chevy 64 Impala SS, I was in my late teens and early twenties and had a lot of help from my father and grandfather. Well dad and grandad are not around anymore and I'm not really familiar with Buicks. I bought this one because I love the design and always was drawn to the 1950's big body cars. At first I wanted to put a big block Chevy in it but then I started researching these engines and I realized it would be much cooler to have something that not everyone has. The car itself has a cracked block 264 ci in it but it came with two 322 ci engines and an extra Dynaflow transmission. The guy I bought it from says that one engine is a 55 model and the other is a 56 model. I'm not very knowledgable about identifying the parts and interchangability but I really want to learn. I don't mind saving money and working a little overtime for the project but I have three kids and a wife so I have to be practical about it. I want to try to run one of the 322’s if they are good but need to learn more about it. I have a GM shop manual but that doesn’t teach me what I can and can’t do with parts from different year models. I don’t want to race the car. I want a cruiser that sounds good, looks cool and has some respectable power while still being a throwback to its roots and a grocery getter. I really would like to learn where to find and how to set up a better intake and fuel delivery than the 2-bbl carb it has. If possible I would love to do fuel injection but I don’t think there is a throttle body setup available for this particular engine… at least I haven’t found it yet. I plan to learn and do everything myself and I did go to automotive school but that was ten years ago and didn’t really teach me everything about performance modifications to older cars. I am a decent enough welder and a bit of a perfectionist so I pay attention to detail. I’m also not afraid to read quite a bit if someone can point me in the right direction for the information. Please Mr. Telesco and anyone else who might have any advice or tips, I’m all ears. Thanks for your time.
Right at this point in time I would say to use the more modern 322 which is the '56. Hopefully you also have the '56 DynaFlow as it is better than the '55.
Yes Sir I believe the 1956 block is the one with the Dynaflow attached to it but I am not sure how to tell the difference. Right now they are all still in the back of my truck covered with a tarp until I get a day or two off from work to make a spot in the garage for them.
Welcome !! As tom says, the '56 is superior in power and transmission. You need '55 and '56 shop manuals. They are on Ebay for sale in print and on disk. Also an owner's manual, I would recommend. Find the engine numbers and post them. From that we can tell which engine is which. An easy way to tell an early '55 is from the oil filler cap. An early '55 has one oil filler tube/cap on the valley pan at the front of the engine. A late '55 has two oil filler caps , one each on top of the valve cover (the same as '56) Making it harder to differentiate
Thank you Sir. Will get photos when I get them out of my pickup this week! Thank you both for the help!
If I remember right the '55 264 is rated at 188 brake hp (two barrel carb) '55 322 is rated at 236 brake hp (four barrel carb) '56 322 is closer to 300 hp with a four barrel Incidentally, for '57 the 322 was discontinued for Buick. But the Buick 322 was used in '57 Chevrolet medium duty trucks
I was a little fuzzy on the dates. Thanks for that clarification. I'm still looking for that warehouse full of NOS crate 322 nailheads. About fortyfive years ago Dad found a NOS crate flathead V8 for his '40 Cadillac. It was US Army surplus (tank engine) packed in cosmoline .
