Ok guys i am a little confused here. I want to build my 300 whick i believe to be a 67. I am going to use one of postons cams I already have there headers and use there hi compression pistons. I also want to use the alminum heads and intake. I have heard it both ways. I talked to a guy with a 65 300 and he is using the aluminum heads I belive his screen name is 65lark and intake while others say it can't be done. Thanks any time i have been confused about a subject you have straightened it out you guys are great thanks Adam
I ran into one issue with my '64 block rebuild. I switched from the '64 aluminum heads to a set of '65 iron heads & '65 iron 4bbl intake. On the '65 block, there was a water jacket on the drivers side that didn't exist on the '64 block. The water jacket on the '65 head overhung the edge of the block with no corresponding water jacket, so water just flowed right out of the head onto the ground. The worst part was that it wasn't noticed until the engine was all assembled & started up. To solve the problem I had the machine shop tap the port on the '65 head & put a plug in it - problem solved. Now maybe others haven't run into this, I cannot explain it except for one of the following possibilities. 1. There were slight manufacturing differences in the blocks between years or plants (although experienced folks have told me the part numbers are identical for the '64 & '65 blocks). 2. I had two passenger side heads (the passenger side head has the water jacket on both the head & block). Someone might have replaced a head at one point - but then why did the motor not leak on the '65? Also people have told me the heads have the same part numbers... I bought the '65 engine from a wrecking yard for the heads & intake to use on my '64 engine. I parted out the rest of the '65 engine including block almost immediately so it wasn't around for me to compare when I found this problem. So the moral of the story? Make sure you check the water jacket ports from the heads to block before assembling, the problem can however be overcome if you do run into it. They do fit.
Going from memory here, but am pretty sure that the 65 block had an additional casting that was not there on the 64. There is a passage in the head that is sealed by this casting. Since the 64 heads did not have the passage, the 65+ block would not be an issue with 64 heads. Using later heads on the 64 block would cause the leak you mentioned as the casting is not there to sandwich the head gasket to the head. This is similar to what happens when you put 73 455 heads on a 70 block. No casting on the block to cover the holes in the heads. Therefore water in the crankcase. Sound familiar to anyone. :grin: Regards, Mark
OK so it sounds like if I put the aluminum heads on the later block I will be OK. I know that the iron heads have bigger ports, But since we do not have a good intake to take advantage of the bigger ports. Plus I am building a street car that probaly will never see over 5200 rpm. So the small ports should build low and mid range torque which is what i want. Also the alminum heads can be milled to yeild a little higher compression will still letting you run pump gas because they disipate heat quicker. There was a guy who had a 65 on here that on a chassis dnyo made 298 Hp through a set of cast iron exhaust manifolds it was a 65 block with aluminum heads and intake that were port matched on the intake and exhaust side with the poston 25 hp over stock cam He milled the heads and ran a cross over pipe. So if the alminum heads can support that kind of power thats ok with me. Plus your getting rid of weight. which is good. thanks Adam
Adam, Attention to detail is the key. Double check your head gaskets to the block on both sides and them compare the head to the gasket and block. If all match up sealing all holes and passages you will be fine. Then see how the intake fits to the heads with them sitting on the block. Am fairly certain you should be ok, just check. Another issue is pushrods. Seem to recall some difference in either the heads or block height. Am not sure if you need to use 64 pushrods or 65 ones. I think you will need the 64 ones with the aluminum heads, but you may want to confirm that. You will likely need 64 intake and head gaskets. There are some guys on the board who can answer these questions for sure. Good Luck, Mark
300? I probaly am not going to mill the heads but i do rember the 64 pushrods being different the other guy on the board was using i believe double springs. I already have the 64 intake so i that is ok. I wish i could find that guy to ask him the questions but I don't rember his screen name but he did have a 65 light blue skylark and thats what this engine was in. If i do mill the heads were do i get the adjustable push rods and how do you get them to the right length. I am only 22 years old (as of a couple days ago my birthday was august 2)and this will be most frst engine build up. I have helped my dad many times but we are both new to the buick engines. You guys have been awesome thanks for the help. I have a question my girlfriend made me this awesome neon sign for my birthday it says Adams 1967 buick Gran Sport were would i post a picture of it thanks Adam
I used '65 pushrods with the '65 heads on the 64 block, I can't remember where I found this to be the right combination as it was a few years ago. I may have been the guy you were talking about....I used the Crower Cam, double spring set & lifters (you can lookup all of this if you want to on crower.com catalog online). One way for you to research if you can't get answers elsewhere is lookup the specs at http://www.nhra.com/tech_specs/engine/index.html#buick There are some detailed block, head, etc. specs on this website. Another thing you can do is go to an online retailer of automotive parts. Lookup parts for the '65 & for the '64 & see if the part #s are the same. I've found www.rockauto.com useful for this.
where do you post a picture It's easy-when you make another post to this message thread about your heads, just click on "Browse" near the bottom of the page (while writing the message). Then look for the picture on your computer, and click on "open" in the box that popped up. That make's the picture ready to upload to the message board in your posting. I just added a random Buick I had in my files. Good luck with the car :grin: Christopher
Hey Adam, I think it might have been my 300 you were referencing??? I just happened to stumble upon this post. I'm finding this post interesting though, because since my car has been together I've become concerned with a few things in my engine. For the rest of you on this thread, I have a '65 300 block, bored 0.30, Poston 25hp over stock cam, high rev lifters, dual valve springs, high volume oil pump, polished and balanced crank, gasket matched '64 aluminum heads, '64 aluminum 4bbl intake, Carter Competition Series 4bbl, Poston headers, MSD, backed by a TH350 with a shift kit and 2500 stall. When I did the swap, I used a '64 3-row radiator and high volume water pump with the larger than stock impeller - but the car runs hot! Well, not really hot, but hot for my liking. I have a 160 stat in it and a flex-a-lite fan which pulls like mad, but when I sit in normal traffic the temp shoots immediately to 200-210. Some say this is normal, and others yell at me saying I physically put too much paint on my radiator when I cleaned it up. Any of the above might be true, but it still will need some attention this winter. My point is - I wonder if the water jacket thing has anything to do with it? And additionally, I can't get my head gaskets to stop leaking oil out the back. I even re-decked the heads!!!! I'm going to do my head gaskets for the second time and the machine shop says it's NOT the heads, they are flat and true. As far as pushrods - I'm using chrome molley '65 rods. Never seemed to have a problem...... And as far as the '64/'65 head/intake combinations - LEARN FROM MY MISTAKE - there are 2 different sets of pistons. Don't use the low compression pistons like I did the first time. The 90 year old lady in the 4 door Matador will blow you doors off at the light. You'll be yanking the motor only to do it all over again. In conclusion - If anyone has a '65 cast 4bbl intake for sale, (and yes, I know they are hard to come by) please let me know. My motor is coming out this winter and I want to go back to the cast parts. Likewise, if you're interested in aluminum heads and intake, let me know. Keep in mind - my heads have about 1500 miles on them and were so close to NOS when I got them. So basically, the stuff is mint! Thanks, Matt
re-300? OK Matt why are you looking for the cast stuff is it because of the oil problem? My 300 ran at about that same tempature a couple summers ago but since then I pulled the radiator out of a 67 buick that had air added a new water pump and new thermostat now it runs a 180 weather its park in my barn or running out side. I would only be interested in the heads if you find out that they are not causing the oiling problem. If this continues to be a problem I am going to just look for a 64 engine and skip all these problems. Last time I talked to you yu had not installed the headers did you notice a diffrence I believe you were maling 298 rear wheel horse power befor have you checked it after the header install thanks again Matt
Hey Adam, I'm looking for the cast stuff, primarily because I want to port the heck out of the heads and intake and see what kinds of gains I can get. There 'is' a considerable difference between the sizes on the aluminum and cast head ports. I was thinking that the power to weight ratio difference with the aluminum would be worth it, and it might still be, but I want to give the cast a shot too. I'm going to pull the motor soon because I want to take care of whatever the oil leak is and I figure if I'm going to pull the heads anyway, that's the perfect time to convert. If I can get my hands on an intake, I'll convert. If not, I'll just put the aluminum back together. I've toyed with the idea of just pushing the 300 aside and dusting off the 455, but I feel guilty doing that to the car. My original 300 2bbl is still shrink wrapped under the bench right next to the super turbine 2 speed. I just don't have the heart to completely molest my cars originality. As far as the Poston headers - haven't actually bolted them on yet. I was going to, but like I said above, I know the motor is coming out anyways, so I figure I'll just do it all at once.
Hey Eric, It's funny becuse so many pople have asked me how to get a set. I got these several years back from a parts distributor that advertised out of the Buick Bugle (The Buick Club of America monthly publication). At the time, they coudn't sell them and they were reletively cheap. Since then the company stopped dealing with Offenhauser becasue it was impossible to get prouct in a timely fashion. I contacted Offy direct about a year ago, to see if they are still available and they said that they might start making more if there was a demand for them. You might try hunting down Offenhauser directly.
thanks, I will do that. If that doesn't pan out, I will chrome my extra set of 300/340 valve covers. That'd look cool too I think. Thanks!
Actually I've seen the originals chromed and they do look real nice. The trick to that is to have a nice clean set to start with.
Actually I found one place with a small stock on valve covers for "BUick, tempest and Rover V8". Think those will fit? Are the heads the same on a 215? I have no ideao No:
Any chance you could tell us who it is that has these valve covers in stock? Please. And are we still talking about the aluminum ones? Thanks ,Dan
Hello guys, I put my brother's engine together (Matt/grnlark on this thread) and will confirm everything he has said about the 64 aluminum heads on a 65 300 block. Other than the heating issue from time to time in traffic (its the radiator / to much paint) the engine runs like a bear. All the parts I/we found off the self so to speak. A couple of calls to Poston and the local parts store. My only recommendation is to have the heads check for trueness and if any question have them milled. Aluminum of that vintage is not known for its stability. Vince
