ok let me apologize in advance for my lack of knowledge. I am a little confused on hydraulic and sold lifters. I am putting my 71 Buick 350 back together. I was given a 79 Buick 350 for parts that I might need. anyway I take a look at the 71 pushrods and there is no oil hole in the middle of the rod, the 79's do. the 71's also have a bigger "ball" on the end of the push rods.. does that mean the 71 has solid lifters and the 79 has hydraulic? also the to lifters (71 and 79) look similar except you can see the oil journal in the 79's lifter (where the pushrod sits) but the 71 does not. there both concaved but no oil journal. if there solid lifters, in the 71 does that mean solid lifters, cam, rods? I didn't know Buick made solid lifters in the 350's in 71. can someone help me understand what I am looking at. thanks in advance.
No solid lifters were factory installed in Buick 350s. The solid pushrods with the big ball ends were stock in the '68-'69 350s. They oiled the top end through holes in the heads and the rocker shafts. In '70 Buick changed over to the hollow pushrods and lifters and now oil the top end that way. Somehow, you ended up with the old school lifters and pushrods. The rockers and heads should be old style as well, or you will not be getting oil to the top. You'll need to verify the heads, rocker assemblies, pushrods, and lifters to make sure you're using one-style or the other. It doesn't work to mix them as you don't want the oil to flow both ways. I've been told that lowers the pressure to the point you'll have other problems! HTH.
good info Great, thanks alot! i know i should have cked the year of the motor. i just figured it was a 71 motor.. block ID # should verify its a 68-69 motor correct?
Re: good info If you look between the #1 and #3 spark plugs on the block face you should see a two letter code. I believe the codes are PO for a '68 2barrel, PP for a '68 4barrel, RO for a '69 2 barrel, and RP for a '69 4barrel.
Great! thanks for the info, i'll check it out tonight!... one more question for you.. will the 79 heads work on the (68-69) motor if i use the older rocker arms?
NO . I BELEIVE THERE ARE NO PROVISIONS TO LET OIL TRAVEL THROUGH THE HEAD UP TO THE ROCKER ASSY'S . DEL
confused i tried to upload some pics and they won't go though becuase of size. i looked up in my two books and both say nothing of solid lifters in any year on the 350, so i'm a little confused. the 71 has no hole in the rod and the lifter just has a crandle for therod to sit. now the 79 has the hole and a hole in the lifter.. could it be they just changed the design later due to the noturious oil problems...?
