401 question-valve knock?aluminum in pan- ideas?

So I pulled the 425 from the Rivi- the motor was gone thru and looks very good-- the guy ran it for a few weeks before deciding to tear the whole car down and just never got it back together. Anyway, he had it painted blue and its time to go back to Buick green.

What would you guys suggest as the best route to paint back to stock? I was thinking just run some aircraft stripper over the block, covers, and manifold-- then a good cleaning

I think the motor is good to go after inspecting the bottom end and manually turning but is there anything in particular I should check out before dropping it in? Cam, lifters, push rods, rockers all look very good- tops of valves look good, just a slight amount of carbon buildup....no oil sludge I can see, but just want to pick your brains on anything I might be overlooking.

Also, I haven't mocked it up or checked yet to see how close I will be on tranny linkage, but will prob end up retaining the column gear selector-- anyone have any idea how far the linkage might be off with a swap from dynaflow to ST400?

Its a '64 so no switch pitch or 2nd gear and dynaflow is PNDLR

thanks

Paul

 

I like the factory green color!

Sounds like you have the right line of thought of what to check- all those things you've mentioned.

Shoot me a PM if you are still getting rid of the Riviera Posi. What year is it out of and do you know the ratio? Might be interested in the Disc brake kit too or is it for the Electra?

Erik

 

TO Whitewallpaul:

If you need any assistance, cameoinvicta knows about all that stuff as I told him about it. I enclosed a bunch of pics on my trans swap in the nailhead section. You can also look for my listings under mr62buick for pics and explanations.

I did the rear posi swap by taking my factory 62 axles (33 splines) and replined them to the 30 splines.

The trans dynaflow crossmember can be narrowed, but must be 5 inches exactly. Drill the 4 holes into the frame as 3/8" then tap them with a 3/8" fine tap accordingly. The driveline also must be a t-400 from 64 and newer and the driveline (front 1/2 only) must be shortened by 5" exactly. So, if the older original yoke to end of front half of driveline is 27", after the install of the new yoke, the complete length of the driveline must be 22". Also the emergency brake must be disconnected and relocated into another slit (you make) into the frame. The cooler lines will also be different sizes and in different locations, so just but a 6ft section of 3/8 brake line and bend yourself. It seems liek alot of work, but it is quite easy and the car increased my gas mileage from 9 mpg, to 25 mpg with a dual quad intake with 2 2bbls. (I sold that car in 1999, and recently saw the sorry pics given to me by the seller) he took out the original motor and put a sbc in it.. boo hoo) plus it looks like crap as the people who have owned her destroyed and didnt take care of her. :af:

 

Steve, so should I get a '64-'66 driveshaft and have it shortened, or should I get my '62 driveshaft shortened and have a different front yoke installed?

 

I gotta say this: I don't believe in miricles, To go from 9 to 25 mpg simply by switching a tranny would be one. The Dynaflow is certainly not as efficient as the THM 400, but there ain't a 16 mpg difference! Something else had to change. Did you swap to a 2.40 rear axle ratio? Was the Dynaflow stuck in low? Was the torque converter shot? More likely, I would suspect a speedometer gear issue. I would believe a couple of mpg improvement with the 400. 16 mpg? No way.

 

Whats up guys- thanks for all the input- swap was pretty straight forward -- ended up shaving 4.5 inches on driveshaft- when I had the 62 and 64 shafts side by side I got all warm and fuzzy thinking I might be able to bolt the front half from the 64 to the back half of the 62 and it would have been almost perfect, but like anything, its never that easy-- slight variation in splines (thanks Buick!) But everything clears well even smashed down on the frame when aired down.

425 is awesome- did about 100 miles since swap-- definitely didn't gain as much mpg as Mr62Buick but still have some tuning to do before measuring difference

Kept all the 62brackets (generator, compressor, etc) - car looks bone stock under the hood--

Thinking about ditching the factory Carter... its in decent shape but can't seem to get it just right-- had a 62 Wildcat with a Holley that worked well, but what are you guys running? Just need a 4 Barrel carb with a tang for the factory kickdown switch (or something easily modified)

Got the complete stock 401 that will need a cylinder sleeved and the dynaflow if anyone in the Southern California area is interested-- will also have a 64 Rivi dry as a bone if anyone needs a parts car.

 

Very cool Paul, glad to hear everything worked out for you.

What did you do for the trans crossmember?

 

I just used the stock crossmember cut down and welded-- also, if you trim that driveshaft, be sure to run the full 5" like Mr62 suggested... my yoke is a little close to that output shaft seal on the back of the trans-- I notched the carrier spacing back a bit to compensate but could definitely have used that extra .75" in shortness--

 

Paul,

How are you handling the kickdown on the ST400 trans? Did you get all the electrical stuff and linkage off the Riv? In '64, the yellow wire that runs to the trans for the kickdown gets its 12V from the same fuse that supplys power to the wipers. The '64 transmission can be held in first gear by starting off with the shifter in L. At the rpm's you want to shift to 2nd gear, shift into D, let the trans shift, then pull the lever back to L. That will hold 2nd gear until you want to shift to D. From what I've read on this forum, Tom Telesco has been racing his '64 with the stock TH400 (non-switch pitch) for years; he's running fast and has never had a problem.

Ed

 

Thanks for the info.

 

Hey Ed-

Just used the factory switch and bracket off the Rivi for the kickdown-- and thanks for the shift tips, I'll be sure to remember if I ever get the chance to sail my land yacht down the track

Paul