66 Buick Electra driveshaft

Discussion in 'Wrenchin' Secrets' started by Jonah Halbert, Mar 24, 2018.

  1. Jonah Halbert

    Jonah Halbert Well-Known Member

    No my points has a screw and spring thst you turn to adjust the dwell. Plus my shop manual tells me exactly hown to adjust the b points. I know the difference between a carb and points.
     
  2. CJay

    CJay Supercar owner Staff Member

    Maybe I misunderstood what you wrote. What did you adjust it to?
     
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  3. 66electrafied

    66electrafied Just tossing in my nickel's worth

    Keep the dwell at 29-30, and the ignition timing to about 8. Get a vacuum gauge, plug it into manifold vacuum and look at the needle. Learn how to use and read a vacuum gauge, it does more for you than any on-line forum ever could. It will tell you a multitude of things and take away a lot of the guess work. A vacuum gauge will tell you if you have a fuel robbing vacuum leak, or the general health of the engine. You can also use it to do a rudimentary power tune; Dial in the dwell and run up the car. Maximize the vacuum by adjusting the idle screws, this helps you get a good solid start in the morning and keeps you off the gas. Then, back off the screw on the distributor hold down, and rotate it ever so slightly, advance first retarded next. Maximize the vacuum. Tighten it down, take it for a test drive. The perfect point where you know you're close to being tune is when you tromp on the gas pedal there's a slight ping (more like a"bripp" and then it quits, more would cause damage) If it pings constantly on acceleration, back it off until it doesn't. This is how guys would keep stuff running in the old days, before computers and diagnostic programs with troubleshooting steps.

    These cars will do about 20 mpg depending on how it's geared and if the driver keeps off the 4 barrels. In town, no matter how you drive it, you'll be lucky to get 8. Mine has a 3:07 posi axle in it hooked up to a dead-stock 401 and turbo 400. All of it has been rebuilt and I do now finally have an engine analyzer from the 1980s that works on these old things, so it's in the best tune it's going to get. I will consistently get close to 20 mpg on the highway. As you can see in the avatar the car made it to Seattle last year from Edmonton (and back) a round trip of around 2000 + miles. It didn't miss a beat. Now there were stretches where I was into the 4 barrels, and yes, it's like flushing a toilet. Keep it at around 70-75, or just under the 4 barrels and that thing will do remarkably well. (Just a caveat; I'm not encouraging you to break the law.) This year I'm going to get the axle overhauled, which should improve things a bit more.
    Yes they are heavy cars, but the Buick engine has more than enough torque to move that car briskly, you can do burnouts with the thing if you want to. (I don't because I'm afraid of spaghetti-ing that driveshaft!) Any car you can get rubber on in 2nd gear is pretty good, and tends to render the argument of heavy car equals bad mileage moot.
     
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  4. 12lives

    12lives Control the controllable, let the rest go

    Is there someone at the Rusty Rooster Hot Rod Shop that can help you tune the engine?
     
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  5. Jonah Halbert

    Jonah Halbert Well-Known Member

    Yeah I've got someone that can help me. All I have to do is ask. Remember I'm 17 and I've never done any kind of engine tuning.
     
  6. Jonah Halbert

    Jonah Halbert Well-Known Member

    Thanks for the good information. I will see if I can get someone to help me tune my engine. In the morning it seems to start fine. On a warm morning it'll sortof sputter with one turn of the key then I usually put my foot on the gas and fluctuate it slightly to keep it running. Then I won't have to touch it. On a cold morNing the engine usually turns over about 6 times before it fires.

    Since I've replaced the coil, plugs, points, wires, cap, and rotor I've noticed an increase in mpg. I don't know exact numbers but I think I'm getting near 14 max. Obviously the car needs tuning but I've never tuned an engine before, so I'm not sure how. Nor do I own a dwell meter or vacuum guage. I know the dwell needs to be set correctly but it must be set real close because the car runs just fine. But I feel like there's a lot more power avaliable from that 401 that I'm not getting.
     
  7. Jonah Halbert

    Jonah Halbert Well-Known Member

    Check out my videos on my YouTube channel, Southern Mechanics. I have a couple videos of the Buick. And I have a few of my old car, a 1964 Mercury Montclair.
     
  8. yachtsmanbill

    yachtsmanbill Well-Known Member

    You need one of these to save the knuckles (on a front mounted distributor) from the fan and makes an easy reach on a rear mounted unit as well. Mind you these are only for the trap door caps for dwell adjustment. ws

    z61.jpg
     
  9. Jonah Halbert

    Jonah Halbert Well-Known Member

    I was using a socket and wrench to adjust the dwell. Of course I had to climb into the engine bay!
     
  10. yachtsmanbill

    yachtsmanbill Well-Known Member

    One for the exspurts: What year was the dwell trap door cap introduced? By far the easiest way to set an accurate dwell by; 28-32 Degrees. If the dwell fluctuates with an RPM change, the distributor shaft bushings are worn. Used dwell meters are $5.00 all day at garage sales. ws
     
  11. CJay

    CJay Supercar owner Staff Member

    1955
     
  12. dynaflow

    dynaflow shiftless...

    Flexible shaft screwdriver type tool with dedicated allen head...you'll never go back. Only other way is electronic...

    Jeez, has it been that long. My first Buick recollection was '57...raised fenders and narrow hood "buried" engine. Flex allen tool and dwell meter...yeah...
     
  13. flynbuick

    flynbuick Guest

    Back then, we called them a KD tool.
     
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  14. yachtsmanbill

    yachtsmanbill Well-Known Member

    Circa 1971 !! ws
     
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  15. Jonah Halbert

    Jonah Halbert Well-Known Member

    I went to have the car aligned today, but they can't do an allignment until I replace some bushings. Problem is we don't know what they're called. There's a rod thst goes from each lower control arm to the front part of the frame, and thst rod goes through a hole. On either side there's a circular rubber bushing. They look like sway bar link bushings, only way larger in size. Do any of you know where I can find these?
     
  16. CJay

    CJay Supercar owner Staff Member

    They're called strut rod bushings. Some people call them brake reaction rod bushings. They're available. Call CARS in NJ. They probably have them in stock

    www.oldbuickparts.com
     
  17. CJay

    CJay Supercar owner Staff Member

    Brake Reaction Rod Kit 1963-68 Buick
    [BRK638]

    [​IMG]
    Brake Reaction Rod Kit
    1963-1968 Buick LeSabre, Invicta, Wildcat, Electra

    For Both Sides

    Reviews
     
  18. telriv

    telriv Founders Club Member

    Windowed distributors started in 1957 in GM vehicles.
     
  19. CJay

    CJay Supercar owner Staff Member

    Tom is right on the money! It was 1957!
     
  20. Jonah Halbert

    Jonah Halbert Well-Known Member

    Those are the right bushings. Found a set from an Ebay seller for $20. Would you suggest I replace both sets or just the one that needs replacing?
     

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