Buick 350 Shortblock build

Discussion in 'Small Block Tech' started by DauntlessSB92, Jul 20, 2014.

  1. Gary Farmer

    Gary Farmer "The Paradigm Shifter"

    Sweeeet!!
     
  2. sean Buick 76

    sean Buick 76 Buick Nut

    Very very cool!
     
  3. Buick#455

    Buick#455 Well-Known Member

    I like it!!
     
  4. DauntlessSB92

    DauntlessSB92 Addicted to Buick

    Got a few more small things done. Motor is full of oil and primed. I checked the valve train to make sure lifters pumped up and I am getting good oil through the pushrods and rockers. The fuel rails are painted (I'll have to redo them as I don't think this paint will hold up but the bare aluminum was bothering me) and I painted and test fit the trigger wheel. I haven't pressed it on or lined it up yet though. I finally got the motor in the car because I am tired of seeing it on the engine stand. A few days ago marked 1 year that the car has been without an engine. Its good motivation and all the remaining things to do can be done with the motor in the car.

    12924440_10205939657319841_2339810872274392235_n.jpg 12512659_10206014209183591_4122210807310675737_n.jpg
    12919667_10205939657919856_8215770928996702558_n.jpg 12717868_10205939657719851_4454318313839648182_n.jpg
    9600_10206014638634327_8288087014577422728_n.jpg
     
  5. Sebambam

    Sebambam Well-Known Member


    looking awesome...
    i really need to get the HEADERS as well...
    Damn it..
    Budget can be a bit** ahaha:)
     
  6. DauntlessSB92

    DauntlessSB92 Addicted to Buick

    I refinished these headers. They were very rusty and I had them for about 6 years. A good sandblasting and some cerakote air dry ceramic and they look better than new
     
  7. DauntlessSB92

    DauntlessSB92 Addicted to Buick

    It's been slow progress lately, I got married in June and it's hard to say hey lets go to the shop instead of wedding planning haha

    I have managed to make a couple coil brackets. I almost mounted them on the fenders but I think this way really is the way to go.

    I just have a little bit of wiring, route the fuel lines, set up crank and cam sensor and it should be ready to start[​IMG][​IMG][​IMG]

    Sent from my VS990 using Tapatalk
     
  8. DauntlessSB92

    DauntlessSB92 Addicted to Buick

    I'll be selling these headers once I have cash for a turbo kit.

    Sent from my VS990 using Tapatalk
     
  9. DauntlessSB92

    DauntlessSB92 Addicted to Buick

    Powered it up for the first time, I still have a few more things to do but its looking like it will run next week. :TU: 13962907_10206780190452644_933379860237533630_o.jpg
     

    Attached Files:

  10. sean Buick 76

    sean Buick 76 Buick Nut

  11. Gary Farmer

    Gary Farmer "The Paradigm Shifter"

    ^^^^^
     
  12. DauntlessSB92

    DauntlessSB92 Addicted to Buick

    Warning to anyone who uses the heavy duty head gaskets: they are not marked so if you don't pay attention and install them backwards like me, you will have a bad day. I must have accidentally flipped it when I removed the head. Now it's new intake gaskets, new coolant and new very expensive head gaskets for me =/

    I was just about to start the car too
     
  13. Extended Power

    Extended Power Well-Known Member

    So what gave it away?
    Water in the oil, or???
     
  14. DauntlessSB92

    DauntlessSB92 Addicted to Buick

    As I started filling the radiator with coolant I saw a stream of coolant on the driver side below the headers. It wasn't a drip or a slow leak, it was a steady stream of coolant. I don't know how I let myself put the gasket on wrong. The passenger side was fine. I probably could reuse the gasket but with coolant and oil on it now it's probably best to use a new gasket.

    Very little coolant got into the motor because the coolant port that was leaking was outside of the head gasket. So the coolant just leaked between the head and the outside of the block. I drained the radiator and then pulled the intake and head off. I'll probably still change the oil to be safe.
     
  15. 300sbb_overkill

    300sbb_overkill WWG1WGA. MAGA

    And that's why with a new engine it is a good idea to skip the anti-freeze and just use water until you're sure you have no leaks in the cooling system. Get the remaining antifreeze out of the radiator and just use water the next time around. To make sure you don't get any corrosion get some water wetter to mix in with the water.

    Antifreeze kills bearings, while water would just boil and steam away as long as there isn't that much in the oil. Can't wait to hear how your engine runs! GL



    Derek
     
  16. Gary Farmer

    Gary Farmer "The Paradigm Shifter"

    Good advice, Derek.

    In bold: moisture condensation and other impurities in the crankcase can cause problems with engine corrosion/gunk buildup and shorten the lifepsan of internals if not promptly removed, which is a good reason to use no less than a 180* stat.
     
  17. DauntlessSB92

    DauntlessSB92 Addicted to Buick

    It seems with the help of you guys I have managed to build a motor! It's only taken a year and a half but the engine runs and everything looks good. I have a lot of tuning to do with the EFI but the car started second key turn and it idles fine. Oil pressure is 45psi cold at idle, and just below 30psi hot. At 3000rpm I have 60psi. No excessive noise from the valvetrain (although having roller rockers and 8 66lb injectors does take some getting used to) so it seems so far so good.

    Now I have to finish a few things and I can get this car on the road and start breaking it in. I really want to find out how much better this runs compared to my stock 72 4bbl motor.
     
  18. 300sbb_overkill

    300sbb_overkill WWG1WGA. MAGA


    Excellent! With about 3 months left for track test and tuning your timing is good to be able to break in the rings, debug and then get some track numbers this year with some decent air! Maybe some chassis dyno tuning before track time? :Brow:

    As long as the new wife lets you that is? :eek2: :Dou: :rolleyes: :laugh:



    Derek
     
  19. DauntlessSB92

    DauntlessSB92 Addicted to Buick

    One of my friends is getting a track rental together in October which should be perfect for some fine tuning. Id love to get it dyno tuned but it will heavily depend on funds available.

    Im lucky that my wife has been so supportive. I think she wants this car to drive again as much as I do.

    I was sidetracked last weekend working on my 2014 Regal, and I'll be taking that to Musclepalooza this Sunday because I dont want to miss another one. Im hoping for low 14s which would be pretty good for a 2 ton car.

    The Skylark needs brake lines, a driveshaft, an electric fan setup, some small wiring projects and then I have to throw the driver side fender back on. At this point I will probably hold off on some of the finer detail items I planned on doing so that I can drive the car before the salt hits the roads. Then over the winter I can clean things up and start getting ready for turbos
     
  20. DauntlessSB92

    DauntlessSB92 Addicted to Buick

    Another long overdue update. I've been trying to work some overtime to help offset how much I've spent on this car...

    I've installed a dual 12" SPAL fan setup, installed a 3.5" aluminum driveshaft with 1350 spicer u joints from PST and finally finished installing my trans temp and pressure gauges. I also found a port in the SP3 I never plugged:Dou: Finding that, I really wanted to start the engine again and see how much better it runs. Night and day difference. Who would have thought a large source of unmetered air would do that:pp. I did my first oil change, and at first I felt sick to my stomach. The drain plug had a gray oil film on it and the drained oil looked grayish with a slight film on top. Doing some research I found that a lot of this is due to the ARP moly lube and of course the rings. I've never built a motor myself before and I haven't changed the oil on a fresh motor before either. No chunks of metal, no large amounts of filings. I think I might be safe for now... Next oil change will probably be after 40 or so miles of driving, then I'll switch to a standard conventional oil instead of the break in oil I'm using now.

    I am quite impressed with the idle quality of this TA-270RH cam. Its a small cam but to the fine tuned ear of an SBB enthusiast it has a tiny bit of lump to it. I can't wait to see just how far it pulls past the 4700rpm peak of the stock cam. My limiter will probably stay around 5600rpm.

    I've started wiring the TCC lockup which will be fully controlled by the Holley EFI. I've learned that a 1981 Corvette with cruise control uses a stoplight switch with an NO and NC circuit. Perfect for wiring the TCC through. It works so well in fact, that the switch threads into the stock Skylark location and the Skylark connector clips right on. Not bad for a $10 Autozone part. Its definitely late into the fall now, but I'm still pushing to get a few hundred miles in before the snow hits...

    <iframe width="560" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/xJ-9ZechfzM" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>
     

Share This Page