jamie starts engine project!aka..buick humor,free admission!

well,everything is lined up for motor mods.performer is on the way,scott brown cam on the way,used 455 motor is here,big port converted to stage 1heads are here,snow is gone!pulled motor apart to start in on it :TU: crap,we have a problem ou: the cylinders are...great!!!its a 75 7;9;1 block i was going to slap the top end on & go.BUT...with the walls in such good(looking)shape,i am REALLY tempted to get 10-1 pistons & new rings so i can use a bigass cam,which i was advised not to do with the stock pistons.my idea of the moment is to get 10-1 pistons, new rings,ball-hone the cylinders & go...FASTER!i honestly dont have the money for a do-it-right rebuild like balancing n stuff.nor do i have a competent machine shop close by.if i were to go pistons & rings the money would come out of my john o. q-jet fund,but i have a good running qjet i can use untill i get more$$$after all it a lot easyer to bolt on a carb after-the-fact.below are pics of the motor & pos(in progress)im putting it in.what should i do????

 

how old guys pull intakes!

of course then i had to get it off the hook,& walk around trying to figure out were to put it :error:

 

kinda oily,but thats a good thing.my shirt didnt think so ou:

 

nice & shiney,ridge is allmost non-existant!!

 

another hole

 

the car 69 GS california.

hey,i work on several alternators at once...surely i can handle several projects on the same car at once??? uzzled: actually its not as hectic as it looks,should go together fairly quick(i hope) o No:

 

the convert

also in the works ou: no wonder im driving the blazer

 

Jamie,

Looks like you have some fun projects!

 

Hi Jamie, it looks like your engine is in better shape than mine when I started. Amazing enough it cleaned up nicely at .38 over!

 

Ed... that block is... ugh! :laugh:

Jamie... what is that car in the last pic? A '67? My poor eyes can't tell o No:

 

Jaimie,if you are asking for opinions,here's mine.I would rering and replace the bearings and would try to increase the cr with gaskets.I would run the cam listed above the one that you have in mind then get the good Q Jet built for whatever combo I was to end up with.All that work can be performed at home,then I would declare the start of the full blown 455 rebuild fund and go and trash on that car. :3gears: The picture with the manifold rigged to the hoist is cool, it should be used as an aluminum manifold marketing tool.The only thing missing in the picture is a couple of long necks (one empty and one 3/4 empty),next to the chair on what appears to be a nice flat prop :beer .

 

new outlook

well after sleeping on it,i have decided to leave the bottom end alone & just bolt the top end stuff on.it wont be the fastest (around here it just might).i just cant warm up to that 68-69 body style for some reason p too bad theres not much rust on it,quarter lips & 1 patch under the back seat about 1-1/2 inches.the doors close with no effort,just like a new car.it will be a nice car when i am done with it,just not a keeper.basically a practice in body/paint before i go after the 65 in the other picture(chryco63).i want another 65 after i sell the blue(soon to be bittersweet/white top/white interior)gs.then i will do a 455 the right way,aluminum heads,big cubes,balanced etc.(get ready rick) :TU:hector, back in my drinking days the garage would have more empty bottles than parts :beer but i wouldnt get anything done either :laugh: rick,its all your fault!!! you brought it over to me :rant: for those who dont know i traded a 77 suburban i couldnt sell(i was down to $2500) for it,sight unseen(pics only)& torn apart.it did come w/new body bushings,rebuilt t-400,new shocks & springs,rebuilt front end.defanantly more project than i wanted/expected!!popped the ugly blue valve covers on the 400 it came with & found...nice flourecent green coolant in the rocker area :rant: :error: the motor was $700(moleary)-performer $200-cam-$160-heads $1000(bob gibbs)-walker 3' muffs$100(thanks jhonnyangel)m/t headers $500(thanks to kerry s)lifters,gaskets small stuff $300.still havent got the exaust but probably another $4-500(thinkin gsca 3").it should sound pretty scary :Brow: by the time i am done it will have 6k & countless hours in it,& ill probably end up selling it for a lot less...depending on my body/paint skills uzzled:

 

jamie has mild anurisum,nobody notices difference!

well,yesterday was 95 degrees.sitting in the stripped out interior sanding away was like a fishbowl under a heat lamp :bglasses: so last night when it was cooler i set my portable garage up from its last snow-load collapse so i could work in the shade :Brow: so i get up,become a coffee acheiver,go out to move the car into my shady work area.this is what i find :ball: we had some thunder storms roll through last evening,didnt really care that much.but i guess we also got some wind i wasnt aware of :rant:
i sanded some more untill it was too hot,went back to sripping the motor down.its done EXCEPT for 1 frikin timing cover/waterpump bolt that just wont give ou: its the lower left 1/2 blind hole one,no way to heat it up :rant: painted/cleaned/detailed some stuff.prepped door panels.ill play with the bolt tomorrow,unless the bolt fairys do their magic overnight.WHY DONT PEOPLE USE ANTI-SEIZE??

 

more before engine shots

 

back & forth between projects ou:

 

looks good`

I am glad that the engine was in such good shape...i figured such since it did not even puff when we fired it up before pulling it out.

I sure love seeing these big blocks go to good homes and get used!!!!

I have another 73 XF engine if you are interested. Same place, same price.

See ya. Oh yeah, I will not be at that job after June 2nd, but, I should see you at the June 10 show in Pyuallup...it is my birthday that day!

 

jamie has body parts hanging in garage!!! hostel anyone?

well trying to do as much as possible in time allowed,sanded inner fenders and underside of hood last week.absolutly love those scuff pads.painted them with zero-rust(i used a brush,NEVER AGAIN)primered them today with my new sharpe paint gun :TU: wow,painting is fun(yes i wore a mask).only took a few minuites to get the pattern down,a few more for the tecnique of moving with the contours of the panels.painted patterns on 2 of the 3 garage doors(inside) :laugh: an hour or so later i was out of stuff to paint :ball: then the cat walked by.... uzzled: nawww,i let him go.should able to paint fenders & hood with satin black tomorrow & hit the inside of the car,as long as the rain stays away.still thinking about a white dash though......

 

Thanks for the laugh Jamie. :laugh: :laugh: I really, really, really, really needed that with all the crap going on in my life right about now.

 

well i thought i had it straight till i primered it :error:

 

so i found something else that didnt need body work to play with :laugh: