On the fence - keep the '59 LeSabre original or wait for $$ and go hog wild?

Yeah, last I heard the speed limit in most states is still 60, and that 364 in stock guise will more than easily get up to that.

 

Where are the other tricks? I see the dual plane mod and I can do that easily. The other thing I was going to do is port match the heads. I was going to look into the possibility of a very mild cam, do an electronic ignition conversion on the distributor, adjustable pushrods, better valve springs. Maybe even try a carb spacer too as that made a nice difference on my stock BBB manifold. I'll send in o2 bungs on each side so I can use my wideband to help dial it in.

 

well even if you drive 80 mph its not like hp is going make that difference.

 

My ''list of cheap tricks'' is in the wrenchin secrets thread.... because those things will work on cars/engines other than nailheads....:Brow:

 

Ahhh yes. Lots of goodies in there. I'll do port matching, intake mod, electronic ignition conversion, distributor recurve, bigger carb, tune AFR with a wideband o2, electric fan...

One thing that I do and it makes a huge difference is this:

I don't guesstimate on adjustable pushrods. I did this on my 430 and my GN and the difference was night and day.
Install adjustable pushrods and set it all to zero lash and tighten.
Take the rockers out.
Take each rod out one at a time, measure with digital calipers, extend and tighten until desired preload length is reached and reinstall. Yes, that is anal retentive, but I swear making sure your preload is dead nuts on makes a very noticeable difference.

 

5 to 10 hp seems like alot

 

Buick says that a cold air pkg alone will increase the hp by 8%.... on a 300 horse engine that is 24..... plus my
doc mod... will be some more... plus recurving the dist... ect....
The factories only take a engine so far.... then you have to refine it some more to get all the potential out of it... i think that he could come up with 345 or so ,,, maybe more.... by the time you add port matching, low restrection exhaust system ..ect...:Brow: ect...ect...ect...:Brow:

 

The 401 and dynaflow combination in my 63 Riv was very assertive. It was even more apparent after an older shop rebuilt the dynaflow. You could install a 425 or 401 with a pre 64 crank and have a car that would definitely get out of its own way. It would even smoke the tires if desired. Very little would be needed for the drop in swap, and why not add another 65 cubes?

Happy Thanksgiving - Cheryl

 

and,,, yep,,, what Cheryl says.....:Brow::laugh:

 

If I'm going to bother swapping motors I will also swap out the rest. If I found a mid 60's Rivi drivetrain would work.