After lurking for a good while and asking a few questions I decided to get going on my '79 Limited project.I thought about posting this on the Boatload forum but being that right now I'm focusing on the engine I'll start here and maybe move there once I start doing more to the car itself.For feedback I'll tell you that I'm a Chevy nut first and foremost and this is my only Buick altough I'm keeping the Buick for the long haul :TU: .I owned a '78 Electra some 16-18 years ago and I really liked that car,it had 403 Olds power.I was careful this time around to find a 2dr.,Buick powered with low miles for a keeper. I found and purchased the exact car that was in my head for a long time,now I'm trying to make it what I allways thought that I'll do to it if I had it.
After reading a lot on these forums and others I understand now why people remind others that the Buick engine is not like a chevy,they don't seem to react the same to certain mods and both have their pros and cons.It has been a refreshing challenge to adjust my way of thinking to a different power plant.I've built some 18 very streetable chevy engines that thanks to a whole lot of wood knocking are all still going strong.This will be my first hop up of a non Chevy engine and I'm ripe for it.
It has original belts,water pump,alt.,etc.The car had the original tires when I bought it :Brow: .Once I got it I changed the plugs,carb,wheels/tires,shocks,all brakes,m/c,added a dual exhaust,sway bars front and back and a tranny shift kit with deep sump pan.
I'm installing the better seals front and back,steel shim head gaskets,different heads with 3 angle valve job,bowl clean up and .020" shaved with Comp springs.A T/A C-110 cam and lifters,oil system upgrades and a Poston intake.The engine will sport Buick red color,the way I belive it should have been. :bglasses: Later,Hector.
Hector: Nice car - especially because so much of it was all original. Love those big Buicks, keep us posted! Paul
Wow, goodluck on your project. I like it a lot. Get rid of those fram oil filters they are BAD. Keep up the great work!!
whats so bad about fram oil filters? we use them on my dads 98 f250 5.4 and never had any troubles with them. 240,000 trouble free/ break down free miles. And thats hard to say when u own a ford! lol most break down way b4.
If you cut one open you see how crappy they are. They are cheeply made and I've had lifter problems when using them that disapeared when using a better filter. This is just my opinion but if you do a search there have been many people with problems related to these filters. I like your car, it is really slick, I don't meen to crash your thread.
Sean,everything's cool,I've heard about Fram filters too.I've been using AC Delcos for the last couple of years but I've never had any trouble with either.Today I tried to take advantage of some above normal temps. and cleaned the engine and the heads that I'll be using on this project.Like I said elsewhere before,they have been shaved .020",the bowls have been cleaned up and a three angle valve job was performed along with new seals and some Comp Cams springs installed.I went ahead and sprayed the heads with the DH 1608.
I really like the way that this paint goes on and the finished product altought I'm afraid that the paint may not stick as good as I may hope for.I had quite a few fish eyes but at least they were all in places that won't get seen once the engine is back in the car.Now I've got to get busy with the short block so it may be a while for picture updates.I do have a TA,Poston and the factory intakes and I'm thinking on doing a physical comparison on them and may document that for anyone who cares.H
Good to see someone else is taking an intrest in the buick 350. I am having one built also hopefully it will have the desired hp and streetability I am hoping for. :TU:
What a good looking car. See's a nice one. Reamember to remove all the paint from the exhaust and intake sides before reassembly. If you paint the back of the block remove paint were the trans bolts. A paint run can brake the trans case. Just take sand paper to it and rub till all paint is gone. Oh ya do the same if you paint the trans. Dan
Yep,and chasing all the threads,cleaning all chamfers with a c'sink and making sure everything's clean.Not the most anticipated part of the project but one of the most important.It will be a while. Hector
Sinister yet classy I've always thought these square buicks had some classy yet sinister lines. Lower the suspension a touch, lower the roof just a bit and black out some of the chrome. Man I love playing with digital images.
nice car....almost dont see em anymore...(a hint that they will hold value if low mileage or in mint condition) reminds me of a 2 dr Olds holiday(Delta 88 )that I once owned ...with buckets and console very sharp car.....
Thanks for the replies,I decided to start this thread for my own encouragement after reading what some of you have done or are doing to your own cars.It will take a couple months, hopefuly or until is done.There's some great knowledge here and I'm planning on taking advantage of that :grin: .I'm a registered member and supporter of a few other sites that I will recommend to anyone:Steve's Nova Site(the best nova site,bar none),Inliners.org,ACES Chevelle Board,Chevy Talk,67-72 Chevy Truck Forums.Sooner rather than later this board will be on that short list,you have a good place here.With that said,I removed the intake from my engine and I have to say that I was dissapointed to see the amount of casting flash on the cam area of the valley,I'm not planning on taking apart the bottom end other than to change my front and rear seals,it seems scary to leave all that casting flash there.I haven't pulled the heads yet because I want to record the preload on the lifters as stock for a reference for when the time comes to install the cam and the shaved heads with shim gaskets.Hopefully I won't need exotic pushrods and I can allways run the stock gasket if it's needed.That's the plan anyway,we'll see.HF
