Mocking up accs./plug wires I figured that some of the brackets would be out of alingment due to the decking of the block,only one seems to need some work and prob. a small spacer :TU: .I was trying to figure out the routing of the plug wires and decided on some BBC looms that I'll have to modify slightly in order to work the way that I'm hoping for.Later.
I'm really impressed with the details like I said before! That is going to compliment the clean car. Can't wait to see it in the car!
Thanks for the compliments.Alan I know who to call when I start on my '72 C-20 :beer . I'm calling the plug wires done,it took me a while like everything else.Here's a couple more pics,I painted the carb black because the finish on it was wasted to the point that it was ugly(long story) so I painted it black and polished the metering block and pump housing,I have the feeling that I'll end up with a double pumper anyway and the low profile filter base will keep it concealed.I blocked one hole on the valve cover to try to emulate a nailhead cover.I know that it doesn't look anything like it ,but the lone centered breather of the nailhead has always looked as the cleanest and coolest valve cover in my book.That's what I was thinking about when I went that route with this one :TU: .
Oh come on! You only painted that carb black bcuz you saw my carb was black and thought.. oh man thats bad ass! im gonna paint mine black to!! lol!
:TU: Actualy,the carb came on a truck that I bought from a coworker after he rolled it on a corn field ou: .He had just spent about $1500 on new parts ,including the carb,within the previous six months before the accident.Once the truck rolled over there was a small fire under the hood and altough the carb didn't get damaged by the fire,the shiny finish got stained and would not clean up no matter how hard I tried.I did run the carb on another engine before I cleaned/painted and rebuilt it for the Buick :TU: .I added a quick change secondary spring kit and the clear sight plugs to aid on tuning and set up.I know,lame but true :laugh: .
Engine on stand Slowly I'm getting there.I'm trying to get the engine set on the stand and I'm hoping to give it a try by next weekend.The universal Chevy/BOP bellhousing didn't want to cooperate so out came the reciprocating saw to take care of the problem.I also found out that the base of my test stand is too wide and I could not get the engine hoist close enough to drop the engine in place.Good thing that my lawn mower has a three point hitch :Brow: ,that took care of that.I have yet to wire the stand and make the harness for the engine but at least it's on paper now and it should go ok.I'll be able to use the actual Y pipe that I'm using in the car but I'll need to stop by the muffler shop and have a flanged extension made to bolt a muffler to it.The alt. and starter are Jamie's parts and I feel that they compliment my visual theme nicely. I'm getting stoked about firing this one but panic is also looming since everything in the engine is new or rebuilt and the test stand itself has never been tried.Good or bad I'll update here with the outcome.
Thanks guys.I built the stand a few years back using a sbc block for mock up but made it adjustable to accept just about anything than I or any of my friends decided to build.I started on the wiring last night and that's coming along fine.I'm having a problem hooking up my throttle cable since I want to use a lever that I made(looks like a small Hurst shifter with the spring loaded gate),but I can't get it to work as I want it to :af: .I'm going to try one more time to make it work and if not succesful I'll throttle it by hand if I have to and figure it out later.I'll post more pictures by Wednesday.Later.
Nice job on the motor and the stand! I bet you can't wait to hear your motor running. These are fun motors and yours is MINT!
Fire In The Hole!!!!! The deed is done,fired it up today(Sat) and ran it for at least 20 minutes for break in.I had a small issue with my wiring,no smoke :grin: ,but it took about 20 mins. to figure it out.A hose came loose at the water return and scared the hell out of my buddy and myself,the engine wasn't running then but it was "exciting".I'm a little concerned with the oil pressure,it was hovering around 20psi at the end of the session but that may be in part because of the lube cocktail that I used for start up.I'll change the oil and filter next before I'll try it again for tune up.It's running rich and probably with too much initial timing now so a tune up is next.I was able to use my throttle lever by rigging,if you know what I mean,two cables together.The cooling system that I used on the stand worked excellent,other than the loose clamp,it kept the temps at about 160-165 degs. the whole time.This thing roared once it got the fuel and with that noise about two tons were lifted from my back,it was a good day,it may grenade tomorrow but I had a good day today :TU: .I even wore my W.O.T official member t-shirt to try to conjure some of that Buick mojo from fellow members and I believe that it worked :beer .Here's a few pictures of the engine after all was said and done and even one of my ugly self that the wife took.
Alot of good info in this thread, thanks for all the updates. It's good to see another 350 will son hit the streets! Thanks for updates! :TU:
I soooooooooooo can't wait to see your car running!!!!!! :3gears: I agree with Mike, lotsa great info here :TU:
I ran the engine some more today and brought it down to about a 800 rpm idle.I started playing with the basic timing and a/f adjustments but it still running rich.I adjusted the floats but found out that once I shut the engine the fuel level in the bowls kept rising,I'm running a Mr.Gasket chrome pump,I think that I may need a regulator.I set my initial timing at 10* btdc but the cap's clamping stud is hitting the manifold,I will need to add clearance to it.The oil pressure is dropping at idle to dangerous 8-10 psi levels,I'm going to remove and recheck my end play on the gears.I had set that to .003" using a last word indicator with the booster plate and new gears.I'm also wondering if the fuel is finding its way into the oil after the engine is turned off and thining it.I can't wait to put it back in the car but I'm sure glad that I can keep it on the stand until I'm satisfyed with the way is running,I'll be taking a little brake from it for a few days since OT is back at work ou: .Any thoughts?
I managed to remove the pump plate and recheck the end play,it looks good but I went ahead and ordered the TA shim pack and will go throug it again.I also ordered adjustables pushrods to replace the 5 that are on the higher end of the scale as far as preload.I saved both oil filters that I've used thus far so I can take them to work and open them up to see what's in them.I know I have fuel in the oil and I'm hoping that's the problem but I'm prepared to do a tear down if needed to get this thing right.I saw no evidence of bearing material in the oil by just looking at it,I placed some white towels as I drained it and the oil looks normal in color.I'm using the same sending unit that was installed in the engine while in the car and I have an extra one that came with the gauge that I'm using on the stand,I'll replace the one with the other and will attach a mechanical gauge in line as well to try to double check the gauge accuracy.I will also install a gauge to monitor the fuel pressure and a regulator in case that the press. is too high,I had the carb apart and everything looks good but I still got the same results.I'm waiting on a fuel line so I can mount the dbl. pumper and see if there's any difference.I'm trying to eliminate as many possible causes as I can think of for my low oil press. readings externally before I decide to look inside.This is not exactly how I expected things to go but it is where I'm at right now.The silver lining to all this,in my mind anyway,is that the engine is on the stand and not in the car and that was the purpose for building the stand in the first place.I will not install the engine in the car until I'm 100% satisfied with the result.Now,if I was building a sbc to put in this car you guys out there will be on me like stink on you know what :laugh:,so go ahead and give me your thoughts and what to look for or any experiences that you may had with similar issues(fuel dumping,oil press,etc.).Would you troubleshoot this using the same aproach that I'm taking,how would you go about it?
Hector, 8-10psi hot idle is very normal for a sbb. Quit worrying! You don't need more than that at idle. How is the pressure above idle? IF you have at least 10 psi per 1000 rpm you are fine. More than that and you can have problems with the cam gear. I'd say if your fuel level rises you either have too much pressure, I think 5-8 is about right, or a leaky needle and seat. Cool stand :beer
The original bearings in my 100,000 mile Buick 350 look great and it has 10 psi on at idle (bone stock) and had no problems. It has 25 psi at 2500 and 45 psi at 4000 where the stock cam runs out of steam. lol!
