That's what my Grandpa told me(He is giving me a lending hand), and he told me that since the hose was snapped/or torn at the bottom, that's why my car would not idle down automatically(automatic choke) like it was supposed to. So maybe he is correct, and that's the reason I asked here was to purposely get some more feedback to help me out, as I can't remember half the things I do. ou: And I am leaving the tranny in, only thing im doing is taking the v6 out and putting the v8 in! :TU: Thanks! :Comp:
Yeah, you'll be fine doing the motor only, Its' no problem. Is there a really strong rafter or something you could pull the motor from? Then you'd just need a chain block. Hopefully there is someone around you can help ya.
Yeah, the garage I am working in has a setup for the chain hoist w/ the strong rafters, but I have a v8 board member and great friend of mine to help me swap both motors w/ a cherry picker so it should be pretty easy! :TU:
I'm confident if someone like me can do it alone then you'll have very little trouble doing it with a friend. :TU: I just found it easier to slide the tranny and motor in at the same time. Then you only have to worry about lining up the motor on the 2 engine mounts and one tranny mount, not lining it up with the engine mounts and getting six tranny bolts started. Best of luck to ya.
My advice when dropping in the motor with the trans in the car: 1. Make sure the trans is supported by a jack so you can adjust the hieght of it. This will help allot. Use a piece of wood to distribute the pessure on the trans pan. With the old motor out, raise the trans up with the jack till it just about hits the trans tunnel (this will help later). 2. Make sure that all the accesories and hoses are tied back out of the way of the motor 3. Make sure you have a few lights you can shine in varoius positions so you can see how things are going as you lower the motor in. 4. Lower the motor down part way so you can get the manifolds to clear the firewall. 5. Now that the manifolds are under the firewall you can push the motor back into the trans and continue to lower the motor. Slowly, thats the key. 6. Focus on trying to line up the male trans studs with the female holes in the block. The trans is higher than it sits normaly so you will be able to line up the trans and motor without the motor mounts getting in the way. It may take some adjusting of the chain position on the top of the motor to get it right. Once you get the trans studs in the block then thread in the top two trans bell-housing bolts part way. 7. Now slowly lower the motor and the trans at the same time, till the motor mounts drop into the frame pads and slide the bolts through the mounts and tighten the nut from the other side. 8. Now add all the bell-housing bolts and tighten them up. Remove the jack from the trans. 9. Next are the torque converter bolts. 10. Hook up the accesories, carb, add fluids, put in the starter, hook up the battery, and enjoy! That wasn't so bad, was it?
Thanks for the steps, Sean! Those are very helpful! :TU: Update:Yesterday while I was in the garage, I looked at my motor and forgot that while I was helping take out the v8 that is going into my car, there is a copper(maybe bronze? It's hard to tell since it is kind of dirty)-looking pipe that got broken off and part of it is stuck in the intake. It was a real flimbsy(sp?) pipe and didn't take too much to break it! So I went to a Farm & Home store the other night and picked up an "Easy-Out", which is made to remove broken pipes/wires/and etc, and that's one thing I must do is remove that pipe, but I am almost scared to because if I get one tiny little shaving to go down the intake and into the block, it could cost me a motor... I think if I can take some pliers and gently/and slowly work the "easy-out" down the pipe and then try to slowly work it out. If anyone has experienced something such as this before, please give me some advice, I would be greatly thankful for it! :TU: Thanks :Comp:
Ok I think I know what your talking about. Its about a 1/4 inch hole and its threaded for this thing to go in. The thing that goes in there is shaped like a nut so you can remove it. It runs up a few inches from the intake and then travels down the transmission? o No: I think that is a vacuum line to the trans. I know what your talking about but not sure what its called.
Take a some duct tape and cover the tube, that way there will be no shavings to fall into the intake. Use vice grips to pull out the tube, it will come out no problem. Find the same tube thats still on your car and goes to the trans. Follow it down to the trans and unplug it from the trans, so you can pull it back out of the way son you don't hit it as you drop the motor back in. Don't bend this tube or your trans may not shift properly, and make sure you plug it back in after you get the other motor in.
Update:Today, I got the "pipe" out. Took the easy-out, gently and easily hammered the easy out in(not hard enough and just careful enough not to get any shavings in the intake ) and turned it a little bit and turned it just maybe 4 or 5 times and it came right out! Funny thing is, it's not even a pipe!! It looked like a pipe looking down at the intake, but it's threaded like a screw! Anyway, just thought I would let you know! :Comp:
Another Update: I ran into sort of, what I call, a "snag", because I totally forgot about one of the most important part about the motors, and that is that my ignition system is set up for an HEI(High Energy Ignition) distributor and on the 350 is a points distributor, so that is the "snag". So today, I went out to a local junkyard and they claimed they had an HEI distributor off of a '76 buick 350. They sold it to me for 40 bucks(that's a lot for a junkyard dist., I know, but hey, it's better than paying 130 bucks for a new one at autozone!) and said that it is a good one, so I am keeping my fingers crossed that it has no cracks in it that I cannot see. Now that bad part is that I have to mess w/ timing, and I know a few things that I would need for it, but I myself, have never set the timing before and don't think I want to attempt it! :eek2:
The cap looks excellent(that doesn't mean too much, but I think I will take some chances w/ it first) and the rotor looks good too, but I got a new one. I have boughten quite a few items from the junkyard, and all were pretty cheap and good quality, and I do trust them, but I do have a question....Will an HEI distributor from a chevy or olds 350(they all have the same firing order/18436572) still work on a buick or do I have to "specifically" have a buick 350 HEI in order for it to work on my car?????????? The junkyard claims it is a HEI dist. off of a 1976(none-the-less!!!) buick 350, so if it is, it should work. Reason I asked the question above^ , is that I want to make sure that if for some reason they didn't get it off a buick 350, it will still work.(at least if it doesn't, they do offer refunds! p )
I believe you can use the V-6 distributor BODY as well, if you change to a 350 gear and a V-8 Pick-up. So the V-8 and V-6 HEI distributors will have the same dimensions. If your not sure you got a Buick 350 distributor, just compare it to you V-6 one. It'll match. Make sure the oil pump drives are the same. At a glance the Pontiac (I think o No: ) looks almost the same, but has a different oil pump drive.
i might be wrong here but im pretty sure buick specific is buick specific.the 455 and 350 buick distributors are the same except the gear, as the bops and chevy they are way off !!the chevy shaft is way longer and not to mention they all go in the back.
Thanks for all of the info everyone!!! The 350 buick(I hope) HEI that the junkyard sold me is different in color than my HEI on the V6, which I hope that doesn't mean nothing, but the V6 buick HEI is silver/or gray and the V8 one is black. I am going to try my best to assume that the distributor is indeed for a buick 350, but if I find out it isn't, then instead of swapping gears, couldn't I just swap the V8 cap onto the V6 HEI distributor and use it instead of the V8 HEI? Thanks :Comp:
You could if as Dan said you change the pickup in the distributor to the V8 part. The V6 only has six tangs? (looks like a point) around the outside of the pickup, the V8 pickup has eight. You will probably have to recurve your HEI distributor also if you are using it in a non egr engine as the HEI usually has a slower mechanical advance compared to the original points unit and much quicker vacuum advance. Get a Crane HEI recurve kit. It comes with three different sets of advance springs and a adjustable vacuum advance canister. A dial back timing light will assist you greatly to set up your HEI distributor. Check out this thread as well: http://www.v8buick.com/showthread.php?t=63475 Best of luck, Greg
The engine is in and all the wiring done. All that's left to do is install the exhaust, carb., re-route the fuel lines to the fuel pump, install heater and vacuum hoses, add all the fluids and she's ready to flash :TU: . I hope to get a bunch of this done tomorrow. Greg
