Doc, First of all, let me say I respect guys like yourself that have "been there and done it". I have read some of your posts and found a lot of info. I'll have to go back through messages and read Sean's reply again, as I recall, recommended 4bbl, dual exhaust. and possibly a cam/lifter set, and porting heads. I did read your list of tricks. The manifold mod scares me a lot though. Way beyond my expertise, and I can't just go pick up another one if I mess up. I like the idea of keeping the factory exhaust manifolds, less head aches, and I am an original style type of guy. Hoping to be able to get nice performance out of my car and look under the hood like a regular Skylark. Sort of the sleeper effect. Not planning on a bunch of racing, but want to hold my own. Then you wouldn't really recommend the 4gc carb from '64 with water choke? Walt WkillGS recommended a carter also. Thanks for taking time to give a newbie some good solid advice. I will probably pm you soon. Michael
Forgot to ask,how do I know which tranny I actually have. I had heard 64 had a problem with weak transmissions that was worked out in 65. Yes-No? Michael
Never had a problem with mine at all.... but if you put a lower gear in the diff, that lowers the strain on the tranny....the trans is a switch pitch... one of the best ideas that Buick ever had.... a lot of guys think, and I was one of them that , because it is a two speed, that it is a power glide,,, it is not,,, not,,,, I was corrected by a board member and did research the matter and i also checked with a good transmission man and found out that indeed the st 300 is its own trans and stronger than a power glide.... plus having switch pitch.... on the outside it looks similar to the glide, but inside , it is definitly different.... Now, to the carb,,,, pard, you can do more with a carter/ ebrock and even more with a holley,,,, but, with the carter you can keep the ''stock look'',,,,, the rochester is on the small side , flow wise, and both the carter and the holley can be had in bigger sizes.... you might have to modify the linkage and the air cleaner, but if you are carefull and plan, you can make the system look entirely stock... and perform better....
Never had a problem with mine at all.... but if you put a lower gear in the diff, that lowers the strain on the tranny....the trans is a switch pitch... one of the best ideas that Buick ever had.... a lot of guys think, and I was one of them that , because it is a two speed, that it is a power glide,,, it is not,,, not,,,, I was corrected by a board member and did research the matter and i also checked with a good transmission man and found out that indeed the st 300 is its own trans and stronger than a power glide.... plus having switch pitch.... on the outside it looks similar to the glide, but inside , it is definitly different.... Now, to the carb,,,, pard, you can do more with a carter/ ebrock and even more with a holley,,,, but, with the carter you can keep the ''stock look'',,,,, the rochester is on the small side , flow wise, and both the carter and the holley can be had in bigger sizes.... you might have to modify the linkage and the air cleaner, but if you are carefull and plan, you can make the system look entirely stock... and perform better....
Doc, Wow the info keeps coming. Thanks. I had read and seen the st300 listing on a lot of Buick stuff, but just thought it was Buick's name for GM's power glide. Also seen stuff about a kickdown, but thought that was only on 350 or 400 turbo. I think I recall seeing a device with carb linkage with some wiring on my car, is that the kickdown?Also had heard some about switch pitch, have no idea on that one. All GM I've had were 350 or 400. Is there a marking on the trans? Can you still get gears for original 10 bolt? How about posi? I saw the 4gc was a 500cfm. Is that still too small with stock spec 9to1 and cam? Not ignoring your advice, just trying to learn and understand reasoning behind what I am learning. More education should help in making decisions. Hate to do something, spend a bunch of money doing it, then be unhappy, and have to live with it. Thanks for the help. Michael
here is some very basic information on the SuperTurbine-300 from wikipedia http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Super_Turbine_300 They word it very well for non-gear heads so i found it a great start to learning about the trans in my Skylark. One of the neatest ideas for a trans. If you're feeling really adventerous there is a great write up here on the board on a tear down of the ST-300. Wow, Doc I'd also like to thank you for those tips!:TU:
I appreciate that,,,, Mike, the carter carbs will start at around 600 cfm.... ditto the holleys,,,, the ebrock/carter clones go all the way up to 800 cfm.... and the holleys too... infact I have a holley 1050 cfm carb on my 65 GS.... but it is a 410 cu. in. nailhead....built to super cat specs.... you need about 600 to 700 cfm... for a driver... and ,,,, yes the electric switch at the drivers side of your carb is the trans kick down switch,,, it does 2 things,,, it kicks in passing gear and the ''switch pitch'' feature inside the tork converter.... changing it from low pitch to high pitch.... this gives a lot more power to the ground... like having 3.73 diff gears.... now,,, if you have a switch pitch trans, whether st 300 or the sp 400 AND a good , say 3.55 posi diff... then he would have a real bear on the street.....or strip.... other things being in good shape.....
More thank you's Doc. Is it quite involved changing the choke style? I heard you have to be careful because of the aluminum intake with corrosion issues. I found your thread on DDP mod. Looks a little less intimidating, but is that one on a cast iron manifold? I know you had mentioned the water jackets on the aluminum one to be careful with. Is that mod mostly for racing, or a good all around tip? I see you mention the posi and gears a lot. Does that require rear end swap or gears and posi parts in original rear? Thanks, Michael
Mike, the diff gears are a small problem... seems Buick did not really accomodate us rodders much at all.... but back in the day... I swapped a complete gto diff that I lucked up on for $100 that had a posi and 4.11 gears already in it... was a bolt in swap.... you need to go to the got gears thread and inquire ... I am sure there will be someone who can help... but just off the top of my head i would bet that a chevelle diff can be made to work.... or gto.... like I did.... but you can spend some bucks here....do your home work and deal sharp..... You can do the ddp mod on the 300 aluminum manifold but you have to be very, very carefull.... with how wide you take it out.... pm me your telephone number and I will call you and discuss it with you.... you need to port match that manifold to the heads too... both things will give you a performance boost... also do the dist. advance kit trick... lot of power there for cheap.... if you do the cold air pkg, the dist. trick,,, the 4 barrel intake swap,,,and a bigger carb... you will pick up 40 hp on the cheap..... and the engine will be 100% reliable.... the ddp mod does not cut gas mileage at all... I initially did the original one on my 425 riv. as a experiment... did not change anything at all except doing the ddp mod.... same carb, same tune up,,, same air cleaner, absolutely nothing else changed except the mod.... big difference,,,, more power thru the entire power band.... I was amazed.... that 4800 lb car really moved... check with Rhett,, [bigpig455] he did it and picked up .2 second on the strip.... clocked.... that converts into many car lengths ahead of the competition... so far every one who did it had the same results... basicly.... I thought that one up at 230 am one night when I had woke up....:laugh:
Mike, the diff gears are a small problem... seems Buick did not really accomodate us rodders much at all.... but back in the day... I swapped a complete gto diff that I lucked up on for $100 that had a posi and 4.11 gears already in it... was a bolt in swap.... you need to go to the got gears thread and inquire ... I am sure there will be someone who can help... but just off the top of my head i would bet that a chevelle diff can be made to work.... or gto.... like I did.... but you can spend some bucks here....do your home work and deal sharp..... You can do the ddp mod on the 300 aluminum manifold but you have to be very, very carefull.... with how wide you take it out.... pm me your telephone number and I will call you and discuss it with you.... you need to port match that manifold to the heads too... both things will give you a performance boost... also do the dist. advance kit trick... lot of power there for cheap.... if you do the cold air pkg, the dist. trick,,, the 4 barrel intake swap,,,and a bigger carb... you will pick up 40 hp on the cheap..... and the engine will be 100% reliable.... the ddp mod does not cut gas mileage at all... I initially did the original one on my 425 riv. as a experiment... did not change anything at all except doing the ddp mod.... same carb, same tune up,,, same air cleaner, absolutely nothing else changed except the mod.... big difference,,,, more power thru the entire power band.... I was amazed.... that 4800 lb car really moved... check with Rhett,, [bigpig455] he did it and picked up .2 second on the strip.... clocked.... that converts into many car lengths ahead of the competition... so far every one who did it had the same results... basicly.... I thought that one up at 230 am one night when I had woke up....:laugh:
Hey, I wake up in the early morning too, with solutions to building problems. Funny how that works, eh? Anyway, thanks for the tips. One guy told me(not from the board) I would have to get a rear from 70to72 Skylark and cut and weld bracketry from my 64 10 bolt. Not into that heavy of fabbing etc. Kind of extreme. I plan on trying out a bunch of your tips, will get ahold of you on the DDP. Was 425 Riv a higher comp. engine? Thanks again, Michael
I hate to tell you but your friend is 1000% WRONG any 64-72 GM Abody diff will bolt in 68-72 is 1" wider but I have swapped any number of these rear ends in so dont sweat it at all. the U joint might be different if you use cirten styles but not a big deal Ken
I hate to tell you but your friend is 1000% WRONG any 64-72 GM Abody diff will bolt in 68-72 is 1" wider but I have swapped any number of these rear ends in so dont sweat it at all. the U joint might be different if you use cirten styles but not a big deal Ken
Ken (sportwagon400) is 100% ...............68-72 rear ends just bolt right in. I have a 71 cutlass 10 bolt rear in my 64 with a 3:90 gear and a mini spool. The same 15 x 7 in wheels fit right under the wheel wells but they were closer due to the sightly wider dimension. Easy swap no brainer.
http://www.v8buick.com/showthread.p...n-iron-Block&p=1792986&highlight=#post1792986 Take a look at this thread for the water passages Doc mentions...
THANKS Ken, That is why I am here talking to you REAL Buick guys!! After I thought about it a while, I remember where this info had came from. I was looking at some parts on e bay and sent an inquiry. They told me about their Buick rodding shop, then told me I would need to put a 4bbl(OK) but trans would have to go,need 200r4, rear needs posi, have to do swap with 70to72 rear requiring all the fab work I talked about earlier. That got me a little concerned about what I could be getting myself into. No wonder some of the posts refer to evilbay:grin: I appreciate somebody that knows, telling me straight up what is correct:TU: Michael
Brian G., Thanks for the reinforcement on Ken's reply. I have noticed your postings before on other threads. Appreciate you taking time for a newcomer. My 66 GTO buddie told me BOP rears all interchange, guess I should have listened better. Michael
Big Matt, Thanks for this Big chunk of info. Makes DDP mod start to look intimidating again. Wow:shock: Michael
Awesome info...I am a new owner of a 300/2 66 skylark myself and I love learning about what you guys already know through experience. Another round for everyone, on me! :beers2:
