Hello from So Cal

Discussion in 'Wet behind the ears??' started by SKN350GS, Sep 29, 2020.

  1. SKN350GS

    SKN350GS Active Member

    Hello all

    New to the forum and wanted to introduce myself. Recently became the proud owner of a 73 Gran Sport. It’s a 350 (not a Stage I) Currently working on getting the engine rebuilt then onto the upholstery. Car is all original and in need of some TLC but all intact with very little rust
     

    Attached Files:

    Skylark-72, MRP, Dano and 3 others like this.
  2. pbr400

    pbr400 68GS400

    Welcome from Georgia! Looks like a solid start.
    Patrick
     
  3. OHC JOE

    OHC JOE Mullet Mafia since 2020

    We're u at in so cal
    I'm in the IE
     
    Skylark-72 likes this.
  4. FLGS400

    FLGS400 Gold Level Contributor

    Welcome from Florida!
     
  5. hwprouty

    hwprouty Platinum Level Contributor

    Welcome from Washington State!
     
  6. no1oldsfan

    no1oldsfan Well-Known Member

    Super cool. Super cool car. 73's are growing on so many of us. Great looking car. Is that factory black or?
     
  7. SKN350GS

    SKN350GS Active Member

    Thanks everyone

    no1oldsfan: it’s original but faded black with white buckets. Has what seems to be an original 85k miles

    After shipping the motor to the machine shop for inspection, it looks like the bore, crank, and rods are already at limit spec with some additional machining needed. Goal is to get the car mobile as soon as possible so I Will have to try to source a SBB 350 soon!
     
    no1oldsfan likes this.
  8. gsfred

    gsfred Founders Club Member

    Welcome aboard from NY.
    Fred
     
  9. SKN350GS

    SKN350GS Active Member

    Orange County
     
    Skylark-72 and OHC JOE like this.
  10. no1oldsfan

    no1oldsfan Well-Known Member

    Cool car.
     
  11. Dalton69Skylark

    Dalton69Skylark Well-Known Member

    Welcome to the addiction. We gather here to support one another.
     
    Dano likes this.
  12. Michael_G

    Michael_G Living the Dream... Fast with Class...

    Awesome! ...and Welcome from Miami, FL :D
    -MIG
     
  13. Dragdoc

    Dragdoc Well-Known Member

    Welcome from Chicago ‘burbs! Great to see that being resurrected
     
  14. SKN350GS

    SKN350GS Active Member

    6920825D-4581-4C72-9416-938829100856.jpeg Was fortunate to track down a complete SBB 350 from a local fellow V8Buick member so my son and I got to work dropping it in and getting everything lined up with the trans

    Since I don’t have a lift and I am a bit paranoid about safety, had to get this tank high enough to get some long tube Doug’s headers in
    74585146-04A7-4074-AAD8-44CCBD6E0309.jpeg
     
  15. SKN350GS

    SKN350GS Active Member

    The previous owner had everything disassembled in boxes but not labeled so it took some time to sort through the wiring and misc fasteners. I have casually wrenched in cars since high school but I am very far from experienced so this felt like playing the imaginary board game “CLUE - Buick Edition”
     
    Dano and Dalton69Skylark like this.
  16. Steve73GS

    Steve73GS 73 GEE YES

    Welcome from NY 73 brotha!
     
  17. SKN350GS

    SKN350GS Active Member

    Thank you Steve73GS!

    The new-to-me motor had been sitting for the better part of a decade in an enclosed garage so I wanted to take it out of its slumber gradually. First I pulled and cataloged the plugs (5 looked unremarkable, 3 had more carbon) took a borescope to the cylinders (6 looked fine, 2 had some abnormal looking bore wear but no gashes, rust or deposits) and sprayed them with Kroil penetrant. After a few days/sprays I gave a few squirts of motor oil and MMO and let that sit for a week. finally I put a breaker bar to the crank and gradually rocked it forward a few degrees and there was no real resistance or roughness. Great so far!
     
  18. Steve73GS

    Steve73GS 73 GEE YES

    Good to see you were able to turn it. You're at the right place for any questions you may have. This forum is unmatched for folks who know their stuff.
     
  19. SKN350GS

    SKN350GS Active Member

    This forum is great. There are tons of places to look for swapping LS motors or adding boost to your mustang but keeping these Buick’s in top shape is not exactly like falling off a log so thank you everyone

    Now the latest wrinkle is around oil pump priming and pre-lubing the motor before firing it up. Following the Buick service manual and corroborating everything we have read on this forum, I proceeded to figure out what kind of oil pressure I had. I wanted to do this as a first step to establish a baseline before tearing too far into things or starting to throw parts at the motor haphazardly

    1. Marked and pulled the distributor
    2. Got a primer drill adapter tool from TA
    3. Removed the oil pump housing and pump gears for inspection
    4. Gears were intact but tooth crowns showed some scoring as did the thrust surface on the pump cover.
    5. Cleaned everything, reinstalled the gears and cover with the original gasket and turned the driveshaft by hand to verify no binding
    6. Disassembled, packed the pocket with Vaseline and reassembled
    7. Added 3 quarts to the crankcase, filled a fresh oil filter and installed
    8. Connected an external electric
    Oil pressure gauge to the sender on the front pass side of the block
    9. Ran the drill CW

    After an initial oomph (guessing this was the vaseline squeezing through, the resistance fell and at no point did the gauge move above 2-5psi. Womp womp...
     
  20. Max Damage

    Max Damage I'm working on it!

    Huh, I have never tested the oil pressure with the priming tool. That'a a good idea? How long would you say you ran it and how fast do we think it's turning? If the engine has been sitting and is bone dry it might take a minute to develop pressure?

    Also when you had the pump cover off, did you measure the gear clearance? Which gasket did you use to reassemble?

    Hope my thinking out loud here is ok.

    Oh, and welcome from Seattle, WA!
     

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