Many months ago someone had ask for some pictures of a priority oiling set up for the 455. I finally had the opportunity and took the time to take a picture of 2 examples. One, the simple one, works with a manifold that doesn't stick down into the valley and the other works with the KB Wildcat. Both set ups use an external oil pump. I don't visit V8Buick very often so if this has already been reviewed and gone over then ignore this. If not then here are the basics. A long drill is used from the main saddle to drill through the oil galley/gallery into the valley. Tubes are pressed/epoxied into place and then connected to an oil manifold mounted to the front block bulkhead. You can see in the picture that a line goes through the rear bulkhead and then connects to the rear main line. The front main is fed by the original passage from the oil pressure sensor hole. Restrictors are placed between the front and rear main feed lines and the adjacent lifter bore to restrict oil to the lifters. With what I've learned over the past few years I don't know if I would go to this trouble anymore. But I haven't built a high revving (in Buick terms) engine without it to verify that it isn't necessary. I guess it doesn't hurt. Bruce Kent
Nice Job! Hope it screams. What kind of rpms are you looking for. THere are two other people I know of that have done this. Never seen any of their motors run. Would like to see how well it works. Have you ever plugged the oiling holes in the lifters before?
To answer the questions above. I believe there are a number of manufacturers out there but what I have is a Stef's external wet sump pump. This is a single stage pump. The engine on the left that is going together is a 4.5" stroker. We'd like to keep the rpm's under 7,000 with the exception of going thru the lights but we'll have to wait and see where the power peaks. The engine on the right is my old 470 engine master engine that has been reincarnated with a roller cam and the oiling system but is hurt right now due to a broken lifter and rocker shaft which is a chicken and egg thing. Don't know which went first. This type of system has been in Oliver Colteryahn's GSE car for about 3 years. We did this because of the 3&6 rod bearing problems. The problem went away after this was done but we also cross drilled #2 and #4 mains at the same time so I don't know which it was that fixed it but I believe they both helped. I don't know the answer to the last question or if it is even necessary. You need to ask someone who builds these as a profession. For me, I feel more comfortable having it there. There are probably many people out there making as much power and spinning as many rpm's with the stock location pump.
I've run a similar oil system since 2004 . Prior to that I was having trouble with reliability usualy kicking #3 rod/bearing and unable to maintain good oil pressure with roller cams.Bearing problems appeared in the 7500 rpm range. I did fill lifter holes which helped limit oil to top of motor but didn't help to build pressure . I shouldn't say this but I haven't had an oil related bearing failure in 4 seasons since doing this. I have to qualify this by adding that I also went to a drysump at the same time and always run over 100psi currently about 125. Many would say this is overkill but at the time I was considering giving up on the Buick unless I could make it reliable for the racing I wanted to do. This set up has survived 3 full seasons of T/S racing , qualified for every event , reliability has been excellent. There are better lifter options now and other ways to solve some of the oil problems but if I was going to build another stock block motor for my application I would probably still do it. Dave
Totaly different subject. Really liked the article on the engine masters 470, but they never listed the piston part number. Could I ask what you used?
The piston was a custom CP part. The position and depth of the valve pockets will vary depending upon which head and cam you are using so I think you'd be better off going thru T/A or one of the engine builders who does alot of Buicks to get the right piston for your application.
Here's how I did mine , ugly but it works! Thanks Eric for the picture. Who said Buick motors were light? Dave
Ok, very newb question. What do you call the stuff around the lifters, and what is its real purpose. I always thought there had to be a better way to do this oiling problem than the factory pump, I was trying to figure it out myself for a project in like 2,3 years but didn't know you guys dist the oil right. Thanks for the pics, very interesting and sweet.
Hi Dave.Are you draining the oil out of the back of the block with lines from the valley to the pan,or are you letting it drain down in the valley(holes under towels)???Also, are you running the block totally full of hardblock??? Looks like it from the pics??Just curious.Thanks.TH
