Hi, I posted this over in the newbie sections but a responder said I'd have better luck putting it over here so here's a rehash of what I posted: Hello all, new guy here. I am pretty new to V-8 Buicks in general. As my name suggests I am used to dealing with cars that are a lot smaller but I recently got interested in hot rods and am building one out of a 1934 International truck (traditional style). After some research, I have decided to go with a 401 Nailhead as the engine. While I've had a few SBCs in the past, I am not that familar with the Buick engines and will probably have many questions. I bought a wrecked 66 Electra 225 to use as a donor car, however the engine in this car is not running on all cylinders and I think the timing chain may have jumped. I was bummed out about this and planned for a rebuild. However, I just got a line on a NOS longblock and will be using this engine instead. It has never been run and other than a little light rust outside and missing a valve cover, oil pan and some head bolts on one side it's like new. I was wondering what I should look for when I go through it. Should I tear this down and replace all the gaskets? Fiat engines are very robust and I usually never have to do this or much else with them when I get them so I was thinking it wasn't needed. I have read that replacing the stock oil pump with a better aftermarket one is a good move. Opinions? Anyhow, any advice you guys can provide would be helpful. I'm pretty stoked to get this engine and once I have it at my house I'll probably be ready to start my mock up.
The fact that the motor is missing some headbolts would make me want to make sure everything else is in place and in good usable condition. Is the oil pump in place with out the oil pan? why is the valve cover off/missing? This info has little to do with the Buick motor, just basic questions for any motor supposedly 'NOS' or recently rebuilt. CHeck around on past posts on this forum for much info on these motors. I think most of the basics will be covered in depth for you.
I am with Joe on this one. Double check, triple check this engine. i wondered why the engine wasnt used. Be very carefull.
The story on this was that it has been sitting in the corner of a high school auto shop since about 1983. The teachers seem to think that it was donated by a local auto dealer at some point as they had other parts. I had the guy pull a head and take a couple of photos of it and it seems to be really clean and was at least rebuilt (maybe by the students?). I can't really tell from the photos if the water channels have had water in them or it's just normal oxidation from sitting. There is no ridge ring to the cylinders and they look like they are freshly machined (years ago). No carbon either. I was thinking maybe it was used to explain how a 4 stroke engine works and that's why the bolts are missing. What sorts of things should I be looking for? If it's cracked, where is it most likely to crack at? I got it fairly cheap, a little over what everyone says to pay for rebuildable cores so even if I can just pull the internals & heads and use them in the 66 I might come out OK I guess I dunno, you guys buy this story? Based on the appearance of the machining marks on the cylinder wall I was inclined to believe it. It doesn't look to me like they do when you hit them with a ball hone, looks like it was machined with a large diameter cutting head.
the pics look good. good cross hatch, new piston, valves not sunk into the heads. looks good to me. probably is a good engine. I would check the lube on the bearings and cam before starting it up. oil used in the assembly will drain off leaving no protection. You can lube the cam and lifters from in the lifter valley. use arp moly grease for the cam and lifters. put engine oil in the pan and turn the oil pump with a drill to prime it up. or take the spark plugs out , squirt oil onto the pistons, fill the crank case with oil and rotate with the starter untill the oil pressure comes up.
