Hi guys. I'm taking my '64 300 to the machine shop also to get rebuilt, honed, hot tanked, 4 barrel carter carb rebuilt, and have a new cam installed. I'm putting in a cam from Poston Enterprises. It's the SB-110A. I was just wondering what you guys recomend me doing with this motor? I'm not too bright about "boring cylinder walls" and "decking the block" and all that good stuff. My plans are to get the most out of this 300. Within the next 4 months i'm getting an edelbrock/ or holley carb, MSD distibutor, and a msd ignition box. Any sugestions? Please help me out guys. Thanks!
I've never seen anyone build a 300... or even very many speed parts for them, but the basic intake/header/head porting would probably be what I would suggest... but what do I know You're on the right track, good luck!
AJ, You'll get quite a few response to this inquiry within a relatively short period of time. If you are rebuilding your engine for mostly street use, you're already on the right track. About the only ting you can do with the stock intake is to hand port and polish the runners or send it to an extrusion honing company for slurry honing ($500.) Before you spend the money on ignition, check the site for Dave The Ignition Man. He converts the small-body points distributors to HEI and gets great reviews on his work. Small changes make a big difference on the 300. Things like curving the distributor to match your RPM operating range, cam profile, etc. Talk to Dave. The Edelbrock/Carter carb is easiest choice. It's a direct fit to stock manifold. If you want to add a spacer just for heat insulation purposes, look for a 1/2" phenolic resin piece from Summit or Jegs. They're inexpensive and won't screw-up the air/fuel mixture to the point where re-jetting the carb is necessary. The 500 cfm model will work well with the cam you've picked. If you decide to upgrade the cam at some future point, Crower, Crane, Poston, K-B, Isky and others offer a variety of grinds. Unless you do something really radical to the engine, you never need more than 600 cfm. If you can find a set on eBay or at a swap meet, look for the Poston headers also. These are your best be for relatively low cost exhaust pieces. I hear that Poston doesn't make these anymore, due to lack of demand. One exception maybe the cast iron units from the '66-67 Skylarks. I think the runners are slightly longer with smoother bends. I've seen "big bore" stock manifolds on V8 Rovers. If there's a bone yard near by, it may be worth checking it out. The V8 Rover engine is based on the 300s little brother, the all aluminum 215. Anyway you go, dual exhausts with an "X" pipe or "H" pipe reduce noise and added a couple of horses. For a street rebuild, the stock 10.25:1 compression is plenty. If you have any concerns about pinging, you could also consider using 9:1 pistons that came in the 2-barrel engine. Costs are about the same either way. You don't need to go hog wild on the oil pump. Rebuild the stock front cover if it's not scored or warped. I believe you can get higher volume rebuild kits through NAPA, Poston, T/A Performance, Milodon. I used a fully prepared T/A front cover on my 300. It comes with adjustable oil pressure via the relief spring. Only after the engine ran for many hours was I able to back the pressure down to 60# @ 2500rpm. The heads on the '65 are the best cast iron units. If you want a little more performance, the folks at T/A tell me the easiest route is to replace the stock exhaust valves with 1.42" pieces from the 225 V6. Take a look at aftermarket crank, water pump and alternator pullies. I believe the 350 units fit the 300. You may be able to reduce the horsepower drag by changing to a different diameter. If I had it all to do over again, I would have spent the money for either a 8.5" or 12-bolt rear end first. You can do all the engine mods you want, but without a decent gear ratio and posi unit, you're just waiting to get on the highway. Also, if I had it all...I would have dumped the stock ST300 trans in favor of a TH-350 or 200R. K&N makes decent air filter systems that increase air flow to the carb. Offenhauser makes polished finned aluminum valve covers that increase the eye appeal. Plus Jim at Tri-Shield can polish all those aluminum brackets if you're looking to brighten the engine bay. Year One offers both thermo- and non-thermo fan clutches and 6-blade 18" fans. This will keep the temp down a little without sapping too much hp out of the engine up to 1500 rpm. These are the easy things to do. Unless you have the desire, need and budget to get into modifying 2.0" SBC rods, serious head work, adapting intakes from the Rover/Buick 215, etc. These types of bolt-ons and bolt-ins work well on the 300.
Thank you so much for the information guys. I'll definitely consider everything you've told me. I'll keep you informed of what I end up doing.
Another thing.... I'm not really interested in totally making this motor an all out performance machine... I just want it to run great with enough power to get me some respect at the high school drags once a month. But definitely this summer I am going to be saving up to go all out on the 68 lesabre 430ci i have. And most definitely i will be buying the 8.5 or 12blt rear end for it. Along with a big tranny. You were saying that the compression is different between the 2 and 4 barrel models because of the pistons... well the 300 that i orignally had came with the 4 barrel, but the motor blew 5 days after i bought it, and i went to the yard and picked up the '64 2 barrel 300... Is this gonna be more work than i'm cut out for? I've got about $1500 saved up.
AJ; You can definitely rebuild a mostly stock engine for $1500. The key is planning the deal ahead of time. Start by asking the machine shop for their prices for boring/honing the cylinders, milling the block decks, chasing all the threads and rebuilding the heads. Then you can go online to find prices from Buick parts suppliers for all the replacement pieces, like pistons, rings, gasket sets, plugs, points, plug wires, oil pump kit, etc. List everything out on paper, leave nothing out, and you'll have something to base your decision on. If you come within a range of $1350-$1650, I'd go for it. The 300 is a great street engine that guys have built up to run in the 12-second bracket. So there's plenty of power for what you want to do. You have to use as many of the original parts that are in good condition as possible. For example, a competent machine shop can tell you whether the heads need all new parts or whether they can grind the old valves instead of replacing them all. In most cases the valves springs should be replaced, just due to fatique. Same goes for the pushrods and rockers. They may still be straight and within tolerance, respectively. The 2-barrel engine had 9:1 compression, which is considered adequate and feasible for street cars. The leaded gas that was available in 1965 reduced the amount of detonation in the engine, unlike the fuel we have available today. Yes, you can add a bottle of octane booster with every fill up, but wouldn't you prefer to use the cash for something else? Finally, if you decide to use the Edelbrock carb and want to sell the original Carter AFB, please let me know. I'm looking for an original AFB from a '65 that had an automatic trans behind it. Mark
Mark, let me thank you again for all the information you've given me. You're making this soo much easier for me. About the Carter... You'll be the first person to know when it goes on the market! AJ
valve covers Mark, you said that Offenhuaser makes valve covers for the 300? Where could i go to take a look?
headers i have a question for you guys i have been trying to find a set of headers for my 67 buick GS340 that know has a 300 in it. A while back i found some that go on a land rover SD-1 which is car in autrailia they are full length headers that look very similar to postons header but i dont have apicture of postons header to compare it to i need somthing because my exhaust manifold is starting to crack on the driver side. These hedrs are made of 304 stainless and they cost about $230 bucks and $150 for shipping. Maybe if we could get a list of people who want them on the site and send it to poston it woould convince them to make another run of them. I am currently in the last couple stages ofthe restoration on my 67 and plan a simlar build up to AJ's i have the 64 aluminum intake and i am thinking aout finding a set of header for my 66 300 engine do eitherone of you know the things would have to change to put those heades on my block i have heard tat al i have t do is run the 64 push rods. You guys are always a big help since i am relativly new to tis buick thing thanks adam
'64 300 heads on a '66 block Hey Adam, Good to hear from you and glad to see your car is coming along. A number of smallblock guys have swapped the iron heads and intake onto the 1964 block, which is the reverse of what you're thinking about doing. They discovered that the '64 block has an extra water jacket that feeds coolant up to the aluminum heads, which have a matching water port. When Buick switched to cast iron in 1965, they eliminated the extra water jacket because the expansion rate of iron is much lower than aluminum. This could possibly cause either a head cooling problem or leakage if you put the aluminum heads on your '66 block. I'm just guessing here, but it may be possible to overlay a 1964 head gasket on the '66 block and have a machine shop drill the extra hole. But, it's a risk you'd have to be willing to take. My recommendation is to stay with the cast iron heads, which are decent street performance items. If I recall correctly, they have larger intake valves than the '65 283 Chevy heads and only slightly smaller exhaust valves. Stick with your stock 2GC carb until you can locate a 1965 cast iron intake manifold through the V8 Buick community or possibly eBay. Here's the email address of a guy in KY who I bought my 1965 cast iron intake from. Cost me $125 plus shipping. Ray Elkins, Murray KY, ironhntr@apex.net. Also, try Carmen Faso in No. Tonawanda NY. 716-693-4090. As far as headers, go back through the smallblock threads about 2-3 months. There was a lengthy exchange of information about headers, including pictures of big bore Rover units and contact information. Also, check with Poston Enterprises in Alabama. They sold headers for the 300 for a while. I hear they stopped production due to lack of demand. Maybe they can provide the name of the shop that fabricated their headers. Could be you could buy a set directly from them. Just a guess though. Mark
hi mark thnks for the info. I thought i had heard it the other way around i thought you could put the aluminum heads on a later 300 but not the cast iron on a early 300. i was thinking maybe we could start a petition on this board for people who own 300's and want a set of headers maybe the will run some more. I saw those big bor manifolds problem is that they were in gemany and no one was for sure of the fit so don,t know if that will fly but its a thouht. what cam are you runnig in your 300. As soon as i get it done i hope to post some pics of my car, its coming out better than i expeted. this is the second resto i have done on the car beause it got wrecked it has taken a little over two years because i am in colledge and the ohio winters kinda kill outside work for 5 months, but by the midle oftis summer it should be back on the road. Like Aj i justwant a good street engine i have already got a th350 to replace the powerglide and an MSD ignitin box plus i am thining about a cam, headers if possible and possibly getting the aluminum intake to work i hear th only diffrence is port size with these upgrades i hope to be around 260 to 265 horse power any more tips and tricks would be appreciated thanks adam
I'm hearing all this talk about how the 1964 buick 300's intake is water cooled, and the 65's intake is gas cooled? I was just going to use the 65 intake and put in on my 64 300 block because it's in better condition. Is there going to be a problem with this?
