So I have decided to go with the BBB in my 72 Skylark. Any responses to this thread are welcomed. I am looking for any kind of information on building this motor, I already have the block and a set of 70 GS big block heads. So I am really starting with nothing but hoping for everything in the end. What I am looking for with this motor is to pull my skylark to around the 10's in the quarter, but still being able to take it out on the street and enjoy it stop light to stop light. I am looking for some sort of a formula for building this motor from every aspect. I know alot of you folks on here have already done something similar to the same as what I want so I am asking for anyones help to create a monster of a motor.
budget? Car weight? Trans and converter specs? What kind of idle can you tolerate? You will definitely need: a girdled block with oil mods or the new block, a good ported set of aluminum heads (PAE is getting some amazing numbers out of the bulldogs), and all the other stuff that goes with that to breathe- headers, good single plane intake, forged pistons, good rods. Are you talking about a normally aspirated motor, or do you want to go forced induction? It's all about your budget, really. ________ Lyiza
I can honestly say I dont know the weight of the car but it is stock all around. I know that I will be going with a M22 tranny, but all the details for this tranny for gears I have not come to a conclusion just yet. An idle I would like could be around 600-maybe 1000, not totally sure.
BBB Buildup There have been some high profile buildups recently. Car Craft had a big block shootout that a TA Performance headed bigblock won a couple of years ago. The article on that buildup had some pretty good general info. A 10 second street car is an impressive feat. If you've had a car this fast, you know what it takes. No matter what engine you choose, you're looking at a lot of dough and time to get things sorted out at that level. I wish you the best of luck. Many many people on this board have horror stories about using their favorite local engine shop only to be stuck with misguided or poorly executed work. There are a number of folks with very good reputations in the Buick community. I don't have personal experience with them, but by reputation alone the names below are worth talking to for a start. This is not a comprehensive list by any means- Jim Weise, Tri-Shield Performance Jim Burek, PAE Brian Earick, Earick Racing Charlie Evans, AM&P Scotty Guadagno, Pat Musi Racing Geoff Ketchum, Straightline Performance Some BBB facts - All factory big block cranks (400 430 455) are cast nodular iron. These engines are externally ballanced. You need to have the harmonic balancer and the flywheel/flexplate when you have your engine balanced. Proper bearing clearance is critical, especially the mains. Buicks need to be set up tighter than Chevies for long life on the street. Stock main clearance was specified at one thousandth (.001) of an inch. Performance built street engines can use .002 to .0025" main clearance, don't go any larger. A big block Buick is much lighter than any other big block from any manufacturer. These engines weigh about 60 pounds more than a small block Chevy. They use thinwall block castings with large diameter crank mains to add stiffness to the bottom end.
A Monster motor Well you have a block and some heads. Lets see you will need a block girdle to start off with and some good roller rockers and some high compression pistons 12.5 or higher. The heads will need some port work of course i did see a good deal on some ported iorn stage 1 heads on here john hixon had them and it may save you some money in the long run. Also run a ta 308 solid lift cam or a big hydraulic stud the motor complete and use a single plane intake and a deep sump oil pan and pick up tube and do all the block oil mods and use grooved cam bearings. As far as gears and carb and ect that is up to you and what you like. This is just a base line on a motor set up that should put you into the 10 second bracket. Note* You will have to run good race gas and use the new cometic head gaskets that ta has. P.S When you do drive this beast down the street I"m sure people will know it. :laugh: Also you could set up a nice nitrous motor i see you will be using a 4 speed trans any way good luck on your motor. :TU:
i would guess around 10 K in the moter if you do alot of the work yourself, that would be a aluminum head, around 12 to 1 comp. (sorry race fuel only) solid cam, full race headers threw a 3'' system, it will run good on the street with your 4 speed but will idle around 1500 rpms. Thats just the moter, you will need one heck of a cooling system to run that kind of moter on the street. also a good fuel system, i would run at least a 12 bolt rearend you will need at least 4.10 gears, (stay off the freeway),also you will need suspention mods, you will need all the required safety mods if you are going to take it to the track, roll bar, driveline lops, ect... I would guess another 10 K in the car, that is if you like to drive it on the street and want it to look nice. it cost me 9 K to go from a 13.8 pure stock 70 GS stage 1 to running low 12's and hopfuly 11's at sea level. but that was keeping the car streetable,to me that means i can drive it across country,not just down to 7-11 on the corner. and it looks compleatly stock except for the headers and the intake, as for the wheels (i have new 15x8 rallys wheels on order). Fast and streetable cost alot more then just fast and trailered to the track. just my 2 cents hope this helps
I just posted a thread on how to install this motor in your car I just got my engine back in. Same old problems, same old solutions. What to do when you have a 455 and big tube headers, and you're not installing the tranny and engine as a unit? Can't seem to get the motor mounts over the pads, can you? Try this, after you get a helper,: 1) Take the motor mounts off the engine block. Set them on the frame pads, and stick the bolt through. Don't put the nut on just yet 2) Put the engine in, and get the pilot lined up. Once it's all aligned, put in the tranny to motor bolts. Lower the jack or whatever you had the tranny up on, it's not needed now, but don't remove the chains and hoist. It may also be easier now to catch a few headers bolts into the heads, this saved me about an hour's worth of work, I reckon 3) Lift the engine block off the motor mounts a couple inches. Yank out the bolts in the mounts, and free the mounts off the pads with a screwdriver or prybar. Yes, you're under the car by this point. Aren't old cars fun? 4) Get your motor mount to engine bolts ready. Grab your 5/8" sockets and a socket wrench, one deep well and one regular. Crawl back under the car. Curse if you like, it's a free country. Be creative. 5) Now, simply pick each motor mount up off the pad by hand, align the holes with the threads in the block (may need to lift the engine slightly), and put your motor mount to engine block screws in. With the engine lifted up, but also aligned and bolted to the tranny, you can twist and angle the motor mounts all you like. Tighten them up. Crawl back out once all 4 are in and tight. Lower the engine back on to the pads, and install motor mount to frame pad bolts as usual. 6) Open beer and wish it were spring This method is soooo much easier than the curse, rinse, repeat way. I installed the engine in an hour and a half with this method today.
Chris... whew... that was a lot of work.. Next time you do this.. Simply remove the driveshaft, loosen up the trans mount to trans crossmember bolts, and slide the trans rearward.. on a floor jack.. the mount holes in the crossmemeber are slotted, and you don't have to move it rearward very much. Then, set the headers in, and have a helper line them up to heads, and throw a couple bolts in each one, right before the motor hits the pads. At this point, slide the trans up to the motor, toss in a couple bolts, and then drop the whole thing on the pads. You may have to use a long tapered line up tool to line the mount/pad holes up, but I have found the key to this whole operation is to loosen up the trans mount. JW
Hmmm....didn't know that about the trans mount Jim :TU: That saves a few steps! But I have to know- what is the secret to getting the tranny to engine block bolts back in if the tranny is slid backwards an inch? I'm 5'7 and may hands are not large...I have scrapes and cuts all over them from the firewall, with the tranny where it was when I removed the engine. You are a fairly big guy if I recall. How do you get those bolts? You must have a trick for that. Also, is there some kind of adapter for the floor jack the tranny is on? I had to have the jack handle sticking out to the side, because otherwise I couldn't pump the handle. that would make pulling the tranny backwards hard. Is there some jack that has the wheels 90* to a regular floor trolley jack?
