It looks like I will be swapping a 350 into 67' Skylark.

Yea. That is why I thought it was likely a regrind of some sort. There are a couple cam grinders around are area. I was really hoping there might be some specs of some sort. I was hoping to get enough time to throw the degree wheel on it and get some specs best I can out of it. I am off to work away a couple weeks so will have to get back to it when I am home.
Greg

 

We have decided to swap in a 4 speed with the motor. We are going to use the bellhousing and clutch that came with this engine. I would also use the 3 speed Saginaw tranny that came with it if we had a shifter but I don't want to pay a bunch of money for a shifter. I have a 4 speed Saginaw in my 55' Chevy that is one of my future projects. The plan for that car is a BBC with a built drag racing 4 speed like a Hightower or something so I might as well use the Saginaw. Hopefully it will hold up long enough to put some money aside for a Muncie or Super T10. That transmission has lasted well behind the stout little solid lifter cam small block in my 55' so I am confident it will last for my wife a while in the Buick. The price is right. Since the bellhousing that came with this engine has a hydraulic slave setup with bracket that pushes on the original shift fork we have decided to use a Mcleod Hydraulic pedal kit for an A body. Here is my other post on the transmission swap. https://www.v8buick.com/index.php?threads/a-4-speed-swap-into-a-67-skylark.382144/ I will keep posting as I get some progress done.
Greg

 

I made a little progress on the 350 over the last couple weeks. I swapped the water pump out for a short one. I made a new oil pickup for the pan and cleaned the pan up a little. The oil pickup was a little hacked together so I took an old 455 1/2" pickup and modded it to work with the pan. I put a course screen on it like I usually do. I put a degree wheel on it and got some rough cam specs to see what to expect out of this engine. I got these specs with the engine assembled and without an accurate piston top dead centre other than the harmonic dampener to locate TDC so take these numbers with a grain of salt just to give me a ballpark number. I could not get an accurate position for the dial indicator on the pushrod side of the rocker arm so I ended up just using the top of the valve spring for the dial indicator. It looks like there is 0.470" lift at the valve. Being a solid lifter cam and that I had .010" lash I figured it has about 0.480" lift. My valve opening and closing numbers look like roughly 280 deg duration. It might be more if you count for the 0.010 solid lifter cam lash. For some reason exhaust seems to be less duration than the intake. I am not sure if it is my inaccuracy in measuring duration or if the duration split is meant to help the intake for working with the stock car restricted to the Holley 2 barrel carb. Looks like a fair bit of overlap and a somewhat tight 105 or 106 degree lobe separation. It will have a noticeable idle for sure.
Another part I accomplished was that I completely took apart and rebuilt the HEI distributor for it. I reduced the mechanical advance and added a bunch of new pieces as well full clean up of all the old pieces. Hopefully that all works well now.
The next projects are to make some headers for it and then paint it. After that I need to move on to the four speed pieces.

 

Some good effort went into that engine back when it was built.

 

C’mon pull the heads off

 

It would be cool to look deeper inside and lift the heads but MLS head gaskets and intake gasket would be worth more than what I paid for the engine. Besides. It would ruin the surprise to see how it runs and performs later. LOL.
Greg

 

I have been away working for a couple weeks but managed to get an hour or so in the shop tonight. I got started on making some headers for the 350 out of some Pontiac headers I had kicking around. Two pipes line up well as is. Just need to move the other two a bit. I had my wife's cousin cut me some exhaust flanges by copying some gaskets on his pattern cutting table. I will be able to make them fit the engine on the stand easy enough but I won't be able to see if there are any clearance issues in the chassis until we set the engine in there. They have the right basic shape for the A body GM chassis.
Greg

 

Awesome!

 

In your picture it looks like the headers are swung out away from the block, which would make sense since the Pontiac exhaust ports on their heads REALLY angle down

 

The block is on the engine stand rotated to 45 deg position and the headers aren't even tack welded into place yet. I am just starting the fitting there. The number 4 tube is sitting against the starter too. I may have to crush that side flat a bit. Pontiac starters are on the other side. I will have to do some referencing on my 66' with 455 and headers a little for some shape in that area.
Greg

 

don't know what size the poncho pipes are, but the 350 likes big header pipes.

 

my 1 3/4 almost hit the frame on the pass side they are that big! I thought you could use the Hooker headers for the 350 they are supposed to fit the 66 Skylarks with a 350 stuffed in with minor denting. The 350 does like big pipes put in a X pipe for even more action.

 

These are 1 3/4" so they should be fine. Plenty of flow. The car already has a 2.5" Flowmaster American thunder kit with Super 44 mufflers.
Greg

 

You can for sure buy headers to work in the 64' to 67' Cars and I believe you are correct that the Hookers are the ones that fit ok. Unfortunately by the time I get a set up here into Canada with our dollar they are over $1000. I will make these work for much cheaper. Just my labour and I do this for fun. I do hope I do not have to mod them again for chassis clearance but there will be a chance they need something clearanced for sure. The American Thunder kit it has for exhaust is an H pipe so that will work fine.
Greg

 

from my experience, it does like 2 1/4's. been there, done that. if somebody made 2'' headers...............

 

The Best way to spread Christmas Cheer is to Paint your Buick engine "Christmas Red" and get it in the car so all can hear. I had planned to carry on with working on the headers today but the weather was so warm that I thought I better get this engine painted so it does not hold us up later as we start the final assembly. It has been pretty wintery here in southern British Columbia for the last month and a half. I painted the engine with Sunset red Endura Polyurethane epoxy. I have been painting engines with this stuff for years and it is bulletproof awesome. I had this colour and it is a good enough match for me. It turned out really good.
Greg

 

Awesome! I know you guys got a dump of snow a week or so ago. Seasons greetings from Edmonton.

 

After messing around with the old headers I have a little more, I decided that I just don't have the time to make those headers work. I have made headers before but without having the engine near the chassis it just makes for too many places that could interfere clearance wise on the tight 64' to 67' frame. We plan to use my father in laws shop and hoist for the install and I just can't have the car in there for weeks while I sort out headers. So apparently the Hooker headers fit best. I guess I better get some coming from Summit. Painful expensive with the Canadian buck. It seems nuts to pay over $1000 for basic painted headers these days. Having all these performance parts companies being owned by hedge funds has done nothing but cranked the prices through the roof.
Greg

 

Got to be a better way to get it across the border with out all the cost.