hey guys i moved on over here from camaros.net, great site! i just recently picked up a 68 skylark custom. its pretty solid. it has a dent in the passenger fender and what looks like a side swipe on the drivers side quarter. all of which i hope can be pulled out with a stud gun. any how. planns are to drop in a 5.3L form a silverado, carb it, and add a th350 in the mix. my 69 camaro runs awesome on a heads/cam carbed ls1... just to give you an idea. the car will be a budget build. i hope to get lots of help along the way. (I would post pics but my post count is too low) the car has solid floors, rockers, lower fenders, lower quarters, trunk pan, and roof. i did find a very small rust hole along the window frame, i think it will be an easy fix with a patch though. im building this as a driver/street car. i already pulled the old 350/glide combo out and started tearing down the front suspension. Im going with new small block springs front/rear, new pst front end kit, poly bushings, and hotchkis sway bar. i will keep you all posted with updates and pics when i can.
10th post! time for pics! a little has changed since these were taken. progress so far is still slow. i pulled the old engine/trans, gutted the carpet, removed the front clip, took the fender wells and core support to powder coat, and sanded the driver side fender down to bare metal. im waiting on a guy to get back to me on a 455/th400 combo out or a 72 Riv for $500. i also ordered a master front end rebuild kit off ebay for $300. its complete with a new center link. enjoy the pics! i will keep you all updated.
so how horrible is a 455 from 1973? smog city? low compression slug? im looking to add an aluminum intake, mild cam, and headers if needed. im not looking for a race car, i just want something that will help this hulk get out of its own way.
Compression ratio won't be anything to brag about...even the 1970 & earlier engines advertised at over 10:1 are lucky to measure at mid 9's. There's nothing wrong with a good running low-comp 455, just dont get carried away with cam timing as you mentioned. The TA212 comes to mind being easy on the stock valvetrain and having good all around manners with a kick in the pants, too. Pay close attention to the oiling system and ignition timing. There's not a lot to be gained from going with the Edelbrock intake other than weight savings, though they can be reworked for better flow if you decide to kick things up a few notches later. A good set of full length 1-7/8" headers would be a great addition, too. It sounds like you're already on the right track! Devon
i just sold a complete show quality aluminum head built to the hilt 355 chevy with a complete msd ignition and billet march pulleys and what not for $4000. so i have buick money now. my neighbor came over while i was loading up the engine and asked why i didnt buy his 430/th400 combo off of him. i about hit the dirt. my dad mixed up the numbers and told me it was a 403! so i just missed out on a low mileage 1968 430/th400 combo from the original owner. hows about an sp-1 intake? or is that a little much. this is my first buick engine and big block. im so used to gen 1 small block chevys and gen III LS type engines. here is some fender progress. the old black paint is super tough! my electric orbital sander and 60 grit barely scratched it! i had to use some air craft stripper to remove the black paint then sand the old gray primer down to metal. this is about 4 hours of messing around. im going to sand blast the wheel opening and turn signal hole. i hope to strip the hell out of my car myself, rattle can it and have a some what cheap paint job laid down. i have two small dents in the front im going to try my stud welder on. my car has dings in it but looks like no one pounded them out.
I wouldn't move to the SP1 until you're ready to raise compression, increase carb cfm and get a cam that will pull to 6000 rpm. Devon
What part of the country do you live in? That looks exactly like my old 68 that I sold to my brother in law, who was less than friendly to it and wound up selling it off. Brings back memories for sure.
i live in san bernardino CA. the previous owner said he found the car in the palm springs desert. well boys im on my way to check out a running (still in the car) 430/th400 combo for $400! man these big blocks around here are cheap. im ditching out on the 1973 455 because of the crappy heads and smog stuff. ill let you all know how it works out.
i passed on the 430. the guy had the car parked in a very hard to reach location on a dirt lot. he wanted me to pull the engine myself! screw that. the hunt for a BBB is still on! meanwhile i spent some time tearing down all the suspension and steering stuff today. im going to spend the better part of tomorrow vacuuming out all the sand from the cowl, degreasing, sanding, and painting the firewall. here is the latest progress pic. i received my new center link and suspension kit in the mail today! tomorrow im going to order some new coil springs, sway bar, disk brake kit, and a few other odds and ends.
Don't count out the smog motors. I have a 73, 455 in a 68 skylark. Aluminum dual plan intake and headers are the only non stock items and it has run high 12's with 4.10 gears shifting at 4500 rpm.
headers and intake are on the to do list. i will most likely break down and install a new cam as well. i was looking into the TA sleeper grind. after all this is a cruiser. i ordered all sorts of stuff today! i got new body busings with hardware, coil springs front and rear, disk brake conversion with new booster and master, 1 1/8 sway bar, heater core, a/c box seals, steering rag joint, and most likely more items i forgot.
this car is going to end up for sale. i picked up a super clean 1970 skylark that i will focus all my money on. i will continue to clean and assemble the car as much as possible. any one interested?
anyone interested in the car? i think i am going to end up selling it. i recently graduated college and im trying to weed out some of my projects. the car is still sitting without any suspension or front clip. but i did get the core support and wheel wells powder coated. they are in perfect shape! no rust rott or dings. also i got the upper and lower control arms powder coated. i have a disk brake kit for it and also a complete front end rebuild kit with all new bushings and center link, new steering rag joint, and large 1 1/8 sway bar, big block front and rear springs, and possibly more parts i have hidden. the rear window has a tiny bit of rust but i have a patch panel window section that was cut from a donor 68. i also scored a standard bore 455 block, 10/10 crank, s divider intake, 430 high port heads, and some misc brackets and pulleys. i want to help my dad with his mustang project.
