Hello everyone. First post. I am from Georgia, living south of Atlanta. A little info on why I joined. First off, while I do not own a Buick car, I do have a Buick engine for my project. I bought the 1967 430 and 400 transmission 15 years ago out of a 67' Riviera. It was for a street rod project which was put on hold after the economy and my wallet took a big hit. Fast forward fourteen years... last year saw a mid-60's Studebaker Lark gasser, own by my wife's late uncle. The car intrigued me. While looking up gassers online, I discovered 60's and 70's Altereds, many which had the gasser look, just no roof. I happened to have a fiberglass Bantam body I bought before COVID from a guy for cheap. I had a garage full of parts I had collected over the last eighteen or so years. I decided to put them all together and build a 2 seat late 60's Altered clone which would be street legal. I downloaded a copy of the 1967 NHRA rulebook as my building guide. I had 3x2 tube steel for a frame. A 9" rear from a 1st gen Bronco. A 33' Ford front axle. And the Buick 430. I decided not to go with the 400 transmission and instead bought a complete 'Dearborn' 3 speed out of a 65' GTO for a good price. The car is currently about 70% completed. Chassis is done. Body is glassed in. Just need to complete the little details. Overhauling the 430 is the biggest little detail. Which is why I am here. For the last year, I have found answers to many questions on this forum. But not all of my questions have been answered. I hope with y'alls help, I can rebuild the 430 without running into any issues. Thanks in advance.
Welcome aboard from 20 miles north of Detroit! Sounds like a great project, looking forward to your progress. Devon
Welcome aboard from Northern Virginia. My brother-in-law lives in Marrietta Ga. A Studebaker Lark gasser sounds like a cool fun project and a cool car. When I was in the Navy stationed in Newport RI, my buddies and I used to go to Epping drag-way in NH to drag our cars on the weekend. I raced a 56 Chevy Belair, because I had a steel pipe for a front bumper, I got put into the D/Gas class. My car was fast BUT not that fast. Still had a fun time in Gasser class. We have a lot of guys on this forum that can help you with 430 Buick engine questions. VET (Navy) Found this Pic, soooooooo coooooool.
Welcome...... You shouldn't have any issues rebuilding the 430.... Lots of info in. https://www.v8buick.com/index.php?forums/street-strip-400-430-455.6/ Also lots of Great members here to ask direct questions..... BTW we love pictures....
Welcome, and you are in the right place. For starters I wonder if you are aware of the common heritage the 430 has with the 400 and the 455. Basically they are the engine with a different bore. So much of the information you find here about the 455 is applicable to your 430. Lots of super knowledgeable folks here including Jim Weise who is our host and builds these for work.
Thanks. I'll post the last photo I took of the Alt Bantam from a few weeks ago. As I said above, most of the big stuff is done. Enclosing the extended cowling, mounting a windshield and installing the roll bar are really the only visual jobs left. Everything else not as noticeable. I'll be posting more about some ideas I have on the Street/Strip forum. .
Yes, in the photo above, the body was not bolted to the chassis so the tires and wheel wells are not completely lined up. The rearend extends beyond the body on both side enough so there is about 2" of clearance between the inside tire and the fender. Looking at the wheel well in the photo, the black shadow between the tire and the white gelcoat is the rear section of the interior. It it plywood, glassed and coated with truck bed liner. There is less than 3" from the outside of the interior wall at the fender lip. Some Altereds used narrowed rearends, with slicks inside the body. Others had wider rearends with the slicks outside the body. If this was a true dragster with just one seat in the center, then the tires could be placed underneath the body. Since it will have 2 seats, then the wheels had to go outside the wheel wells. The rear suspension is 4 link. Traditionally, most Altereds used ladder bars rear suspension since the car mostly went straight. But on the street, ladder bars can bind, especially with heavier cars. That would not have been a problem here, but 4 links allows from some more tunability. The chassis is setup with a 3 degree reverse rake, meaning sloping towards the rear than towards the front. The engine is set at 7 degrees, partly for clearance for the transmission, partly for the look and mostly for drive shaft alignment. The 430 currently has the middle sump oil pan, which will be replaced with an rear sump pan upon rebuild.
