400/430/455 Block ID, Prep and Oiling mods

You are right it does say that. I only skimmed over what Jim does to see if he did anything different than I do. Since I use a an 8" which is plenty long I never realized Jim had said 12". You can get any size of length burr from
http://integrityindustrial.ca/images/Product_Catalogs/CUTTING TOOLS V2.pdf
I know it is in Canada but shipping and handling is inexpensive.

 

Excellent, thanks Mike

 

I actually meant a 6" long burr guys.. but mistyped 12".. burrs and drill bits start to get all mixed in your head when you sit down and write all this out in one shot.. I have changed it, sorry for the confusion.

JW

 

So I have a 735 block but does not have the 455 marking on the block?????

 

Thanks Larry!

 

Just to be prepared if this happens (hope not); if I understand correctly this is the idea:

In case 5" of casting is broken through, cut the tube 6". Put it in the hole, uncut side first. The loctite is meant for that side of the tubing (the pickup tube side). And then you have to flare the tube on the other side? So I would be needing a punch of at least 6" in that case? JB Weld should then be used to seal that side of the tube with gravity in my favour.

http://rowand.net/Shop/Tech/BuickOilingImprovements.htm describes drilling to 9/16th, stating that the Buick factory itself did that as well starting from 71. I'm probably going for that route, do blocks still break through then?

 

Yes, you can drill to 9/16 instead of 5/8. Breaking thru the inside of the casting is always a crap shoot, I have seen it more commonly on the 400/430 blocks, but I just personally drilled a very early 67 400 block to 5/8 a few weeks ago, with no issues.

Either have it done in a drill press, or do it by hand very carefully, insuring that you keep the drill bits centered exactly in the hole.

Buick drilled them 5/8 starting in 71.

 

I'm not familiar with NPT. I guess it is tapered thread and that's why you should test fit a couple of times?
And is there sealant needed on the thread, or is the fun of this NPT thread that it seals itself? Or is the friction coating meant for this?

 

Yeah of course, I could have looked it up, not a Buick special after all
Thank you, makes sense. Will drill the suction and tap the plugs tomorrow. Then all applicable oil mods are done.

 

If I could add one thing, any good machinist can take a standard 12" drill bit and grind a pilot on the end of it, turning it into a piloted drill. Then it will track the original hole perfectly with no concerns about getting off center and breaking out into the crankcase. It also helps some when breaking through at the end of the cut.

Jim

 

Why have these pictures gotten blury? They were pretty clear several weeks ago.
Maybe its my eyes?

 

There are a lot of DIY ruined across the inter web do to Photobuckets greed. Moved all my photos over to Postimage.org when photobucket started their nonsense.

 

For those looking for the unblurred picture : https://www.diyauto.com/manufacture...55-block-id-prep-and-oiling-mods-by-jim-weise

 

Question in the main bulk head enlargement mod, when I drill into the oil galley should the bit just poke into it by 1/4" or so as almost block half the tube when looking down from the front or do I need to carry all the way through to the other side of the galley tube?

 

The unblurred pictures have moved to here, as of Jan 2021:
https://www.diyauto.com/manufacture...k-id-prep-and-oiling-mods-by-jim-weise/page/1

Searching for "Weise" on this site (www.diyauto.com) will find this article too.

 

You know, I just ran across the directory in my computer that has all these pictures in it.. When I have time I will upload the pics directly to this thread, and eliminate all issues.

JW

 

Curious: Front cam bearing/cam bearing support in block

I'm thinking that Buick changed the front cam bearing oil passage system in '86 or thereabouts, on the V-6. They put an oil groove in the block supplying the lifter bank, instead of in the bearing material. That way, the bearing material can't melt into the oil groove and block flow. And without the groove in the bearing material, the bearing could carry more load. Note that I haven't had one of those engines apart to see this for myself.

If that's actually the case, would a similar modification to the BBB block be beneficial? Carve the cast iron to connect the oil passages to the lifters, let the bearing support the cam instead of doing double-duty supporting the cam AND providing an oil passage.

A non-grooved cam journal, and a non-grooved front bearing would be optimal in that case.