Oh, it turns out that is YOUR threadou:!! :error: The first time we restored our 55, I think we used ford green.
It Runs! I'm a bit behind posting progress here.....Over the past two weeks Kenny and I put the final touches to install the 401 and fire it up in it's new home. I installed minus the clutch assembly so I could have access to the flywheel to balance the 364 flywheel properly to the 401. The transmission and rearend will be done as soon as the engine is balanced. I'll post on the steps I've left out soon. Much left to do but it's really great to hear the ol' nailhead purring again!
Balancing the 364 Flywheel to the 401. 364 and 401 flywheels are balanced differently making them unique to each to engine. Long story short finding a stepped 401 flywheel like the one in my '60 is impossible. A new flywheel is available from a couple of sources but it's pricey ($325.00), it's flat face, not stepped like the original. That means I would also have to purchase a new clutch. AND.... the ring gear depth is different so the correct starter is neccessary too. Earlier in the thread Tom Telesco gave me some advice where to start on the balance process to make my 364 flywheel work for the swap. I started the process by drilling and tapping a hole directly across from the dowel hole in the crank to hang balance weights off of. It's the hole with the white circle in the pics. Also there just happened to be a hole a couple of inches clockwise from the hole I drilled so I ran a tap through that hole too in case I might need it. Hooked up a tach that I could see through the windsheild and ran the engine with various weights and placements until I zeroed in to the spot and weights you see in the pic. Engine runs really smooth but at the very highest RPMs (3600 - 4000) I can still feel a slight vibration in the dash. Outside the car throttling by hand it's as smooth as a watch. I might be splitting hairs thinking it should be better. I think I'll get the car drivable and see what it's like under a load on the highway then decide if it needs a little more attention. Thanks for the advice Tom, this worked well and saved me some $$.
That looks great. Seeing your son working the hoist really brings back memories of when my Dad could get out and work on the car for hours on end. I do all the work now and he supervises from the porch. And, I am thankful for that. We went to a local cruise in Saturday Aug 7. And my Dad and had a blast. Keep up the good work.
You need to add approx. an ounce in the same place where the 364 weight is. A 364 has an out of balance of approx. 3 1/2ozs. Whereas the 401/425 have an out of balance of approx. 4 1/2ozs. Your adding it to the wrong side. In other words 180* off from where it should be. Tom T.
wow, looks like a lot of work but it looks good.:beer I have a 60 4 door lesabre I am looking for parts for. What are you doing with the left over parts from the invicta?:grin:
Tom, I'm lost as to the place on the flywheel where you say the factory added weight is. There is no added weight anywhere on it. Only weight removed as you can see in the pic. I'll give your placement a try but really..... only one ounce to add in that area? The balance is off alot before I made the changes I did. The vibration is bad and very noticeable. So I'm puzzled why the engine did come into balance with the weight placement in the area in the after pic. Thoughts? Thanks Steve
I've just been buried with other stuff in life these days so no time to post here lately. Part of that "stuff" has been bustin' butt on the '60. It's gotta motor itself out of the garage and into the storage barn before the snow flys here. Latest progress........... A quick pic of the original 401 flexplate to show where the added weight is. you can see the "extra" metal in the area I shaded with a marker.
Radiator. I really wanted to use the original that came with the car. It's very clean and in really good condition. Plus it's the correct 3 speed unit with no trans cooler. Much nicer than the one in the parts car. A couple of small problems though. The bottom mount was mashed into something mangling the bracket and bending the upper mounting ears. Amazingly the hit didn't hurt the tanks or the core. A little torch, vise and hammer work straightened these out OK. Second problem was a small crack in the upper tank. I took it to my radiator guy and he did a quick 2 minute solder job on the crack and sent me on my way with a warning......... Having not tested this with pressure cross your fingers when you run it in the car............. It worked great when I fired and ran the 401 in the LeSabre for the first time. After I shut the engine down, about five minutes later I heard a little hissing sound. Damn..........the crack spread just enough under pressure to leak. OK....... now we gotta do it the right way. Back to the shop. This time the radiator was dunked and stripped cleaned. The little crack turned out to be a badly spidered area about the size of a quarter. The right fix would be a new tank. $$$$. For now Matt did the ugly but effective fix over the area. He also discovered a leak under the right upper bracket and fixed that too. Sixty bucks later..... it ain't pretty but we have good working unit.
PCV System. Back in '60 the blowby gases were just vented with a metal draft tube from the valley pan to the ground. Both oil caps in the valve covers are also open vented. When I drove the parts car around I could smell the blowby stench inside the car. Yeck...... Plus the underhood area in the LeSabre was totally slimed in oil from the valve cover oil caps venting a worn out 364. Not good. I deemed a PCV system mandatory on this driver. The problem is the original Carter AFB carburetor has no provision for a vacuum source for the PCV valve. I have some other Buick AFBs with the vacuum source but none of them have the engine starter switch mounted on the base. 1960 is the last year for the "tap start" throttle pedal starting system (lucky me......) so I have to run the original setup. I decided to add a 1/2" spacer under the carb and drill it for the vacuum source. Summit Racing has a spacer for a Holley carb that I modified to fit the mounting hole spacing of the AFB. I just scribed it out on the spacer using the original AFB gasket. Clamp the spacer to the drill press with another alumium unit for a bit guide and drill away....... A quick hole drilled in the back of the spacer for a vacuum port and I pressed in a chunk of 3/8" metal fuel line for vacuum line to mate to. Everything fits and clears well on the engine. The air filter housing just barely clears the hood with the extra height. Next I gotta make a tube from the valley cover to the air cleaner....
