It sounds like you know a whole lot I very much appreciate the time and info you just put into that post. Very sound and helpful. Pretty awesome sir
Man, a 57 Stick shift Buick. I wouldnt be changing out the engine. the biggest problem with obsolete engines is piston availibility and price., a quick google check has them at between 4-500 bucks a set. everything else is pretty much standard machine shop work. I agree with the other posts though, work out your wiring, and get some marvel mystery oil in the cylinders and let it soak. Make sure you have good grounds and battery connections, and points.
Moorook. Don't do that. That's a huge backward step in whole coolness of a Buick. That's just telling the world I'm broke and can't afford to fix it properly. Its the worst thing you can do. It might safe a few bucks in the short term. There is absolutely no other advantage. Look up Matt Martin on FB. He specialises in Buick engine.
Nailheads are more expensive to rebuild, simply because there are limited suppliers for parts (ask me how I know). But @Desoto291Hemi is right, there are ways to make it cheaper. If having to rebuild is in order, a couple of things to know- 57 364 engines came with an aggressive camshaft from the factory. I would get it running as is and evaluate. I would pull the valve covers first before turning it over anymore to make sure there are no stuck valves. There is not a lot of valve clearance in these motors, and a stuck valve will hit a piston.
Maybe could arrange a time with @F-ONE and we all get together. Maybe on one of the cruise in dates. Just come up earlier.
Click on the member's name. You'll have the option to start a conversation with him. Click on "Start a conversation" and a box will open up. Type your comments in the box and hit "Send". You've just PM'd someone.
The old adage is that if oil added to the cylinder changes the compression it's rings. I've learned first hand that's not true. I learned that a carboned up (and not fully sealing) exhaust valve can also see an increase in compression with oil in the cylinder. The more confirmatory test to do is pressure up the cylinder. I used my compression tester adapter with the schrader valve removed and an air hose hooked to it (with the pressure regulator turned down). The air came out the exhaust, what a relief that it wasn't rings. If the air is coming through dipstick, bad news. Without a temp gun, water on the exhaust manifold works just fine. You'll be able to see easily which cylinder is dead.
To post pictures select upload a file and select the picture you are going to post and select full size image and you are done oh and keep the nailhead!
I would only agree on keeping everything stock IF you're sure the trans and rear axle are in great shape, and wont need work soon. Hate to see you put a bunch of money into the engine to save doing a complete drivetrain swap, and then have the old trans or rear axle fail later.
By your pictures, the way you have the resister wired in, its not doing anything for you. That resister has to be between the power source and the coil, it appears you have it looped from the coil, through the resister, then back to the coil. Other than removing the resister and the added wire, I would hesitate making suggestions until I knew how the push button and the switch are wired. I would not want to advise you incorrectly. I suspect if one of those guys close to you can meet up and give you some guidance, you will be a happy camper. I wouldn't be too concerned about a rebuilt motor until you have some running time on the one you have, and then have a chance to drive the car a bit. In the mean time, I think I would work towards getting the gas tank cleaned, and new fuel lines in place, and a couple gallons of fresh gas, so once you get it running, it can run a while. Might also check to be sure the motor, the radiator and the radiator hoses can hold water, and the fan belts actually turn the water pump too. Those things would be important for running the motor more then just a few minutes.
Before you do anything to the engine, go to www.nailhead.com and read the articles in the tech section. Nailheads aren't like chevys.
Like many guys have already said, before you spend too much time searching for someone to rebuild your engine, get it running good enough so you can properly diagnose it and determine just what it needs! A lot of people waste a lot of money going off half cocked and go overboard rebuilding them when it didn't need it to perform the function you want it to do.
My first car breakdown memory was in a '56 Buick we had, it had a burnt valve and wouldn't make enough power to get us 15 miles to home. Fortunately, it died a few blocks from my uncle's Ashland station, and he had it back together the next weekend. I still remember Dad showing Mom that bad valve, I may have been 4 years old at the most, and it is the first internal engine part I remember seeing. Anyway, do determine what is wrong before making any big decisions, you may only need a valve job also, or maybe less. I too, would keep the 364 in it. If this is your first old ride, you don't want to get wrapped up in reinventing the entire drivetrain.
Not to sidetrack the thread, but the Buick 350 is about 100 pounds lighter than a SBC, and has more torque than a run-of-the-mill 350SBC (IIRC). Built tough, a helluva good engine, but not an easy (or inexpensive) swap in this situation! Back to regular programming.
Troy, Madison is a trip but it's not bad. I could come up 65 or the Old 231. I'm about as far as Anthony but a little to the southeast. No sir. Now this starts that whole "Southern Thing" (two men getting into an argument trying to stuff the same 5-dollar bill in each other's pocket....Let me pay you...No.....Now you take this back......No....it's yours.....so it goes back and forth. ). Let me end that by saying.....It will hurt my feelings if you try to pay me. Let me do this for you. At least this first trip. Now in the future if something comes up ......maybe. We'll cross that bridge if it comes. My goal for coming is help you start on the stuff nobody does. Nobody does the TLC stuff. If they do, they charge lots and lots and lots of money. Let's take my 51 Coupe. The old car was in really good shape, but it needed a lot. It was hard dirty work. IMG_0225 by Travis Brown, on Flickr Untitled by Travis Brown, on Flickr ^^^^^ Now that was a job right there. Untitled by Travis Brown, on Flickr One big issue is fixing what others have fixed before. I thought the tank was OK until the first fill up. I should have caught that. It's embarrassing when the cashier comes out with a bag of oil dry. If I'd been in Birmingham, they would have called the Haz-Mat team. Untitled by Travis Brown, on Flickr These two bolts/studs are a great example of TLC work. Flathead Fords have two different sizes of exhaust manifold bolts. The front two are 7/16. The rest are 3/8. A previous owner used these 3/8 studs to hold the manifolds on. They nearly destroyed the factory bolt holes. Untitled by Travis Brown, on Flickr Untitled by Travis Brown, on Flickr Untitled by Travis Brown, on Flickr Untitled by Travis Brown, on Flickr Untitled by Travis Brown, on Flickr Untitled by Travis Brown, on Flickr Whew! I'm proud of that save. All of it was done by hand to restore those threads. It took many days. For a time "The issue was in doubt" but it worked out. Is a shop going to have the patience, the gumption to do stuff like this? Probably not. That was a biggie, but really, it's just.....care. Untitled by Travis Brown, on Flickr Here's another example.....Brakes.... Untitled by Travis Brown, on Flickr ^^^^^ Taking the time to change the hoses without destroying the factory frame brackets and factory clips.....stuff that's not reproduced. TLC work.... as was restoring the backing plates and replacing the front bearings. In summary..... You will not owe me a dime, I'd be honored to come up and help you get started. I posted the Ford pics to show the tedious stuff you may run in to and that honestly only somebody that really cares about the car can fix. Really only you can fix.
I may have sounded anti-shop or anti professional. There may be some stuff that needs a pro. The big thing in my opinion is do all you can and do it right. The more repairs you are able to do, the less work for the pro if it comes to that. Now Anthony, he is a pro. He is a teacher and a good one. I'm just a shade tree. I'd love for us all to get together. That would be fun. Back to the Buick...... It's hard to tell what all is going on. I'm assuming that that was just temporary to run the car. Do you still have the factory ignition switch? Does the dash harness still exist? Are you running out of the factory gas tank? In your opinion, is it possible to go back to the factory keyed switch? Some wires may need to be replaced but is any of that left? Do you have a good set of tools? Will the car roll? If need be, can the car be rolled easily in and out of the garage? Do you have a fire extinguisher? Do you know anything about the status of the gas tank, fuel lines and fuel pump? How long has it been since the oil has been changed? Do you have the shop manual for this car? Now I'm turtle slow. I think a realistic goal at first is to get the car to turn over well and hopefully with good spark. A lot of stuff I will not know until I see what you have. Hopefully we can get it to spin over really well. I would love to accomplish that with the factory switch. Most of the time will probably be spent doing wire work and cleaning connections. If you want me to come up, I'd be honored to. I'm retired. I'm available any day except Sunday and Wednesday. Let me know, in the meantime I'm going to research 57 Buick Specials and ignition wiring. Troy, To read and send a Private Message one here, look at the black banners (flags) below the HAMB heading. The second from the right is the Private Message banner. When it's red, you have a private message. Click on that banner, 2nd from right that looks like a letter. Once you click into it, respond to the message just like you respond to a topic here on the main forum.
The Jalopy Journal
