straight eight buick motors

Does anyone know where and what kind of hot rod parts are available for these motors,ive heard of dual carb set ups as an option back then but i have never seen one,ahy info would be great.
Jamie of Dead City

 

Ive seen a few early Edmunds 2x2 intakes and one time a finned valve cover! the factory set ups youre thinking of is the 41 buicks. They are just as expensive as finding an old aluminum one. The facory buick boys love um. So good luck.

 

I've been lookin for about a year and came up with a big fat goose egg I've got a 331 (I believe.....its the smaller I8) 47 buick motor I would love to stick in a open fendered somethin but parts availability and cost are kinda makin me rethink that option

 

There is some speed equipment available, but it ain't cheap or easy to find. There are some Buick clubs around, and a few dedicated inline racers. Search inliners, see what you get!

 

i know edmonds made a alumum head never seen one tho

 

I think some of the late straight 8's (roadmaster & ambulance) could be had with a WCFB four barrel, not easy to find I'm sure.

 

there are 2 series of buick straight 8,s, the 248/263 cubic inch small series, and then the 320 cu in.roadmaster/century 8,s that are generally the ones most people are familiar with. There were some eddy edmunds, and fenton aluminum 2 carb manifolds for each series, then there are the stock 2 carb 1941/42 manifolds, and the the 52 roadmaster only 4 barrel, which is problably the best one. Also some real racing manifolds that were a log type you can hang as many carbs on as you like. You can make or have made a simple log type by simply using some alum. square or round tubing and welding or fitting the ports and carb bases. It would really have the visual for a rod. just use 2 of the carbs an it wud even run good. There were some old buick racers way back and they are strong reliable motors, they are overhead valve motors with full pressure oiling, and good longevity. Ak Miller used one in his hiboy roadster to shut down a lotta street racers in the 40,s. The small series would be ideal for a roadster, there are adapters for transmissions available, or just use an old large series buick 37/38 floor shift, they will adapt to a ford torq tube. just keep it under 5000 rpm.

check out 'team buick' on the web

 

There is parts around and also ones you can swap for up grades ., because I am doing a I-8 as well . I have been searching for info as well and have found lots of info on the net .... there is a speed book you can get thats out there its call (California Bills Speed manual) ........ as for intake some came stock with duals and as for aftermarket .....there out there but good luck ! .. Thats why I am just going to make my own with 4 97s ........I will post when I am building for who needs info ....... Steve

 

i had a '50 a few years ago, it had the 263 in it. you can get pistions made for the small 8 through ross racing pistons (there are ones for the 320 already). there are dual carb intakes floating around for both sizes (even 6 carb intakes). there are adaptors to run other transmissions.

http://www.amazon.com/California-Bi...ef=sr_1_9/105-3716352-6673243?ie=UTF8&s=books

http://www.transmissionadapters.com/index.htm

 

It is nice to see someone interested in the old straight 8 Buicks. You did not indicate that you had a little or big Buick engine. In the "old days" the little Buick engines had very little success with hop up efforts- not big enough. The big Buick engines had quite a bit of success; however the fastest guys had to make their own performance pieces. The stock 1941 dual manifold was a good starting place. The Edmunds manifold was pretty and sometimes seen on little Buick engines. Unfortunately the Big Buick engine weighs up in the 800 lb. area. Attached is a 1952 photo.

 

I am buildingup a 263 out of a '53. This thing is huge so it scares me to imagine that a 320 must weigh.
I hear these guys will regrind the cams
http://www.deltacam.com/
I got frustrated trying to find a dual carb manifold and welded up my own...Hope it works!I figure I saved about 50 pounds by throwing away the cast iron manifolds.
Pistons are available off the shelf up to .080 oversize from Egge Machine. You can mill the head up to .120 too!
Keep us posted if you find any neat parts sources.

 

Roadsterbob, I built a 53 buick special a couple of years back. I think it is now in round rock. It has a factory dual intake off of a 40"s. The car is blk and purple. I also built my own 3x2 intake for it and gave to the guy when I sold it. I ran the factory split exhaust manifold off of the same 40's buick. TP

 

I saw an Edmunds intake for the 320 go on that auction site for over $1000 last year. I have a factory Compound Carburetion setup for the 320. It has split exhaust manifolds so duals would be easy to fab. Over $600 invested so far and all I need to complete it is the air cleaner...

Dan

 

HA HA see what happens when you open up the Buick straight 8 page! I shudda added Don Montgomery used a Buick powered Hudson to shut down a few machine,s back in the day! I have a stock 1939 century that has the 41' manifolds, and it runs smooth and strong, stays up with todays traffic, goes much faster than I need to go, and hasnt given me any problems.Only thing i need now is a chassis tune up, overdrive, and disc brakes. Roadster Bob, you are on the right track, as the old manifolds are getting overpriced and scarce, and there is still a lot of interest in them old Buick 8,s so you have a good example of what can be done. I have a Packard 4 barrel intake manifold that i,m going to install on my 39' it matches pretty close to the Buick's ports. i,m going to change this engine for my Chet Herbert cammed 341 bored, and balanced block. [was used in an old Bonnieville 39 buick coupe] Dave vista ca.

 

I have the optional dual carbs and exhaust on my 41, but on the the factory air cleaner, I ditched the oil bath section and installed a K&N filter in the center section, looks almost stock and breaths much better.

In the XXO class at Bonneville Lee Tull and his dad Mel hold the record in the unblown street roadster runnnig the big Buick at 169 and change, set in the early 90's.

 

Pics, Pics, Pics, Let's See Em..





Rafa.

 

Somebody dig out the Oct. or Nov. '52 HRM with Lee Wooley's '40 Super (?) "Pocatello Powerhouse" coupe at Bonneville - 128 mph car ... the engine ended up in a dragster.

 

If you do a Search here we've discussed it lots over the years!

There are several HAMBr's into these engines...including me!

Here's the dealio-

There were three different Straight 8s for Buick in 1950. The low-line cars (cheapest) like the Special and Super were only offered with the 248 (3-3/32 bore with a 4-1/8-inch stroke) and the 263 (3-3/16-inch bore with the same 4-1/8-inch stroke). The 248 manual trans 8 made 115hp, the Dynaflow-backed 248 made 124 hp, the manual 263 made 124hp and the 263 with a Dynaflow made 128hp. They differed in compression ratio to make different power numbers. The 320 is a physically larger engine, and few parts swap between the "small-block" 248/263s, and the "big-block" 320s. Most of the hot rod parts you'll find are for the 320, since it was a Buick powerplant from the mid-30s all the way till the V-8s took over in mid-'53. There's just more of them out there. The small-blocks were also made till '53, but they only came out in '48 or '49. By 1950, the big 320-inch S-8 was only offered in the big Roadmaster, since the engien was so huge it would not fit comfortably in the smaller Special/Super models. Interestingly, it's really not too hard to build a custom intake manifold for these engines, since all the intake ports are aligned on the same side of the engine. I'm building one myself, and it's going to be much cooler and much more unique than searching all over for an old one that I may or may not like.

The latest from Scotch's Buick Straight 8 Research Lab (tm).

The motor is torn down and mocked up. To get the compression up from 7.2 to 9.5:1, we've shaved .100 off the block deck and another .100 off the deck of the head. I worked with Ross pistons to develop a nice piston with a good small dome, and if you call them they have them in the computer. The stock pistons had huge-ass domes, which horsepower guys know doesn't do shit for the flame front. Going to the smaller dome in combination with the .200-inch removed from the mating surfaces will serve to bump compression to a better place. We're getting a custom cam from Nielsen, and I've got a pair of Harley Davidson 275cfm sidedrafts I'm building an intake for.

The Straight 8 has some quirks I wasn't aware of previously. The oiling system is reverse in it's design from the norm. Usually, pressure flows from the pump along a galley to the cam/lifters, then up the pushrods to the rockers. In cleaning up this block, it became obvious there were no oil galley plugs and therefore, no oil galley. How then does it get oil, and how can we make it better?

Further research showed the pressurized oil goes from the pump up to the rockers first, through a hollow rocker shaft. Then, it flows down through the hollow pushrods to the lifters, flowing out and over the lobes to provide lubrication. Backwards, yes, but apparently still effective.

So, in looking everything over, we wanted to get more air in and out of the engine. The intake ports are siamesed, meaning the 8 cylinder engine has only four intake ports. This makes mocking up the intake easier, since we only need to center each of the carbs between the two corresponding exhaust ports.

I'll be keeping the stock crank and connecting rods. The rods have an oddball pinch bolt design on the piston pin, which I'm not stoked about. The rods themselves are over 7.25-inch long, and are relatively thin. This means replacement is virtually impossible with typical BB Chevy/Ford/Mopar rods. I could have a custom set made by Carillo or Oliver, but it would be cost prohibitive. Were I racing this, it would become essential.

We're shooting for 100hp more than factory, which puts us in the 225hp range. Knowing this, it's not hard to see that each cylinder, at peak, must be capable of supporting about 30hp. The stock rods are plenty adequate for this.

The post-1949 Buick S-8s are fitted with typical insert-type bearings. Pre-50 engines have poured babbit bearings, which are not replaceable. When choosing an engine like this to build on, the 50-and-later engines win big time because of this alone. Bearings are available and affordable for the later engines with inserts. I don't want to think what would be involved in re-pouring babbit bearings, or even the machinist's bill for swapping up from poured to insert bearings. Get a later engine and keep it simple.

There is much to be gained in porting one of these heads. There is a ton of casting flash and slag in these castings, and a little time with a grinder goes a long way. Helping one of these engines to breathe a little will help everything from smooth idle to acceleration rate to peak power potential. They don't have to be made LARGER, they simply have to be reshaped to perform BETTER. We don't want to increase the volume of air moving in and out of the engine as much as we'd like to increase the velocity of the air moving through. So, a simple cleanup and matching of port sizes and shapes is all these engines need.

Once I get this one running, we'll have more solid connections for these parts. Egge Machine has gasket kits and bearings. The Ross pistons are already available. If they get orders, they'll keep the file handy for future orders. Pistons are available for everyone who wants something similar.

We overbored the block almost .100-inches too, and it will now displace 283ci (vs. 263ci stock). This bore size will allow us to use out-of-the-box Acura rings (cheap and plentiful) on the Ross slugs.

I'm working with MSD on ignition- I've been told a Pontiac distributor can be made to work in an early S-8 with minor mods. If this is so, I'll be doing it. I'll share this info with MSD and maybe they can offer them on special order.

I've chosen to run a 700R-4 trans behind it using a Bendtsens transmission adapter. They can be found here:
http://transmissionadapters.com/Buic...ht_263_320.htm

The rear suspension will be late-model F-body. The factory f-body torque arm mount will be retained, and I'll be doing what's necessary to get the post-'82 F-body axle installed and functioning. I'll be coordinating with Glen on this.

www.hotrodsbyglen.com

Currently, the project is coming togehter at Pro Machine in central CA. The shop owner John Beck is learning right along with me, and I can confidently recommend him to anyone else wanting one of these hot street S-8s. He's got all the connects and we're learning what these engines want. Once it's done, I'll have pics and dyno sheets (really!) to show how it did. For now, I've got some teardown and mockup pics...but know there's more to come.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/11929667@N00/136078387/

http://www.flickr.com/photos/11929667@N00/136078386/

http://www.flickr.com/photos/11929667@N00/136078124/

http://www.flickr.com/photos/11929667@N00/136078123/

http://www.flickr.com/photos/11929667@N00/136078121/

http://www.flickr.com/photos/11929667@N00/136078120/

http://www.flickr.com/photos/11929667@N00/136077611/

http://www.flickr.com/photos/11929667@N00/136077612/

http://www.flickr.com/photos/11929667@N00/136078125/

~Scotch~

 

i got a buick roadmaster engine and tranny wonder what i can do to it?

 

I used to have a 1947 Chrysler flathead straight eight motor. I kept it for 20+ years in hopes of using it in a project, but the parts were rare and expensive. As it turned out, I was not all that much of a masochist. I finally sent it to the scrap dealer.

Problem 1. It had a 30/30 crank already, as well as a .060 overbore.

Problem 2. It had a SAE 3 bellhousing pattern and a rockford clutch, which was a trial to adapt to a good trans.

Problem 3. I had this 10,000 mile takeout V-6 out of a Taurus SHO (Built by Yamaha for FORD) lying around. This is in my 1932 roadster rolling chassis.

I still long for a large inline sometimes..... MIZ

 

here's mine

 

When you inline Buick guys are patrolling swap meets, keep your eyes open for a Mallory dual point with a 189 number on the tag.

 

Hauled one home last weekend , just always fancied one so when my mate Spence was swapping to a V8 and offered me the lump at the right money I grabbed it !

No idea what I'm gonna do with it yet , but it sure looks good in my garage . But damn , I thought my Flathead Caddy V8 motor was heavy , this thing is unreal !!

Cheers to Taildragger for hauling it and Rottenpop for catching my best side whilst watching us struggle ...

 

Jeez Ratty, how much junk can one man collect?

Anyway, I posted these picures and text a while back when someone asked about using 94's on a straight 8 and the subject got round to header clearance. I thought it might be of interest to post them again.

It's running four sidedraft Corvette carbs in case you're wondering.

"A friend of mine has this in his 41 Buick. It was allegedly worked on by Mickey Thompson back in the early fifties and this is how they figured out how to get round clearance issues! The car was never finished and left in storage from around 1953-4 till my friend bought it a few years back. It's still a work in progress but it'll get done one day. And in case you're wondering it sounds incredible!"

 

Now thats a cool motor !

Stop giving me ideas , I've gotta build the Modified first , then a truck , and then .... etc .... etc ....

 

I Have A Edmunds Vintage Dual Carb Intake I Might Sell For The Right Money ! For A 248 Cu In. Zz-iron

 

yeah ok one post wonder....I suppose I get the cash to the nearest Nigerian?

 

That is a sick motor there,thanks for the pic and all the info everybody has given me.

 

I just picked up a 50 of my buddy. I was going to swap the motor for a v8 but last weekend i got it runnin and now its kinda growing on me. My buddy also has an extra straight 8 motor for it in his garage. I was thinking of grabbing it for a lil roadster project, but i was also thinking of running a turbo on it. I was thinking with the low compression these are set at from the factory, they'd work pretty well with a lil boost, just a couple pounds. Anyone here ever run a blower on one of these motors?

 

Yea the old straight 8 Buicks were one of the first muscle cars. The engine is strong and reliable, not that hard to work on, its an overhead valve engine, strong bottom end, big bearings, full pressure oiling,will run all day at fwy speeds and can handle some blower pressure without any trouble. In fact its similar to the famous GMC truck engines, it hasjust the right amount of compression for a blower and thats the right thing to hopup that engine. Just run 6 or 8 pounds and it will hav lotsa torq. which is what that engine is all about. course i,m a buick fan as i have one, and thats what we used bak in the day to take us to the drags and the lakes. we used them old buicks to tow the race cars up cajon pass to El Mirage.