Good advice but this is a Buick so, it's complicated. Buicks retained the enclosed drive (torque-tube) through 1959. The torque tube is incorporated into the suspension. The manual 3 speed is actually desirable because it's a manual and has much more real-world potential than the funky automatics offered in most Buicks. The manual 3 speed is a plus. Changing to open drive also means changing the rear suspension.
I made a good friend in the late ‘90’s/early 2000’s making a drive to help him get his new engine/transmission mated up.
Re; F-one’s post #59. This is the approach needed to bring an old dormant car back to life. I’ve been doing it to my old pickup that was in storage for 50 years. It’s tedious and time consuming to say the least but you eventually get to one of two places, either it runs and drives and you can keep improving it as you drive it, or you find out what parts are going to need extensive repairs and then you can make informed decisions about it. It sounds like F-one is willing to lend a hand with this. Watch and learn and most of all take pictures and keep us informed. That’s a rare old Buick and it will be great to see it come back to life. Good luck.
Please do not put anything but a Nailhead in there. And give the 364 good shot. There is lots of good advice in here. What I would do soak the cylinders with something like Marvel Mystery oil and turn it over a few times. Let it sit for a couple days. Change the oil and filter and then try and get it running off of a bottle. You have a good chance that there is just a stuck ring. It'll smoke up a storm at first but you may get lucky. If that doesn't work, rebuild the 364. It's not hard and all the parts are available for it, unlike some of the other '57 parts. I really hope your balljoints are good. lol. But you have a pretty special car there with the manual. Mine will to as well. I have a soft spot for 57's Correct. Though there is not enough power difference to get rid of the 364, they are actually my favorite of the Nailheads. And here I am to back you up on that. The factory start was on the accelerator and not in the ignition switch, it's quite common to move it to a push button on the dash.
Guys, y'all have convinced me on staying with the 364. That was my desire from the beginning. Y'all have been most gracious in offering lots of expert advice for which I am very grateful. Two of the guys from the forum have volunteered to come over and help me and I'm so excited about that. I can't wait !
I agree with what Gene said. The last thing you want is for a couple guys to show up to help and have some minor issue that prevents accomplishing anything. Get some extra points and condenser, a good fully charged battery and a supply of fuel thats clean. Get a couple inline fuel filters,rubber gas line and clamps in case you have to swap them when working on it. If your fuel lines are bad or tank full of bad gas, siphon it out and put some new gas in it. OR hook up some kind of small tank and temporary fuel line so you get fresh gas. If you have those things available it prevents wasting time when the troubleshooting starts.....might ask the guys that are coming if they have any suggestions about things to have on hand. Maybe a can of starting fluid as well as new spark plugs.
Ross Pistons has nailhead pistons, but a Tired Buick will run forever, I ran my 53 Skylark 12 years with its tired smoking engine, never missed a beat so run it, if some plugs foul out, put Anti Foulers on those plugs. The 364 is the best nailhead because it can be reved with the shorter crank.
I only skimmed this thread, but how expensive is rebuilding the Nailhead compared to changing the whole drivetrain? To do a 350 you are going to have find a transmission adaptor to the stock Buick running gear, or build new engine mounts, transmission, and rear end mounts, change brake lines, hoses, and have a driveshaft built. If you are going to do it properly you are going to have to buy a new, remanufactured, or rebuild the transmission and rear end yourself. If it was me, I would leave the car complete and look for a rebuildable 364 engine core have the machine work done (the machine work on a 364 Buick is going to cost the same amount as a 350 Chevrolet), and rebuild it, and swap the current engine for the rebuilt to keep the down time to a minimum. Coming from a oval track racking background, hearing people talking about expensive engine rebuilds seems strange. An entry level class race engine is in the $12,000-$15,000 range. The top level classes are $50,000 plus!
Hooking up a lawn mower gas tank, gravity feed to the carb takes fuel supply problems out of the mix and lets you sort out the others.
Exactly. If you drop it off at machine shop. It will automatically be overbore, new pistons etc. They have reputation to uphold and not many machinists will agree to assemble a short block with any questions. Are you able to tear down and measure cylinder walls, assess condition ? It may need full rebuild, may not. Quality valve job is worth the $. I'm a SBC guy thru and thru, but would not put one in that car.
They don't do 364 pistons, and really forged pistons wouldn't be needed, quality cast pistons are fine for a cruiser.
Please forgive me if I missed it but Sounds to me that the engine hasn’t been run long enough to get to operating temp that said it sounds like it has been sitting for a while with time and patience you may not need to rebuild or replace Also sounds like you’re in good hands enjoy the ride and best of luck
Here is the Ross web site statement about what they make including Custom Made pistons. Your statement is incorrect. Ross will make what you need. So the HAMB folks know. JW Welcome to ROSS RACING PISTONS Custom and off the shelf forged pistons, trusted by some of the fastest racers in the world.
A friend that had a '57 Buick was surprised to see that it had a rubber type fuel line from the tank forward. Might need to check that all out because this fuel today may have eaten up the innerts of that. Have seen way too many carbs and filters with rubber fuel line particles in them. I know it sounds weird, but.... Here you are - right out of the 1957 Buick Chassis Manual! ... All 1957 Buick fuel lines are made of synthetic rubber hose. 1957 Buick Engine Fuel and Exhaust Systems Specifications https://www.hometownbuick.com › 1957-buick-engine-f..
Again, I had another long post. I'm too long winded. Troy and I are going to get together next week sometime. I have been doing a lot of Buick research. I have reviewed the posts on this car. Troy, I'm thinking this.... We know the wiring has issues. We know the clutch is stuck. We know the fuel tank and system is very questionable. We know you like the car. We know you like the 364. We know compression is down on two cylinders. Troy, how about this, we disconnect the coil and not even worry about spark. We do another compression check with my gauge. We do a wet and dry test to see where we are with the 364 and record those results. We prepare for pulling the engine for an on the stand cleaning, inspection/overhaul. We may want to roll the car out to drop the tank for inspection. New tanks are available and in stock. Here are some photos and links to parts available. I would recommend the gas tank. For years these have not been available. Who know how long they will be available? 1957 Buick Gas Tank Kit Brand New, Steel Construction, Direct Fit Fits All Special, Super, Century, Roadmaster Models Includes: Gas Tank Gas Tank Straps & Bolt Kit Gas Tank Strap Cushions Gas Tank Sending Unit with Gasket & Screws Gas Cap Gas Tank Sending Unit A Quality Reproduction From CARS 1957 Buick Special Century Super Roadmaster New Steel Gas Tank Fuel Tank Kit$725.00 Here is an example of an engine kit. The warehouse is in Birmingham AL. it used to be Birmingham Piston. EnginePartsCenters is your number one source for all vintage engine rebuild and engine restoration needs! EnginePartsCenters has long been synonymous with the engine kit business, and Guardian is a name known industry wide. We have you covered, from a basic re-ring to the complete engine overhaul. This is our master overhaul enhine kit for the 1957 and 1958 Buick 364 engine. This kit includes: .Piston Rings Mahle/Clevite Connecting Rod Bearings Best Engine Gasket Set Packard Main Bearings Packard Pistons Cam Bearings Elgin Lifters Melling Camshaft Timing Chain and Gears Oil Pump Kit *please put any oversizes needed in note to seller section at checkout We are adding new part numbers daily. If you don't see what you need, please call or eMail us. We will be glad to help in any way! 800-821-1063 or btoc@internalengineparts.com THANK YOU for allowing us the opportunity to earn your business! EnginePartsCenters is offering this Complete Master Overhaul Kit for the 364 Buick from 1957-1958. Engine kit includes: 8 brand new pistons any common size - STD bore not available piston rings rod bearings any size main bearings any common size cam bearings camshaft lifters timing chain and sprockets complete overhaul gasket set oil pump kit--OPK51003 ZDDP-4 We are adding new part numbers daily. If you don't see what you need, please call or eMail us. We will be glad to help in any way! 800-821-1063 or btoc@internalengineparts.com THANK YOU for allowing us he opportunity to earn your business! 364 cid Buick 1957, 1958 Master Kit (1681-500) In Stock Price: $1,475.10 That's the master kit including camshaft and pistons. All you may need is rings, bearings, timing chain and gasket set. https://www.hometownbuick.com/1957-buick/ ^^^^^ Lots of info on this site! Hometown Buick has all the literature, Manuals, all that stuff. It's always a good idea to get all the service manuals. Above is part of the dash a harness out of a '57 Buick. It's on Ebay...make offer. Stuff like that is good to clean up the connections, bulb sockets...stuff like that, and use as parts for repairing an old harness. New 1957 factory Harnesses are available, but they are very pricy. The generic hot-rod harnesses are cheap, but I would rather properly repair an old harness than use one of those. Troy, it's your car. I'm willing to help anyway I can.
^^^^ That’s great F one,,,,,,You are a stand up guy ! You did a lot of research to help another guy on the Hamb,,,,,well done . Also,,,it proves that parts are available,,,,and reasonably priced also . Sometimes,,,,when you hear bad news,,,,some people don’t look any further. Parts are available . Tommy
Man, did you ever do some research ! I am on board with all you have said, although I do have a question or two. One, I had to add a stabilizing bar under the trunk for the new sheet metal I put in and that may mess with the original gas tank placement. I have my old tank off and I can see if it will still at least mount up properly. Two, several of the guys on here said after we can get my engine up to temperature we can tell more about what we have. Rather than spending the 1500$ up front, can we at least try what they are saying ? If I have to I will certainly buy what is needed, even the whole kit you showed me , although I don't think my skills would allow me to build that engine and I would probably have to get it to an engine shop, which I may have to save some more money for, lol. Thank you so much for offering everything you have here. If you still have my number you're free to call me anytime. Regards, Troy
yeah they will make custom pistons. And they are EXPENSIVE. They regularly make runs of pistons for 322, 401 and 425's, they are not as expensive. They do not do 364's as there just isn't a demand for them. So no I am not incorrect. As of right now they DO NOT make them. But go ahead and spend the guys money on something that isn't needed. Geez You are way better off with cast pistons than a custom set of forged pistons. I'm sure the price would scare you off anyway. Their pistons run about $800 set for the ones they regularly make. It can be more than double that for a set of customs. A good set of cast pistons would be around $400 and they are available now. Custom also take a while to get.
This topic seems to appear frequently. I'm on the side for rebuilding the nailhead. A '64 LeSabre in my town is a SBC transplant victim and it shows. Things just don't look right under the hood. While Ross may be closer to you, The Martins at Nailhedbuick.com are a wealth of info. When I worked auto salvage, compression testing was done after engines reached operating temp. Wet & dry readings can tell some but not all. A 401 engine presented recently with only 20 lbs in the #4 cyl. While the rest were between 155-165. Wet test produced no difference. disassembly indicated several valve seat w/slight pitting. 16 new valves installed with similar results, indicating piston or ring issues. Engine is currently awaiting piston/ring removal to further diagnose. I 've been told that Buicks have been known to break rings. Also when you get the engine running consistently, install a vacuum gauge with someone who can interpret the readings you get.
I’m kinda wondering how this project is going? Did you have to autopsy the engine? Did you get it running good? Are you driving it?
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