Buick straight 8 I.D. help.

Just posting this question on behalf of my mate.

He has a 53 buick super that just blew the water pump and he needs help id'ing the c.i. of the engine so he can order the right pump. Does anyone know what numbers cast or stamped can help identify what engine he has also where under years or grim they are located? Also wheres a good place to get a new pump from? Keep in mind we live in Australia, but more then happy to buy from the states.

Thanks heaps!

 

Maybe this will help.http://www.secondchancegarage.com/public/467.cfm
It should be 322 Cubic Inches.

 

It would be 263 or 320 ci. Here is a link that may help you out.
http://www.teambuick.com/reference/buick_8_engine_specs.html

 

Normally, a '53 Super would be a V-8 at 322". If you have a Straight 8 and it's a '53, it should be a Special with a 263" engine. If it's indeed a Super with a Straight 8, it shouldn't be a '53. The last year of Straight 8s in the larger series of Buicks was '52 and it would be a 320.

 

Dale has it exactly right! The pic posted is the smaller Series 40 body (Special), and if the engine is the original, it is a 263.

If, by chance, it is '51 or '52, it would still be a 263 (if original). Supers, prior to '53 all were equipped with the smaller of the two straight 8's Buick built. Supers were the larger body with the smaller engine.

Ray

 

Thanks everyone for that. That might have been my fault, I think he did tell me special but I write special.

 

Wonder why they dropped the bigger engine in favour of the 263? Was there a fuel scare in the early fifties or did the 320 have issues? Juz curious.

 

"They" (Buick) did not drop the bigger engine (320) in favor of the 263. They dropped the bigger straight 8 in favor of the new 322 cubic inch V8 for 1953 Super and Roadmaster model.

The 263 had superceded the 248 straight 8 in the early '50s. In turn, the 263 straight 8 was "dropped" after 1953 when the Special series got a 264 cubic inch version of the 322 V8 design. So, with '54 models there were no more straight 8's, but two displacements of V8, depending on model.

Unlike the straight 8's, which were physically different in exterior dimensions, as well as displacement, between the 320 and 248/263, the V8's were the same outward size and approximate weight.

Ray