I seen a club members 37 Buick saturday and would love to find one to build a road car out of one,his I think is the smaller ch***is and its original motor even with a gear change really can not handle going over 60 so that got me thinking if I could find a good 37 or slightly newer Buick and find the largest of the straight 8s and adapt a modern trans and build me a good highway car. I never paid much attention to those motors before so are all the late 30s to 52 or 53 motors about the same physical size and could the last year of the largest motor bolt up to all the earlier Buicks.
The Buick Straight 8 engines were built in two physical sizes and three displacements. The 248 & 263 cubic inch engines are the smaller version and were generally used in Special and Super models. The 320 was installed in the Century, Roadmaster and Limited models. The 320 is about 4" longer than the 248/263, is taller and weighs significantly more, but it pulls like a freight train. Btw, the wheelbase is longer on all 320 equipped models to accommodate that longer engine. You could shoehorn a 320 into the swb, but plan on moving the firewall back accordingly and depending on transmission, may have X member interference. All of them have good torque characteristics. '49 and later are, in my opinion, a better choice as they have insert rod bearings, though the rods from any year can be machined for inserts. Main bearings are insert type on all yr models and all are full pressure lube system. The key to having a good road going Buick straight 8 for modern roads is an upgraded driveline. The 3 speed manual trans used behind 248/263 is a fairly weak unit, identified by it 5 bolt top cover. The transmission behind the 320 are much stronger and have a 6 bolt top cover, and are physically a bit larger. Bendtsen's in Ham Lake, MN (www.transmissionadapters.com) has a really sturdy, well made adapter that coverts the back of the Buick to the same configuration as a Chevy V8 (or later 6's) and will accept either manual trans or any Chevy pattern automatic. The rear ends were torque tube design, heavy and generally geared very low. For cars equipped with the 248" engine, 4.40-1 was common in late '30s & early '40s. I know firsthand how miserable that is. By the time the 263" came along, gears were a little more highway friendly, but not enough. Early 320 powered cars often had 3.90 gears on standard coupes and sedans, maybe a bit steeper on the Limos. Differential center sections can be swapped thru 1955 models and I think there is a 3.36 ratio in that era on some models. Several different methods of installing an open driveline axle and suspension. GM (aka NASCAR) truck arm suspension is one that works pretty well. Also 4 bar, either triangulated, or parallel with a Panhard bar is another good option. Jag or Vette independent is also a possibility. None of this is intended to discourage you...only give you a broad view of Buick applications. hope this helps. Ray
Thanks for the info as I know very little about the 50s and older Buicks,so if I want to play with the bigger motors get a larger model and no cutting will need to happen. The lines of that 37 just flowed so well and would love to have one.
I have a '38 Special Coupe. Some years ago I bought a somewhat scarce '38 Century Coupe, but sold it to a friend of mine. It as the 320 engine but, in my opinion, the longer wheelbase and hood are not as well porportioned as the shorter Special and Super models. Just an individual preference, either version is a handsome automobile. I also like the '37 grille very much. Just remembered something....'37 models have rear parallel leaf springs! Makes swapping an open drive rear end much easier. The '38 rides on coils and the frame differences do not lend themselves to a parallel leaf setup. Ray
'37-'40 Buick coupes were all the rage in the late '50s to mid '60s at Fremont drags... I loved those cl***ic body styles, but the charge everybody got when they came out of the hole...LUNGE! They dominated the "cheater" cl***es, those straight 8's had freight car loads of torque. Not one of 'em claimed to be 'stock'!
My dad had a '52 Roadmaster a few years ago that he and I worked on, it had the 320" engine with a factory 4 barrel. And a neighbor up the road said he used to race them as stock cars in the late 50's. But it really is the Dynaflow and torque-tube that hold them back. The engines themselves are powerful and smooth.
Now if I can find one that I can afford,I know I missed a few at that salvage yard auction that was posted on here a couple weeks ago.
My FIRST car, in 1957, was a '53 Buick Special with a 248". I swapped out the DynaFlow, installed a 3 speed stick. The engine was like a bull, ran so well, day in, day out. Wish I still had that car.
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