Projects Let's talk this one out: '56 Buick build

That's a neat car, I'm with the others that say don't do the frame swap. A large part of the fun in owning one of the old boats is the ride and road feel you get when driving it, you'll feel like a million bucks. My Cadillac at cruising speed feels great with the stock ch***is and suspension.

 

Thanks hellcat. I bought a '55 Super from the same guy I got this from, he said he'd never sell but persistence pays off...that and he realized he had too many cars. My '55 was a dream to drive and I don't doubt in stock form this is too but my long term goals include airbags and I don't think the torque tube setup would like that much. I know it's been done but I'd like to get rid of the Dynaflow & torque tube.

 

Rebuild the motor.........

 

rebuild the motor and run it.

 

You've been around the block, so you know it's not possible to open just one can of worms at a time! That said, the middle route is the one I'd follow, especially if you're viewing the original motor as a temp even if you rebuild it to begin with. Just seems like spinning your wheels in that case. But hey, ...a guy's gotta what a guy's gotta do. Like those Quad-porthole models man, great starting point!

 

Seriously stunning looking car, man! Change its guts if you want, but I wouldn't change the look. Gorgeous with a capital Gorge.

 

Well I decided to pull the heads off and have a look see at the cylinders and any possible damage caused by the stuck valve. The cylinder walls look great so I sent the heads off to have rebuilt. I got them back yesterday and they only found one bent valve and one bad outer spring. $305 worth of machine work later, which I think is a great deal considering the possibilities, I'm ready to re-***emble the engine after I receive the engine gasket kit and new freeze plugs. I'm still planning on picking up the 425 giddy up and just stuff it in the garage for now. Simply getting this car cruise worthy is going to take plenty of time & money so there's no need to add a crazy project like a 425 swap right from the get go. I wanna get the car on the road and enjoy it! I'll keep y'all posted when I start re-***embly and I'll be sure to add some pics.

 

Here's a pic prior to pulling the heads:

 

You did the right thing. Get it on the road and have fun; save the 425 for later. Your car is unusual and way cool. Makes me want to go find a Buick!

 

Just saved me a bunch of typing. exactly my thoughts.

 

Well I got the heads back on and during re-***embly I noticed when i was cranking the engine over by hand with the valley pan off that one of the cam lobes had been flattened. I'm glad I caught it even though it's a little more work to do. I'm probably gonna order up a Schneider as well as replace the chain and lifters while I'm in there.

 

The block is at the machine shop and I have a question for the nailhead gurus. They told me the cylinder bores are between .009" and .017" out and hopefully a .030" will take care of it. The decks are fine and they said it needs a line hone but I read some articles stating these blocks shouldn't even be line honed, is the shop going to mess up my block? My fingers are crossed...

 

You might consider rebuilding the trans while it is out. There are inexpensive rebuild kits in Hemmings. I know guys who have done their own transmissions successfully by getting a factory repair manual and following it to the letter (don't go getting ideas of your own). Not on a Dynaflow though.Possibly some of the Buick boards can advise on this. The Dynaflow is only a 2 speed so should be fairly simple.

 

Do you have any links to someone who has successfully done it? I've only heard "don't touch it" & "it's really expensive to rebuild". I was considering just replacing the ball seal and cleaning it up but I'm always up for a good challenge! I did see some reasonable rebuild kits on evil-bay given that all the hard parts are good. I did verify the trans works in drive and reverse prior to dis***embly.

 

To recover a sense of order on this build, here is the thread I created over the dilemma I had with the machining of the block:
http://www.jalopyjournal.com/forum/showthread.php?t=787219

 

Update! I've made tons of progress as of late and need to get y'all caught up which I will work on in the next couple of days but here's a teaser: It's technically a driver again!

 

Congrats!! That has to feel great. Hopefully someday I'll get my wagon on the road again and we can go cruising!

 

I just did a complete engine swap in my Buick Wagon, I went from the 322 to a 401 Dual Quad rebuilt motor. The swap was involved but worth it in the end. Glad to see your up and running again. I was happy with my 322, it was plenty of motor for the wagon. I just got a real good deal on the 401.