PauliusB

Thank you all for your responses. The problem is I'm located in EU and finding a new engine of course would be the best choice, but it's impossible to find something within driving distance. I have to ship everything from US and shipping costs increase exponentially as part size or weight gets larger, shipping a crank alone puts an extra 500$, so I'm trying to save the current one, but of course if necessary I'll ship one here. Shipping an engine - that's too much, so that's off the table. As for the car, the plan is to prepare it for summer driving for indefinite time (as long as nothing critical happens). When I bought it, it had 68k miles, engine disassembled and stored in the trunk of the car, nice interior/exterior, no rust. It apparently had a blown head gasket, head was deformed and car itself hasn't been run since 2012. So the process went like this: heads were machined to an even surface, head gasket replaced, block inspected for cracks (all good, so I'd assume it's possible to rebuild), oil pump replaced, filter, oil. Compression was good in all cylinders, was able to start it up and idle. Transmission works. Noticed that valve covers / rocker arms are completely dry and idle pressure at hot idle drops to 7-5psi, but what's worse is that carb/timing is not tuned yet properly, so my idle is probably at ±1000rpm, maybe even more (you might hear it in the video below). And that's where I decided to take the crank off and saw what I saw. I'm more limited to possibilities, since I'm unfortunately not from US, but the plan is stick around with this car and try to do what's possible - I really like it. On Tuesday, I'm taking the crank to another machine shop, which does rebuilds and will see what they'll say. As requested, here are some photos and a video of a running engine (don't mind the pressure reading, it's only after ±2 minutes) - https://streamable.com/10iidl I hope I answered your questions.

Thank you for your insights! Apparently, the crank is done... It had already been resurfaced to 0.020" by previous owners and they wore it beyond 0.040" limit (on 2 journals) according to the machine shop. Any recommendations on what to do next? I've heard there is an option to resurface a crankshaft in some shops, where they add a new layer to the journals so that they are back to factory parameters. Is it a reliable option or the crank might become more fragile after that? Another option is of course to buy a new one, but so far it's been pretty tricky to find one. I can only find performance cranks with 3.625" stroke, whereas stock is 3.400". Just a random thought, would a crankshaft from 3800 fit my 231? Starting to become really frustrating..

Oil pickup tube looks like brand new. Pulled the main bearings and saw that number 2 (is it a thrust bearing?) is pretty rough as well as on crankshaft side. I can feel the grooves with my finger nail on the crank. Others look pretty good. I'll be getting the crank to the machine shop soon to check if it's fixable Would you think this might be the cause? Would could have caused this only for this bearing?

I'm using 10w30, engine's got 68000miles. When I bought it, it had a blown head gasket and a deformed head, which might indicate overheating in the past, but it's all sorted now. So just wondering if bearings (or someting else? )could have taken a toll because of that? When starting cold, there aren't any weird noises whatsoever. Also I'm using a mechanical gauge to verify the readings. I am planning to drop the oil pan tomorrow and inspect crankshaft bearings. I'm also thinking about camshaft bearings if they should be inspected, but the work required to take those out would be much bigger, so I'd like to leave this as a last resort. Would this also be worth considering you think? As far as I know, crankshaft bearings is a more potential cause for low oil pressure rather than camshaft ones.

Thank you for your answer. But would you say my idle pressure is actually too low?

Hi, I'm concerned about my Riviera's hot idle oil pressure and was wondering if it's too low to be drivable. Oil pump is replaced to a new stock one, when I start it up, pressure is at 40 psi, however as the engine comes to temperature it drops to 6-7 psi. I know Buicks with external oil pumps tend to have low oil pressure, but I would expect it to be at least 10 psi. If I rev, pressure goes up sufficiently. My questions are: 1. Is this too low (6-7 psi)? If yes, should I verify another probable cause, which is bearing clearances? 2. Also, inside valve covers it is completely dry, I've never seen this on other cars, is this normal again? I would expect oil to come through the lifters. Thank you!

Hi! I have 1980 Buick Riviera 3.8L V6 Turbo. I was able to finally start it after it's been sitting for over 10 years and would like to do a proper fluid change of transmission and differential, but have a few doubts since I don't have owner's manual. 1. What type of transmission fluid type I should use? Does this one from Valvoline good enough? What's the typical fill volume in quarts? 2. Again what type of differential fluid I should use, could you provide some examples? I know that fluid type should be based on diff type, does anyone know what options for differential were available for this car? Open diff is the most common, but just want to make sure. What's the typical fill volume in quarts? Anything else I should know maybe? Any advice is welcome. Thank you very much! Paulius

Hi all, I have 1980 Riviera 3.8L V6, which I have bought and tried to assemble it together for the first time. This car hasn't been started for over 5 years to my knowledge. I need some tips on troubleshooting on why it might not start or on something I've probably missed. Compression is good, ignition system works fine. Distributor generates good enough sparks to each of the plugs. Wires from the distributor were connected correctly according to firing order (1-6-5-4-3-2) and when starting the car, I make sure there is fuel in the carburetor and after cranking the engine the plugs get wet with fuel, but I believe I overflow the engine by pumping the gas / pouring to much fuel to the carburetor. So I'd like your tips on how prime/prepare the carburetor before starting the car: 1. Pouring the fuel. Should I pour the fuel through the fuel inlet on top of the carburetor, which is located here (see picture)? Before I've tried to spray it through the primary valve. Or both ways are correct? 2. I read that the choke should be closed before starting and I was starting the car with the choke opened like in the picture. Should it be closed? To close it I should pull the throttle cable once, or? How is the choke controller in this carburetor from the picture? (1st time dealing with carburetors) 3. When cranking the engine, should I pump the throttle continuously, just a few times or not do it at all? 4. Vacuum lines leading to the carburetor might not be connected properly, but I think JUST to see if the car starts, they are not needed, correct? For proper operation - of course they are. 5. And finally any experts could maybe tell me the type/model of the carburetor in the picture so that maybe I could do further reading on my own? Thank you a lot! Paulius

Everything around distributor seems connected, but I've noticed that there is no spark in the plugs when turning and most likely positive charge is missing from what I've checked. Electric charge to distributor comes to this connection it seems: 3-pin is connected from the distributor: There is one extra connection to connect a single pin, but one is missing in the first picture. From where should the positive charge should come in order to generate spark? Appreciate the help.

Your link helped a lot, thank you! It seems it might be Air & Smog pump: Although the question is whether it's a necessity. Could it be CA / Non-CA thing at that time because of emission restrictions in CA?

Thank you for your reply! Was wondering if you happen to know what this part actually is? Noticed I don't have that

So I'm currently assembling everything in the engine bay of my Riviera and today wanted to test the ignition switch and electricity and came across a couple of things, which I don't fully get and was thinking I could get some clarity here. 1) Do you have maybe an idea what these amber and green switches are for? 2) What's this button for? Seems like it's intended to be pressed with a foot.Although what I found weird is how it was attached: just 2 screws drilled through the mat, so I assume it's custom or that's how it comes from the factory? Thank you for your help! Paulius

Thank you for your reply! I've managed to connect ±80% of vacuum hoses most likely correctly, but for the rest I'm completely lost, so I guess I'd have to do it trial & error. Would you have an idea where I could find any manuals for this spec? At least to skim through if I find anything useful. There weren't any when I bought the car.

Hi all, I've bought my first 1980 Riviera 3.8L V6 Turbo without the engine and currently I am assembling everything in the engine bay. I thought it would be nice to have a clear photo of the engine bay area of a fully built car of this type to have as a reference (especially for tubes/wiring). I found it very hard to find one in the internet. Maybe someone here has a Riviera with these specs and could upload a photo of the engine bay? Or if you have any tips in this assembling process, I'd appreciate that. Thank you, Paulius