Sgt Art

Would that be the infamous "Slim Jim" tranny? I remember my buddy in high school had an early 60's 98 with a Slim Jim. It failed and it cost a bunch to repair. But I seem to recall it was only a three speed with "D" "S" (was that a marketing ploy?) and "1".

The smog pump saps very little, if any, hp from your engine. If you spin one with your hand, you'll see what I mean. It may or may not hurt the performance of the engine. Depending on where you live, it might be a headache if you have to pass an emissions inspection. I've removed them only to "clean up" the engine compartment on several vehicles I own. Please note, these are all carburator engines. I would not do it on an electronic fuel injection engine because your exhaust might have too much unburnt fuel in it and create mixture problems. That's all that thing does is blow some fresh air into the exhaust kind of like blowing on a glowing ember to get it to burn. Even with a big block engine 5 mpg is awful. That car should get over 10 or more city something is bad wrong if your calculation is correct. Short of sitting an idling for a long time (police vehicles and taxis do that) I can't think of why you'd be doing that poorly if the engine is properly tuned. Check your plugs if they're black and sooty, you're way too rich, a carb problem. Your exhaust should be burning your eyes if you stand behind the car, again fuel mixture way too rich. If the carb a computer controlled one? Are there two connectors going to it? Does it start making a ticking sound with the key on but engine not running? If it's a computer controlled carb, there's a fuse for it, if it's blown, then you will run very rich. That happened to my '87 Trans Am. Went through a tank of gas in 120 miles! Replaced the fuse, and everything back to normal. Is the transmission shifting properly? And, of course, is there a leak in you gas line somewhere? Check with the engine running around the fuel pump and carb connection and all along the line. Also sniff your oil and see if gas is getting into it. If it is, the pump is suspect. Good luck and let us know what it was.

The rebuild kits are pretty cheap ($20 +/-) and a pail with parts strainer bucket inside carb cleaner isn't that much either (it's a good thing to have even ifyou don't build carbs). I've done a couple and if you work slowly and have reasonable "take apart and put together" skills, you can do it. Doug Roe has a book that shows all of that which you should be able to find at most parts stores. It can be difficult. One thing that happens, is the throttle shafts wear out the throttle plate (thin bottom piece) and that creates vacuum leaks and some slop in the throttle. Specialty shops bore those holes out and put bronze bushings to fix that. It can be done at home, but is a bit tricky and best left to the guys that do it regularly. I point this out, because you could do a good rebuild and still have a rough idle. I found the Edelbrock (Carter) replacement squarebore carb to be a fast, easy replacement. Works great on my 455, very streetable and easy to tune.

I recently took my radiator to a shop to have it flushed and checked. They claimed it was partially blocked. They rodded it out and soldered it back up. Engine temp is holding right at the T'stat rating picking up only slightly at high speeds and recovering quickly when I slow down. The shop said there were about 8 passages that were blocked (it's a three row core) but that was enough to start the water running hotter. It will fool you because you'll see coolant flowing freely at top, but half the bottom can be blocked.

Just to confirm what the other guys said, I asked the same question and was given the same answers you've received. The machinist I took my heads to also confirmed the area of potential problems is the exhaust valve seat. He compared it to a hot piece of metal being struck repeatedly with a hammer, it's going to give and in this case, recess.

I think you'll be alright using that engine as you mentioned. It will give you great off the line acceleration. I'm by no means an expert, but I get the impression that Buick and Olds engines just aren't built for a lot of high revs. I know that Mondello builds up some pretty stout performing engines, but these appear to be for drag racing. I've found when it comes to day to day driving, most of that just doesn't do the job.

Not sure of the rpm range but here's what happened. My friend was driving the car following me. We were on the Interstate running about 70 mph for roughly 25 miles. I had a 403 Olds engine and a TH 350 Trans (dumped the 200 metric) in my LeSabre. To have the trans in the correct position, it needed to be in "OD" on the selector dial. This will give a 1 to 2 and 2 to 3rd gear shift automatically. All I can figure is he put it in "D" which in this case was 2nd. He was driving 70 + in 2nd gear the whole way. I think I have a 2.73 rear and normally at 65 or so, the engine is maybe turning 2,500 rpm (guessing here I don't have a tach on it) when he drove in 2nd, it must have been turning around 4,000 or more. Anyway, he said he started hearing a knocking noise just before we exited. When he stopped at the exit ramp turn off, it overheated. As soon as I heard the engine run, after it cooled, I knew it was a rod knock. Disassembly proved that correct. No 7&8 rod bearings spun and were blue from heat. The Crank was ruined. In short, I would need a crank kit to repair the engine. I passed as this was the second bottom end failure I've had with a 403. This was all the excuse I needed to go for the 455. It's a drop in replacement with only small mods to the exhaust connection pipe to manifold (455 is wider and taller). The only thing I haven't resolved is the A/C compressor due to the small block mounting brackets not lining up correctly. I saw the info about the V-6 brackets and will see it that does the trick. Otherwise, I'll get a machine shop to make me one. It really isn't that much to do.

That's an impressive build up, but I think dollar for dollar you'd be better off going with a 350 Olds (I had a 403 and spun # 7&8 rod bearings and then went to a 455) it's a drop in bolt up replacement. By the time you get done buying the parts (one of which was a 350 nodular iron crank) you'd be better off with the bigger engine. I think Carrol Shelby said there's no substitue of cubic inches. It sounds good anyway. I've already decided if the big block fails I'll go with a 350.

Who makes tools for Craftsman? That topic came up the other day. I was thinking it was New Britain or maybe Blackhawk? Up-date: I found out who makes Craftsman (and Matco) mechanic's hand tools. The company is named Danaher which is quite large and involved in a number of other businesses.

The large chain stores have a "Help" aisle that has those among a bunch of other commonly needed small parts. So will the battery cable area. I think they make two lengths so be carefull not to get one too long.

Not sure about that, I work for a GM Dealer and generally, we can go back that far for most parts without problem. I don't see engine and drive train parts as a problem. Same for body parts. What you can't order from GM, should be easy to find in salvage yards for a long time to come. BUT, if anyone can tell me where to get a Pitman arm for an 85 LeSabre, I'd sure appreciate it. We can't find one (new) anywhere.

Looks like Jethro Clampett's custom cruiser so that he can meet "babes". Gotta have one!

How do you measure the bolt pattern?

If the block and heads aren't cracked, I would say absolutely. Heck, the block alone would be worth that. Even if you have to get a crank kit (with rods) it's a good buy.

The conversion is pretty simple. All you need is a keyed (ignition on only) 12 volt source. The unit I used, came with instructions and I had it done in 20 minutes. If you're replacing the carb, get the electic choke, it's the easiest to work with.

If this is the valve that controls the flow of hot water from the engine into the heater core then; from what I've been told, you don't really need it. I asked a similiar question about it's purpose both here and at work (I work for a Chev, Buick, Pont) dealership. The tech at work indicated all it does is not allow hot water into the heater core when you run your air conditioning thereby giving you cooler air. He went on to say, Chevy doesn't even do that and that it's just another problem waiting to happen as they leak and, in your case, are hard to find. He recommended just replacing it with a fitting and connect the hose to it. One of the posters here recommended a restrictor of some type with a diameter similiar to the one in the valve be used. That would make sense. The only ones I've seen are vacuum and they run $15 - $20 to replace. When the one I've got fails, I don't plan on replacing it.

The 400's were so good, Mercedes-Benz and Jaguar (Rolls-Royce too, I think) used that design in their cars. They couldn't come up with a better one. I have a 400 in my truck and wished I had one in my 455 powered LeSabre. I have a 350 that was "built" by a specialty shop and has held up so far. I'm told I can get away with it as long as I don't dog it too much.

If that plug has to do with the lock up torque convertor it would effect your MPG. As far as the oil goes, if you suspect it's diluted with gasoline, change it. Changing the EGR valve is not a big job, but you can test it first by applying some vacuum on the line and seeing if the valve opens and closes.

There is a vacuum controlled valve that screws into the rear of the intake manifold. I'm guessing this controls the flow of coolant through the heater core. Is it absolutely necessary? Could I simply replace it with a fitting and run a piece of heater hose to the heater core and eliminate this valve? Seems by eliminating it, I'd have one less thing to go wrong. Heater puts out heat, so I guess it's working properly.

I have an Olds Small block Edelbrock manifold that I used on a 403 with excellent results. I also have an Edelbrock Performer on my 455. They both work fine and cut a lot of weight off the engine.

Also, check your fuel delivery. The easiest and fastest way to do this is look down the carb bores and hand work the throttle linkage to wide open. You should see a spray of gas shoot down the front two (primaries) bores. If it isn't doing that, disconnect the the fuel line at the carb and crank. If your gas pump is working, there will be a spurt of gas (have a rag under it to catch that. No gas? Bad fuel pump. BTW, make sure the plug is not sitting on the engine block making sparks when you do this.

You can check to see if the plugs are getting fire. The way I do it, is to pull a plug and then reconnect the plug wire. Ground the plug to the engine block and crank the engine. You should see a spark. Do this in a shady or some what dark area, easier to see the spark. Make sure the plug is properly grounded - I made a grounding cable from a piece of wire with aligator clips on both ends. No spark? then it's probably in the distributor coil. Try another coil if it still doesn't work, perhaps the ignition module (little white curved thing inside the distributor. If on the spark test, you get a nice spark, then it might be timing. Bump the engine with # 1 spark plug off with a rag around your thumb and it over the spark plug hole. On the compresion stroke, you'll feel the pressure push against your thumb. Then check the position of the rotor in the distributor in relationship to the #1 spark plug wire. It should be very close, if not your engine is out of time. NOTE OF CAUTION: HIGH ENERGY IGNITION SYSTEMS CAN REALLY KNOCK YOU ON YOUR BEHIND AND WORSE. DO NOT HANDLE THE WIRES OR PLUGS WHILE CRANKING.

I've never used headers, but had several "old Pro's" discourage me from them years ago. I was told they're noisey and crack; that the HP gains (despite what the various Hot Rod magazines who advertise the products claim) are not worth the effort. Any truth to that?

I'm not real sure. I believe they used two different methods back then of expressing octane. Seems like some gasolines were rated at over 100. Now a days, they average two methods to arrive at one universal figure. Then main thing was all gas, as far as I know, had tetraethyl lead added to increase octane and as a "cushioning" agent (for lack of a better term) for valve seats. If you read my battles with an overheating problem, you'll see where the older heads need hardened valve seats to compensate for the lack of lead. I did have a 69 model Corvette with 10.25:1 CR about 15 years ago. I once filled up with 87 Octane regular unleaded and it sure let me know it too. It sounded like a hammer hitting the tops of those pistons. That's what makes me think your running the lower compression ratio. I've used 87 octane in my 455 engine without a peep. The engine is a 1976 (I think) casting and they were designed to run on no lead low octane gas. A high compression engine can ignite low octane gas by means of it's compression alone like a diesel does. Once the engine has started running and gets warmed up, the low octane gas will actually ignite or burn too quickly causing the piston to want to return back from the way it came instead of continuing in it's upward motion to top dead center and then returning to it's down or power stroke. In other words, low octane gas can in a sense advance your ignition timing to much. The knock is the connecting rod slamming against the crank shaft journal and that's rough on the bearings etc. If I were you, I'd bring it down to the compromise gas, 89 octane. Wait till near empty, put in $5.00 of 89 and drive the car as you usually do. If it doesn't knock or ping, trust me if it knocks, you'll know, you're good to go. If that lower octane gives you trouble, just add the 91 or higher stuff.

Thanks for the help and advice. However, I left out one item I will now share with the rest for future knowledge. You did indicate to chase the threads with a tap for proper torque values and I knew to do that. I chased the head bolt threads in the block and also wrapped paper shop towel bits around a skinny phillips head screw driver to remove and soak up any oil and gunk in the head bolt holes - kind of like running a patch down a rifle bore. Those threads are blind holes that could have gobs of snot down there and cause problems when torquing the head bolts. The pieces of towel came out pretty nasty. I was satisfied they were clean and the threads sharpe without burrs. All head bolts were whizzed on a fine wire wheel and then a light coating of oil applied to the threads and torqued in three stages, 45lbft, 65lbft and 82.5lbft (everything I read indicates the torque should be 80 to 85lbft). I triple checked every bolt (all nine of the them) just kidding I know there's ten and I did check them all three times. Then I bolted up the exhaust manifolds to the heads and all went well. I used Fel Pro head and exhaust manifold gaskets. After that, I laid in the push rods (which when removed, were placed in holes in a cardboard box in the same order as they had been in the engine). Each push rod went back to it's original lifter and rocker arm. I don't know how important that is, but I've always been told to do that. Next came bolting down the rocker arms. I was on the last one, cylinder # 8, when a wrung the head off one of the bolts. I stood there in absolute disgust and amazement. These are grade 8 bolts and stuff like this can't be happening. After I pulled that rocker arm assbly off (two rockers per) I saw less then a quarter inch of bolt stud sticking up. I tried to vise grip it out, but no luck. Bottom line, that head came off, and went back to the machine shop! After I had the head off, I ran a tap down each one of those rocker arm bolt holes. Everyone had crude (carbon rust) in them. I also tapped the intake and exhaust manifold holes, pretty much the same thing. Although the machine shop cleaned and put hard inserts in the valve seats and bronze guides, he didn't run a tap in the threaded holes. That's my job, I guess. Either way, the moral is you should still check them out. BTW, I used new bolts on the exhaust manifold, they're not that much in cost and will make it easier to remove if I ever have to. In addition, I found starting a bolt much easier when the threads are clean and sharp. I replaced the head gasket just to be safe on the removed head, why take a chance. Sooo, the lesson was learned and I should have known better, but got in a hurry and paid for it. Something about "a stitch in time..".