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Everything posted by Aaron65
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Minimum oil pressure at idle? '80 Riviera 3.8L V6
Aaron65 replied to PauliusB's topic in Buick Riviera
Didn't the 231 change to even fire around '78? -
The seller has upped the starting bid to $1000 for some reason. I'm lucky to live in Michigan where we have several Turbine Cars on display in various museums: The Henry Ford, Gilmore, and the Stahl Collection. Chrysler owns two, but their museum closed several years ago, so those cars only come out for car shows. Either way, they're beautiful cars, and I'd love to own a set of gauges, but that's a little steep for me.
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I did the same thing with my '63 Riviera last year: I got a 4-row aluminum radiator from Champion because they work fine and they're inexpensive. After realizing that I'd have to hack up the radiator support, I took my original radiator to the nearest shop for a recore, which cost about the same (maybe a little more) than the new radiator.
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One thing that's nice about the car for sale is that it's a Torqueflite car. Mine's got the non-synchro A-903, which is fine, but second gear is too short and it's got a 3.23 gear in back. I believe the automatics came with a 2.94, which would be a lot better for today's traffic. I drive mine at legal speed limits, but if you do the math, it's running well over 3000 rpm at that speed. It's fine, but I imagine that the piston speed on that long-stroke 225 has to be pretty high. A 2.94 would be more relaxing for the driver, if not for the engine.
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Oh man, great cars! This is my "winter beater" that I bought from Wildcat Mopars in Oregon for $1500. I found a good slant six on the floor of my machine shop to replace the tired 170, and it came with a good clutch to replace the oily worn one that the car came with. I've been driving it on nice, dry days for my old car fix during the winter months for the last 10 years.
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Beautiful car! The second line on AC cars is for a fuel return. Your car should have a fuel filter with a second hose nipple, which returns fuel/vapor to the tank in order to reduce excess pressure in the fuel system when things get hot. If all the return lines are still present, you'd probably want an AC tank. It's certainly helpful on hot restarts with modern gasoline, but it's not a big deal if its missing. Then you'd get a non-AC tank and sender.
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Wow, $39 grand for a '53 Skylark? Maybe I'll be able to get one yet!
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What to really expect from a 1953 Dynaflow - Honest reality check.
Aaron65 replied to Treozen's topic in Buick - Post War
I don't think the Dynaflow would bother me as much as the subframe. Who knows how well it was installed; you'd probably be in for more problems as a result of that than you would be in regards to the transmission. There are enough stock '53 Buicks for sale out there that I would hold out for one that hasn't been modified (unless that's what you want). With that being said, there's no way you'll be happy with this car if you expect it to have modern performance. I regularly drive slow cars in traffic (Corvair, slant six Dart, '53 Buick with a straight eight and Dynaflow), but I live in a middle-sized Midwestern town with no hills. My Special keeps up OK with the Dynaflow (that has less power than the Super), but there's no doubt I'm using more pedal than I would have back in 1953. People in traffic see you as a rolling chicane these days if you're even driving the speed limit, so you'll be pushing the car harder than you might want to if you're using it as a regular commuter. And of course your mileage will suffer as a result if that matters to you. So, as many have said, a '53 Super is certainly capable of being a daily driver, but there are some drawbacks to doing so. The fact that you have experience in a Dynaflow car and are this unsure if you want to repeat it seems to answer your question for you (IMO). Maybe a good compromise would be to find a '53 that has been upgraded to a later Buick powertrain. -
Need help identifying a car
Aaron65 replied to johnoliverdriscoll's topic in Chrysler Products - General
I think you're right, Bloo. The headlights of the second car in the picture must have subconsciously influenced me. -
Need help identifying a car
Aaron65 replied to johnoliverdriscoll's topic in Chrysler Products - General
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If you're asking me, Dan, I did the work myself...no shop involved. The kit cost about $210 shipped. They gave me a lot of good advice and asked me a bunch of questions so they could send me the right pieces. It only took me a couple hours to repair the actual crack.
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I stitched a crack in my '53 Buick's block. We're two years in and it seems to be holding.
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No, the red engines are small blocks (based on the 215 but cast in iron instead). For several years, the small block had valve covers that imitated the Nailhead's, even though the engine had little to nothing in common with it. What IS interesting about the picture is the valve covers on the 340s: I had thought the Nailhead-style valve covers had continued through '66, but this picture seems to refute that. The valve covers look like the '67-style to me. Interesting.
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When I bought my '65 Skylark in 2003, it came with the original owner's manual. I was surprised to read that Buick labeled its 300 four barrel (the Wildcat 355) the "high-performance" engine. Coming from a childhood around Mustangs, "High-Performance" meant something like the K-Code solid-lifter 289 with some significant upgrades from the hydraulic-lifter 289. My Skylark certainly doesn't feel like it has a high-performance engine with its 2.78 factory axle and ST300, although it has some long legs; I tested it in my twenties before my frontal lobe was apparently fully developed.
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I think those red engines are 340 four barrels. You can tell by the exhaust ports.
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That picture of the New Year's Riviera is so cool. My car was built on December 26th, 1962 - missed it by THAT much.
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I had what I thought was a fuel starvation problem on my '63, but I hooked up my fuel pressure gauge and it wasn't. It turned out that the new coil that I replaced my old bad coil with was also bad; I checked the resistance across the primary terminals and it was high. Another new coil solved the problem. It felt for all the world like it was starving for fuel - it cut out only under load. Not saying this is definitely your problem, but it's a quick check, especially if you have a spare coil lying around.
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https://www.summitracing.com/parts/sme-906007?seid=srese1&ppckw=pmax-tools&gclid=Cj0KCQiAnrOtBhDIARIsAFsSe51sOwTJLh4xYbUkANIF--456xUBrjcUzmlownBI3X6wgL4iU9rCAoYaAg7jEALw_wcB This is the tool I used on my balancer. It fit the balancer, but all that torque started to deform the notch for the breaker bar. Still, it did what I needed it to do.
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Great New Forum! 1963 Ford XL Promo
Aaron65 replied to TexRiv_63's topic in Scale Automobiles (Models)
My Thunderbird promo cars ('63 and '65) both have the writing on them, so I think it could be a Ford exclusive. I like the misspelling of "safety" on the frame. Beautiful promo aside from that! -
'63 Riviera Rochester Carburetor - modern alternatives ?
Aaron65 replied to OldGerman's topic in Buick Riviera
If you switch to an Edelbrock you'll need to use the Centerville adapter (or something like it) because the new carburetor won't have the correct bracket to operate the Dynaflow switch-pitch rod. This is what I'm talking about: https://www.nailheadbuick.com/product-page/special-dynaflow-pass-gear-linkage-kit-for-aftermarket-carbs-57-63-364-401-425 I'd be checking everything else before I bought a new carb, including cylinder balance. You can short each cylinder with a grounded test light by pulling back the boot on the spark plug wires, and then you can watch a shop tachometer or the tach on a digital timing light if you have one. I'd also check compression with all plugs out to see if I were in the ballpark for what a Nailhead should be. You may also want to substitute another PCV valve (probably a NOS one) if you haven't tried that. Some newer ones will cause a funny idle in my experience. My car idled fine with the AFB; the secondaries were inconsistent and lean under power by a fair bit (mid-to-upper 13s). I might go back and give it another shot eventually, but the Edelbrock runs fine, so it's no hurry. I know you've had idle problems, and I can say that my car idles as smoothly as I expect from an old car, so yours shouldn't be too rough.