Aaron65

It's important to note that Chevy V8s were not used in other GM products until the mid 1970s, so 60s Oldsmobile and Buicks used engines produced by their respective divisions (excluding 6 cylinders).

I'd say run Marvel through the gas and oil...I like Rislone in the oil myself, but I think both will work (hopefully!)...Good luck!

It'll take a bit to get some of those lifters pumped up...I'd say 10 minutes at 1500-2000 RPMs...a nerve wracking time to be sure.

This has been discussed here before, but I joined the Buick Club because I like supporting the hobby, I like the magazine, and I like having a network for parts if I need them. This is from a 32 year old guy, almost the target bracket mentioned in this thread. With the internet, that last one isn't as important, but I'll continue to support as long as I can or I feel benefit from being a member. I'm not affiliated with local chapters, not because they're bad, it's just that the closest is almost an hour away from me and I am always working on my cars, or hanging out with my wife, or riding one of my antique bicycles, or going camping, or whatever...no knock on the club or anything. Not to mention, During the school year (I'm a teacher), I've just got stuff going on. Anyway, the one thing I can recommend is to not be critical because some younger guys don't have show vehicles...I only had a problem once. My '53 has OLD pitted paint (20 footer). I'm not planning on painting it any time soon because it looks kind of cool and well worn the way it is, and I am completely redoing the body on my Mustang and can't afford to do all my cars (I'm a teacher!). Some member of the Buick Club said to me, after I was talking about all the mechanical work I was doing, "Now all it needs is a paint job." Talk about arrogant...really turned me off, but I met some nice members, plus the ones on here, that overpowered the bad. Just a couple of incoherent ramblings from a member who may be considered a bit "nontraditional."

Did you try running it longer than 15 minutes? How bad is the smoke? Is it still making lifter noise? Is it running on all 8? If it is running on all 8, you might need to run it for awhile, maybe with some Marvel in the gas to unstick the rings. Get a working compression gauge and test it. If it's been sitting, it might take awhile to clean everything out, so to speak. Don't give up quite yet.

I just used an old piece of steel line hooked up to the port and put one end in the fluid...used a screwdriver to pump the piston until all the air was out...

Pirate, straight 8s have no hole in the lifter body or lifter bores for oiling. They are backwards from almost every other engine ever made. He has no power because the lifters are getting no oil and therefore aren't pumping up, so the valves aren't opening to anywhere near full lift.

I hate waiting for car parts when you just want to get the thing running. Good luck and let us know how it all goes together!

I never got the ball stud, Bill...I figured you just forgot and it wasn't a big deal...looks like there's a ball stud floating around in the U.S. Mail universe somewhere!!! Just in case you don't find it and Wheatbelt doesn't have any used ones, you can get rebuilt ones at Kanter, but last I checked, they were almost 500 dollars!!!! Yikes!!!

And finally--if it turns out that you do need another shaft, I got a nice used one from Wheatbelt Buick very reasonably...it needed cleaning, but it had minimal wear. There, three posts in a row and I'm done for now.

To add to my last post--is it possible you have a rocker shaft from a stick shift car that had solid lifters???

Bill, that's your problem! Hydraulic lifter ball studs NEED oil passages to feed the lifters, because they're fed through the rocker shaft and pushrod and not the lifter itself...there is no oil gallery in the block to feed the hydraulic lifters.

Did you clean out the oil passages in the rocker shaft and rocker arms and ball studs when this engine was rebuilt? Pushrods clear? If no oil is getting to the lifters, it's blocked up somewhere if oil is indeed getting to the shaft...

My opinion is to forget the full restoration because then you won't want to drive it, and projects sometimes get stalled over time. Get it painted and drive the wheels off it!

On a straight 8, it shouldn't matter much if they are pumped up or not when you go to adjust them. You can watch for zero lash because the rocker won't even come into contact with the valve until zero lash, and it is very obvious. Then, you turn it down 2 turns. Once you start it, they self adjust and it should run OK from there. Another thing to watch for on a straight 8--if you adjust them down too far, all the oil from the rocker shaft will not go down the pushrod, but out of the ball screw, because adjusted too far down the oil port is exposed. I watched this happen when I adjusted them running...one too many turns down and oil came shooting out onto my hand! Which brings up another point...adjust em running...you can hear the bad ones then...it's a pain, but may be worth a shot...

Also remember that the lifters on these things are not oiled with much pressure, so a little dirt, or like I said machine oil, could really make them sticky. I really recommend Rislone...it has quieted many slightly sticky lifters for me...

Hi Bill, When I had mine rebuilt, I installed new lifters because the old ones were just shot. I even disassembled them to clean them with no results. When I was breaking them in (30 minutes at 1500-2000)...they clattered like they had no oil for at least 10 minutes. It was a nervous time, but they eventually shut up one by one. Also, if they were new, it's possible that the machining oil inside has dried up over the 10 years it has been sitting. Maybe try some Rislone...

I can say unequivocally that my '65 Skylark is the best car I own...if you want a nice old car that you don't see everyday to drive around in, you can hardly do better.

In keeping with the other thread...if anybody's headed to Meadowbrook this year...I'd appreciate if you could tell me where any pics are posted, like Photobucket or anything...I'll be missing it unavoidably for the first time since '96 and I'm going through withdrawal. It's my favorite car show. I won't be at a computer for at least a week, so no hurry... Thanks! Aaron

TG...I can't make it for the 1st time in 12 years...any chance you could post some pics or at least an entry list so I can feel bad about what I missed???

It's on page 239, section 5-9 of the 1952 shop manual.

Well, I finally checked out the shop manual, and it says that Series 40s have right handed threads, 50s and 70s left...case closed!

Next week I'm dropping the '53's torque tube to seal up the torque ball and tube...I heard that one of the studs holding the lower rear springs on is reverse threaded...anybody know which one? Thanks if you can help... Aaron

Thanks for the replies! I will get those cables off when I get a chance...it may have to wait in line though...Fred...it most certainly has a leaking torque tube seal...I'm replacing the torque ball retainer though...I have one on order. I'll get that seal when I pull the torque tube back.

Well...today my goal on the '53 was to grease the rear axle bearings. Found the following: previously broken pinion shaft bolt...had to drill and easy out it to get the axles out, parking brake struts were tucked away behind the shoes because the cables were frozen...only the sheathed cables from the brake backing are frozen, everything else is fine, and I had about a cup of tranny fluid in the torque tube when I drilled a hole to drain it, AND I had a leaking right rear wheel cylinder. The good news was I found a Chevy 12 bolt pinion shaft bolt that was nearly identical to assemble everything, but I still would like a parking brake...any tips OR any place to find those cables??? Sorry about the ramblings, but it was one of those days in the garage where not too much goes right.