Evaluating 1954 322 Nailhead

[Guest imported_MrEarl]

In considering a possible complete drivetrain swap out in my 1954 Roadmaster 76R, from my present stock engine, tranny and rear to that from a 1956 Super, I need to go ahead and determine the worth of my present engine. What "tests" and what do I need to look for in making an assesment of my engine. I know nothing about it's history. It "sounds" good when it's running and doesn't smoke a whole lot.It blows a lot of black watery stuff out when I crank it after it sits for a long time. Is that normal? I haven't been able to take it out and really put it to good road test because it has a broken motor mount. I suppose I coud fix that and take her out? I just bought a compression tester and can do that if it will tell me anything conclusive. I will be pulling the engine and tranny anyway to clean and paint underneath the car if that means anything. As always, I'll appreciate any thoughts and advice on this.

[Pete Phillips]

Black watery stuff out the exhaust after a long time of sitting is perfectly normal. It is condensation, and nothing more, most of it from the exhaust system. How many miles are on the '54s engine? If it runs well, doesn't smoke, does not idle roughly (rough idle can indicate the need for a valve job or many other things), and does not burn oil, then why replace it? Some people (I'm not one of them) will absolutely refuse to buy an old car if it does not have the original engine in it, so if you do the swap, you will be limiting the number of potential buyers of your car, if you ever decide to sell it.

Pete Phillips, BCA #7338

McPherson, KS

[Guest Skyking]

Simple answer: Don't fix it if it isn't broke....

[Guest imported_MrEarl]

<div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Quote:</div><div class="ubbcode-body">Simple answer: Don't fix it if it isn't broke.... </div></div>

You're dead-on there Skyking!!! and that's why I'm trying to figure out if my engine needs "fixin" or not. I'll be dropping the entire drivetrain anyway to clean-up and paint/undercoat under the car, so just want to have a for sure good engine to put back. I hope to be able to replace freeze plugs paint and detail the engine and drop her back in. Any suggestions on that scenario? Is it true that all gaskets should be replaced after painting an engine?

[Guest Skyking]

Lamar, what I would do if it is at all possible, is to get your car running and drive it for a while to see how it performs. Also you can tell if it has the power it suppose to, doesn't smoke or skip. This way you are not wasting time painting & putting new gaskets on a questioned engine. When I bought my 62 Invicta in 1990, I registered it and drove it for a few months to see if I needed to do any engine work. At that time I gave it a complete tune-up to give me a better indication. By doing this I found out it ran fine and let me spend the needed time on the body. As it turned out, that engine got me 10 years & 20,000 miles before replacing it with a very low mileage engine....I hope this helps.....

[Guest imported_NikeAjax]

Lamar; one of my favorite tools is a vacuum gauge! This amazing little tool will tell you a lot about your engine, when you learn how to read one; just about any halfway-decent manual will show you how this is done. Make sure your carburetor is CLEAN, especially down the throat; a dirty carburetor can cause mass amounts of grief. If the car has been sitting for extended periods of time, an old-time trick to clean your engine out is to spay water down the throat of the carb; wait, this isn’t as crazy as it sounds. You don’t need to use much, about half a cup, or a little more It is very important to make sure the engine is very warm, if not hot, this will allow the water to evaporate throughout the system. I use a squirt-gun or a spray bottle, this will let you control the water better, and a fine mist works best. Drive the car after for a while too, this will let the water evaporate that you’ve just put into it, like the muffler. The reason I mention this is that you can knock all the loose crud out of your combustion chambers, like valves that aren’t seating because of rust and carbon build-up. Oh yeah, have the engine running at a higher than normal speed, it will cause the engine to want to stall when you’re doing this.

[JohnD1956]

Spray water down the carb while the engine is running? This just sounds irreverent. I have heard of dropping kerosene down the carb of a running engine, maybe 4 ounces or so, but not water. It was said this was an old mechanic's trick to clean the carbon out of the combustion chambers. I don't know if it is true, or if it works. I never tried it myself. Meanwhile, The owners manual on my 95 Riv says not to drive the car through standing water because the air intake is routed to a spot just infront of the tire, and splashing water can get sucked into, and wreck, the engine.

As to the original thread, I agree with everyone else. Drive the car for a while before throwing away original parts. And if your going to alter the thing, go for the gold. Move up to a 401 or 425, with a turbo 400. Once you swap the engine, you might as well hot rod it.

[Guest imported_NikeAjax]

A '95 Riviera undoubtedly has fuel injection, which is much more critical when it comes to liquids that are "stray" and overwhelm the system. To introduce water into the combustion of the air/fuel mixture is a very old trick, that even a few street rodders today use. It was used on U.S Army vehicles to give more punch when the gas was feeble, that of 75 octane, or below. Motor homes, those that are carbureted can be set up with a kit between the carb and intake manifold to give a noticeable boost to power and economy. The idea is that water doesn't compress, like in a steam locomotive, it absorbs heat energy, causing the gasoline, in a car, to become even more volatile, making the mixture expand more than usual. Most people who have never heard of this just shake their heads because the two, gas and water, won't mix. Have you ever noticed that your car's engine runs noticeably better on muggy days, that is because the water in the air is making the fuel more volatile, and more efficient. The heat created by the water literally burns the carbon out, if it isn't blasted away by the sheer energy that impacts it.

I did a very quick search to find anything, but, you can do your own too:

http://www.snowperformance.net/

Cheers!

Jay

[Guest imported_MrEarl]

Thanks EVERYBODY for your help. Looks like I'll be ordering a pair of engine mounts from Kanter ($50)(unless someone know of a cheaper set) and replacing them next week end. Is there anything else to installing them than removing the nuts from the bolt, placing a jack under the oil pan, jacking the engine up til it clears the bolts, removing the old, replacing with new, jacking the engine down and replacing the nuts and tightening down. Does it require measuring the torque?

Then I'll let the engine idle for awhile til it gets good and warm, then "steam clean" the inside of the engine per "Jaybirds" specifications. Sounds like a good idea to me. After all I can't get a chain down the carburator like I used in my gas tank when I cleaned it. Thanks "Jaybird".

[Guest Skyking]

Lamar, if the motor mounts are shot, chances are the tranny mounts are also toast. It would be worth while checking those too.........

[Guest imported_MrEarl]

That's a 10-4 but unless it is totally broke I'll likely wait til I pull the drivetrain to do the cleanup and painting underneath to replace it.

[Guest imported_NikeAjax]

Oooooh, I found a good place to get stuff'n junk fer karz, Czech'em out! Terrill Machine Inc., outta DeLeon Texas Ph#(254)893-2610, the guy is super nice, knows his stuff, and cheaper than Kanter to boot. Front mounts are $45 a pair, tranny mount, $20, and thrust pad is $25, last I checked, Kanter didn't have the tranny mounts, and had no idea where I could find them. The tranny mounts are always neglected on Buicks; please pay close attention to thrust pad, because most people who have cars like ours don't even know they exist. One way you'll know yours is shot,is you'll feel like your car has been rearended when you put it into reverse.

[Guest imported_MrEarl]

Thanks man, five bucks is five bucks. I'll also go ahead and buy the tranny mount and thrust pad now too and save on shippin.

Know what you mean about reverse. Mine jumps out of reverse after I put it in and start moving backwards, especially up a grade. Folks on here suggested it was the motor mounts and sure 'nough that's what it was. So you think it could be the thrust pad also. Hopefully not, as I was hoping to just replace the engine mounts now til I check the engine out better, then pulling everything for cleanup and painting and replacing the tranny mount and thrust pad then.

SO are there any tricks to replacing the motor mounts/tranny mounts/thrust pads. I much prefer "you oughta's" to "you shoulda's. Can I place a jack under the oil pan with maybe a 2 X in between without damaging the oil pan?

[Guest imported_NikeAjax]

I kinda prefer a 4x4 myself, it gives just a little more stability, but a 2x4 will work just as good if'n yer jack has a good height for lifting. It's all pretty much cake when you put in the mount and pad for the tranny, the front mounts are a little trickier, but not really hard; I found it just a bit irritating lining the darn things up. Give yourself lots of room to work with under the car, like four jack stands to hold up the car; safty glasses I have found are something vastly underated, if you haven't been using them already. One more thing, since you're down there, check out your "torque ball", it's the piece at the end of the tranny; if it's leaking, you might want to replace that too, small leaks on these turn into massive pools under your car, not to mention your inability to keep a good ATF level in your tranny; this requires pulling the rear end to get them out, but it really is worth the work. Tranny sealer might work, but it doesn't usually. I hope I'm not scaring you, eh? Good luck Hoss!

[Judd]

Lamar

If the 54 is like a 56 use an extension and socket through the holes in the frame cross over under the motor to loosen the nuts that hold the mounts to the frame.

Judd

[brad54]

Hey Lamar--

The socket extension through the hole in the frame is the key. Ratcheting wrenches from Sears also help if the engine is staying in the car.

An engine hoist from the top (with those chain lifts from the junkyard small block Chevy engines I told you about ) will raise the engine without fear of denting your oil pan.

Watch the distributor cap's clearance at the firewall when tilting the engine back!

Lotsa luck,

-Brad