1936 Buick Special Engine

[Guest Captain57]

I am rebuilding my engine. Do I need to replace the camshaft and lifters? The machine shop said he thinks they are okay. The lifters are going to be machined lightly, I think. The crank has been turned and the block has been bored by 20 thousands. The babbet bearings are being redone. Very costly for those. What are some of you engine experts thoughts on the subject. Any information is appreciated.

[Matt Harwood]

If the cam and lifters are in decent shape, then there's no problem with reusing them. The lifters are just buckets anyway, so there's nothing unique about them. If there's any significant wear then I'd consider getting a replacement set of lifters, which are available from a variety of sources. But if the wear is light, your machine shop should be able to touch them up and have them ready for more service without any issues. I'd make sure that the lifters go back into the bores from which they were removed, however, just in case the walls of the lifter bores have taken a "set" to the lifter. Maybe it's an old wives' tale, but I'm always superstitious about putting everything back in the same place.

With flat-tappet cams like our Buicks, the lifters can sometimes take on an angle along the bottom instead of being flat. Technically the lifters are supposed to rotate to alleviate this problem, but on these old engines, who knows?

I recently disassembled my 1941 320 and found the lifters to be pitted, which probably can't be fixed. Here's a photo:

My engine shows signs of having been oil-starved for some unknown period of time and perhaps was restarted without any precautions after sitting for a long time. It doesn't matter to me, since I'll be rebuilding everything, but it can be a consideration.

The short answer? I'd trust your machine shop--if they say the parts are within spec and can be reused, there's really no reason to spend the money on new parts.

Hope this helps.

[Guest Captain57]

Matt, thanks for the information about engine rebuilding. We did not see any pitting on the lifters like you have on yours, so hopefully we can reuse. Although I do not think we marked them in any way to get them installed back into the positions they had before taking them apart. Hope that will not present a problem. Again thanks and any more information you can offer would be appreciated. Roy Newby

[Guest DaveCorbin]

Dear Captain57:

When you rebuild the Buick straight eight, watch those odd oil passages!! Special attention to the little plate that is right behind the cam timing gear for the little machined in slot, so you don't get it upside down or backward. Special attention to the little screen in the front oil feed hole in the cylinder head. Be sure you have the right bolt in the front rocker arm stand so that passage is open. Be sure you've got things lined up on the rocker arm shaft. If you miss any of these points, the engine will have a starved oil area.

Regards, Dave Corbin

[Guest ZondaC12]

<div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Quote:</div><div class="ubbcode-body">Dear Captain57:

Special attention to the little screen in the front oil feed hole in the cylinder head</div></div>

i was looking for this recently on my 1938 special's 248 engine---could not find it! there is an oil line running up the side of the engine and it bends a small 90 degree bend and goes right into a hole in the head. this hole makes a 90 deg. bend too, and goes straight up, to a hole where the valvetrain's and rockershaft's oil lines hook up to. where exactly is the screen supposed to be? i could not find one where the outer feed line hooks up, or where the feed line on top of the head hooks up. im thinking many years ago it probably clogged up and was removed and not replaced. probbaly should replace it huh? can i just get some fine wire mesh and cut out a circle?

[GSW38]

I rebuilt my 1938 special 248. The machinist that worked on my engine talked me into using insert bearing piston rods ( I know I cheated). He said he has seen too many babbited rod bearings go out after 100 miles. I asked the machinist about the main bearings his reply was that the mains do not get the pounding that the rod bearings do therefor babbited mains were fine.My 38 special is a driver and believe me I use it. The one precaution That I do is to keep my oil clean as insert bearings are less forgiving than the old babbited ones .Good luck on your 36 enjoy it!! George