- This topic has 18 replies, 6 voices, and was last updated 9 years, 8 months ago by
.
-
Topic
-
Hello everyone, after my first thread about an issue i had with my brakes on my 1977 lesabre and the outpouring response and help, I’ve decided to start a new one about removing/replacing my cylinder head on my 1977 buick lesabre with a 350R rocket engine. I have what i feel is all the parts/tools needed for this project, Since its now fall/winter soon i will be tackling this next spring/summer. Along with the new cylinder head i will be replacing rocker arms/push rods, as well as doing a tune-up oil change when all said an done. I have a good torque wrench along with socket set. So is there anything im missing forgetting that i need to buy/have for this other than the gaskets?
-
Replies
-
here is a update on this, i started Sunday and got it all removed and as of last night, the new head on and followed the proper steps to achieving the final torque. i’m going to try to ad pics of the progress on here so you guys and Eric the car guy can see them. I will be making a slideshow of this and posting it on youtube. been smooth sailing, and all uphill from here. soon it will be back together and be cruising again. During this i’ve taken my time and IIRC eric mentioned taking pics of the project your working on for reference points, and i took a LOT of pic, but main thing is to take your time and it will get done. like they say Rome wasn’t built in a day! lol. And my cordless impact gun i have has earned its keep during the removal of the head bolts…
Interesting. I don’t personally think I’ll ever have the pleasure of touching another car with iron heads. Or SAE fasteners, all those unused sockets.
Out of curiosity, why did you choose to replace only one side? It doesn’t seem to make a lot of sense to go all the way to that point and the only replace one. And now you have one side with everything tight and refurbed and the other side is the original 1977 valves, rockers, springs and valve guides. Not trying to bust your balls It’s just a little odd.
Goodness, and Oldsmobile engine in there.. Gotta say Gms from the 70s did alot of mixing back then. I once found an Oldsmobile Omega in a junkyard, and when I went to look for olds pieces.. a BUICK motor in there… good luck with your project. And Olds is 350 better than some of the other corporate 350s of the day for sure.
I know right? everyone that sees the car and asks what it has, i just pop the hood and the look on there faces tells the tale. either shock or in awe that it has a 350 Rocket in there. Yea lifting the head out to replace it was fun to say the least, granted i pulled a move that eric talked about, if i can get the bolts loose on something pull it as a whole and work on it out of the car. So after spraying the exhaust bolts with pb blast and wd-40 rust penetrate and letting it soak before i pulled it off the car, i was able to ave the bolts and use them to get new ones. AS for why im doing just ONE? i did tests on both sides and took the stethoscope that you can hear whats wrong with different parts of the engine, driver side is nice and quiet, while this side, passenger side i heard some springs/valves that didnt sound right. so that is why. Just trying to find a replacement metal fuel line from the pump to carb is proving to be a challenge. Found a place that makes them, but the one they have listed on ebay, doesn’t come close to what i need. so i wil return it and contact them with pics of mine saying this is what i need.
I am currently working a 66 442 which is a 400 engine, which is basically a very similar thing to what you are working on, and its been a chore as that body style makes accessibility to the engine pretty rough. I pulled the heads but am going to get the entire thing freshened up as its quite crusty after sitting for years. Good hard running motor up to 6900 rpm, (10.5 compression, big valves, w31 cam) but a loud, loud top end. Supercars unlimited is a good place for olds specific parts and I would be surprised they didn’t have a prebent fuel line for you as that looks like the standard passenger side pump to quadrajet line. Olds cutlasses from 68 through the mid 70s all had that basic setup. I have worked with Oldsmobile motors for 30 years and have a favorable opinion of them. I particularly like the short stroke versions versus a 4.25 stroked 455 which have some geometry issues. Smallblock and Big Oldmobile heads are generally interchangeable but either are often times better pieces to work with, than say a bowtie boat anchor smallblock motor which has to have half the parts upgraded. I have and still do lots of stuff with Big Chevy motors but have been bitten in the back by them more time than I can count (terrible, terrible valvetranes that fail and destroy valve guides), where as the Olds stuff I have always had much better luck with.
Here my crusty OLDs… soon to be extracted…
here are pics i took with the carb mocked into place and the line hooked up as it would look. I.m looking on there site now to see one that matches mine.
That fuel line looks like standard tubing. I’m sure someone could bend another one for you as a replacement.
Update on this as i call it PBG project blue ghost, car is put back together, just need to check/fill fluids, soon she will be ready to start after this long 2 week project. i will post a video on youtube so anyone that wants to check it out will be able to. Sucks that im working today so wont be able to start her until sunday. im so excited and ready to hear her run and purr like a kitten like she once did.
[quote=”bigbird1971″ post=134251]That fuel line looks like standard tubing. I’m sure someone could bend another one for you as a replacement.[/quote] I highly recommend Inline Tube for this based out of Shelby Township MI: http://www.inlinetube.com/
I got stainless steel fuel lines for my truck from them, they are excellent. Very professional. They can make you lines from tank to carb with all the stock bends and because they are stainless, will last a lifetime.
car is up and running again!, she purrs like a kitten, i have video of it, will upload it to youtube so anyone can see it and the car too.
https://youtu.be/Qw47w-9h0dg here is the link.
- You must be logged in to reply to this topic.