1970 Buick Street/Strip Skylark Build

Here is a cool article about a junkyard 4.8L LS engine making killer power with low cost turbos:

http://www.hotrod.com/techarticles/hrdp_1109_stock_gm_ls_engine_big_bang_theory/[/QUOTE]

Finally got around to reading the article on what they thought was a 5.3 LS and it turned out to be only a 4.8. Holy uckfay Batman, but that is some impressive power for that beater motor...over 4 h.p. per cube! I dare not think what one could do with a new 6.3 with some compression.
 
Twin Turbo Skylark said:
Finally got around to reading the article on what they thought was a 5.3 LS and it turned out to be only a 4.8. Holy uckfay Batman, but that is some impressive power for that beater motor...over 4 h.p. per cube! I dare not think what one could do with a new 6.3 with some compression.
Click to expand...

Yeah, there is some serious power to be made and it does not cost too much if a person is smart about how they do it.

The only reason I stayed with a smaller Buick 350 is because it is way to easy to make HUGE power with a larger engine under boost, and then you need a chassis to handle that much power.... It cost enough to build a car to handle 1000 HP, let alone 2000 HP.

Have a look at this one:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D_aS2cIfCTk[/QUOTE]

That big 572 doesn't make as much power per cubic inch as the beater 4.8LS motor that Hot Rod magazine tested. Not far short, and as the man kept saying - "Still climbing". So if they had carried on to 7,000 rpm it might well have got there, or even further.

I'd have to guess at least $75K in that engine with all the custom goodies on it. Probably more. But they sure did a nice job of integrating everything.
 
Yeah, it is all pretty cool!

My main goal is to raise awareness to the potential of Buick 350 engines, and secondary to get more people turbocharging engines in general.

Obviously the LS series engines are a great platform and they are the best V8 in the world I think... But the fact is that they do not need any help becoming popular.

The Buick engines in contrast are neglected, under rated, very durable, very easy to find at low cost, etc.

One of the strongest points that the Buick 350 has is that is is a very well designed engine. We can take a bone stock worn out Buick 350, add boost and make a reliable 500 HP.... Do a simple rebuild with better rod bolts, forged pistons, and it is pretty easy to get a reliable 550-650 HP... At higher HP levels this engine is not an economically smart option however it sure is cool to do something that is not common!

This is what leads me to my current engine build, pushing the limits of the engine and surprising some people. Already a pair of guys made an effort to do a max effort Buick 350 and it made 1021 HP and then ran 8 second quarter miles. I was looking to surpass that but instead decided to try to make a reliable effort that was lower HP but still pushing the limits, all while sounding stock at idle with 20 inches of vacuum.
 
I used to run a 455 Buick in my T-bucket, and it succumbed to the problem of poor oiling. Have they got that sorted out with the 350? If I remember the fix for that problem was to file a small groove in the front cam bearing. Naturally, I found that out ofter the engine grenaded.
 
The Buick 350 oiling system is better than the 455 and there is the main fix that is the same between the 455 and 350 being the grooved cam bearings which I always use.

I am actually considering going with a dry sump oiling system on this engine not that I think I NEED it, just a better system.

For the typical engine all we do is a TA Performance oil pump rebuild kit, adjustable oil pressure regulator so we can fine tune oil pressure, and then use various oil viscosity to both keep up oil pressure and ensure quick drain back (10W30 or 5W30).

The Buick 350 can actually rev really well for an engine with a 3.8" long stroke, it is common to see a mild Buick 350 in the 7500 RPM range. To go with the RPM a single plane intake and large cam are required.

For my purposes I am keeping the power in the 3200-6000 RPM Range so that it is a better street engine and should live longer between rebuilds compared to the high revving engines.
 
For those who asked about the roll cage, it is a 6 point cro-mo cage that was custom bent from lengths and welded together after fitting. The angles of the cage follow the body very nice. No body mods or cuts of any kind anywhere on the car. Notice the roll cage goes through the 6x9 holes in the rear:









 
I have been busy working so no progress on the car however for my birthday I bought a spare engine for the car... Only had 8 spare engines already LOL, but this one is a fresh rebuild with forged pistons ARP bolts etc:





 
I was busy on the X mas break... My dad and I tore down a 73 Buick 350 that I had at his house... It only had 30,000 miles and looked PERFECT as we took it apart! I put it into Rubbermaid bins and brought it from my parents house in Nanaimo BC to Edmonton where we live... I now have 6 Buick 350s in the garage at the house so in a few weeks I will take a trip out and bring some stuff 45 min away where my other house and shop are... Still planning to build a large shop out there but for now I am working on the Skylark at the house.

I have the adjustable rear suspension in, fuel system built for 1000 HP is almost done, and next will be the front suspension, re-build the drum brakes with modern ceramic pads, and then drop the good engine in.

I am building another Buick 350 engine for dyno testing and that one has a 1" thick block girdle that holds the mains into the block, forged rods, forged pistons, and plan to hit it with 25 PSI of boost! looking for 1000+ HP on the dyno as an experiment.

I also re-ringed 2 stock Buick 350s for spares to swap in the Skylark if needed while I upgrade the other engines...

Finally we are getting aftermarket alum heads, as they never were available till we fought for 10 years to have them made.... Now I need to do something with 30 pairs of iron heads LOL... Oh well.

I have also been busy working on my 05 GMC 1500, I am going to use it as a work truck and charge it out so although it is not new it is paid for and has a nice heated, leather interior and a really strong 5.3L. here is the before picture but I am just about done with a 6.5" suspension lift, new tires, and rims fender flares etc. I will post a pic when it is done next week but here is a before shot.



Some random garage pics:



















 
cocobolo said:
What size is that rim? How much does it weigh? And who makes it? Thanks.
Click to expand...

15X10 inside from bead to bead so 12" total width. Summit Racing Drag Thrusts, I know they are a little bit heavier than the Weld wheels that they are a copy of. BUt for me it was easy to get over the slight weight being that they were so low cost...I bought 8 wheels so I can have street and strip setups.

http://www.summitracing.com/int/parts/sum-561-5161ps/overview/

The tire in the pics is a 285/70R15 and the ones for racing are 295/55R15
 
Last edited:
cocobolo said:
That's an excellent price. Are you happy with the quality of the rims?
Click to expand...

Yes, I loaned them to a friend who ran them on a S-10 with a Twin Turbo 383 and it ran 8.34 in the quarter with a 1.30 60 foot so they ran true and fast at the track. They look good and are low cost... Beats buying used!
 
I am expecting my first baby in September! I have decided that with the new family member on the way I would postpone building my dream shop and focus on making the best with what I have.. Next year I will re-evaluate building my big shop.















The tools of the trade "Scaffolding":





Speaker stands converted to portable storage in the garage and they even adjust up and down!











Moved a few bikes up of the ground to make more room around the Race car:





Moved a bunch of spare parts into the house to make room:




 
So what do you think of the new Mustang, looks alright. We should be able to buy a new one here in 2 years time. :)
 
I was about to button up one of my good Buick 350s when I decided I needed to take it back apart and improve some things first.

1. There are some sharp edges on the Custom Diamond pistons and I am pretty sure they would have caused some detonation which would have damaged the engine.

2. A few of the piston rings had sharp edges from where I had file fit them to the bores of the blocks.

I took the pistons out of the engine, removed the pistons from the rods (easy due to spiro lock retainers), and then removed the rings and numbered them so they could go back on the right pistons when I was done smoothing the pistons and smoothing the rings with a file.

Here are some pics of the pistons before and after smoothing them out. I still need to polish them but they are 100% better then they were:




The black marker was used to draw the areas I wanted to "roll over" to eliminate the sharp spots.




Someone "rudely interrupting" my progress by phoning me LOL. I used the cardboard box under the piston holder so that Leanne would let me bring it in the house as the piston holder was dirty.









I used the little stands again today as they are very handy... And I added some "art" to the walls.



Here is one completed piston, just needs to be polished:







All cleaned up and stuff moved so Leanne can park on her side:



That was yesterdays progress and I will post today's progress tmrw morning.
 
I got all 8 pistons smoothed and polished:





Now I am going through all the piston rings and smoothing the edges from where I file fit the rings to the cylinders...
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top Bottom