A long way to go and a short time to get there.

[Hawk231]

The heads were black when I got them. I didn't want to get them stripped, or try to paint over an unknown quantity, so I chose not to re-do them in Buick blue.

Yeah, those headers are somewhat of a rarity.

[Dannyboy]

hey!
kindly post a pic of side of the engine/headers
thanx

/Dan

[gerbsinmd]

You definitely need to trim that air cleaner bolt a bit...

[Hawk231]

My brother informed me that the rear end kit was for the wrong 7.5" rear end. I never went back to verify the part number after he dropped it off a month or more ago. The correct pinion bearing won't be here until thursday. I'll keep my fingers crossed.

I did take the opportunity to work on something that could have bitten me in the posterior. The throttle cable bracket would have been a real PITA to make fit if I'd have waited until the engine was in. I ended up having to cut ~1/4" off of two mounting pedestals. Can't imagine doing that while it was in the car.

I checked the hood clearance and that looks like it's good to go. I may even have enough room to do a couple layers of gasket & plate stack to help with the throttle cable geometry.

Here are some pics for you Danny.

We'll see what tomorrow will hold.

[Dannyboy]

hey there Hawk!
Your engine is a gem!
the carb looks big, how big is it?
Those headers are so cool, are they still available
to purchase from somewhere??

[Hawk231]

It's just a 4160 Holley body. This one is 600 CFM.

Unfortunately, the headers have been discontinued for several years now. I haven't seen any turn up on ebay in some time either. I'm sure there are still a few sets lurking around in the dark recesses of some forgotten storage room.

[Hawk231]

As of last night the project is officially on hold… Wish us luck!

[Dannyboy]

Good luck

[SunbirdMan]

I hope I'm still around 18 years from now when you get back to this project.

[NixVegaGT]

It looks fantastic! Go Buick! I love the headers. Nice and long. That should work out great.

[Hawk231]

Minor progress has been made... Woo hoo

I've finally got the bottom end buttoned up. The distributor is fully assembled and ready to go now. I've also got the water pump mounted, but that's not shown in the picture.

FYI, Melling oil pickup #20-IS1 works with the 75-79 4.5" deep oil pan and the later 80-84 blocks that have the 5/8" oil passage and 14 bolt pan. The 80-up engines used a deeper 5.25" sump oil pan. So, if you don't happen to have a deep pan you can still use the newer block.

Also FYI, if you're looking for a stainless steel hardware kit for your buick V6 engine I would avoid the guy on ebay "Alloyboltz". The kit I got from him was ~ half wrong.

[Hawk231]

Oh, and if I ever get around to actually taking the old engine out I'm going to blow a day trial fitting this.

I guess I should include some engine specs in this thread. I'll try post some particulars tomorrow. At least I'll feel like I'm making more progress that way.

[Hawk231]

3.8L .030” over

Pistons – 3.0L cast with 17cc Dish (Muskegon Products)

Cam – Wolverine Blue Racer, Duration 270(204) I 280(214) E, Lift .434 I .457 E, Lobe separation 107 Deg I 117 Deg E.

Intake – Holley Street Dominator port matched to heads

Heads – Second hand 8445’s ported by one of the NJ Buick shops

Carburetor – Second hand Holley 600cfm 1850 rebuilt

Headers – Hooker ceramic coated 1.5” x 28” primary and 2.5” collector

Static compression ratio 9.1:1

[res0o7eb]

Engine looks great. Specs look good, too. Decent power and economy. Should be a good runner. I like it!
A Buick V-8 in a Buick Skyhawk is a cool project, too!

[patrick1151]

Wow sweet, ive always been partial to the Skyhawks.