HELP need advice

S

Sawyer Thiessen

Member
Hi I am in need of some help I have taken on a project from my grandpa and he has a Buick 455 in it and its in a 1956 f100 I don't know what car it came out of because he died and I just finished rebuilding it and am now lost. how do I get it fired up in the truck but don't know where to start on getting it fired up I don't know how to wire the vacuum and witch vacuum holes to plug or wire up there is a lot more but this is the start of the list.
and I have an adaptor plate for a Edelbrock carb would it mount to the intake properly?

items I need
-exhaust manifolds or headers
-accessory brackets
-air filter
-vacuum and wiring diagrams

I live in Canada and its hard to get parts up here.
 
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TA Performance TAPerformance.com ships to Canuckistan. and they're the only major Buick aftermarket vendor left.
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we've got quite a lot of information available on the 455 but it's on the front page of TeamBuick.com, not here in the forums. ALL vacuum holes should either be plugged or plumbed to something like a brake booster or the windshield wipers or something. if you allow the intake to pull unregulated air into the intake you're going to lean the mixture out and either make it impossible to run the motor or it will want to run hot. you will probably need to plumb a PCV valve from a valve cover or something into the intake but you COULD just vent the crankcase pressure to ambient. lots of race cars do this. when you see a valve cover with a stack and a small air filter at the top, that's what they're doing. circle track guys do this on the left side valve cover all the time.
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Buick Big Block runs 1967-1969 for the 400 and 430 and then they punched the bore out for the 455 which was in production from 1970 to 1976. all stock BBBs have the same stroke cranks. later version of the 455 came with HEI distributors instead of points but early versions of the BBBs didn't have catalytic convertors. 1970 is the last year of "high compression" for Buick engines with compression ratio and power output dropping almost every year until end of production.

Team Buick, Performance and Restoration Forum

www.teambuick.com www.teambuick.com

IF you can find the EIN / Engine Identification number, this is usually a variant of the VIN for the car that the engine came out of.
 
Meanwhile: Can you share more info? Pictures? etc.

You say you "just finished rebuilding it." Does that mean a newly rebuilt engine? Or is it a previously-running engine installed in a truck you've just finished putting together? That could make a big difference in what the initial startup could look like. If the engine was previously running, and you don't have to worry about cam break-in (or a break-in period in general) during your initial startup activities, that takes a lot of pressure off!
 
bittmann said:
Meanwhile: Can you share more info? Pictures? etc.

You say you "just finished rebuilding it." Does that mean a newly rebuilt engine? Or is it a previously-running engine installed in a truck you've just finished putting together? That could make a big difference in what the initial startup could look like. If the engine was previously running, and you don't have to worry about cam break-in (or a break-in period in general) during your initial startup activities, that takes a lot of pressure off!
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I took it out of the truck rebuilt it and put it back in so its newly rebuilt
 
OK. Just something to keep in mind: With a flat-tappet cam, the initial startup can be...harrowing. I've never wiped a cam on a new engine, but I know someone who has. So in my opinion, you kinda need to get more ducks in a row than you would if you were "just" swapping a running engine into a new vehicle.

Suggest you hit up Google and search for "flat tappet cam break-in procedure". Hmm - The last set of lifters I bought had a procedure, let's see if it's online: Yes!

https://www.melling.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/03/Camshaft-Break-In-Proced-Rev4-12-07.pdf

So the stakes for that first run are a little higher than "simply" swapping a running engine into the truck. You want to have it running and cooling and pumping gas, etc. as well as possible from the get-go so you can do your initial start and break-in procedure all at once, if you're able.

At least, that's the way *I* approach it. Others may say it's not as big an issue, especially if you aren't stressing the valvetrain (running a cam with an aggressive lift, heavy springs, etc.). I just know what MY luck is, and I try not to push it.
 
To hit a few of your topics:

Sounds like you have a bit of scrounging to accomplish before you can fire the engine anyway. Headers or manifolds, and hopefully some sort of muffler arrangement, even if you just dump the exhaust under the vehicle. Is the cooling system ready to go? Do you have any gauges you'll be installing? You'll need accessory drive to run the water pump, which means you'll also presumably want at least an alternator hung in place so the belt can be tensioned, even if you don't actually have the alternator itself hooked up and charging. (Speaking of alternators - if you can run an internally-regulated alternator, that can save a LOT of hassle. Going with a "1-wire" alternator can save even MORE hassle. If you already HAVE the alternator, do you know what you have? Do you intend to run Air Conditioning? Power Steering? All of that could affect what accessory brackets you'll want, and what wiring you'll eventually need.)

Vacuum - what Bob said. You don't "need" anything except vacuum advance to run your engine, you can plug off everything else until you're ready to tackle it. And for the initial breakin run, even working vacuum advance isn't mandatory.

Wiring - Do you still have the old Ford engine wiring harness, or are you laying in a new under-hood harness (or needing to build one from scratch)? You can potentially "run the engine" just by sending power to the ignition and the starter, and cranking the engine by jumping 12V to the starter's "crank" terminal. Bonus points if you get the ignition key working. But - if you're running electric fans, an electric fuel pump, if you have a points distributor vs having an HEI ignition, etc. there's more to it than that. More info would help.

Your carb adapter question - again, more info/pictures would help. I'd *guess* that you have a spread-bore manifold, and you are asking if you can adapt it to accept a square-bore carburetor. Well, yes, with the right adapter you can. But...that's just a guess, not sure what you're asking.

Getting an engine to "run" isn't magic, if it's been assembled correctly. Ignition/starter/fuel/lubrication/cooling, and "close enough" initial settings for timing and carb, and it should run.

Getting an engine to run "well", to be reliable, to be convenient - that's where the magic is.
 
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bittmann said:
IMO This guy has about the right amount of paranoia, without swerving into being overly silly. I'll admit, I do try to get a good 20-30 minutes in on the initial run, but getting it RIGHT is more important than just getting the minutes in.

BUDGET 350 - How to Prevent Flat Tappet Camshaft Failure, detailed first start procedure EP. 7
Click to expand...
bittmann said:
To hit a few of your topics:

Sounds like you have a bit of scrounging to accomplish before you can fire the engine anyway. Headers or manifolds, and hopefully some sort of muffler arrangement, even if you just dump the exhaust under the vehicle. Is the cooling system ready to go? Do you have any gauges you'll be installing? You'll need accessory drive to run the water pump, which means you'll also presumably want at least an alternator hung in place so the belt can be tensioned, even if you don't actually have the alternator itself hooked up and charging. (Speaking of alternators - if you can run an internally-regulated alternator, that can save a LOT of hassle. Going with a "1-wire" alternator can save even MORE hassle. If you already HAVE the alternator, do you know what you have? Do you intend to run Air Conditioning? Power Steering? All of that could affect what accessory brackets you'll want, and what wiring you'll eventually need.)

Vacuum - what Bob said. You don't "need" anything except vacuum advance to run your engine, you can plug off everything else until you're ready to tackle it. And for the initial breakin run, even working vacuum advance isn't mandatory.

Wiring - Do you still have the old Ford engine wiring harness, or are you laying in a new under-hood harness (or needing to build one from scratch)? You can potentially "run the engine" just by sending power to the ignition and the starter, and cranking the engine by jumping 12V to the starter's "crank" terminal. Bonus points if you get the ignition key working. But - if you're running electric fans, an electric fuel pump, if you have a points distributor vs having an HEI ignition, etc. there's more to it than that. More info would help.

Your carb adapter question - again, more info/pictures would help. I'd *guess* that you have a spread-bore manifold, and you are asking if you can adapt it to accept a square-bore carburetor. Well, yes, with the right adapter you can. But...that's just a guess, not sure what you're asking.

Getting an engine to "run" isn't magic, if it's been assembled correctly. Ignition/starter/fuel/lubrication/cooling, and "close enough" initial settings for timing and carb, and it should run.

Getting an engine to run "well", to be reliable, to be convenient - that's where the magic is.
Click to expand...
I dont have the wiring harness or any brackets but i have a spare 90s serria parts truck that i most likely will use for most of the parts like the wiring, alternator, but i do need the brackets and i dont think the accessories brackets on a small block chevy would fit i do need fuel system, cooling, its an HEI distributor and i have a plan for the exhaust system and I will be using a muffler but i dont have an exhaust system right now. its all slowly coming together but i cant get more photos as of right now as the shed road is sloppy and i cant get there as of right now
 
Sawyer Thiessen said:
i dont think the accessories brackets on a small block chevy would fit
Click to expand...

absolutely not. small block Chevy is an entirely different engine design than any of the Buick designs. or any of the other GM brand 350s ( Olds and Pontiac as well as Buick also had 350s that don't have anything to do with the SBC ).

you can get exhast manifolds off of a Buick 400 or 430 and in fact the 1967 manifolds are supposed to flow marginally better.
 
www.teambuick.com

Dr. Frankenstein's Monster 400 / 430 / 455

Seeing as how so many different parts of the Buick big block family were desirable depending on which year the engine was made I was wondering "What production components would you pick if you had your choice"? Now, obviously, Stage components will whip up all over normal production run stuff...
www.teambuick.com www.teambuick.com
 
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