Going to look at a 320cu in Buick Straight 8 tomorrow

[Dirtyrat]

Anyone on here a straight 8 guru?

I know the engine stamping number location verifies that its a 320, is there anything else I should really be concerned with inspecting on these other than the normal engine inspection? (IE hard to find parts, etc)

Thanks guys, still sorting out what motor I really do want in this rat...[S

 

[donsrods]

Other than solving what transmission to run behind it, there should be nothing different about making as sure as possible that it is sound. (Does it turn over freely, appearance, etc.

Don

 

[Dirtyrat]

Everything looked great, turned over nice, had compression when turning it over, everything looked clean, and redone....

The 320 straight 8 is a beast, 28" tall from bottom of oil pan to valve cover, and about 45" from bell housing to the front of the fan pulley... I have pics if anyone is interested in seeing it.

Still not sure this is the motor, I will have to see what adapters are available for a more modern transmission.... Thanks for the input Don.

 

[bruno]

Check out Bendtsens Transmission Adapters. I bought their kit for my buick straight 8 and it fit perfectly. The kit includes the adapter plates, mini starter, crank adapter, flex plate and all grade 8 mounting bolts. The only drawback...........it costs a little over $1,000. It will bolt any chevy transmission, auto or manual to your straight 8. Every part of it is very high quality. They are the only company I know of who makes adapters for that engine.

 

[Dirtyrat]

Check out Bendtsens Transmission Adapters. I bought their kit for my buick straight 8 and it fit perfectly. The kit includes the adapter plates, mini starter, crank adapter, flex plate and all grade 8 mounting bolts. The only drawback...........it costs a little over $1,000. It will bolt any chevy transmission, auto or manual to your straight 8. Every part of it is very high quality. They are the only company I know of who makes adapters for that engine.

I did a little research, and found pretty much the same answer as you posted here....[S

Anyhow, I have seen that a guy put a T5 behind a 263 Olds S8, but I am not even sure if an early 50s 320 S8 was ever offered with a manual transmission... still sorting that out...

 

[Dirtyrat]

I've decided to go a different route, this is a perfect motor, rebuilt if ANYONE is interested, please get with me and I'll pass along the info.

 

[old man dave]

Out of curiosity what was the asking price for this engine? A guy close to me had a real nice running Buick straight 8 for $800 recently.

 

[Dirtyrat]

Out of curiosity what was the asking price for this engine? A guy close to me had a real nice running Buick straight 8 for $800 recently.

He was asking 750, but wanted me to make an offer!

 

[donsrods]

Any time you start playing with an engine that is not mainstream (ie sbc, sbf, etc) it is going to cost you money. Everyone says sbc engines are overdone in hot rods but there are a lot of reasons and right at the top of the list is the fact you can build them for less than most other motors.

Buick engines like the one you were looking at are great motors. When I was a kid we had a 48 Roadmaster convertible that we drove every year from Pennsylvania to Florida for vacation. It loafed along the road and never missed a beat. My Sons found that hard to believe, but you have to remember that back then we drove our then new cars just like we drive them today.......they were our means of transportation and we took them not just locally, but on trips too.

But the wow factor when someone does bite the bullet and install one of these in a hot rod can make the trouble and expense worthwhile. You just have to accept that when repair time comes (and it will) that you are not going to be able to run down to Autozone for parts, and you are going to spend some money when you do find them.........and not every machine shop knows how to work on them.

Don

 

[Dirtyrat]

I completely agree, and if it was not for the fact that its $1000+ to put a decent trans behind that motor that can handle a little abuse, I probably would have gone that route.

I'll probably be running a more modern power plant, but I'll get details on that once I get some things lined up...

I want to be able to get parts easily for the things that are drivetrain, or safety...
I don;t plan on this thing being a trailer queen or covered in a garage, I want to drive it and be able to drive it hard without the worry or headache of breaking something that is like finding a needle in a haystack to replace.

 

[donsrods]

I agree with Bruno on the quality of the Bendtsen's transmission adapters. I bought one to mate the 394 Olds in my rpu project with a TH350 trans and the workmanship is outstanding. Not cheap, as he mentioned, mine was a thousand bucks too, but once I saw how much work was in it I understood.

I literally could have built 2 sbc engines for what I have in my Olds, not to mention the $ 1000 for the adapter and another $ 1000 for a built TH350, but I wanted a different engine in this one, although I absolutely have the highest respect for the venerable sbc engine. However, we pay dearly for wanting to be unique. (I bet Gastrick can attest to that after building the hemi for his coupe )

Here is a picture of how the Bendsen adapter mated the two together.

Don

 

[old man dave]

Dirtyrat i have a Stromberg 2 throat with the ID AAVB 267. The literature i have read says it from a 1937-1951 Buick. If you can use it let me know.

 

[Dirtyrat]

Thanks for the offer, I'm going to use something different, however I do really like the straight 8, perhaps in another project....

Yea, understand what the kit involves, I guess if I wanted to, I could make my own adapter as well, but with all the fab work, sometimes its nice to have something lined up that you know will work, and you don't have to fab...

Looking at what the kit is, I think $1000 is a bit steep, but then again I have access to laser machines, wire edm machines, and cnc mills... =)

 

[daddy crab]

straight bucik

thanks guys yall answered the Q before i asked
im building a 1927 model t roadster bowtail with a straight 8 3 from the ground i have all the parts now will do a pic show if i can deal with cam.[dr