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Thread: Anything new from the straight 8 hot rodders?

  1. #41

    pistons yes, rods ?

    Sure was Aaron, thanks for the post/alert. I just got my 52 manual, and I am understanding better why my father always spoke so enthusiasticaly about Buick. Straight Eight, and Dynaflow, can you say smooooooth power delivery? Makes me wish my 263 had a Dynaflow, but that would really blow the budget! While I see modern pistons as pretty much a necessity, and I haven't yet seen the inside of the engine, or handled the rods, are the rods really a weak link? How much power can a nailhead make and keep the pinch bolt rods? Like I said before, I've always been just a "bench racer", so these are honest questions.
    chevy6694/53str8

  2. #42
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    I was lookin for this one too. Seen it somewhere and cudnt find it. Now thats the way to go, mebbe can adapt GM V8 injector system, and a couple of chrysler K, car turbos,and homemade manifolds. Great for a homebuilt job.This setup would work well with a dynaflow,it would let that turbo build up for gobs of torq. would need stronger pistons, also blown engines dont need a lotta cam, mebbe higher lift rocker arms,stock compression, and away U go.

  3. #43
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    buick rods aren,t neccessarily weak, but if you are trying for the ultimate power, and turning lots of rpm,s they could let go. I talked to an oldtime buick racer who said he over revved his 320' engine, (circle track 49 buick) 6200 rpms, didnt throw a rod, but pulled the center maincap! He had removed the pin bolts and welded the rods. [he,s certified welder]

  4. #44
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    omygod.......Look at that car........I........am.........almost.......speech less....."Would'ent you RATHER have a straight 8?!!" I need a poster of that baby, for the shop wall....for contemplaitive purposes......alleycat

  5. #45
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    yep i love them straight 8,s! I mean they are impressive, and they are also a reliable strong running engine, as are the 'little 8,s' too.

  6. #46
    Great story about the '49 racer. To me it proves the rods are plenty strong! Modern rod bolts would be at least as strong as welding. As for cool stories, 25 years ago, I worked with a man (I'm sure he's past,R.I.P., ****) who told of driving from chicago to LA in a model A. They threw a rod through the block, and drove 30 miles , with **** standing on the running board , using a stick to hold the rod, (still moving with the crank) clear of the block!!!
    chevy6694/53str8

  7. #47
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    rods

    In the last few weeks I got back the info on having the str8 rods annalized, so here is the diffinative word; Nickle-vanadium-steel alloy. Exactly what the alloy # is, don't know. Its probably propritary. It was used in all engines up to about 51 or 2. The 248 rod will rockwell about 26, the 320 about 18-20 rockwell. Why the difference, it could be factory prep, but it also was a 52 rod. 50-1 263 is the same as 248. 53 263 rod rockwelled, 10. Not good. Total material change. By 52 V8's we're a done deal. Quality control was, well, not so quality. I think the rod material was the same, just not the level of prep as befor. 53 263 got rods made of the same material as the V8. Clearly, the V8 didn't get the same "good" stuff as the str8's.

    How good are these rods? Every bit as good as Pontiac's superduty rods of the 60's. Every bit as good as anything that mortal man could get from either ford, chev, or mopar. At least into the 70's. They all rockwell very nearly the same. It will take a LOT to loose a rod.

    Prep: Don't use the 53 rod. Remove the forging flash from the beam. Polish. Shot peen. Good bolts. I don't have a # for bolts, yet. Replace the top pinch bolt with grade 8's. You WON'T be able to kill these rods. alleycat

  8. #48
    Well, that's a kick in the head! Did you get percentages? If I were still working in a tool room, I might try to re-heat treat. But like the man said, "if we had some ham, we could have ham and eggs.....if we had some eggs". Oh well, it's been fun just thinking and talking about this engine. If someone on the south central east coast of Florida needs one, it might be available, we'll have to give this some thought. Then again it might be fun to throw the blower on it and watch it "blow up real good".
    chevy6694/53str8

  9. #49
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    Seems from what i,ve read and heard, that the old 320" racing Buicks had some pretty good top end speed, so that means they were putting out good horsepower on the top end. Somebody knows how to make em' go. I havnt actually seen the ports these engines had, or the combustion chambers. thats where the secrets are!

  10. #50
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    pistons, egge machine, & stuff

    Buick str8's don't have very good pistons. This was probably obvious to Charles Chane about a week after he came to Buick. The only solution, at the time, was a total engine redesign. The only thing that came down to us as a result of that effort is the 263. If you line up a piston from each engine,248, 263, 320, it is totaly obvious that the 263 has a vastly more modern piston. It stayed up to date into the 70's. This gives the 263 a real advantage. All three still need major help for reliable, serious hi-perf efforts.

    I started calling, emailing, everybody that not only had str8 pistons but could perhaps make them. Any info at all. Kantor, Maddog, Ross, JE, Badger, billet places, the works. Kantor was nearly usless. They get 'em from someplace. Won't tell me. Don't know anything about them, or won't say. "Just buy 'em, we know what were doing, trust us". Yup. Maddog is a clearing house. They tried to help. Perhaps Badger makes them for us. Emailed Badger. Zip. Nada. Ross; "you want what for a what!!" JE, Arais, same. JE did turn out to be a offshoot of Jahn's, a possiable! Basic jist, "if we have the tooling that will get us close enough the the bore size, it's possiable, but forget the top. Unless a flat top or dome will do". Billet places, "anything you want, any material, any top shape". Not cheap. The only drawback with forged or billet, they're going to be heavy, bullit-proof but real chunks. Hmmm

    I'm in california. I ran across egge machine. I knew of them. They are in california. About 80 miles up the road. I went for a look-see. Well now! This place is WAY more than their catalog lets on! They have a nice storefront, and a lot of parts storage. But "back there" is a full-on machine shop, and foundry. They do a LOT of stuff in there! These guys are no joke. They make their own pistons. They probably supply other sources. They make str8 pistons. The alloy is A332 or F132, both nearly the same alloy. High silica, about 12%, Not hyperutectic but very good. All the old, bad features of the str8 pistons are gone. This is a good piston right out of the box. Better yet, these pistons will take a T6 heat treat! Egge does heat treat some of their pistons. With advance notice they probably would do it on a set of str8 pistons. Now we have a really good set of pistons, right out of the box!! Better yet!, with advance notice, they can/will fix you up with a set of semi-finished pistons!!! Why does anybody want that? So the piston can be machined up for moderen ring packages and whatever rings you want to use!!!! Send them the rings you want to use and they may do it for you!!! Yeah, YEAH!! Now we got some pistons that will take real power. If you don't care whats in your engine,well....It looks like to me that Egge got what we want. Buy Egge's pistons, it's going to be very hard to beat 'em. Alleycat

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