The saga of the Hagerty Buick Straight eight build is not over yet but it’s moving in that direction. This engine has been a protracted battle from the jump and the cool thing is that the assembly is being handled methodically and perfectly by Davin who’s one heck of a wrench. In this installment, the engine goes from short block to long block and while that is cool, the progress isn’t as grand as was perceived at the start of the episode. Every interaction with this engine has been a learning experience for Davin and the rest of us watching.
We will say this. After the engine is assembled and done, it will run like a champ. The work done to the head, the custom piston design, and the machine work will be paid back with a smooth and torquey combo that’ll move a large barge of the same vintage right on down the road.
The assembly of the valve train is the sticking point on this one and Davin even admits that it’ll probably not go smoothly. It was not a mess but it was a little do-over that slowed him down. This said, the engine is legitimately getting close to being a runner and that’ll be the most fun episode of the series.
Head is on!
