The Silver Buick's well Silver Buick!

[TheSilverBuick]

It's ALIVE!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=68paZRUKUTc

Fired up easily and sounds good. No valvetrain mechanical noises that's it's had for a couple years even! Took my sweet time putting it back together yesterday. I grabbed a valve cover wiring harness bracket, and the stock V6 harness fit nicely right into it.


As I was putting the distributor cap and wires back on I noticed the spark burn mark is nearly dead center on the tabs, which is the first time I've seen/done that. Normally I've had them on the leading edge with a trail across the tab.


And since it was running I took it outside and got it all washed up and shiny again It actually was getting a lot of looks in the parking lot of the parts store and gas station. Watched a couple people stop and look.


I had my dog tied with a long leash to a tree next to the car while I was washing it, and while I was wiping down the inside of the back window my dog jumped in the car and promptly sat down in the driver's seat. =P

[hauen]

The boss approves! He's giving you a subtle hint he wants a ride.

[milner351]

The energizer bunny marches on - have you tracked how many times the engine has been in and out of this car????

[TheSilverBuick]

Starting with the first 455 install in 2007 that lasted 40 miles, the longest stretch was September 2011 to January 2013 I believe. It didn't come out at all last year! Otherwise at least once a year for significant upgrades, and sometimes twice. This year is up to twice, first time was for upgrades (porting the heads) but hopefully done for at least more than a year now as I don't expect to do any more serious internal engine upgrades as I believe I'm seriously approaching limits of the block. I may eventually swap the cam, but I'll do that with the engine in place if I do.

2007 - December - Installed engine and it blew up engine 40 miles in.
2008 - January - Removed blown engine and installed Centurion engine in the Skylark, pulled it again in June when I started the whole suspension and brake upgrades.
2009 - March - Suspension upgrades completed, engine rebuilt with 10:1 cast pistons, TA118 cam, a Q-jet and 4-pin HEI. It was a rattle monster at WOT. It was rich down low and lean up top. I never tuned the Q-jet on it. Already had EFI plans. Boiled/vaporlocked the Q-jet a couple times until one time it didn't run right. September 2009 I converted to EFI, left the engine in though.
2010 - March/April/June - Blew the head gasket on the CC anti-tour. Thought I cracked pistons so I pulled the engine, but didn't get around to it until June. It was back in and running the beginning of July. I upgraded the cam to a TA 290 at that point. Which began a series of valve spring coil bind issues.
2010 - Late July - Pulled the engine, changed the cam for another TA 290 cam thinking it was a simple flat tappet failure from a possible improper break in. Installed the engine again a week later at the beginning of August. It promptly flattened that cam too, so I stuck ol' reliable TA118 back in, but did not pull the engine for that swap.
2011 - June - Bought the TA aluminum heads and hydraulic roller cam and lifters. Pulled engine for upgrades and found two pistons with broken ring lands. Up and running beginning of September after getting new FORGED pistons, bottom end balanced and engine back together.
2012 - NOTHING, YAY!
2013 - January - Pulled engine for big upgrade by sending heads off for porting, also advanced the cam timing to 8*. Re-installed in March just in time to drive the car to Arizona for Easter. Detonated the heck out of the engine and ate some bearings.
2013 - April - Pulled engine to replace bearings, found valve issues. Corrected both, upgraded to roller rockers and backed the cam timing back down to 4*. Installed engine yesterday and fired up today.



January 2008. It was 16*F friggin degrees for the high three days straight. Windy too. I was really motivated then!


June 2008. Learned welding cast iron to steel does not work as when I pulled the engine the frame bracket for the motor mount came up with the engine...


March 2009. Took the famous throw out bearing installed backwards picture, but didn't know it until I had the whole car together and the clutch pedal didn't feel right or work.


March/June 2010. Two blown head gaskets into the lifter valley. I believe they were damaged before install and I did not catch it.


July/August 2010. The cam failures.


June 2011. Engine upgrades and surprise failures.



2012 - NOTHING, YAY!

2013 - Ported heads, cleaned up chamber.



That's everything I could dig up John! I'm a professional rank amateur!

[langleylad]

June 2011 you installed the aluminium heads ? it does'nt seem like it was that long ago ! they grow up so fast !

[SuperBuickGuy]

The energizer bunny marches on - have you tracked how many times the engine has been in and out of this car????

yes, but not in a creepy way

[TheSilverBuick]

Oh, and another thing I did was attempt to install the electric cut outs. I thought I had plenty of room, but it appears I only have plenty of room on the passenger side, which of course was the only one I checked when I was fitting up the exhaust.... On the driver's side the parking brake cable comes out of the frame right next to the cut out leaving no room for the motor assembly. Looking at it, if I get some header extensions I can move it out ~6 inches to be right next to the X-pipe and have all sorts of room. So I'm looking at some extensions on Summit but none are flanged at both ends, so I'll have to weld my own flange on them, which I guess is okay because I'll have to cut the pipes down to ~6" anyways. I actually have a pair of steel 3-bolt header flanges I can use.

The other issue is going to be with wiring them, at least automatically. Seems they are not supposed to have continuous power to them, which is what the megasquirt would provide (as far as I know?). So I'm still contemplating that one, worse case I have to install the manual switch. I have a question posted on the MegaSquirt board seeing if there is a way to set an output to only run for a couple seconds after the conditions are met.

[squirrel]

I don't think I'd want them automatic....

Make sure to wait to weld the flanges until you get the parts on the car and lined up and tack welded where they need to be. Although you probably know that already

[CDMBill]

I'm not sure I'd want automatic cut outs either. Wrong place, wrong time would happen to me for sure. I have the space issue too, so I focused on the best all-the-time-exhaust I could fit. That and the noise level uncorked is track only for sure.

[CDMBill]

As to the cap it would seem you rotor phasing is right on the money, congratulations on the latest build. They're never really finished.

[TheSilverBuick]

The beauty of automatic is it's simple wiring to make them not automatic any more. Either two wires to the MegaSquirt or two wires to the switch. I did think about having a simple ON(auto)/OFF toggle for the automatic controls, so that could over ride it. I figured programming it to open at anything above say 90% throttle (via TPS) would be safe programming. I practically never go WOT on the street unless I'm looking to make noise anyways.

I do like the exhaust as it is now though. Tucked up and decent volume level.

Driving it around yesterday and today, the engine really seems/sounds happy and smooth.

[squirrel]

How do the cutouts work? is it a DC motor that you reverse polarity to change whether it opens or closes? If so, there is a relay that takes a two bit digital input that might work

http://www.vexrobotics.com/217-0220.html

you send it a digital input on it's two input signal wires, and it controls the power to be off, forward, or reverse.

I don't know if there are two digital outputs you could use...my guess is it would take some programming effort to make it work, and I don't know who would do that except maybe Jerry?

[Scott Liggett]

Been hearing how electrical cutouts dont last very long. Just saw a turbo Neon with one stuck open.

[TheSilverBuick]

How do the cutouts work? is it a DC motor that you reverse polarity to change whether it opens or closes? If so, there is a relay that takes a two bit digital input that might work

http://www.vexrobotics.com/217-0220.html

you send it a digital input on it's two input signal wires, and it controls the power to be off, forward, or reverse.

I don't know if there are two digital outputs you could use...my guess is it would take some programming effort to make it work, and I don't know who would do that except maybe Jerry?

Yup, simple two wire DC motor. Does this box interrupt the current to the motor (once it hits it stops) even though the power feed from the ECU is still on? I can easily set two outputs up, one for open and one for closed, and have them not overlap, but the trouble is having the signal from the ECU turn off after a few seconds, as the megasquirt (as far as I know) will keep the power (or ground) going until the conditions are not met anymore.


As for longevity, we'll see, I'll have them pretty far down stream in the exhaust, at the X-pipe by the time I'm done. I'll probably keep the block off plates in the trunk just in case one gets stuck open, etc. It's only three bolts.

[squirrel]

The relay I linked to will put out whatever it's commanded to..... you need to figure out the control system, which might need feedback (limit switches) or a timer.

A manual switch will be MUCH easier to figure out.