I definitely agree, people seemed to think classic cars would just stop after 1970. These cars are full of emissions yet all you do is get rid of the emissions and rebuild them. They’re nice cars.
It's about time one of these shows became budget-minded! $10K is usually the amount for one item that they bought on most of these shows (like a crate motor or supercharger build). Thank you, PowerNation; I'll continue watching you guys.
I had a 71 GS with a 74 model 455, 355 gear and a 400 switch pitch transmission. Had a small KENNY bell cam, hooker headers and I got a brand new AC delco quadrajet 780 cfm . It ran 13:20 in a quarter. Never broke down and was very reliable. I had a blast with that car.
Buicks always had blurry lines model wise from what I've seen I have a 1989 LeSabre as a quaternary backup car. What is the difference between an Electra, Century, LeSabre and Park Avenue? For the most part with the exception of the Century and even then not by much Body style is nearly identical, same engine, GM 3800 except the Century which can have a GM 3100 or 3300, even they are very similar to the 3800 and the latter can be swapped in the former with little difficulty, a 3800 ECU of the relevant year and wiring harness is swapped with it of course. Transmissions are the same THM-440T4 now known as the THM-4T60 or 4T60-E All vital parts were identical, most interior parts either were identical or could be used interchangeably I know badge engineering for the most part pertained to two vehicles, not in the same division but same ultimate manufacturer and the differences were very subtle but unique enough to either trained hands or observant people. So, what's the difference?
Junk yards around me (central Michigan) drain all fluids before putting cars out on the lot. They also don't allow torches & batteries or jump boxes. So basically i couldn't do any of these tests.
Old school late 1960's and early 1970's engines are just the trick for making big HP on a budget. I went to the wreckers when looking for an engine for my 1940 Ford Coupe project, with modified chassis and Mustang II conversion suspension w/power rack steering. I found a 1968 Ford Thunderbird with a 429 4bbl and with $900 to refresh the block, crank and rods and $3000 for some fun parts ..with some bench mods on the heads back gound SS valves. it dyno'ed at 625 hp and 590 lbft. including a Blue Thunder dual quad intake. Tuned out to be too heavy and too much HP & Torque for the light little coupe so, I ended up building a 1969 355 c.i. solid cam Windsor that dynoed at 455 hp ...that perfectly balanced the coupes performance and handling.
@@JBO3022 bucket seats are easier to deal with should removal is necessary Way more comfortable provided it has the right supporting components and quality in making them. Bench is better if a makeshift bed is needed for you to sleep and its too far to get to a motel or cant afford it
By the looks of the steering wheel on the donor Riviera, it looks like it had the super rare ACRS option. Aka the first airbags. Option only lasted for around a year due to very low uptake. Airbags didnt come back for many years after that
I have a 1977 Buick LeSabre Sport Coupe, and if you know anything about them then you know they have amazing potential but they are very rare. Mine has a rebuilt 350 and emissions deleted and it is a great car. They are also some of the last beautiful all American cars GM made honestly in my opinion.
I think I would have pulled the engine out of the electra 225 and would have built the Riviera on a later show. Riviera's are so under rated as great projects.
@@selenelacaze9883 Electras are great! I grew up around fast Electras and Wildcats growing up in NYC in the 70's and 80's. Only reason I said the Electra, there was a 4dr one that's was rotted out and looked like it was far gone. The Riviera they pulled the engine from was very restorable and buildable.
My sister had a '88 Buick Century. She put almost 498,000 miles on before she tossed it to my cousin. Yes, it broke down a few times along the way, but that car made a lot of road trips.
I had a '74 Riv parts car that I stripped. Man, that '74 was a beast. Fully boxed frame and 1/4" thick boxed and plated bumpers. Probably should have turned it into a derby car.
in 2006 i spent 6 months living in San Jose for work and watched all these shows on a Saturday. Brilliant group of programmes sadly missing in style from Britain.
@@isaakwelch3451 i have a 71 Buick 455 Electra and I hope the oil issue factory problem was fixed.. because I was thinking of getting a high performance oil pump just because of wat that guy said they had oil issues. I hope u are right my boy..
@@shawnrachal1631 I have a 72 Buick Skylark with the buick 350 motor. Similar in a lot of ways to the 455. On the 350's the early blocks had oiling problems that were all sorted out by 1970. I'm not an expert on 455 blocks but I do know there are common mods to help them oil better. They are fantastic blocks, strong and light with good power output. I'd talk to TA performance or the guys on the v8 buick forum, they are very knowledgeable and will tell you what your motor does and doesn't need to keep being reliable
This is exciting to me because my dad ordered this car with cool options. GS Stage1 455 auto with buckets, console and power windows. Black with red interior. I was 5 at the time and grew up with that car even got my license in it. Dad ended up getting hit going to work and totaled the car. Very minor damage and if I only knew what that car was I would have bought it back from the insurance company.
I lament all the Buick Rivieras and Pontiac station wagons that we used to pick the motors and transmissions out of when we were kids in the 80s. Junk yard gold back in those days.
I love these old Buicks ever since my dad taught me to drive in his '65 Wildcat. Sad that most of them up here in the great white north have been eaten by rust worms.
@@AJGreen-cn8kk I’ve always hoped someone would to save them, I’m in delta Colorado on the western slope and all the areas here got lots of hidden gems and just gems in plain sight
@@jamessharp9790 my dad had a 73 Regal with the455 sunroof white i interior black with white vinyl top. He sold it to my younger brother who ran into the ground
I like to put something on RU-vid to make noise while I putter around the kitchen. That's how I got started on these vids. Unfortunately, there's so much info and know-how in each one that I inevitably have to stop the vid halfway through and start over when I'm able to give it my undivided attention. This is really, really good stuff. Thank you!
I'd fixed the Riviera. My dad had a brand new '73 Buick Riviera G.S. 455-4bbl STAGE 1. For the day it blew many of doors. True, it did NOT have the same power as the '70 Riviera GS. He, & I loved em. Big BLOCKS for life !!!
73’ Buick Century notchback was 2 nd my HS car. Couldn’t afford a 455 or a Chevy swap so I tweaked the 350 Buick V8 . The only bolt on speed parts available in 1986 were cams and Hooker Super Comp headers. At 18 I couldn’t swing the $450 for the only headers available. I got junkyard 1968-70 heads , ugly porting job, but good valve job , 4 bbl intake from 1970 350 and and Erson hyd flat tappet with about 220 at .50 , the lift was not impressive, maybe . 470 or so . I found some better valve springs and deburred piston tops and combustion chambers too . Ported and matched intake and exhaust manifolds ( as far as I could reach into them 😂) and used a 600 cfm double pumper because I bought it cheap . Kept single point ignition but used good components. With a 3:23 gear, 2600 converter and I’m guessing about 4100 lbs I got it into 8.60s in 1/8 mi . It was all tuning the carb , timing and chassis . Cheap soft shocks and springs up front and urethane bushings in rear links air shocks on rear with more pressure in right rear. Totally different and fun to occasionally beat a Gt Mustang or Camaro .
My dad had a 1973 Buick century Gran sport 350. I loved it but couldn't afford to save it. I'm working my ass off to get another one and build a proper tribute car. You guys made a great choice!
it was plain jane,not really a hot rod and had a chevy 350.it would excite new age idiots who think everything is a barn find and needs patina .most people call patina worn out and ugly and like shiny,pretty and nice not old,worn and ugly
I had a 1973 Century Luxus Coupe my junior year in high school with the Buick 350 4bbl. Bought it for $350. It was a little rusty but a good strong runner.
PEOPLE. when use HEAT before TURN. take candle wax or PB blast or any oil and cool the threads them selves. not the threads around bolt the bolt threads them selves. wax is best. it goes into the threads and since cools faster then outer threads. it soaks in and doesnt allow the rust to recontact so helps come loose and dont break. oldest trick in the book.
At 3:57, Am I the only one who caught that this is a FACTORY AIR BAG equipped Rivera? These were VERY RARE!!!!!! GM was the very first car company to offer airbags as an option on a few very high end Cadillacs, Buick’s, and a few Chevies from 1972-76. The airbag option alone was over $1000 THEN. GM actually worked with the government in research on this program, and there was a number to call listed on a big sticker in the glove box door to report if the vehicle was in an accident and how the airbag worked!!
I like that the restorations are of large boats of the mid-seventies, because many episodes of the classic muscle cars have already been done ..... I like farn find large V8 boats of the mid-seventies in the junkyard .. .. .. My favorites are: . Dodge Magnum GT (78 - 79) . Dodge Charger Daytona (76 - 77) . Dodge Aspen Super Coupe 1978 . Plymouth Road Runner 1975
Dang tuff crowd in here I'd say...I did like the interior especially the front bench. Baby doll can snuggle on up to her man ! Btw it's there show so they can do any thing they want. Who else in here has there own show huh huh huh? Dropping the mic !
We Do Cars not really $100 something dollars at a pull a part is cheap as fuck the aftermarket is the same or better for early sbc they’re just put in everything I’d rather see a early sbc just out of freshness
I had a friend that had a 75 Buick Electra, that car had 896,000+ miles. That car had a 455. Another Buick I know of had 800,000 + miles it wasn't even 10 years old it was a350. I had one in a Regal 200,000 miles on the second motor.
Why dont they ever do bumpside ford pickups? I am working on a 67 f100 shortbed with a 390 fe and it would be cool to see them do one. I never see any videos of those on here
Among our many Pontiacs over the years we had a '72 Catalina 4-door with a 400. Only a 2bbl.I swapped the 2GC for a Holley. They wouldn't let me put a 4bbl Quadrajet manifold on it. :( Pop had a '66 Grand Prix 389 4-bbl. Both would run out pretty good!
I built up a 74 dodge charger se fer 4800 bucks. It had a 440 tnt big block. A t92 3.92 5 speed stick with a positive traction 5.77 rear outta a 78 Monaco. The thing had 5 lug slot mags. It was canary yellow with a blue left front fender. Black trunk lid and a green right door. It had a white vinyl top with quite a few options. That old monster would get up an go on moonshine with octane booster mixed in to run it without blowin it up. Pump gas even with the booster would make it sputter an die. 440 tnt big blocks built up with different parts from military grade dodge big block truck engines hate pump gas. Straight up the shits too weak. Moonshine uncut but lifted with octane booster will make it kick ass an an rip grass outta yer yard an give ya one of those green life roofs the hippies like so dayum much. That an a few or so busted winders on ya trailer house.
I worked in a automotive machine shop rebuilding engines. And yes we like to have the complete long block, but all that crap on the front? Not so much. I’m talking about Power steering pump, alternator, and all the rest of that crap.
I was hoping y'all could of gotten away with a good clean motor. My '70 oldsmobile was like that, ground down crank shaft. Machine shop charged $3700 for a total rebuild.
you put a hellava nick in the housing bore by hammering the old ,ujoint into it. i don't have to feel it with my finger, i see it!! dress it up with a rotary or round file so the cap doesn't bind on install.
I believe if that motor was the color purple it was probably built here in Memphis tn. Only because it was the builders signature. I would have to get their name though cant remember at the moment.
My Buick does have a 4 speed automatic. And with the 1987 V6 when launched at 24 psi boost will show you NOTHING ELSE but tail lights. Purchased my GN New 10-25-87, drove it 59K in 30 years. Kenne Bell bolt-ons delivered approx. 450 HP to an Auburn Pro-Posi carrier with 3.73 Richmonds. 0 to 60 in a bit over 4 seconds. But I must admit, still have my 455 Olds W-30.
Every Olds 307, 350 and 455 has had the intake removed and replaced at one time. Because that's what they do,.....they leak! When we junked our Olds 307 wagon I secretly celebrated inside knowing I'd never have to replace another valley pan gasket.
