[macf85]

Looking good! If this is your first 215 build it’s critical to prime the Buick style oil pump. I pack the oil pump cavity around and in between the gears with petroleum jelly till its full with no air pockets. Then using a variable speed electric hand drill with an old flat head screwdriver as a bit, and drive the oil pump until through the distributor hole. I’m running an oil pressure gauge so it was easy to see if I was getting pressure and then run the drill for a couple of minutes until the oil passages are filled. That way you know for sure it’s primed before you start it.

Also, the rocker shafts on these engines carry oil through the hollow center and are prone to collecting sludge, particularly in the ends. It’s important to clean them with a rifle brush or something similar and some solvent.

I saw your concern about today’s oils. There are a bunch of zinc rich oils on the market or you could use zinc additive in the conventional oil.

You know you want to fire it up! It’s always rewarding to go from a pile of parts on the floor to a running engine.

[macf85]

I’m running 195 degrees.

[macf85]

I installed the NAPA 8349 top hose today. I left the larger diameter end uncut at the radiator side and just cinched the clamp down tight enough to make a good seal. On the intake manifold side I cut about 3″ off the end. This hose fits pretty good for an adapted part and looks correct unlike the universal accordian type hose I had on there.

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[macf85]

Thanks. I bought one from NAPA today. Looks like it will work well. I’d like to see the pic of your installation.

[macf85]

I have a Cutlass with air conditioning which uses a cross-flow style radiator like the Jetfire. I have been able to find the lower hose in a molded style on EBAY. I have been trying to find a molded style upper hose for several years now. I took my old molded upper hose to a couple of auto parts stores, who will take the time to try and find a hose for another application that might be close, and had no luck. I decided to keep the old hose because it looks correct. I kept a universal type flex hose in the trunk in case of emergency. Well, it finally blew out a couple of weeks ago and I’m now stuck with using the flex type hose.

If you find a substitute that looks like a correct original please let everyone know. I’m sure there are other owners who want to keep their cars correct in appearance.

[macf85]

The Buick Special tank should be exactly the same.

[macf85]

Good luck to you! I’m interested in the cost of the custom fab tank. If you get a price on it would post it?

[macf85]

You won’t find a reproduction tank for the 61-63 cars. If you do, let us all know. Other than a custom tank (surely expensive) or trying to find a good used one (you never know what you’re going to get, especially if you buy it long distance) you can try to work with your existing tank. There was a topic on this started a while back. Click on the index tab above and then click “discussion topics”…..at the bottom of the first page there is a topic called “In need of new gas tank on 63 olds”. Personally, I’ve tried the do-it-yourself method of coating the tank with with sealer kits like Eastwood’s. I spent quite a bit of time “cleaning” the inside of the tank with the chemicals in the kit along with a length of chain and some buckshot……shook the hell out of it for about an hour, rinsed it and shook for another hour and finally convinced myself that it was as clean as its going to get using this blind method. Well, it worked good for about 4 years then failed at the pinhole that started the whole problem. I know quite a few people who’ve tried this coating method and the coating ultimately peels away from some parts of the tank.

Right now I have a new reproduction tank intended for a 1938-1939 Chevy. It’s a little taller than the original tank but much shorter from front to back, the width is the same and I have no ground clearance issues. It’s secured with new straps, etc. and a fuel resistant rubber hose from the tank to the original filler down-tube. I don’t recommend that anybody else try this due to the potential safety issues. It’s going to work for me until I find a suitable replacement.

[macf85]

The metal side goes down toward the block, the composite side goes up toward the cylinder head. I sprayed the metal side of the gasket with Permatex Spray Copper High Temp Coating before installing them on my Cutlass 215.

[macf85]

I rebuilt my F-85 Cutlass and Rambler Classic fuel pumps using the kits from Then & Now Automotive. These are very complete kits with pretty good instructions. So for no problems with either car. I did the work 3 or 4 years ago. Also, I rebuilt the carburetors on both cars using Kits from Kanter Auto Products. The kits I used are resistant to today’s fuels. I haven’t had any trouble with these either.

I agree with jensenracing77. Run the engines when you can in the winter. I have a couple of motorcycles that I completely drain the fuel systems on and make sure they’re completely dry. It’s much easier to do on a motorcycle so I put Stabil in the cars and run them every now and then. I haven’t had any fuel related problems doing this.

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