Buick Engine - Bulldozer Torque
Automotive Machine employed serious modifications to bring the intake port cross-section to the maximum size, given the constraints of the Buick's architecture. The pushrod pinch point was sleeved, as was the central head bolt boss, as part of the all-out porting effort. | 
The chamber side of the T/A heads reveals an open chamber configuration, with a deep, central, plug location. Automotive Machine made the most of the available space with a 2.250/1.750-inch valve combination. | 
Buttoning up the bottom end is a fabricated aluminum oil pan from SRE Fabrications. The pan features a built-in windage tray. No further crank windage control was deemed necessary. The pan features a single external pick-up. | 
The external pick-up from the pan feeds a high-capacity billet oil pump from Scavenger Oil Systems, which feeds oil to a remote-mounted oil filter assembly. The lubrication system performed flawlessly. Mike reports strong oil pressure from idle through maximum rpm. | 
Adding needed buttressing to the relatively fragile stock Buick bottom end is a massive cast-iron lower block girdle from T/A Performance, which ties the mains and pan rails. | 
Working opposite the chambers in the modified heads are a set of custom JE pistons. The pistons are custom JE pieces, with a reverse-dome configuration giving a 23cc dish configuration. | 
Pulling the pistons out of the bores, we find a conventional high-performance ring package from JE, consisting of 1/16-inch compression rings and 3/16-inch low-tension oil rings. The piston pin is a Chevy-spec 0.990-inch diameter part. | 
Long 6.800-inch Eagle H-beam connecting rods help reduce the cylinder loading on the factory Buick block. The rods are off-the-shelf units for a big-block Chevy application. | 
Looking at the bearings shows the tell-tale black sheen of an anti-friction coating. All of the bearings used in this engine are coated sets from Calico. |  |  |  |  | | |
| Dyno Results | | RPM | TQ | HP | | 2,500 | 544 | 259 | | 2,600 | 554 | 271 | | 2,800 | 568 | 303 | | 3,000 | 575 | 329 | | 3,200 | 568 | 346 | | 3,400 | 558 | 361 | | 3,600 | 551 | 378 | | 3,800 | 565 | 409 | | 4,000 | 603 | 460 | | 4,200 | 633 | 506 | | 4,400 | 653 | 547 | | RPM | TQ | HP | | 4,600 | 656 | 574 | | 4,800 | 662 | 605 | | 5,000 | 667 | 635 | | 5,200 | 666 | 660 | | 5,400 | 660 | 678 | | 5,600 | 651 | 694 | | 5,800 | 638 | 704 | | 6,000 | 620 | 708 | | 6,200 | 604 | 713 | | 6,400 | 580 | 707 | | 6,500 | 567 | 702 |
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