When I was a kid in the 50s, we lived on a street with a curve, so we could hear a car coming before we could see it. I always knew when a Buick was coming by the rumble of that big straight 8 engine. No other car was like it.
I remember helping my dad dig one of these cars out of an anthill as a kid, the farmer that owned it gave it to us if we would remove it for him. We got it home after digging it out for 2 weeks, took out the engine, replaced the oil, connected a battery and after 35 years buried in an anthill it fired right up. The sound of one of these without an exhaust just melts the mind :) Smoothest ride you will ever have, these straight eights are so well balanced its like riding a cloud, an awesome sounding cloud :)
Imagine a HIGHLY modified 400 C.I.D. like ^^that^^ one, with a 25 psi turbocharger helping it brrrrrrreathe! Ooopppsss, tadpoles just shot all over the gaw'damn sleeper in my Freightliner tractor...
How difficult were these to start in the winter, compared to a straight six? Do you know? I was surprised at how well the gigantic 1970s V8s started in -18F weather, compared to my tiny, 3 cylinder Chevy (Suzuki) Sprint. One of those dinosaurs gave me a jump. Maybe having 8 spark plugs helps in extreme cold?
My parents had a Buick that came from the factory with dual carbs. My dad had a Muffler Shop split the exhaust manifold and weld in a second out let. Smooth, quiet and powerful too.
I drove a 1940 packard Super 40 with a straight 8. Smooth as glass. Has a unique sound, I was expecting a V8 sound but it's a good sounding engine nontheless,
NIce! When I was 9 or ten my mother (single mom) bought a 2 dr. 1950 Pontiac with straight 8. Teenagers would pull alongside her at the stoplights. she beat them them away from the stop light every time. It was hot rod without any mods! Thanks for the video. Love it!
You have a wonderful car! I just love Straight Eight motors, no matter the make. They have such a smooth unique sound! A Buick Straight Eight with a dual exhaust is fantastic! When my Mom and Dad got married in 1953, they had a 48 Roadmaster, which I still have, and Dad split the exhaust. Unfortunately, somewhere along the way, he put the original back on it, but it still has the wonderful Straight Eight tone!
Having owned a 1952 Buick Special as soon as you showed the chrome fins I knew the year. I hope you have the whole car back together and running down the road well. Please post more vids to show us the whole car in detail. Perhaps there could be two with one beingf a guided tour of the whole car parked and another showing it driving from riding along and outside. From what I can see of it here it sure looks nice!
Sounds like it needs a valve job from the popping in the exhaust. Had a '48 Roadmaster with a fresh overhaul and dual stock carbs and it idled as smooth and quiet as an electric motor. Do a compression test. Even with straight pipes, it should idle quieter than that. I loved those Buicks. Seems like most of these guys here were too distracted by the alternator to pay attention to your good work, which I admire.
Yes, that's right, R Layout engines (Straight) have those drawbacks, even Straight-6s give the gearboxes a proper beating, there's more wear and tear caused in the gearbox coupled to any Straight-6 engine, but despite all that it's still in production. I like the new BMW 550d, it's a 3.0 litre Straight-6 Tri-Turbo. So imagine a Quad-Turbo Straight-8.
nice car I love these buick straight 8s we have a 1950 buick with the 320ci 70 series with hydraulic lifters the engine has never been touched other than for oil changes still running on 6 volts to
Yep, had an alternator shake loose once, belts got raveled up, bent the bracket and dragged the alternator into the fan....left a nice circular cut in the rad......
olmon11, I don't know if "Smitty Duals" is correct or not, just as so many insist on misspelling Edelbrock as Eldebrock or some variant. But I do know "Smithy" is a manufacturer of glass-packs and is the only name I've seen in rodding magazines for the past 20 years or so.
The 1937 Roadmaster had dual tiny Rochesters, at least my Parent's did. When the fuel pump quit on a trip from Tulsa to I'll say Dardanelle, AR, (actually Belleville...find it!) they had my uncle, (five years younger) ride on the fender with a gallon gas can and a cup to dribble gas straight down into the carbs! This got them to Fort Smith where they could get a part! "The 1937 Roadmaster! Will pass anything on the road! but a service station...." 320 CID (5.3L) at 6:1 compression ratio doesn't give great fuel economy. It was rated at 130 HP, but it was a Loooong stroke engine and there are no accurate modern torque ratings available, but it'd be a bunch! Probably more than a 455 CID Buick V-8 of 1968. The three gears weren't really needed...leave it in second...
See, ya just have to look at the ignition keys and all these old babies just start right up. My dad had a 1951 in this same paint. My first driver learning with a automatic, A DYNAFLOW! Brahaha ha! Love this man, keep up the vids.
Nice rare old mill, sounds good. Since it is such a classic type of engine, there seems no reason to put a flopping 12 volt Alt, when a good rebuilt Delco 6 volt generator would fire those spark plugs just fine.
I like that. Real Nice. My 1940 Buick has the dual carbs and dual exhaust on a 1949 248 cc engine. That was real sweet. It has a diff sound on the video, not like if real life. When you are wrapping out in 2nd gear with the windows down is when this sounds the best. I know what it sounds like, it is not anything like a slant 6 or a straight chev 6. thanks for posting...your engine really sparkles. What kind of air cleaner do you have?
Hey, I love the video! I just got a '52 Buick Special Eight a few months ago and I've been looking for a dual carb intake manifold! Any chance you could shed a glimmer of light on the subject?
I used a stock 41 buick factory dual carb intake and exhaust manifolds. Only I used flat head ford holley carbs rather than the stock strombergs mainly cause the stombergs were originally progressive and I wanted full time dual carbs. Also my exhaust is true split duals, not a y pipe. These manifold systems are getting very hard to come by. There is one on Craigslist right now for $1200. I have another video here that shows more detail of the exhaust system and other engine detail. Thanks for looking.. Also if you are serious about this system you will have to do a pretty extensive modification to the left engine mount to make room. But if your handy with cutting metal and welding its easy.
Keith: It is time to do some vids showing the whole 52 Buick. Since a 52 Special was my first car, I'm still a fan of early 50s Buicks and interested in seeing more.
The term for the dual exhaust with glass-packs was Smitty Duals. Took me a minute to figure out what you were referring to with 'Smithy'. Do a GOOGLE search on Smitty Duals.
Is the rest of the engine original or has it been bored oversized? If so, how much? Anything else to increase compression? Any adjustment to the spark curve? Electronic ignition? Are the valve seats hardened for unleaded gaz? How does the torque of these engines compare to that of a similar sized V8? I believe these engines are oversquare vs the undersquare design of most V8s.
The problem with this engine design is the length of the crank shaft. It makes for a heavy rotating mass, and high torsional strain for being so long. I like the straight 8 idea though too, lots of room on the sides for turbos :D
that is exactly why buick paired the straight 8 with the dynaflow transmission. the dynaflow is so smooth that it does not induce any undesirable torsional strain back to the engine's crankshaft so drivetrain durability is not an issue. the heavy rotating mass only adds to the smoothness of the vehicle.
Oh my! The only thing wrong is YOU are missing the way to start this car. You did away with depressing the accelerator to start the car. What a tragic loss. You realize that was a trade mark of Buick for at least 2 decades.
Buick made the best of the str.8's, only Packard came close. How did you get it to burn so clean? No exhaust smoke even during acceleration. Do you use an electronic ignition system, mag wires, and platinum plugs?
Any idea what difference the twin carb setup and the dual exhausts made to the power ? - probably would improve breathing and so help economy a bit too ?
Where did you get the exhaust manifolds? I have a '52 Special that I have been playing with and those would go great. Awesome job on the Straight-8. I only hope mile will look that good some day.
When I was a kid in the 50s, we lived on a street with a curve, so we could hear a car coming before we could see it. I always knew when a Buick was coming by the rumble of that big straight 8 engine. No other car was like it.
Uncomparable sound such a smooth yet mean sound
You knew a Fireball was coming round the corner. A business machine.
I remember helping my dad dig one of these cars out of an anthill as a kid, the farmer that owned it gave it to us if we would remove it for him. We got it home after digging it out for 2 weeks, took out the engine, replaced the oil, connected a battery and after 35 years buried in an anthill it fired right up. The sound of one of these without an exhaust just melts the mind :) Smoothest ride you will ever have, these straight eights are so well balanced its like riding a cloud, an awesome sounding cloud :)
My aunt has one in an oldsmobile that's been in the family since new.
Imagine a HIGHLY modified 400 C.I.D. like ^^that^^ one, with a 25 psi turbocharger helping it brrrrrrreathe!
Ooopppsss, tadpoles just shot all over the gaw'damn sleeper in my Freightliner tractor...
How difficult were these to start in the winter, compared to a straight six? Do you know? I was surprised at how well the gigantic 1970s V8s started in -18F weather, compared to my tiny, 3 cylinder Chevy (Suzuki) Sprint. One of those dinosaurs gave me a jump. Maybe having 8 spark plugs helps in extreme cold?
@@fobbitoperator3620 A supercharger would be much better. No turbo lag, less complexity. A turbo is better suited to diesels and aircraft engines.
@@DUCKSAREEVILLLLLLLL Both mine and my mother's started just fine in super cold weather.
I remember growing up mt father was so proud of his 41 Buick century with dual carbs he would always say to my brother and me, she had two two's boys
Sweet Buick strait 8 no other sound like them
The straight 8’s had a beautiful sound
Buick inline 8's are beautiful to look at when dressed up 👍🙂❤️
Its a 52 Buick Special, the motor is a 263
My parents had a Buick that came from the factory with dual carbs. My dad had a Muffler Shop split the exhaust manifold and weld in a second out let. Smooth, quiet and powerful too.
Most 41s and 42s came with dual carbs, and many people did indeed add dual exhaust to them.
Interesting sound to the exhaust.
Fantastic!!! SO glad you didn't opt for the easy way out.....a Chev......again.....
Just a wonderful ride!!
That's a sweet ride there! Only thing that irked me though, was I kept waiting for that alternator to shake loose!
That's probably partly from the frame rate of the camera. Might just be a little vibration but the camera can only pick it up in such a way.
Yep, extremely odd. Maybe worn rubber sleeves?!?!
@@thedolphin5428 or he needs a new doodle thingy
I drove a 1940 packard Super 40 with a straight 8. Smooth as glass. Has a unique sound, I was expecting a V8 sound but it's a good sounding engine nontheless,
i'm brazilian, what a phenomenal snoring, sorry if my english is incorrect.
Good engine. Straight 8. What a wonderful sound. That's amazing!
Gute Maschine. Reihenachtzylinder. Was für ein tolles Motorengeräusch. Das ist beeindruckend.
Jesus Christ that's a thing of beauty!! The revs are so satisfying 🤗
In 1941 The Buick Series 90 cars had dual carburetors as standard equipment.
As did the Series 50, 60, and 70 cars, and most Series 40 cars had them as well.
Words cannot explain the beauty of the soud and looks of this car
Beautiful absolute machine. Such a fantastic sound!
NIce! When I was 9 or ten my mother (single mom) bought a 2 dr. 1950 Pontiac with straight 8. Teenagers would pull alongside her at the stoplights. she beat them them away from the stop light every time. It was hot rod without any mods! Thanks for the video. Love it!
Looks & sounds gorgeous. Alternator doesn't look like its wants to be there though - maybe a 60's Delco might feel more wanted !
Every time there's a Hagerty update a different Straight 8 video gets recommended to me
You have a wonderful car! I just love Straight Eight motors, no matter the make. They have such a smooth unique sound! A Buick Straight Eight with a dual exhaust is fantastic! When my Mom and Dad got married in 1953, they had a 48 Roadmaster, which I still have, and Dad split the exhaust. Unfortunately, somewhere along the way, he put the original back on it, but it still has the wonderful Straight Eight tone!
Beautifully detailed straight 8. Nice job !
Having owned a 1952 Buick Special as soon as you showed the chrome fins I knew the year. I hope you have the whole car back together and running down the road well. Please post more vids to show us the whole car in detail. Perhaps there could be two with one beingf a guided tour of the whole car parked and another showing it driving from riding along and outside. From what I can see of it here it sure looks nice!
Those look really nice with the vent holes on the side, but they seemed to be more prone to rust than the 1930s and 1940s cars. I wonder why that is?
I love beautiful anachronisms like this beast.
Fantastic machine! I love it. Sounds powerful and healthy.
Real nice set up. Ditch the rubber fuel lines to carbs (fire hazzard).
Pretty car and nice work. She looks, sounds and runs great.
perfect setup, perfect exhaust note.
What a beautiful grunt, sounds amazing!
Beautiful 52, just love Buick’s!
Like two bad ass I-4's coupled together! I like it.
Sounds like it needs a valve job from the popping in the exhaust. Had a '48 Roadmaster with a fresh overhaul and dual stock carbs and it idled as smooth and quiet as an electric motor. Do a compression test. Even with straight pipes, it should idle quieter than that. I loved those Buicks. Seems like most of these guys here were too distracted by the alternator to pay attention to your good work, which I admire.
A slightly hot rodded Buick straight 8 sounds awesome kind of sounds like its a torque monster
That's probably because it is...a TORQUE MONST'AH!!!
Oohhhhhh the possibilities...
Congratulations on a great job;well done!
Yes, that's right, R Layout engines (Straight) have those drawbacks, even Straight-6s give the gearboxes a proper beating, there's more wear and tear caused in the gearbox coupled to any Straight-6 engine, but despite all that it's still in production. I like the new BMW 550d, it's a 3.0 litre Straight-6 Tri-Turbo. So imagine a Quad-Turbo Straight-8.
Sounds and looks great
nice car I love these buick straight 8s we have a 1950 buick with the 320ci 70 series with hydraulic lifters the engine has never been touched other than for oil changes still running on 6 volts to
Sounds awesome man thanks for the upload 👌🤘
your alternator is loose and wigglin
120 horses shaking it. lol
so is my johnson.
Will C I’d expect like 180 or so. Tbh not bad for this motor being so unmodded besides intake carb and headers
marion cobaretti Using the generator bracket does that , on a v-8 it will throw the fan belt .
Nice nothing like an inline engine for smoothness!
your altinator looks kinda loose.
yes it looks like it for sure
Beautiful old engine! Fabricate a bracket to go on the back of the alternator, It can got froward and bolt to the rear of the main mount.
Man that sounds great! Great setup.
Thanks
that rumble just .....arouses...feelings........
The air cleaners are modified VW bug dual carb air cleaners. I had to re-work the mounting of them
Lovely sound. Nice running engine you have there. Excellent work.👍😊
Yep, had an alternator shake loose once, belts got raveled up, bent the bracket and dragged the alternator into the fan....left a nice circular cut in the rad......
Classy straight 8!!
Beautiful job, nice set up, sounds amazing.
beautiful car
You need to tighten up your alterator before it falls off or pops the belt
Sounds great by the way ! Thanks for share in
olmon11, I don't know if "Smitty Duals" is correct or not, just as so many insist on misspelling Edelbrock as Eldebrock or some variant. But I do know "Smithy" is a manufacturer of glass-packs and is the only name I've seen in rodding magazines for the past 20 years or so.
I love it ! Show some more of the rest of the car?!
Nice! Straight eights are awesome, today's boring engineers would never make one now!
Sounds great! Looks real sharp!
The 1937 Roadmaster had dual tiny Rochesters, at least my Parent's did. When the fuel pump quit on a trip from Tulsa to I'll say Dardanelle, AR, (actually Belleville...find it!) they had my uncle, (five years younger) ride on the fender with a gallon gas can and a cup to dribble gas straight down into the carbs! This got them to Fort Smith where they could get a part! "The 1937 Roadmaster! Will pass anything on the road! but a service station...." 320 CID (5.3L) at 6:1 compression ratio doesn't give great fuel economy. It was rated at 130 HP, but it was a Loooong stroke engine and there are no accurate modern torque ratings available, but it'd be a bunch! Probably more than a 455 CID Buick V-8 of 1968. The three gears weren't really needed...leave it in second...
If memory is correct, it had 266 LBS. FT. of torque at 2,000 RPM.
See, ya just have to look at the ignition keys and all these old babies just start right up. My dad had a 1951 in this same paint. My first driver learning with a automatic, A DYNAFLOW! Brahaha ha! Love this man, keep up the vids.
When better cars are built, Buick will build them.
That is rad! Looks and sounds good!
Nice rare old mill, sounds good. Since it is such a classic type of engine, there seems no reason to put a flopping 12 volt Alt, when a good rebuilt Delco 6 volt generator would fire those spark plugs just fine.
I like that. Real Nice. My 1940 Buick has the dual carbs and dual exhaust on a 1949 248 cc engine. That was real sweet. It has a diff sound on the video, not like if real life. When you are wrapping out in 2nd gear with the windows down is when this sounds the best. I know what it sounds like, it is not anything like a slant 6 or a straight chev 6.
thanks for posting...your engine really sparkles. What kind of air cleaner do you have?
Hey, I love the video! I just got a '52 Buick Special Eight a few months ago and I've been looking for a dual carb intake manifold! Any chance you could shed a glimmer of light on the subject?
I used a stock 41 buick factory dual carb intake and exhaust manifolds. Only I used flat head ford holley carbs rather than the stock strombergs mainly cause the stombergs were originally progressive and I wanted full time dual carbs. Also my exhaust is true split duals, not a y pipe. These manifold systems are getting very hard to come by. There is one on Craigslist right now for $1200. I have another video here that shows more detail of the exhaust system and other engine detail. Thanks for looking.. Also if you are serious about this system you will have to do a pretty extensive modification to the left engine mount to make room. But if your handy with cutting metal and welding its easy.
Keeth Colton Here is the link to the other video. ruclips.net/video/49QXK1dU5kg/видео.html
Haha, they didn't start their Buick straight 8 at Hagerty, and youtube suggested me this video, sounds awesome.
Looks like a 1950 Super. The Special had a 248 and the Century and Roadmaster had a 320
hyzercreek correct
David Flint
I have a 263 in my 1940 special (it's a 1953 engine)
Last year for the 248 was 1950. The 263 in 51 - 53 Specials had solid lifters, the one in Dynaflow equipped cars had hydraulics.
@@michaelbenardo5695 For dynaflow cars they squeezed some extra horsepower out by having thinner head gaskets (to increase the compression ratio.)
Nice! Alternator is kinda wobbly, might want to brace it.
Very, very nice, looks like the alternator wants out of there!
Sounds great out the pipes-! Better take a peek at that alternator, shes shakin' a bit - but you may already know.
I love it - great job!
Ad tuned eight into two tuned header to really make her bark !
This is so cool. Excelent video, thank you for sharing this! The sound and video quality is great.
Keith: It is time to do some vids showing the whole 52 Buick. Since a 52 Special was my first car, I'm still a fan of early 50s Buicks and interested in seeing more.
Sounds neat. Fix the alternator screws, because it wants to rip itself off the engine.
The term for the dual exhaust with glass-packs was Smitty Duals. Took me a minute to figure out what you were referring to with 'Smithy'. Do a GOOGLE search on Smitty Duals.
Need to bring back the straight eight
Very nice car. Sounds great.
Love the Buick sweet 👍😎
Had a 48' back in high school.
That is just awesome. Very nice.
[stares with great envy, while drooling]
Didn't this car originally use a generator? I don't think they used alternators that early.
You are quite correct!
Is the rest of the engine original or has it been bored oversized? If so, how much? Anything else to increase compression? Any adjustment to the spark curve? Electronic ignition? Are the valve seats hardened for unleaded gaz? How does the torque of these engines compare to that of a similar sized V8? I believe these engines are oversquare vs the undersquare design of most V8s.
Very cool , You have a new subscriber
Looks like you need a lower bracket to stop that alternator from flopping around like that, nice car to...
The problem with this engine design is the length of the crank shaft. It makes for a heavy rotating mass, and high torsional strain for being so long. I like the straight 8 idea though too, lots of room on the sides for turbos :D
that is exactly why buick paired the straight 8 with the dynaflow transmission. the dynaflow is so smooth that it does not induce any undesirable torsional strain back to the engine's crankshaft so drivetrain durability is not an issue. the heavy rotating mass only adds to the smoothness of the vehicle.
A supercharger is much better for a gasoline engine. Turbos are better for diesels and aircraft engines.
Oh my! The only thing wrong is YOU are missing the way to start this car. You did away with depressing the accelerator to start the car. What a tragic loss. You realize that was a trade mark of Buick for at least 2 decades.
@davey4557 hey it's a GM alternator (right?), they're supposed to flap around in the breeze xD
How big is your Straight 8,sounds awesome
Damn that’s allot duals . Probably us dual mufflers too
Buick made the best of the str.8's, only Packard came close. How did you get it to burn so clean? No exhaust smoke even during acceleration. Do you use an electronic ignition system, mag wires, and platinum plugs?
A good engine with a properly functioning carb will never smoke.
Couldn't wait any longer for the hagerty rebuild of this engine XD its in 7 hours.
1:06 for the alternator
What an interesting exhaust note. I wonder why it sounds different than a V8 ??
Inline 8 sounds different than v8
i like how you kept to the nos carbs lol i fucked up but at least some one didn't
Well done.
Cool.how hard was it to find the intake.
Any idea what difference the twin carb setup and the dual exhausts made to the power ? - probably would improve breathing and so help economy a bit too ?
Where did you get the exhaust manifolds? I have a '52 Special that I have been playing with and those would go great. Awesome job on the Straight-8. I only hope mile will look that good some day.
Stock manifolds from a 41 buick, but I used Ford holley carbs and full time linkage not progressive
Sweeeet! Is there any old mill that doesn't sound great breathing through a set of Smithys? Nice job.