Final assembly on our Buick Straight 8! | Redline Update #66 - Hagerty Media

Every project has its critical milestones, and the Redline Rebuild Buick straight-eight just crossed off another one. Both engine and Davin are primed for starting.

This week’s update covers a lot of assembly. Most of it is fairly simple, but nevertheless quite important. The motor mounts, spark plug wires, and oil filter are all cool, but the star of the assembly show is on the driver’s side of the engine, where the custom headers and intake manifold are mounted up.

“Getting this all in place is not going to be fun,” says Davin as he prepares to thread more than a dozen studs into the engine block. “These studs all need to be in place, and then I’ll need an extra thumb or two to hold the intake and exhaust pieces in place while getting the hardware started and tightened up.”

Luckily, all the parts slip together on the first try. (I would bet Davin bought a lottery ticket on the way home with that kind of luck.) Bolting the manifold up does not mean this engine is ready for fuel to flow, though. The car this engine is destined for requires an electric choke, which means the factory Holley three-bolt carbs are not going to work. The intake manifold could not be re-fit, so Davin gets creative and started playing with plastic.

Using the gaskets for the intake manifold and Rochester carbs, Davin creates an adapter system that allows the four-bolt carbs to be fitted to the three-bolt intake manifold. It also looks pretty good with the reproduction Edmunds air cleaners perched atop the carbs.

With fuel, air, and spark now primed and ready on this engine, there are a few ancillary items to take care of once it goes on the engine stand. That, of course, is a task for next week. If you don’t want to miss hearing this hot rod straight-eight roar to life, be sure to subscribe to the Hagerty YouTube channel and watch for the latest Redline Update videos every Monday.