SBC, the Generic Hot Rod Engine

Once upon a time I put my 462" Buick powered roadster up for sale.
Didn't make the price so I still have it.

Got more than a few questions about why didn't it have an SBC under the hood.
Probably the funniest comment was one guy didn't like the Buick engine, cloth top or the roll bar.

I told him that if he bought it, he could feel free to swap engines and get it upside down sans roll bar.

Funny stuff and I have no problem with the SBC being the generic hot rod engine.
They're good little engines, I've run em & built em, but prefer the big Buicks.

I realize as well, the reasons that many use them.
Light, physically small, fairly big in the CID dept and best of all, they breathe well and make lots of HP for not a whole lot of money.

Something to be said for the Buicks 530# of low compression torque and a fairly low rpm top end.
Runs on 87 octane year round.

Anyhoo, my pal and I were talking about selling the 32 and I mentioned that the big Buick was a stumbling block for some.
He recommended tossing in an SBC crate engine.

My thinking was - if I decide to sell - pull the Buick engine, T-400, headers & exhaust and use them in the new project.

Not really sure if an engineless, drives great roadster with all the good pieces would sell.
I hate to tear the car apart though, part of it due to its history and I feel like I ought to leave it as is since it was featured in a book a few years back.

And . . . I really like driving the darned thing.

Just thinking out loud I guess.

Anyone ever sell the car and keep the engine?

http://i49.photobucket.com/albums/f2...2004-jpg-1.jpg

http://i49.photobucket.com/albums/f2...yLakeTrip1.jpg

http://i49.photobucket.com/albums/f2...elsDebbie3.jpg

As noted, just thinking about things and if I decided to sell the 32 will show up in the classifieds....

With or without the SBC I can not see it not selling at the right price. If I were in the market and had the asking price I know I'd buy it. Roadsters are immensely poplular, can't understand how someone in the market could pass it up, even with the Buick.

It looks like it would make a nice home for my Olds 371 J2. Just the thought makes me smile. :D Unfortunatley I'm not in the market.:(

I think the Buick engine is what makes the car stand out from the Deuce with 350/350 combo.... You will of course limit your market to the people who actually can see the car for the quality of the build and driveability of the car and eliminate the potential buyers who don't want a Deuce that is just like all the others..... hmmmmm...... I guess that would be a good point????

Anyway, there are so many Deuce Roadsters around, I wouldn't change a thing on the car if I were contemplating a sale.... The engine makes the car unique!

C9x I think your car is great . I am more of a SB Chevy man as you may know all ready . But them ( Buick / Olds / Pontiac's ) are still GMs and that's COOL . Your car is one of the finest street rods in the World . Just the way it is really . And the best thing is . It doesn't have a generic HEMI in it :LOL:

Jay, my first instinct is to recommend against trying to sell engineless, as Dave said, it will slim down the prospective buyer field. True, as your previous experience has shown, the Buick narrows the field too, just that without the engine it would get even smaller. Of course, if you some how managed to stumble across that "just right buyer" right off the bat we'd all be proven wrong. On the other hand, a few years ago I had a built 440 mopar sitting on an engine stand. As luck would have it I got a call one day from a buddy who had a lead on a '64 Savoy that the owner had blown the engine, pulled it out, and was now "mad" at the car and just wanted it to go away for a modest price! :D

If it were me I'd try again to sell it (if you end up making that decision) as is. It would be a good way to test just how prevalent that oft spoken notion about not wanting a "cookie cutter" engine really is. It will be all about exposure. Given the number of forums you're on, how long you've been around, the respect you've earned, and to some degree your geographical location, your odds should be pretty good.

IMHO having something different is a plus not a minus. There are others out there that think that way too. If a potential buyer looks funny at the big Buick, take him for a ride and peel his eyelids back. Maybe he will see the light!

Pat

Quote:

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Originally Posted by DennyW

Yeah !! what stu said....:LOL:

Man, if you have problems with people like that, imagine what they will say when I get mine on the road... :LOL: :LOL:

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They will say WOW :eek: What kind of Truck was that ? It must have one of them 383 SB Chevys in it :LOL:

Them 383s seams Like the SB Chevy engine to have . I never Liked that set up . I do fine with 350s . And I have a 406 that will work just right at the track . C9x your car is just right the way it is . If I was able to buy it . I would not change that BUICK engine .

C9
I am really tired of belly button engines in deuces and other Fords - and quite frankly, that's what a SBC has become in my humble opinion. In my area I'm starting to see more and more of the deuces and other Fords with .... gasp....a Ford in it. Your car is unique in that it dares to be different. I like that. If I was to be ever in the market for a '32 Ford roadster, and yours was one of several, and the others all had the 350/350 combo as well as similar equipment plus priced in the same range, yours would very quickly rise to the top. Now, if it had a Ford in it.......:LOL: :LOL:

I would not try to sell it incomplete. People will expect an "unfinished price".

Maybe you could offer it "as is", and if they don't like the odd motor combination, offer it for about $3,000 less, with no motor & trans. That way, they can drive it, and then buy it however they choose.

(I would not be surprised that some might think about the trouble of the swap, and want to use it immediately, so they end up buying it with the motor, anyway.)

It's amazing how many people turn up their noses at anything other than a sbc. I don't know if they are just uninformed, afraid of something different or want to fit in so bad that they want what everyone else has. I sold my '47 Ford coupe after removing the '56 Firepower Hemi because the guy had something completely different in mind. He set it on a '68 442 chassis that he had stripped the body off of. It was a rusty work car but a real 442. Several years later I ran into the car at a show and told the currant owner that this was my old car. He was dissapointed that it was not a sbc and was thinking of selling. He could not understand why anyone whould mount the car on a Chevelle chassis and put an Olds in it. I explained the whole story to him and he then understood that he had a '68 442 with a '47 Ford coupe body. He wasn't impressed at all and still wanted to sell. People are just crazy.

tell the prospective buyer that he can easily sell the buick for more than enough to get a sbc and have some cash left over in his pocket after the swap.

Let him judge the validity of the statement. All you gotta do is sell him on it.

i wouldnt change a thing if people dont like it forget about em!!!!!! ive always wanted to stuff a 400 pontiac into my nova :D

First off, that is a beautiful Deuce, and you have done it right. :D

Now, this is in no way meant to knock the vernerable sbc engine, I am running one in my T and have gained a whole lot of respect for the looks, compactness, power, performance, and dependability of them. There is a reason they are the most used engine in hot rod history. However, when someone says to me "what engine is in your T?" I sheepishly say "just a 350 Chevy."

The reason I am not shouting it out is because, as good as they are, they are sort of a "like everybody else in the world" engine. I don't know if "overdone" is the right term, but there is certainly no uniqueness about having one in a hot rod any more. If I had an Olds, Buick, or Hemi in there my car would be different and in my mind a little cooler. When I would take my '27 to a show people would walk up and peek at the engine and say "Oh good, it's not a sbc, you actually put a Ford in it!"

So the bottom line is that real hot rodders would appreciate the Buick engine in your '32 for those reasons, whereas the people you are getting are evidently not as saavy to the fact that some engines (like your Buick) are generally held in high regard by those in the know. You just have not met the right buyer yet.

The other aspect is that the market is horrible right now, not only for hot rods, but new cars, homes, and retail sales in general. Hang in there and advertise it in other venues, perhaps with a sign at some major events. Somewhere out there is a guy who is looking for exactly a car like yours.

Don

C9
'Twere mine, I couldn't sell it - too nice and it would be a part of what I am. And your new project car? it wont take the deuce's place either. It will become a shoulda, coulda, woulda car forever to you. But then I'm reasonably sentimental - even about some inanimate things:CRY:

I think it is also worth mentioning that there are alot of people out there (myself included) that have ONLY wrenched on SBC's...

The ol' fear of the unknown....

An automotive reciprocating gasoline engine is just like any other automotive reciprocating gasoline engine no matter what badge it wears - in simple terms it transforms (combustion heat) energy into motion. Only the parts may be shaped differently.

To bad some guys didn't use one to Learn with ! So with all the SB Chevy's I built That would make me a Genius . :LOL: Old Denny W your on a **) roll today :LOL: :LOL:

Heres the main reason I probably won't sell it.

Sometimes I fire it up to run a short errand and I'm gone the whole day.



Last December at Hoover Dam returning from El Dorado Dry Lake.
http://i49.photobucket.com/albums/f2...yLakeTrip8.jpg

Headed for Mugu Rock
http://i49.photobucket.com/albums/f2...ortheCoast.jpg

July 5, 2005 at Mugu Rock just off PCH on the SoCal coast near Malibu
http://i49.photobucket.com/albums/f2...atMuguRock.jpg
http://i49.photobucket.com/albums/f2...AtMuguRock.jpg
Last October at the drags
http://i49.photobucket.com/albums/f2.../JanKlatt1.jpg


Runnin' around town a few months back.
http://i49.photobucket.com/albums/f2...Cloudburst.jpg

My all-time favorite roadster runnin' pic.
Couple summers back . . . Route 66 off in the far distance up against the mountains near Hackberry.
http://i49.photobucket.com/albums/f2...dedforI-40.jpg

All photos to here by the author.

And an author photo as well
http://i49.photobucket.com/albums/f2...Photosmall.jpg

Photo by Sweetie.


Just trippin' through the albums.
The roadster is a dependable little car, a whole lot of fun and too many memories to sell.

Sometimes I get to thinking too much and like Sweetie says, she likes to drive it now and then and much prefers the car with the top on.

And besides, everybody in the family likes it....
http://i49.photobucket.com/albums/f2...Debbie1jpg.jpg


Hope I didn't bore ya....:D

Quote:

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Originally Posted by DennyW

((So with all the SB Chevy's I built That would make me a Genius .))

Only if you can assemble one blind folded..... :LOL:

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Just about ! Maybe after the next 3 this year :LOL: or may-be 4 :LOL: Man I Love Them SB Chevys :cool:

Quote:

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Originally Posted by DennyW

Looks real nice. I think you have really became attached to it, and that makes it even harder to sell. Have you fixed the paint in the hood area ? :)

Sorry to hi jack. :(

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Not a highjack and not a prob.

Haven't fixed the paint and probably won't.

It bugs a few people, but especially so my lifelong friend with the 29 A roadster in the pics above.
It's satin black now and came close to being gloss fire engine red . . . the paints sitting in his garage now.
Short story there, he did an even up swap for a nice 46 Ford sedan before he got the 29 painted.

He'd always wanted a roadster and then found they're nothing more than a rolling air leak.
So he wimped out and went for the sedan.
Or as I call it, "The Weeniemobile."

Anyway, he's always had bright and shiny cars with good paint, nice upholstery etc.
I built equally nice cars, but usually with a strong running engine and all the stuff that goes along with it.
Most of them never got to the 'nice' paint stage, but the important part was they outran most anything he had.
Comet Cyclone, Olds 442, 57 Chevy, big ol Dodge etc.

So it's easy to see why he's bugged by the burned spot on the hood panel.
I went so far as to pinstripe it one afternoon so's he wouldn't/couldn't miss it.

Paybacks are a bitch I guess, he used to razz me about my paint jobs and the lack thereof, but in truth not a whole lot of razzing went on while he was looking at taillights....:3dSMILE:

http://i49.photobucket.com/albums/f2...32striping.jpg

[QUOTE=C9x]

Paybacks are a bitch I guess, he used to razz me about my paint jobs and the lack thereof, but in truth not a whole lot of razzing went on while he was looking at taillights....:3dSMILE:

QUOTE]

Aaaaaaah yes, and the real reason some of us like to build using the less then common combinations!!!!!! Paybacks are the most fun....:p :D

Considering where you live I can't imagine a better car to own. I'd never sell it.

There was a time when rodders and modifyers of cars actually tried to be different. In the 50-60s a Buick engine would have been typical. So would a Cadillac, Olds or Pontiac mill.

I don't know exactly when the "formula" cars came along but it just screws up the hobby completely. Today it's the same old stagnant stuff. 15 1930s cars show up at a cruise-in and each has a Chevy engine. Wow huh?

Maybe twerps looking for cars are afraid of non- Ford/Chevy crates engines. On what freaking planet is a 351 Ford preferrable over a Firedome and a 350 Chevy over a big Buick?

It's a bit out of control when the seller has to educate the buyer who has preconceived notions which are entirely wrong.

If you really wanted to part with it (Buick and all), post it for sale over at the HAMB.:eek: :eek: Just like the movie, it will be gone in sixty seconds. Yours is just their kind of eye candy.

But if you are not sure, then don't post it no place. Saves a lot of hard feelings and back pedaling later.:LOL: :LOL:

when i go to a goodguys show i bypass alot of cars because they the exact same thing, just differnt colors, your car would stand out like a sore thumb <no pun intended> i thinks its awesome with the buick mill in there!..

Quote:

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Originally Posted by mopar34

If you really wanted to part with it (Buick and all), post it for sale over at the HAMB.:eek: :eek: Yours is just their kind of eye candy.

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Actually, it doesn't really fit the general run of HAMB cars since the oldest thing on it is from 1968.

But they're nice enough to let me post there anyway....:D

the hamb???????

Quote:

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Originally Posted by C9x

He'd always wanted a roadster and then found they're nothing more than a rolling air leak.
So he wimped out and went for the sedan.
Or as I call it, "The Weeniemobile."

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Not everybody has roadster attitude. In fact, probably most don't. Fortunately my bride has it along with me..............coundn't be better. :)

Quote:

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Originally Posted by gassersrule_196

the hamb???????

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The HAMB.


Go here: Hokey Ass Message Board - THE H.A.M.B.

Read over some of the posts.
Like any site, some good, some not so good.

If you decide to post, be sure to make an introduction first.
Otherwise the newbies - also known as the intro police - will be all over you.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by C9x

The HAMB.



Otherwise the newbies - also known as the intro police - will be all over you.

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Oh yeah:HMMM: :LOL: -

And wear your thick skin - it does get a bit rough there on occasion:)

Quote:

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Originally Posted by IC2

Oh yeah:HMMM: :LOL: -

And wear your thick skin - it does get a bit rough there on occasion:)

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I may have to check that place out ? :LOL: See how them old boy's like Tango :eek: Can I bring my Ears ?

Quote:

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Originally Posted by tango

I may have to check that place out ? :LOL: See how them old boy's like Tango :eek: Can I bring my Ears ?

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It's safe enough, read the traditional hot rods bit and what the board is all about.

Click on the Jalopy Journal link at the top of the page as well.
Lots of interesting stuff there.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by C9x

It's safe enough, read the traditional hot rods bit and what the board is all about.

Click on the Jalopy Journal link at the top of the page as well.
Lots of interesting stuff there.

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It's safe, just don't take a thin skin, then have some fun

The ears, Tango, they wont care:LOL:

Quote:

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Originally Posted by IC2

It's safe, just don't take a thin skin, then have some fun

The ears, Tango, they wont care:LOL:

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COOL I will just tell them that I am a good friend of you guy's :LOL:

You're gonna need my real name then.

It's C9 over there.

Had to add the x here cuz it won't accept two digit names.

So much for anonymity....

Quote:

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Originally Posted by C9x

You're gonna need my real name then.

It's C9 over there.

Had to add the x here cuz it won't accept two digit names.

So much for anonymity....

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I will just tell them my friend with the high boy with the BB Buick :LOL: They will know right away who I am talking about :HMMM: :LOL:

IC2 wrote:

Quote:

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And wear your thick skin - it does get a bit rough there on occasion

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Really??? Only if you post before engaging your brain.:LOL: :LOL: But then again, I have seen some threads that can make your monitor appear to sizzle and smoke. But once cooler heads prevail, they usually tone down the
rhetoric.:cool:

I'd like to learn more about these "geriatric" engines.

I see names of several other young men in this thread who might be interested as well.

If anyone can advise me, I'll be available this evening right after bingo.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Big Tracks

I'd like to learn more about these "geriatric" engines.

I see names of several other young men in this thread who might be interested as well.

If anyone can advise me, I'll be available this evening right after bingo.

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Like DennyW says - and only paraphrased a bit - an engine is an engine.

Pretty much the same, but different.
Lots of tricks to learn about them and Denny's probably forgotten more about the SBC than I ever knew.
Which - ain't a whole heckuva lot where I'm concerned.
Built a few, ran a couple, but the advantage for me was having a complete engine right up front.
Mix and match with the SBC can be tougher than a lot of guys think.

The big Buicks (68 to 75 430's and 455's) have their own tricks.
More about making them live than making HP, but they'll do that too if you put em together right.


More than meets the eye in these two pics.

http://i49.photobucket.com/albums/f2...rRockers-1.jpg

http://i49.photobucket.com/albums/f2...Separator4.jpg