BUICK Got Questions Bout 1985 Buick Lesabre Trynna Change Some Parts
- Thread starter Txboy8186
- Start date
Got another question looking at a edlebrock carburetor wats a good one where I don't got to mess with nun put on and go and don't gotta change nun
There's not one that'll be a direct swap. Your carb is a spread bore Q-Jet, Eldelbrocks are square bore. Then there's the issue of the OBD 1 computer in your car that controls certain functions of the current carb. Best to find a good rebuilder.
The air pumps tend to lock up when you remove the belt and don't use it for a while so be careful of that. If yours is junk and you need one I have them with the brackets, just send me your address and I'll send you one.
On the oils back at that time frame and when I was building engines, I only used Quaker State 1040, and of course this was about the time where Amsoil and Mobil 1 were becoming a big thing on the market. There is nothing wrong with running either one of them.
Depending on your temperature in the summer it is where you would worry about it as far as the difference between 30 weight and 40 weight. Because I was in the Chicago area at that time as a mechanic at a Pontiac dealership and then doing my own thing plus the turbo charging I always used 10-40. That's not to say that you have to.
Along with the 86 Cutlass that I still have. I also have a 83 Olds 98 Regency, and an 89 Oldsmobile Custom Cruiser wagon with an Olds 307 and a 1991 Chevy Caprice, and I am also on the b-body forum.
On the smog pump it doesn't hurt anything plus by injecting fresh air into the exhaust stream and it does help to reduce some of the unburned hydrocarbon. That's actually what it was designed for.
If you're in a location to where you do not need to smog test the car, you can remove it and all you do is plug the holes in the exhaust manifold with I believe quarter inch npt pipe plugs. Doing so will not hurt your runability or driveability.
On the question of the carburetors, my 86 Cutlass has the 1406 Edelbrock which I believe is 600 CFM on the stock Oldsmobile intake manifold. I put the 1-in spacer in between which is also an adapter. I believe it's Mr Gasket that goes from spread bore to square bore.
Now on making that change, you have to understand you will have to change the distributor. If you have the computer controlled ECU system your engine will hunt terribly bad because it's no longer getting a signal from the carburetor it has no clue where your throttle plates are. You need the pre-computerized HEI to fix that issue.
You should have the 2004R transmission and that will work perfectly fine you just need to make sure you have the correct linkage for your detent cable. Holley and Mr. Gasket has that. Most people confuse that as a kickdown it is not. If you have the automatic overdrive transmission or if you have the turbo 200 transmission that has to be hooked up correctly and there are multiple YouTube's about that. Otherwise you will burn up the clutches in the transmission in no time at all.
On the oils back at that time frame and when I was building engines, I only used Quaker State 1040, and of course this was about the time where Amsoil and Mobil 1 were becoming a big thing on the market. There is nothing wrong with running either one of them.
Depending on your temperature in the summer it is where you would worry about it as far as the difference between 30 weight and 40 weight. Because I was in the Chicago area at that time as a mechanic at a Pontiac dealership and then doing my own thing plus the turbo charging I always used 10-40. That's not to say that you have to.
Along with the 86 Cutlass that I still have. I also have a 83 Olds 98 Regency, and an 89 Oldsmobile Custom Cruiser wagon with an Olds 307 and a 1991 Chevy Caprice, and I am also on the b-body forum.
On the smog pump it doesn't hurt anything plus by injecting fresh air into the exhaust stream and it does help to reduce some of the unburned hydrocarbon. That's actually what it was designed for.
If you're in a location to where you do not need to smog test the car, you can remove it and all you do is plug the holes in the exhaust manifold with I believe quarter inch npt pipe plugs. Doing so will not hurt your runability or driveability.
On the question of the carburetors, my 86 Cutlass has the 1406 Edelbrock which I believe is 600 CFM on the stock Oldsmobile intake manifold. I put the 1-in spacer in between which is also an adapter. I believe it's Mr Gasket that goes from spread bore to square bore.
Now on making that change, you have to understand you will have to change the distributor. If you have the computer controlled ECU system your engine will hunt terribly bad because it's no longer getting a signal from the carburetor it has no clue where your throttle plates are. You need the pre-computerized HEI to fix that issue.
You should have the 2004R transmission and that will work perfectly fine you just need to make sure you have the correct linkage for your detent cable. Holley and Mr. Gasket has that. Most people confuse that as a kickdown it is not. If you have the automatic overdrive transmission or if you have the turbo 200 transmission that has to be hooked up correctly and there are multiple YouTube's about that. Otherwise you will burn up the clutches in the transmission in no time at all.
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On the roof I notice you have a pretty ratty vinyl top, which were common with those cars of that era. If you can't find someone local in the area to do a new top for you, you can do the following.
You can use the expandable foam in the spots where it's missing, then sand that down to where it matches the level of the rest of it, and then use the roll on bedliner. It won't last for long maybe a year or two, maybe less but you'll have a better appearance on that. The idea behind this, is doing that while you're saving up to get the top redone. The other thing you can do is strip it all off, save all your trim, and have the roof rhino coated.
I have a 91 Mercury full size sedan and being here in Arizona the vinyl tops just do not last at all. What I did with that one was to use the bed liner spray. It's going on 6 years now and it still doesn't look too bad but it needs to be reapplied. However, it is much more effective to spend about $40 on bedliner spray every few years then to run around with a ratty cracked top.
If you ever feel so inclined, you can buy the vinyl top material and apply it yourself. Make sure you're in a garage with no wind. You apply the glue and lay it down working from the center out. The sheet metal has to be correct. Which means you might have to use a little bit of Bondo but mainly and more likely just some glazing putty and get it sanded down to 400 grit to where the whole top is nice and smooth.
From there you use an etching primer, and then a filler primer, get it down to 400 to 600 grit make sure everything is nice and smooth and then primer sealer. Let it cure in the Sun for a few days, then you can go ahead and apply the new vinyl top. Trim everything to a quarter inch larger than what it needs to be, because this is what you will need to tuck in and you'll need to use a hair dryer on high or a heat gun. Be careful with the heat gun because it can get too hot and it will start to shrink and retract the vinyl. You then would have to start all over which is basically impossible once it's glued down. So I would suggest just using a hair dryer.
A few years ago, I helped a fellow customer restore a Lincoln that had a bad top. We cut it all off and I fixed all the sheet metal and he bought the vinyl material. I told him to wait until I got over to his house but he went ahead and applied the glue and got ready to lay the top when a dust devil came through the yard and covered it full of leaves and dirt pieces of tree limbs, which in a fit of anger that I will never understand, he decided to go ahead and lay the vinyl down. So by the time I got to his house this thing looked atrocious. So instead of having a nice vehicle that he could have flipped for decent money he end up selling it for 500 bucks. This is why it's important if you're going to lay one down yourself get it in a garage and make sure there is absolutely no dust no dirt and no wind.
You can use the expandable foam in the spots where it's missing, then sand that down to where it matches the level of the rest of it, and then use the roll on bedliner. It won't last for long maybe a year or two, maybe less but you'll have a better appearance on that. The idea behind this, is doing that while you're saving up to get the top redone. The other thing you can do is strip it all off, save all your trim, and have the roof rhino coated.
I have a 91 Mercury full size sedan and being here in Arizona the vinyl tops just do not last at all. What I did with that one was to use the bed liner spray. It's going on 6 years now and it still doesn't look too bad but it needs to be reapplied. However, it is much more effective to spend about $40 on bedliner spray every few years then to run around with a ratty cracked top.
If you ever feel so inclined, you can buy the vinyl top material and apply it yourself. Make sure you're in a garage with no wind. You apply the glue and lay it down working from the center out. The sheet metal has to be correct. Which means you might have to use a little bit of Bondo but mainly and more likely just some glazing putty and get it sanded down to 400 grit to where the whole top is nice and smooth.
From there you use an etching primer, and then a filler primer, get it down to 400 to 600 grit make sure everything is nice and smooth and then primer sealer. Let it cure in the Sun for a few days, then you can go ahead and apply the new vinyl top. Trim everything to a quarter inch larger than what it needs to be, because this is what you will need to tuck in and you'll need to use a hair dryer on high or a heat gun. Be careful with the heat gun because it can get too hot and it will start to shrink and retract the vinyl. You then would have to start all over which is basically impossible once it's glued down. So I would suggest just using a hair dryer.
A few years ago, I helped a fellow customer restore a Lincoln that had a bad top. We cut it all off and I fixed all the sheet metal and he bought the vinyl material. I told him to wait until I got over to his house but he went ahead and applied the glue and got ready to lay the top when a dust devil came through the yard and covered it full of leaves and dirt pieces of tree limbs, which in a fit of anger that I will never understand, he decided to go ahead and lay the vinyl down. So by the time I got to his house this thing looked atrocious. So instead of having a nice vehicle that he could have flipped for decent money he end up selling it for 500 bucks. This is why it's important if you're going to lay one down yourself get it in a garage and make sure there is absolutely no dust no dirt and no wind.
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