4/30/2018, more like 430 cubic inches

"Highlander-Datsuns are Forever" (jamesbowland) 04/30/2018 at 15:08 • Filed to: No substitute for displacement

4

12

On this last day of April, let us not forget the Buick 430 ci V8. It holds a special place in my heart as the first V8 I ever worked on and had relations with. It was the engine in my hand-me-down 1968 Buick Electra and in my grandfathers 1967 Buick Riviera.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Buick_V8_engine#430

The Electra was the most land yacht of land yachts I have ever driven to this day. It makes a 1990's Lincoln continental seem like a sports car. But that V8 did go and when the secondaries opened up you would find yourself at extremely unsafe speeds. If the transmission decided to kick down into the “passing gear” you better have your nose out already otherwise you might run into the back of the car you were passing.

Our electra was like this one, but with dents and rust and dirt. The images don’t do justice to the length of the hood and the length of the trunk. You could fit a chevy suburban just in the space of the greenhouse. 3 across seating and no B pillar. What a cruiser.

Now grandpa’s Riviera was his pride and joy. I helped him tune the carb and buy windshield wipers for it about two years before he died of old age. I think I might have been one of the last in my family to drive the car. I wish I could have gotten it after he passed but the estate ended up selling it.

Pictures don’t really do it justice, that beak grill is something else. Hidden headlights too.

The other thing I remember about it is the floor mounted auto shifter which really added to the sportiness of the car.

Chariotoflove > Highlander-Datsuns are Forever 04/30/2018 at 15:28

1

I would so feel like jet pilot every time I touched that shifter.

Highlander-Datsuns are Forever > Chariotoflove 04/30/2018 at 15:30

2

Even though it was an auto believe me you drove with your left hand on the wheel and your right hand on the shifter.

lone_liberal > Highlander-Datsuns are Forever 04/30/2018 at 15:33

2

68-72 Camaros used a similar horseshoe shifter, though the handle looks a little different. I want to eventually get rid of the aftermarket shifter in mine and replace it with one. The reason is obvious.

crowmolly > Highlander-Datsuns are Forever 04/30/2018 at 15:34

0

RamblinRover Luxury-Yacht > Highlander-Datsuns are Forever 04/30/2018 at 15:37

2

Also appearing, the 430 MEL:

Factory 10.5 or 10:1 compression, available with a sixpack in its first year.

Highlander-Datsuns are Forever > crowmolly 04/30/2018 at 15:37

1

Yes, yes I know. What I didn’t say is that when I was done thrashing the 225, my mom sold it to a farmer who put the engine in his 1970's chevy truck.

Highlander-Datsuns are Forever > RamblinRover Luxury-Yacht 04/30/2018 at 15:39

1

Fender skirts need to make a comeback.

Chariotoflove > Highlander-Datsuns are Forever 04/30/2018 at 15:43

1

I absolutely believe that.

RamblinRover Luxury-Yacht > Highlander-Datsuns are Forever 04/30/2018 at 15:44

0

https://www.ebay.com/i/282924613325?chn=ps

Not my proudest fap... but not my least proud either.

If only EssExTee could be so grossly incandescent > Highlander-Datsuns are Forever 04/30/2018 at 15:45

0

You do know what “had relations with” means, don’t you?

Highlander-Datsuns are Forever > If only EssExTee could be so grossly incandescent 04/30/2018 at 15:47

1

I knew that engine intimately when I was done with it.

Long-Voyager > Highlander-Datsuns are Forever 04/30/2018 at 16:13

1

Sold my old girl earlier this year to repair our pos 6.0PS. Now that it sits dead in our driveway again needing injectors, I wish I’d have kept her:

1966 Buick Electra 225. She was rough around the edges, but that 425 Nailhead (465 Wild cat) had obscene amounts of torque. That car would crack off triple digits like it was nothing. The handling was actually very tight/responsive for a car like this. The ride/seats were insanely comfortable.

If they made a car like this today, I would buy a new car, until then, back to searching CL for another.