Myth or not ?? Our engines / blocks left overs??

Jan Larsson

Administrator
Staff member
#1
There's been a lot of stuff written about our cars and one of the "myths" been that Buick had 1550 engines (or blocks) left on the shelves and they had to use them for something right ... and they ended up in our cars ... well that is not true ...

The blocks were done for our cars and in fact either late 1988 or early 1989 at the saginaw foundery ... line 1 or so apparently hence the SG1 in casted in the block ...

The Buick engine plant in Flint did not stock pile anything and got these fresh blocks and built our engines, they still had 1 line open to be able to build these engines the other two lines had already been converted to build the new (at that time) 3800 engines.

You can check your block your self, the date code is casted in two places and it would be interesting if you posted your finds in this thread ... see attached PDF (photos of my engine when I had it out and rebuilt it) where to look and how to decode it ... if you need help decoding just post your "code" in this thread and we can help out ...

So another myth "busted" :D (part of this info from Bill Owen)
 

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WS6

Stay thirsty my friends
#6
While I've never read anything about leftover blocks being used for the TTA's I have read that these were "service replacement" inventory. So that's apparently wrong.

What I wonder now is if more were made than the TTA production run needed. Reason I wonder is that over the years I have seen SG1 blocks for sale within the various Buick forums, SG1's that appear to have no connection to ever have been put in an F-body.

Makes me wonder if Buick also used them to warrantee 86-87 GN vehicles, or they could simply be bought over the counter.



....
 

Jan Larsson

Administrator
Staff member
#7
Yep those SG1 blocks were also used as you say for warranty / service replacements and I believe some of the late crate engines also had those SG1 blocks.

Initial run for the TTAs were supposed to be the 1500 then per Scott Kelly GM/Pontiac was sold on getting another 50 done as PAS had parts available for that.

The 5 pilots had their prototype engines replaced with production engines in 89 as well ...

I'll see if Bill Owen might know roughly how many SG1 blocks there might have been ... and I'm not sure when they started to make them as Bill told me SG1 stands for the saginaw foundry line 1 however the GN blocks I've seen don't have SG anywhere on them so maybe they came from a different foundry possibly and then when Saginaw started making them all those got SG1 on them? Anyway I'll see if Bill might remember.

Would be interesting to see the date codes of some of those other none TTA SG1 blocks to learn how far back in time they go ... I'll post the question over on turbobuick.com
 

Jan Larsson

Administrator
Staff member
#11
Jan,
Mine's D059... 5 Apr 89. Does that seem right for #962?
If the VIN on the engine block is correct for your TTA then it would have left Van Nuys in March so April seems a bit off ....

hmm back to the drawing board .... however that is the correct way reading the dates ...

Anyone else can check theirs please as long as the block is the original one (so same VIN last 6 on the block as your TTA). Just need a larger sample to figure this out ....
 

Jan Larsson

Administrator
Staff member
#12
TTANotchback has #364, yet his block was manufactured in March. That can't be the original engine.
Or I got something wrong .... Louis can you check the VIN on the block matches the VIN of no 364 ...

Need more sample data !!!
 
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mr.turbota

Super Moderator
Staff member
#13
I would think these engine were made around the 88/89 time frame too.
I remember hearing that Pontiac was also thinking of producing the engine for the following year, 1990.

George :beach:
 

Jan Larsson

Administrator
Staff member
#15
mine is L068, meaning I guess December 6th 1988.My car is 473
Van Nuys completed your car in Feb 1989 so a Dec casted block make sense.

If you other guys can double check that the VIN on the block matches your TTAs VIN would be great as the date codes casted in the block can't be read any other way than what we looked at above ... so if the VIN don't match then we are probarbly right if they do match I have to figure that one out ...
 

TTAstage2

Well-Known Member
#16
Reason I wonder is that over the years I have seen SG1 blocks for sale within the various Buick forums, SG1's that appear to have no connection to ever have been put in an F-body.

Makes me wonder if Buick also used them to warrantee 86-87 GN vehicles, or they could simply be bought over the counter.



....
we did a lot of GM short block swaps back then. Remember they are different than the Buicks.. Different pistons.
 

WS6

Stay thirsty my friends
#17
Yes,....that's what I'm confused about? The CC difference of the TTA piston and how could GM sell them or use them as service replacement engines to GN owners.

But if they were sold as assembled shortblocks,.. which I don't even know of GM does or did,...maybe they just let the lower static compression rule the day.
 

Jan Larsson

Administrator
Staff member
#18
Guys remember we are just talking about the block ... the block (SG1) where sent from the Saginaw Foundary in 88 and 89 to the Flint plant where one line where still open the others had already been converted to do the 3800 engines.

This line could build TTA spec engines and GN spec engines, the block is identical only the parts they put inside and outside differed ... so they machined the blocks to spec then built either TTA or GN engines ... service engines I presume where both types as well as I've seen crate engines as either TTA or GN engines over the years.
 

TTAstage2

Well-Known Member
#20
Yes,....that's what I'm confused about? The CC difference of the TTA piston and how could GM sell them or use them as service replacement engines to GN owners.

But if they were sold as assembled shortblocks,.. which I don't even know of GM does or did,...maybe they just let the lower static compression rule the day.

Maybe GM had different part #s for the DIFFERENT motors ??? ;-) GM sold mostly shortblocks. Now you could run a TTA shortblock with BUICK heads fine (we used a 100k TTA motor in my daughters Limited T.. high 11 car at the time.) Just tune it a little.. I wouldn't run a Buick motor with TTA heads (BUT this was years ago).. I like the low cr an make up any power difference with BOOST .
 

Jan Larsson

Administrator
Staff member
#24
Seems like some NOS SG1 blocks have surfaced and the date code on them is 1994 I've been told ... need to ask Bill when the line closed and the last engines rolled off it before they converted that last line to build the 3800 engines instead ...
 
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