Hello fellow Buick Lovers ! I bought a 61 Lesabre here in Tenn. 2 years ago. It has great original Baby blue paint and perfect chrome. However...I got it home and the block was cracked....thought about taking it back.. :blast: .... but I was in love! So as I was moping around work , I was tellin one of my fellow gearheads about how bummed I was and told him about the block. He piped up :Smarty: and said he just bought a 425 Buick motor that would fit in my Lesabre !!! So , I rebuilt the 425 but lack a transmission. This is where I need your advise...what transmission will work with the following setup ? I've heard everything from a switch pitch 400 super turbine, to a Dynaflow, to a short, to a long....what's a man to do? Thanx in advance for any advise you can help me with ..I want to get her done for a Goodguys meet at the Nashville Collesium at the later part of June. ALSO,as a rookie on this site, should I post my full automotive/history/story somewhere to familiarize myself with everyone? Man...do I have a story to tell...pretty cool. Thanx again look forward to hearing from everyone ! Mark Liddell Brentwood,Tn.
welcome Well, I see you found it. There will be some one here who has done the same thing or close to it. :Brow:
Hi, welcome to this fine establishment. :beer I believe the sp400 is the better choice. although I have heard it is a very tight fit under the car. I don't think Buick used 'dynaflos; behind 1964-up motors. This may create trouble making it work with your crank shaft. They did offer something like a sp300(?) which was a lighter duty trans, I think some guys have used it with fair results for mild performance though. I would look for a "nailhead" only sp400 and flexplate, or if you have a little extra cash (if you do you are very lucky these days) I would strongly consider an adapter to put a th350 behind the motor. These trans can be built very strong with few modifications, take less hp to turn and will fit the trans tunnel better. You will still need a "nailhead" flexplate though. Check the parts/suppliers list in this section, I think there are listings for a few companies that offer the adapters, they are not cheap-but do provide many options for trans in the future. Ultimately, the sp400 would be cheaper to do the first time and hold up very well for you. You just need to locate one in your area in the next few weeks. I do have one if you really get in a bind but shipping to TN from CT must be terribly expensive. Good luck,
sp 400 again sp400. Throw the big converter on it and you can stall quite a bit more out of the hole while still being able to run the highway. Best part is you will have something of value when you are done.
If you post the numbers off the 425 perhaps we can tell you the source car. I think most 425s were post Dynaflow trans. I think the Dynaflows ended with the 63 model year.
