350 buick sb or 350 sb chevy or 455

Discussion in 'Small Block Tech' started by Thomas Patrick, Oct 20, 2015.

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  1. I have a 69 buick custom. The motor is tired, it has blow by. Will be needing a motor soon. I Was told sbc 350 very cheap to build and just change trans bell housing. also told a buick 455 will bolt right in but they are more expensive to build and not that easy to find, and parts are harder to find. Right now my buick 350 has a mild cam, 411gears, 12 bolt and turbo 400 trams. fun to drive but I wouldnt mind a little more power. Tom
     
  2. jzuelly1

    jzuelly1 Jesse Zuelly IV

    A SBC chevy is not a bolt in application the motor mounts would have to have new holes drilled for them. My thought would be to rebuild the little Buick 350. A freshened up Buick 350 would make it fun again. A 455 would make more torque and power with the right parts for sure. They would need different frame mount pads though than the Buick 350. Also if you went with a SBC you just need a transmission adapter plate. That would be easier than changing bell housings. Good luck.
     
  3. alec296

    alec296 i need another buick

    I'm sure its fun but the 4.11 gears need to go that's what worn out the ring in my opinion. Or get a 200r4 overdrive. Rebuild the 350. Might have some good stuff inside and needs a freshen up.
    4.11 is too much for any engine for street use. Unless you have prostreet 33x 12.50 tires
     
  4. rkammer

    rkammer Gold Level Contributor

    As with any other engine swap/rebuild, it's a matter of priorities. Without going into endless reasons why this motor or, why that motor, I'll keep it simple. If you want more power and you already have a Buick body, which appeals to you more?....................a 350 with 350 Horsepower, or a 455 with 450 Horsepower? The cost isn't that much different but the performance difference is huge. I rest my case. :)
     
  5. 300sbb_overkill

    300sbb_overkill WWG1WGA. MAGA

    If you truly have a TH400 then I vote for the 455 swap with more highway friendly gears like 2.93 to 3.23:1 range would work well with a 455 without overdrive.

    If you want to keep the gear re-do the sbb 350 and swap out the TH400 for a 200R4 or a 700R4 for better street ability with the 4.11:1 gears.

    If the car will be more strip than street keep the gear and get the 455. GL






    Derek
     
  6. alec296

    alec296 i need another buick

    2.93 Derek? Really? That's not fun. Most of all on a 455. Keep the 4.11 with 455 gears. Hiway would be crap but full on launches would be fun.
     
  7. wovenweb

    wovenweb Platinum Level Contributor

    Souns like you may be getting advice from someone who does sbcs for the majority of their work. Like some here, I'm a bit of purist(but not very strict) and would vote that you keep it in the family.

    You haven't said what you use the car for, that would help the discussion.
     
  8. Golden Oldie 65

    Golden Oldie 65 Well-Known Member

    For the record, yes, the sbc is pretty much a bolt in swap and you won't have to drill any new holes. Your frame already has a variety of holes in the front crossmember to accomodate pretty much any GM swap you want, all you have to do is use all Chevelle parts(frame brackets, motor mounts, etc.). However, you will have to either re-route or install a new gas line because it will be on the opposite side, and you'll have to do some re-wiring. And if you use a sbc you'll want to get one complete with all the pulleys and brackets. You'll also have to get a different transmission. The BOP trans you have now will not bolt up to a Chevy engine and you can't just change the bellhousing. As for performance parts, you have also been told right about the sbc being easy to find, easy to build and great performance parts are readily available, unlike the Buick 350. Unfortunately, very few companies make really good performance parts for them because there just isn't enough interest in them to warrant the expense of producing them, but 450hp/450tq from a sbc 383 is practically a walk in the park these days and a 500hp/500tq 383 isn't far behind that. On the down side, you'll be looked down on by the Buick community like a cockroach begging to be shot with a can of Raid.

    Keeping the Buick all Buick has it's merits and just how much power you like will dictate whether to go with a 350 pr 455. And you can keep your current transmission, but as already been suggested, your're going to want different gearing. If you keep the car all Buick and keep your current TH400 transmission, you'll want to change the rearend gears to a more friendly 3.42 or somewhere near it. I have 4.10 gears and a 200-4R in my `65 and I wouldn't have it any other way. You get an excellent 1st gear multiplication and a .67% overdrive. Mine runs around 2,400rpm at 70mph. It doesn't get any better than that in my book. But there we go again, looking at changing the transmission. In the end it's all about the money and how much of it you're willing to part with to meet your goals.
     
    Last edited: Oct 21, 2015
  9. UNDERDOG350

    UNDERDOG350 350 Buick purestock racer

    Put a LS engine in it. Thats what all the cool kids are doing.

    Velocity took an original Trans Am with 400 last weekend and destroyed it. They pulled the Pontiac 400 and put a LS in. Thats not hot rodding in my opinion. If you want something with a LS engine just go buy a Camaro. Why destroy a classic?
     
  10. Fox's Den

    Fox's Den 355Xrs

    Thank You!:TU:
     
  11. Mart

    Mart Gold level member

    Think he made a mistake on (2.93) that one......:) 308's even suck.:rolleyes:
     
  12. sean Buick 76

    sean Buick 76 Buick Nut

    Well you have nothing to loose might as well see if the 350 Buick is an easy rebuild or not. I would bet you might have good results with a low cost rebuild. The buick 350 is a well designed engine.
     
  13. GeneralB7

    GeneralB7 Not much of a contributor

    I agree with most of the others, keep the Buick 350. Unless you are taking it on a strip or racing it, a built 350 is definitely enough for a daily driver! I'm a huge fan of guys who build out the Buicks instead of putting a generic SBC in it.
     
  14. 300sbb_overkill

    300sbb_overkill WWG1WGA. MAGA

    Come on, that was for a all around driven 455 car not a no torque sbb 350 car that by the way the 2bbl single ex. sbb 350 cars did well with 2.56:1 gears for a driver. And the 2.93:1 gears are less than 5% less gearing than a 3.08 which is a great all around gear for a 455 so with less than 5% less gearing I thought it appropriate to include that gear as well.

    Yes, 3.08's suck especially with a sbb 350 with a big cam. :moonu: LOL But a 3.08 in a BBB car isn't a bad way to go with the extra 100+ ft lbs more of torque makes that gear work great with a BBB that is cammed for it.

    You guys failed to notice in my post where I wrote if the car was more for the strip that I said to keep the gears with a 455.(meaning keep the 4.11 gears with the car with the BBB for the track if it will be setup for that)

    But if this is just going to be a street driven car then 4.11 will be to much gear multiplication with a 455 even with an overdrive trans unless he wants to run a HUGE cam to kill some of the low end torque. The rear suspension will need a lot of help to keep the rear end from breaking out of the frame mounts as well. At the very least a set of these;

    http://www.ebay.com/itm/68-72-Cheve...ash=item5418dda61c:g:lWAAAOSwYGFUwU1w&vxp=mtr

    Should be bolted in to handle the extra torque plus gear multiplication to keep everything where they were meant to be. Unless the OP doesn't want or care about anything that resembles traction and just wants to keep buying tires because when he hits the throttle it will be like driving on ice.

    IMO you can have all the gearing in the world but if the power isn't getting to the pavement it don't mean s_-t. And when you start adding traction with that kind of gearing he will be finding the weak link REALLY fast, like rear end failures, U-joint failures, transmission failures and so on. :Do No:



    Derek
     
  15. 8ad-f85

    8ad-f85 Well-Known Member

    Sounds more fun that way :D
     
  16. Mark Demko

    Mark Demko Well-Known Member

    X3 A few years ago wife and I were at Quaker Steak and Lube Cruise In, saw a nice '70-'72 Olds Cutlass, I walked over to check it out, I expected to see an Olds V-8, saw it had a big block Chevy, I lost interest:sleep:
     
  17. Gary Farmer

    Gary Farmer "The Paradigm Shifter"


    Preach it brother. Everyone's brainwashed on 'it's gotta rev high and have 4.10 gears or it sux'....

    Too much chevy mentality.

    Good low-mid range torque and a nice highway gear is fun too. You won't find that with a low comp 7:1 factory built 350 with a Qjet though...especially when all someone did was put in a larger duration cam to bring the DCR down even MORE.

    I can tell who has driven a high torque/high gear car and who hasn't. My '68 Lesabre with a 2.93, ST300 and a 10:1 455 was nuts, and not much around could touch it, especially from 30 MPH on up once it finally gained traction. lol

    Quarter mile was not its strongsuit, but I don't give a rat's ass about driving my car 1/4 mile at a time. It owned the street in the early 90's.

    Only thing that even came remotely close to keeping up with it was an Old chevelle with a beefed up 454 that was tubbed out for huge meats on the back.

    Highway gears take full advantage of the torque multiplication of the torque converter and a low-mid RPM high torque engine. It's also why the ST300 did so well with it, with its insane torque multiplication, both hydraulic and mechanical.

    A high comp Buick 350-2 with similar gears would do very well for street applications. It will beat many 'performance' engines with 4 barrel carbs, cams, headers, etc. so don't laugh. I have witnessed it first-hand. Never underestimate low RPM torque and highway gears.

    Flame away everyone.


    Gary
     
  18. buicks

    buicks Well-Known Member

    I'd be open to hearing actual dollar numbers on aquiring and building a 450 hp 455, as opposed to building up his 350.
     
  19. alec296

    alec296 i need another buick

    If your not far from anoka mn you could go talk to Jim at trishield performance. You could get a built 455 for somewhere near 6 g that is done right and might make more than 450 HP.
     

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