I know a few of you are going to cringe when you read this, but I'm realy considering droping a 350 chevy in my lark till I can afford to rebuild my Buick 350. I was just wondering if anyone has done it, and what it basicaly consists of. I hate to have to do it, but I have the chevy and it's brand spankin new. My father in law said he'd loan it to me till i got the parts for the rebuild. I would realy apreciate any info on the swap.
Not to be rude but a buick site is no place to ask a chevy installation question. BUT the chevy motor is going to be harder to install than just setting it in and going. The wireing is totally different (distributor wrong end of the motor to start), the mounts to the frame are different, exhaust different, fuel delivery wrong side of the motor , PS pump differnet , all the brackets and pulleys are different, Transmission is a differnet bolt pattern too............... If you were going to this much trouble to stick a chebby in it why not use a 455??? Change the frame mounts, bolt it to your trans now, all of the brackets and wiring are simular and the power will be much better for the same weight as the chebby........:Smarty:
seems like you might be in for more time and money trying to make the chevy work then rebuilding your 350. i could possibly have an engine for you but im all the way out here in ca. road trip?:grin: pete
I kind of thought it was a legit question for here. o No: It IS a Buick he was thinking of putting it into. Plus there are dozens of "other brand" guys on here who probably know the answer to that question. Actually Mike, your answer sounded quite knowledgeable to me. o No: I know it's not a Chebby forum, but I think the person (whatever his name is ) understands that. JMHO No offense Mike! :TU: :beer
Chevy 350 swap I have been reading the site for some time now and am glad you asked the question, sacrilegious as it may be. I have recently purchased a 72 lark with a 350 that is in real bad shape and had intended to swap out the GM 350 auto w/od tranny out of my c10 in the lark while I looked for a 455 to put in it. However, after reading some of the posts it maybe harder that I thought. If anyone has done this before please give you advise. Thanks Still sweating in Louisiana
OK, I'll bite... For starters, I dont care for a Chebby mill in a skylark either, but I have to admit, I'v done it beforeo No: When I did it, I was "lucky" enough to find a wrecked 69 Chevelle in a junk-yard with a complete running,,, but baaaadly smoking 307 SBC. It was an A/C car with a T-350 tranny... And I bought the whole ball of wax for $150. Basically, here's what you will need. *The engine wiring harness *The SBC motor mounts *The acessory brackets, and acessories for the Chebby [A/C, alt, P/S, etc] as well as proper A/C hoses *new uper and lower radiator hoses, and a few feet of new heater hose *And either a chebby pattern tranny, or an adapter plate I'll assume you have none of the above, so we'll break all of them down one at a time... *The wiring harness: The harness plugs into the fire-wall behind the inner fender well, just under the power brake booster. It's secured into the "plug" with a single 3/8 inch bolt. It's a tight fit, but you should be able to get it out without removing the wheel well. While you could theroetically make "extensions" onto your existing Lark harness, it's really not worth the trouble since a junk yard should not want more than about $20 for a "correct" harness. While a 70-72 Chevelle will most definately have a "perfect fit" harness, I'd be willing to bet that just about any SBC equiped car built between 1968-1975 would have one that would work,,, but I cant guarantee ito No: *motor mounts: SBC motor mounts are kinda "universal" for all passenger cars... I just dont know about trucks, but I would not trust the ones in your C-10. Most performance shops sell "universal solid SBC mounts" for about $30, and these would work just fine,,, or you could go junk yard for these too. *Acessorys and brackets Again, junk yard items... Since you fail to list the year of your C-10, but do state it has the OD tranny, I'll assume its an 80's or newer model. You will need an older model alternator that uses an external regulator. These were used before 1975. You might be able to use the buick alt on the chevy engine depending on weather or not the chevy uses a serpentine belt or not... But dont bet on it. Aditionally, you will need properly sized A/C hoses for this set-up, but I wont tackle this issue since fall is here and you stated this is a temporary swap. *Coolant hoses Naturally a SBC and a SBB use different sized and shaped radiator hoses, and you will need hoses for a Chevelle. I would not bet on the ones in your truck working because they are bound to be too long. As for heater hoses, the ones on the car now might fit, but heater hose is cheap,,, and is cheap insurance. *Tranny If the OD tranny in your truck is original, it's the 700R4 model. While this will physically go into the Lark, you wont be able to use it because the 700 is computer controled. Special aftermarket computers to put these modern trannys into classic cars do exist, but they run in the $500+ range... Not really an option for a temporary swap. Instead the only real opton is either a SBC pattern [used] T-350 tranny, or an adapter plate to use your existing BOP pattern tranny with your chevy engine. The adapter plate runs about $65, and I'v seen T-350 trannys selling for that ammount or less, so it's your call. I can tell you that the adapter plate is a usefull thing to have around if you plan on doing this type of swap more than once, but that's just my opinion. You may also need a new flex plate/ flywheel for your SBC depending on the year, but someone else will have to help you out with that... Then, there's always option "B".... Instead of spending the $200 or so dollars for all the stuff you will need to do the swap, just find yourself a decent running buick 350 for $200 and bolt the sucker in with no modifications nessecary. Especially since the buick is actually a superior engine to the Chebby mill. I'm not just saying that because I'm biased... It's true! A buick 350 is about 100lbs. lighter than a Chebby... The buick makes on average 33% more torque than a chebby... The buick oiling system is external, and is easily serviced compared to the Chebby... The distributor is front mounted, and is therefore easier to service... It's easier to find a good running used buick as compared to the Chebby because buicks are generally "luxury" cars that are treated well and serviced regularly... Whatever your decision, good luck with it....... But my opinion is still to keep your Buick All Buick:TU:
Oops, my badou: I confused the original post with the last one, with reguards to the C-10..... But all the info is still valid. Sorry
while i think that BBB is better than BBC, the small block is a diff story. it takes a lot to make a really good SBB. and to me its not worth it. i will be going w/ the 327 for now couse my SBB took a sh*t. my 455 should be ready next year. i feel for the guy. this car is my daily driver and all i have to drive around.
chebby 350 Darryl, Thanks for all the advise. I think I will scrap my Idea of swapping in a Chebby in by lark. It appears that it will be more truouble than it is worth. Thanks for taking that bite. You sure saved me alot of problems. Thanks from a newbie P.s. Any body from Louisiana got a good SBB for sale?
When I posted to question I expected some of you guys to give me a little static. As I stated in my original post, it is a temporary fix so that I can work on my sbb. I would rather have a Buick engine in my car, but as we all know Buicks are not cheap. I't is the only car I have so it has to keep running in the meen time. rest assured, the buick 350 shall rise again. I thank you all for the information. I agree with you all. Buick is a better engine.
