so the 300 v8 in my 65 lesabre overheated and had a horrible tapping noise so i broke down and started the engine swap today. here is the link to the diagnostic thread: http://v8buick.com/showthread.php?p=1327648#post1327648 anyways, im swapping to a buick 350 i bought off a guy who wanted to get rid of it from his 69 skylark and put a chebby 350 instead. he honestly couldnt afford power upgrades, his words, not mine. so i used the 300 motor mounts and didnt bother pulling my trans (th400) the motor barely slid past the hood and core support (radiator was out) and dropped in. after a bit of finessing i was able to get it aligned and slid the motor mount pins in and cinched it down. the back of the motor was sitting kinda high though. darn oil pan is hitting the steering linkage uzzled: so now i either have to A) be a hillbilly and use a mallet to dent the pan a bit to fit or B) be a smart, reasonable person and remove the engine, pull the pan and slightly modify the depth to accommodate the linkage. it sucks but its a complete running motor where as the 300 is probably on its last leg and for $200, its worth a bit of finesse. here are some pics from today (its my father in law and uncle helping me) <a href="http://s23.photobucket.com/albums/b400/-PaRaDoX-/LeSabre/?action=view¤t=SDC13931.jpg" target="_blank"><img src="http://i23.photobucket.com/albums/b400/-PaRaDoX-/LeSabre/SDC13931.jpg" border="0" alt="Photobucket"></a> <a href="http://s23.photobucket.com/albums/b400/-PaRaDoX-/LeSabre/?action=view¤t=SDC13932.jpg" target="_blank"><img src="http://i23.photobucket.com/albums/b400/-PaRaDoX-/LeSabre/SDC13932.jpg" border="0" alt="Photobucket"></a> <a href="http://s23.photobucket.com/albums/b400/-PaRaDoX-/LeSabre/?action=view¤t=SDC13933.jpg" target="_blank"><img src="http://i23.photobucket.com/albums/b400/-PaRaDoX-/LeSabre/SDC13933.jpg" border="0" alt="Photobucket"></a> <a href="http://s23.photobucket.com/albums/b400/-PaRaDoX-/LeSabre/?action=view¤t=SDC13939.jpg" target="_blank"><img src="http://i23.photobucket.com/albums/b400/-PaRaDoX-/LeSabre/SDC13939.jpg" border="0" alt="Photobucket"></a> buick 350 in the background <a href="http://s23.photobucket.com/albums/b400/-PaRaDoX-/LeSabre/?action=view¤t=SDC13940.jpg" target="_blank"><img src="http://i23.photobucket.com/albums/b400/-PaRaDoX-/LeSabre/SDC13940.jpg" border="0" alt="Photobucket"></a> the car is so long it was a pain to get the cherry picker close enough <a href="http://s23.photobucket.com/albums/b400/-PaRaDoX-/LeSabre/?action=view¤t=SDC13941.jpg" target="_blank"><img src="http://i23.photobucket.com/albums/b400/-PaRaDoX-/LeSabre/SDC13941.jpg" border="0" alt="Photobucket"></a> <a href="http://s23.photobucket.com/albums/b400/-PaRaDoX-/LeSabre/?action=view¤t=SDC13942.jpg" target="_blank"><img src="http://i23.photobucket.com/albums/b400/-PaRaDoX-/LeSabre/SDC13942.jpg" border="0" alt="Photobucket"></a> i loved this 300 <a href="http://s23.photobucket.com/albums/b400/-PaRaDoX-/LeSabre/?action=view¤t=SDC13944.jpg" target="_blank"><img src="http://i23.photobucket.com/albums/b400/-PaRaDoX-/LeSabre/SDC13944.jpg" border="0" alt="Photobucket"></a> almost finished! <a href="http://s23.photobucket.com/albums/b400/-PaRaDoX-/LeSabre/?action=view¤t=SDC13947.jpg" target="_blank"><img src="http://i23.photobucket.com/albums/b400/-PaRaDoX-/LeSabre/SDC13947.jpg" border="0" alt="Photobucket"></a> i dunno much info about the 350 but its a 350 4bbl with a qjet that came from a 69 skylark. still had the st300 trans attached! the 300 is gonna be pickled and rebuilt to put back in or into another toy later on because its a wildcat 355 and has tons of power! it also got 18mpg in this car while still running points!
here are some regular pics of the car. sorry, cant find any interior shots though <a href="http://s23.photobucket.com/albums/b400/-PaRaDoX-/LeSabre/?action=view¤t=100_3574.jpg" target="_blank"><img src="http://i23.photobucket.com/albums/b400/-PaRaDoX-/LeSabre/100_3574.jpg" border="0" alt="Photobucket"></a> <a href="http://s23.photobucket.com/albums/b400/-PaRaDoX-/LeSabre/?action=view¤t=100_3112.jpg" target="_blank"><img src="http://i23.photobucket.com/albums/b400/-PaRaDoX-/LeSabre/100_3112.jpg" border="0" alt="Photobucket"></a> <a href="http://s23.photobucket.com/albums/b400/-PaRaDoX-/LeSabre/?action=view¤t=100_3119.jpg" target="_blank"><img src="http://i23.photobucket.com/albums/b400/-PaRaDoX-/LeSabre/100_3119.jpg" border="0" alt="Photobucket"></a>
Get ready cause you will gain a hell of a lot more torque. That 69' 350 w/ a 4 has the high compression we were discussing in the other thread. Keep the timing conservative. That Sabre is gonna be one mean tire melter. It looks good. Please let me know if you are gonna get rid of the 300 motor. I need some 300 parts to build a 308 screamer.
well, like i said previously, the oil pan was hitting on my steering linkage so i scribed where the linkage was and pulled the motor back out and removed the oil pan. after cleaning it up i was able to make some cut, reinstall the pan and put the motor back in the car. with it in the car (with the trans still in the car mind you) i was able to "form" the metal that had been cut to the proper clearance. pulled the motor, reshaped the pan a bit and in the morning i will make a couple more cuts to clean it up and take it over to my buddy who is a welder by trade. after that ill grind it smooth, paint it red and toss it together again! i was told i could take my steering linkage loose and pound it into the oil pan but it made me nervous with the oil pickup tube just inside of it and also the drain plug had to be moved or id never be able to change the oil! once its done its gonna look sharp! here is how it was stuck on the steering: <a href="http://s23.photobucket.com/albums/b400/-PaRaDoX-/LeSabre/?action=view¤t=SDC13961.jpg" target="_blank"><img src="http://i23.photobucket.com/albums/b400/-PaRaDoX-/LeSabre/SDC13961.jpg" border="0" alt="Photobucket"></a> <a href="http://s23.photobucket.com/albums/b400/-PaRaDoX-/LeSabre/?action=view¤t=SDC13962.jpg" target="_blank"><img src="http://i23.photobucket.com/albums/b400/-PaRaDoX-/LeSabre/SDC13962.jpg" border="0" alt="Photobucket"></a> and here is how the pan is now. notice the slight difference in the sump? haha <a href="http://s23.photobucket.com/albums/b400/-PaRaDoX-/LeSabre/?action=view¤t=SDC13964.jpg" target="_blank"><img src="http://i23.photobucket.com/albums/b400/-PaRaDoX-/LeSabre/SDC13964.jpg" border="0" alt="Photobucket"></a> <a href="http://s23.photobucket.com/albums/b400/-PaRaDoX-/LeSabre/?action=view¤t=SDC13965.jpg" target="_blank"><img src="http://i23.photobucket.com/albums/b400/-PaRaDoX-/LeSabre/SDC13965.jpg" border="0" alt="Photobucket"></a> <a href="http://s23.photobucket.com/albums/b400/-PaRaDoX-/LeSabre/?action=view¤t=SDC13966.jpg" target="_blank"><img src="http://i23.photobucket.com/albums/b400/-PaRaDoX-/LeSabre/SDC13966.jpg" border="0" alt="Photobucket"></a> <a href="http://s23.photobucket.com/albums/b400/-PaRaDoX-/LeSabre/?action=view¤t=SDC13967.jpg" target="_blank"><img src="http://i23.photobucket.com/albums/b400/-PaRaDoX-/LeSabre/SDC13967.jpg" border="0" alt="Photobucket"></a> so, more work tomorrow but im pretty well on my way to having this baby on the road again. im pretty much a pro at R&R on this engine :Brow:
thnx for the support sean! i brought my oil pan over to be welded today and i got a welding lesson as he made me do it myself. not too shabby, eh? next i gotta grind it all smooth and then paint it <a href="http://s23.photobucket.com/albums/b400/-PaRaDoX-/LeSabre/?action=view¤t=100_3905.jpg" target="_blank"><img src="http://i23.photobucket.com/albums/b400/-PaRaDoX-/LeSabre/100_3905.jpg" border="0" alt="Photobucket"></a> <a href="http://s23.photobucket.com/albums/b400/-PaRaDoX-/LeSabre/?action=view¤t=100_3906.jpg" target="_blank"><img src="http://i23.photobucket.com/albums/b400/-PaRaDoX-/LeSabre/100_3906.jpg" border="0" alt="Photobucket"></a> <a href="http://s23.photobucket.com/albums/b400/-PaRaDoX-/LeSabre/?action=view¤t=100_3908.jpg" target="_blank"><img src="http://i23.photobucket.com/albums/b400/-PaRaDoX-/LeSabre/100_3908.jpg" border="0" alt="Photobucket"></a>
Might want to do some grinding and leak testing on that. You can get a flapper wheel that fits a 4-1/2" angle grinder that works real good on the outside, for the inside a die grinder is a good bet. Slosh some gas in it and make sure it's tight before you paint it. Jim
i water tested it when i was done welding and its good i just didnt feel like grinding anything today but i will certainly check it after i grind on it. tomorrow morning it gets finished, installed and the car can hopefully be ready to go to the exhaust shop friday morning and be driving down the road for this weekend! i installed seat belts in the back seat last weekend. couldnt believe it had none. used 5/16'' thick 4''x4'' steel plates mounted on the outside of the car and 3/4'' grade 8 bolts to install the seat belts. came out really clean and nice :beers2:
too late - but - could you have modified the steering linkage part that was hitting ( keeping the same geometry of course ) instead of cutting the pan ? i know i've seen those sectioned with the cut piece moved back or forth and then braced etc . ????? del
a bit safer to alter the oil pan, than to alter the steering components, me thinks. get an oil puddle if a weld breaks, rather than a head-on collision:shock:
this is actually my wifes daily driver so it gives me piece of mind not to alter steering linkage p my wife and i are among the few who will not own newer then 1972. of course we are spoiled and live in california where the weather permits :grin: i was lazy today and didnt fdo any work on the car. so ill be back at it on friday for sure!
so it turns out not a single parts house in my city has a buick 350 oil pan gasket on hand. i could probably go to wal-mart and build a chevy 350 but no buick parts ou: its on order and should be here saturday at noon. heres hoping. i ground down the welds a bit and painted the pan. its not going on a 100 point show car so i really didnt go extreme. just wanted it to look semi decent. i also got under the hood with the power washer and cleaned it up a bit. all that gunk was doing my head in! <a href="http://s23.photobucket.com/albums/b400/-PaRaDoX-/LeSabre/?action=view¤t=100_3909.jpg" target="_blank"><img src="http://i23.photobucket.com/albums/b400/-PaRaDoX-/LeSabre/100_3909.jpg" border="0" alt="Photobucket"></a> <a href="http://s23.photobucket.com/albums/b400/-PaRaDoX-/LeSabre/?action=view¤t=100_3910.jpg" target="_blank"><img src="http://i23.photobucket.com/albums/b400/-PaRaDoX-/LeSabre/100_3910.jpg" border="0" alt="Photobucket"></a> <a href="http://s23.photobucket.com/albums/b400/-PaRaDoX-/LeSabre/?action=view¤t=100_3911.jpg" target="_blank"><img src="http://i23.photobucket.com/albums/b400/-PaRaDoX-/LeSabre/100_3911.jpg" border="0" alt="Photobucket"></a>
Looking good! I always keep a rachet set and full 350 gasket kit inthe trunk.... Never know when you may need any one of the gaskets, and nice to have them on hand.
That's some fancy work there Bryon! Just out of curiosity, how close is the 300 pan to the 350 pan? I've never had the two side by side so I have no idea.
A 308 Screamer? I do not want to threadjack but, essentially it is a 300 Block w/ a .060 overbore , 2.3 Ford pistons and Flathead Ford rods and 350 Buick heads with some serious headwork. A 350 buick camshaft and a SBC intake manifold with 13:1 compression and a 750 dp holley. Shift at 7500 RPM and it is supposed to make close to 530 hp.
A 308 Screamer? I do not want to threadjack but, essentially it is a 300 Block w/ a .060 overbore wtf? an SBC intake onto SBB 350 heads? some questions if you don't mind Lighting: how long has this recipe been around? is there a web page reference for it? or has it ever shown up in a book or a magazine? who do you know of that has done this?
A 308 Screamer? I do not want to threadjack but, essentially it is a 300 Block w/ a .060 overbore wtf? an SBC intake onto SBB 350 heads? some questions if you don't mind Lightning: how long has this recipe been around? is there a web page reference for it? or has it ever shown up in a book or a magazine? who do you know of that has done this? can you imagine something like this package plus the D&D Fabrications 350 crank swap? whooooooooooo.
