Hey anyone see this at OPGi's new online catalog for Buick. http://www.opgi.com/VCProdFrame.asp?vyear=0&group=24556 $995 a pair for bare castings??? sweeeeet!!!! :grin:
I believe they've been in their catalog for a couple years. I'm quite certain they do not yet exist. I guarantee we would know about this being done from TA long before OPGI had them in stock. They are listed as TA pieces.
Your right David, A little bird has told me that those are TA's stg. 1's that are there in the ad. Sorry guys no aluminum 350's heads yet. But their coming I've heard. Just have to be patient.......... later.......................
I figured it was to good to be true. I was quite shocked though when I saw these listed online. I'm already thinking of all the small block possibilities once a good set of heads and an intake come onto production. I 'm thinking a 64 or 65 Special with a nicely built 350 could do a high 12 quarter mile without much effort...... Ah well back to dreaming :sleep:
funny you should mention that I was looking at these last night. The OPG listing indicates a TA part number. I would venture a guess that if you called to inquire about these, they would tell you they don't stock them and would have to look into getting them....possibly "a couple of days".:laugh: Something to certainly consider when they are available. JT
Checking in I just bought a 340 car off of ebay! 67 GS California. I have wanted a 340 car for a long time, but always get confused on the engine origins and permutations. It is different from the 215-300 series, right? Then what is the difference between the 340 and 350? Would a set of AL heads work for a 340 if they were designed for the 350? Thanks.
300 vs 340 vs 350 Ted, I am not sure about heads but I understand quite a few parts are interchangable between the 300, 340 or 350. I was talking with Mark Polastry the other day and he mentioned some stuff. If you want to talk to Mark and are not familiar with his business, his number is 512 303-0833 and he is near Austin, TX. He has lots of 64 and up Skylark parts. How about a picture of your 67? Karl Eltzroth
Austin Phil, I live about 3 hrs north of Austin, 15 minutes north of Fort Worth. I have been to Mark's place twice to pick up parts. Other times, he has mailed them to me. He is great to talk to and is very knowledgeable. Regards, Karl
I have a friend who clearanced a 300 block and piston skirts and was able to use a 350 crank. It now powers his 1900 lb MGB. Dan Lagrou at D+D fabrications did the work for him. My question is this: Since aluminum 300 heads are hard to come by, would a 350 head fit a 300 (and 215) block? Anybody know? James J.
To answer your question James. The Buick 350 heads WILL physically bolt on to a 300 and 215 block, but, in the case of the 215, the 350's valves overlap the bore. Things get better if you bore the 300 .050" over to match the 350's bore size. BUT... there's NO intake manifold that will fit this combination (the 300 is much more narrow than the 350) AND, because the intake-exhaust valve spacing is different between them, cams are not interchangeable. You also cannot use a 350 cam in a 300-215 block because the cam bearing sizes are different. So... if you want to use the 350 heads on the 300, you'd have to have a 350 style came ground from a 300 blank. And you'd have to fab up an intake of course. All in all, if you could do this, you'd spend a lot of coin to have a slightly narrower 350. Personally, I'd LOVE to be able to drop a set of aluminmum 350 heads on a built Rover V8 alloy block. Greg
Hmmmm, sounds like you are saying we should pray for an aluminum 350 block? 'Course I hate to say it, but at the price that would go for, it wouldn't be any more cost effective than buying an aluminum Chevy or Ford. Damn that "corporate" GM engine philosophy. I have a 4.0 Rover block that I can stroke out to 5.3L with a re-sleave, 300 crank and my 300 aluminum heads, and aluminum Northstar engines are cheap and plentiful too. People are even making stroker cranks for the Northstar! Anyhow, thanks for the info! James J.
Hi All, New to this forum, but I've been following the aluminum head thread. I have a couple post '94 rover blocks that are being stroked. One is the "traditional" buick 300 crank and ported '64 300 heads. This one is waiting to go into my alfa. If these 350 heads happen (Yes, I want a pair), I am thinking of cutting down another 350 crank for the other rover block. I have seen other 350 crank rover strokers (331 cid) built, using ported '64 300 heads, but the motors all started pulling a lot of vacuum around 4500 rpm. A nice high flowing aluminum head would turn these motors into screamers. So, a cam and an intake are the only problems? Custom cams can be made by several companies. What is the difference in bearing size? If an intake were cast to match the BOP215/Rover3.5/4.0 block, the potential market for these heads would increase dramatically. The valve/bore interference issue on the 215 blocks can be easily solved by using smaller seats and valves. Since the 350 head's valves are on the cylinder centerline, you would still end up with much larger valves than is possible with the offset valve '64 300 head. Regardless, this is all "post casting" machine work. Maybe a two piece 4x downdraft weber manifold is the answer. Then the block dimensions wouldn't matter, and the intakes could be used on any block (215, 300, 340, 350, all the rover variants) with the 350 heads. I imagine a lot would be shipped off to the UK and oz. Hope these heads and a 215 style intake happen, I love the idea of a 331 cubic inch all aluminum motor that weighs about 331 lbs. pumping out a LOT more than 331 bhp, stuffed into a 2000 lb car. Rick
