Well, This is an old project car I have had around for quite some time. A 1983 Regal that started life as a 3.8 V6/TH250C, 60/40 seat, crank windows, nothing special. I blacked out the window trim years ago in an attempt to motivate myself to build the car. But, the pillow-y couch like interior won....until now. Enter late-70's Buick B-body 350, Turbo 350 with Trans-Go shift kit, used B&M Tork Master 2000-2400 stall. The motor is a low compression 350 Buick with cap screw rods, .030 dish pistons, pocket ported heads, a Poston GS-110 cam & springs, wearing a Poston intake I bought off a member on this site. I also slapped in some adjustable push-rods that I bought off another member on this site. I have an NX nitrous plate for general principle. Threads are useless without pics, so here goes: Before, under the hood: After/during: I would have painted the inner fenders, but, they are busted up, and I was afraid it would look like I sprayed it all one color. I left the a/c box the natural fiberglass grey color. New heart: I am going to run the manifolds one side is from an A-body the other is from a B-body so there is not heat riser. I am going to run the 3.8 accessory brackets, soon I get them painted satin black. Next is '87 tail lights Removing the Landau 1/4 vinyl top trim Re-black out all the window trim ala' Grand National I am leaning towards the Autumn Wood Gold found on later model Chevy trucks for paint 2-1/2" duals with Flowmasters GNX fender louvers I have a GN hood and a 3" cowl hood(both need some repair) Probably a GN rear spoiler Maybe powder coated black bumpers and the stainless rocker trim as well I have 3.42 gears and an open carrier for now. Oh, and of course a set of fiberglass bumper fillers.... I need to hit the salvage to score some bigger sway bars, it has the cross brace, and I already scored some jounce bars. :3gears: Then, if I can find some, I was thinking Regal GS emblems. What do you guys think?
Made some progress today. Fitting up the 3.8 brackets. Got to mod' two of them. I am going to cut the smog pump mount off of the power steering pump bracket, clean and paint. Figure out what belts I am going to need (the ones I saved from the 3.8 are not long enough). The only other stumbling block has been that all the 3.8 bolts are metric, so, hardware store tomorrow for some SAE replacements. The F-body radiator slid right in, as did the v8 g-body shroud: Going satin black the aluminum alt/a-c bracket. Spring for a new alt from the part store and clean up the a/c compressor until I get another line for it. Got some reproduction valve cover and air cleaner decals to slap on. The Demon carb I got will not fit, or more to the point the dual feed line hits the intake unless I leave the 3/4" nitrous plate in place!!?!
"I LOVE YOUR PROJECT!!! YOU ACTUALLY CLEANED/SANDED/PRIMED/PAINTED THE ENGINE BAY JUST LIKE I DID WHILE THE MOTOR & TRANNY WAS OUT." :kodak: Enjoy your Regal350 Project ... AND IT LOOKS REALLY GOOD.:TU::TU: :3gears:
I did the same exact install but on a cutlass. I see that you are running into the same stumbling blocks as I did with the alternator to intake brace and the alternator bracket. I ended up chopping the top of the smog pump bracket off and it looks good. Use the gates 7480 alternator belt, it is a perfect fit. I welded and fabbed a bracket that fits to my alternator to intake, not too difficult as long as you have access to welding equipment.
Looks good! Let's see some more pics!!! As for my beater, well, ironed out some of the heater hose issues. Got some throttle & kick-down linkage/bracket. Was going to put the trans lines and vacuum modulator line in place, got called back to work. Also got the window trim off, going to black it out. Got the accessory brackets modded, cleaned up painted and hung: F-body radiator, v8 lower shroud, radiator hoses in place, upper from 80's B-body with 3.8, lower is G-body 3.8. And, in spite of the said rain, I hit the salvage yard for some stuffs today, including the radiator mounts/pads, a hollow huge sway bar from '02 Z/28, another hollow huge sway bar from '89 Trans Am, rear sway bar and control arms from 80's Cutlass, an aluminum Trailblazer drive shaft (about 3/8" shorter than G-body with Turbo350 & 7.5 rear), two Jeep steering shafts and some misc under hood braces...no jounce bars, but, it was raining! :3gears:
That is pretty good stuff there. Try following me with gbodyforum.com under call name tobyp. I have many posts with others that we discuss engine swaps with the g body cars. Pretty decent forum for gaining knowledge. As for more pics, here you are.
"OKAY, OKAY, OKAY ... YOU'RE KILLING-ME!!!" :TU::TU::TU::TU: I can't find the words to express the "high" I just got from checking out your Cutlass/Buick 455 Project Car!!!!! It looks BETTER than it could have EVER have come from the damn FACTORY!!! :Smarty: :TU::TU: :Smarty: AS SOON as my Stage-1 Regal is at least 99% mechanically-sound ... I'm detailing mine just like yours ... JESUS-CHRIST!!! :beers2: MY HEART-RATE IS STILL VERY HIGH RIGHT NOW ... gotta' go. :TU::TU::TU::TU::TU::TU:
I messed with the Regal all day Tuesday, cut into the a/c box to make room for the valve cover to come off, so I can run the valves. I am taking a long hard look at the OEM valve covers I have. They seem to be shaped for better clearance. Like, its less than an inch from the actual heater core with the chrome covers that almost seem to be shaped like they need to be on upside down. Now, I can't remember if the mounts I used were for a 3.8 or a 350(on the engine), that will teach me to put in new motor mounts!!! I have some older 350 Buick used mounts, I thought about swapping in to see if I gain anything. If the motor would drop 1/4-1/2 inch, it would be awesome! I pulled a set of inner fenders form a front clip I had in my dad's pasture. The set in this car have a gold flake in the fiberglass/plastic. The set I pulled are grey/black, not sure if I want to gloss black them or I found some 'graphite' paint that looks pretty close to the inner fenders in the car now. I blacked out one side of the tail light bezels, it helped out a bunch! Pulled all the window trim to scotch-brite and paint black. Installed the new starter with the OEM heat shield, I found out, you can get the exhaust manifold off and on, in the car, with the motor on the mounts, after I had to pull the passenger side so I could put in the aforementioned heat shield in place.ou: I think I have the heater hose outlets, hose routing figured out, for now, to clear the fuel line and alternator bracket brace. Also got throttle/kick down stuff working, I sucked it up and snagged the throttle bracket off of another car I had...what!?! drag racing season is over... Hopefully I can get it to acceptable under the hood, then I will worry about the paint and wheels.
As fac as the HVAC box goes, I just put a 350 into an 81 Century wagon, had to cut a hole for the stock valve covers, and did put a new mount on that side, which helped, but still couldn't get it to fit. I was annoyed at first, I just don't hack stuff up, but I found a fabric tape that was kinda brown, and with the valve cover on, really can't tell.:beer
Today, adjusted the push rods. Cleaned up the upper core support and upper shroud. Went back to stock valve covers. Stuck on the 350-4 Buick air cleaner decal. Notice the huge hole in the empty a/c box? Now I have to repair/modify it and route the heater hoses. Shot of the air cleaner & decal And the throttle linkage I ended up with: Taking the set of inner fenders I have to the station tomorrow, if I get some spare time they will become gloss black. Now I need to find an overflow tank and washer bottle. Mod' up the upper alternator support strut/arm. Then I can get some exhaust....
Cleaned and painted the spare inner fenders I had. Painted the inner fender support/structure. Tuned in the Edelbrock 750 carb. Stuck the air cleaner decal on. Making some progress! Now, the 275-60-15 tires I got on the back rub on the out wheel well, so, I need to different tire so I can take it for a spin!
Wow, been a minute since I have been over here..... Try and revive the V8 Regal thread a little! Uh, not a lot of progress, messing with another house and well, life.... I did score another Regal last week....$500...smoking 3.8 and 200 Metric The original swap Regal underhood with some new GM bottles and such...back to later model stock paint valve covers for better a/c box clearance. I scored some 15x7 Buick Rally wheels for it too. I get around to swapping on the Turbo hood and Rallys and take some more pics.
Looks great! I am doing the same swap on a cutlass and also running an edelbrock carb but on a stock 70s intake. Im having a bit of trouble with the throttle linkage though. Wich kit did you use and where can i find it?
SWEET, now this is what I'm talking about right here. I had some questions floating around in my mind as to how the Buick 350 was going to fit into one of these G bodies, and it's pretty much a straight-forward fit. No frame pad moving, same motor mounts, just slides right in and is only 4" longer, using the v8 radiator and shroud. Accessories bolt right up and badabing badaboom done. (with some minor modifications, easy as pie though) Way easier than cramming a 455 in, no centering headaches. I wonder if you can swap over a steering column that has the 200-4r gear selection indicators...I'd think you could. That way it'd read properly, the "P___R_N_OD_D_2_1" instead of the standard 3-speed version of "P___R_N_D_2_1" What about the front springs? Can you leave the softer v6 springs in or do you need to swap over to the v8 ones?
You can run the V6 springs with the Buick 350 its within a few pounds of the 3.8/231. MalibuRacing.com has an awesome table that shows all the springs and applications with MOOG numbers. The 200R4 will bolt up, as will the steering column. The Buick 350 is a straight forward swap for the 3.8 V6, brackets, pulleys, and such bolt right up. Same pads, same mounts. I swapped in the V8 shroud and radiator. As for the 455 swap, I consider it more bang for the buck, I used the B-body frame stands, bolted it up to the transmission in the stock location on the stock cross-member. The SBC springs seem to work pretty good with the 455. I have used both oil filter adapters. The TH400 is a little tight. Better clearance if you form/beat/pound the body seem down or flush with the floor-pan(makes bell housing bolts sooo much easier). The reason I say *more bang for the buck*, in that 455, offers more torque in stone stock form, no need for headers, intake or after-market parts....it make 510 lb/ft of torque and was designed to drag a 4800 pound luxo-barges effortlessly down the highway at 70 MPH. The Buick 350 is strong and light. Works great. Plugs right in. Works if you have a whole motor to use or start with. The best advice for the 350 Buick if you are rebuilding it, use Turbo Buick V6 cam bearings (mainly the front one) it is grooved on the back side to keep oil supply up. New wear plate/booster plate for the oil pump and set end clearance (sand or use a whitstone) nice and tight. Another route is an oil cross-over tube at the back of the block...I prefer the Turbo cam bearings. I used the cheapie throttle linkage, with an additional part for the TH350 kickdown cable, it seems to work. The only issue I had was it sorta' interferes with a drop base breather. The Jeg's cross-member is easy, cheap, and it works....
I imagine if the stock 350 is only within a few pounds of the 3.8, slapping an aluminum intake on the 350 would make it even lighter than the 3.8 (wow), so the springs would be just fine. Sweet. I toyed around with ideas about whether to use a 455 or a 350, and the 350 just made more sense to me, being pretty much a bolt-in swap from a 3.8, plus all the accessories that you can reuse, not to mention you can use the parts off the 3.8 if the 350's are worn, since they're the exact same stuff...water pump, oil pump, timing cover, etc. everything except the distributor. Which would make it cheaper still. Then you can use the v8 radiator and shroud from a sbc setup and it's easy as pie with very few fabrications. With a 455, you have centering issues, bigger radiator, a gamble on the fan shroud, needing frame pads, and it is slightly wider than the 350 and a bit longer as well. Not to mention all the accesories will need to be aquired unless they come on the engine. So I was like **** that, sounds like more trouble than it's worth. Then there's the rear end. All that extra torque from a 455 will require a rear end swap, drive shaft swap or fabrication, then you have the problem of trying to get it all to connect without just blazing the tires like they're not even there. That's more money. To me, the 455 (or any big block) swap will end up being the more expensive alternative in the long run. The 350, if built properly, will move that G body like nobody's business, get better gas mileage, last longer, be cheaper, and can work on the existing 7.5 axle as long as you upgrade the carrier, ring and pinion, and axles to a 28 spline setup (as opposed to the stock 26 spline), which will be way less headache and expense overall than a swapover. That's what I was thinking anyway. My setup will have a mildly built torque oriented 350 with some mild port work, somewhere in the neighborhood of 310-320 hp / 410-420 ft. lbs., run comfortably off premium gasoline, have a 200-4r 1800 locking converter tranny with a 3.42:1 Eaton detroit truetrac 7.5 28 spline differential and use 225/70r15 wheels. Gas mileage estimated to be 20-22+ mpg. Exhaust will be manifolds that have been port matched to heads and exit ports hogged out to 2 1/4" with 2 1/4" dual exhaust and quiet mufflers.
Gary-- Everyone is entitled to an opinion and this is just mine so take it for what it's worth...not much hehehheee :grin: but I disagree with you on the 455 swap -- its been done so many times its nearly impossible to screw up at this point. It is WAYYY more bang for your buck, especially if you don't have either engine yet and I had one in a otherwise stock regal ( still had the factory TH350 and 7.5 rear ( inc 26 spline axles )) and it held up fine to multiple abusive runs -- in the end the only thing that killed that car was the idiot I let work on it. If it was me I'd just go big unless you already have all the 350 stuff laying around. Again just my 2 cents worth...Oh and Bar50 your car looks like alot of fun!!!
Torque moves mountains.... Torque will propel a G-body with a 2.41 gear like its going out of style...and cruise at 70 MPH around 1800. The frame stand deal is not bad. I would just use manifolds. Stock V8 shround works. It is tight on the a/c box just like 350 Buick. The tought part is fabbing an a/c manifold/lines to go from old compressor to newer style lines. The best engine swap is to snag the whole thing from a donor car, trans too if you can afford or find it. If I keep the early Regal (silver & black one), it may end up with the 76,000 455/TH400 combo I have nestled in a 1976 Electra 225.... As for the rearend swap, baselinesuspensions.com offers a 8.8 Ford Fox body swap kit. Another option would be to source a used 28-spline carrier form a '93-00 F-body (Camaro/Firebird), most of which are 3.23/3.42 with some 3.73. Then score some 28 spline axles from a GN/442 8.5 used from a turbo guy upgrade or some after markets ones for around $250 or so a pair. Just be advised the OEM posi carriers are not rebuild-able. If you have ever driven a mid-sized car with mountain moving torque on tap, you'll never go back, and you'll ask, "Why didn't they sell these to the public!?!" Stock big blocks from the 70's will run on the stuff they call gas nowadays. Uh, oh man, the torque is awesome. Add a 125 horse nitrous plate and back the timing down....awesome...as long as you are already moving when you hit it! By the way, no mod required for the V8 radiator, just the shroud from a V8 car. Radiators new (only way to fly) are $89-99 for a copper/brass stock one, used ones seem to run $40-50 used. I have used the '93-up F-body aluminum one like in the pics of this Regal (that's what it got). Never had an issue with any of the cars I have stacked 455 Poncho, 455 Buick or 455 Olds and stout 454 in a Malibu or two... Thanks for the compliments, more updates will come, weather is cooperating...house project has gained lots of headway to free up car projects....I just found a dead Monte SS to donate seats for one or the other.... Please stay tuned.... If you are junkyard crawling, snag some jounce bars, big front sway bar, rear sway bar, core support cross braces and fender to core support braces if you can... all of them really help out the G-body flex and ride. The gold car got Thrush welded mufflers (think Flowmaster style) sounds good, Poston cam has a slight lope.
I'm no stranger to the 455 and what it's capable of, and believe me, if I had another one... let's just say I couldn't afford the tickets. I was actually toying around with the G body idea, and then I couldn't decide on which engine...but I decided on the 350 because it was more sensible and economical--and they're not too shabby on power. I have owned 2 Buick 350 powered cars before and one 430 and two 455's, one of which was a '70 engine with 10:1. To put that engine in a G body would be suicide with the way I am capable of driving (just ask the Georgia State Patrol!) You guys aren't helping...I already had myself talked into the 350, and now you make the 455 look all nice and appealing again, damn it. Heh, I still don't know what will happen ultimately. Good input and ideas abound though, and I'm more informed now than I ever was after my well-spent time on these forums. Cheap? Yeah I can do that. Junkyard 455 stocker that doesn't smoke or knock and runs good on regular gasoline, stuffed into a G body that will do 200+ foot pegleg burnouts without having to powerbrake it. Yeah, I know. Sigh. lol Stock 8:1 455 running on 87 octane regular 315 hp and 450 ft. lbs. You'd have to build and spend money on a 350 to reach just the horsepower, and it would never see that torque without being some top end screamer. I know. And for what, 4-5 more mpg? I dunno. G Edit: Most favorite car of all time: 1968 Buick LeSabre with the st300 2 speed tranny, 2.93 open gear, came with a 350 4v, stuffed a 455 in it. Fell in love with the torque, especially with that wide gear and wide torque band. It fit like a glove. And that was a 8:1 455. Then I blew that one up and put in a '70 455 from an Electra in the junk yard, and that thing was scary. The tranny didn't shift out of low gear til 80 mph, and it would burn rubber all the way up to 80 where it finally shifted. Moving along at 30 mph and stab the gas, it kicks down into low and starts burning rubber. Yeah. That's got my name written all over it. The st300 is such a simple tranny and surprisingly durable, it puts more power to the ground so that 10:1 455 felt like it had more power than it actually did. I like the 350 too, I'm not a young man anymore, and I just figured it was the responsible choice for the G body. lol
