Hey Guys My buddy just got a 61 special. Cool little car. Body is nice and the int was redone. But the 215 has no power. We tuned it up and set the timing. It runs alot better but still no power. We would like to put in a BB. Does anyone have any good tips. What is a good BB that would fit with the least mods? I know it will take alot of work. But we just want a good idea on whats it gonna take. Thanks in advance. Josh
You might want to do a little research on that 215 before you go canning it. Rover (of England) bought the design of that motor from Buick and used it i cars and Land Rovers up through the late nineties. When built right they can be little screamers and very unique. Obviously you can't go wrog with a 455 but it's just something to consider.
This just recently came up regarding either a 61, 62, or 63. If you use the search function near the top of the page, you should be able to find it.
Ive been doing some looking and i saw a few posts about a 350 bolting right up. But with a trans change. anyone try that? Josh
Yep i saw it. The only problem is no real talk about what it takes to get it done. OK 2 problems I have a 64 F-85 with a 455, th350, and 2.78 posi. My buddy helped me do all the work. Its a real blast to drive. Its the whole reason he got the buick (small old car, big engine, go fast) If we cant get his car to keep up, then he wont be happy. What do you think about a buick 350, 200r4, and a 4.11 rear? With that little light car that combo should be able to keep up (or at least until i get my 700r4 and 4.11)
Heres some pics of the car, so you can see what we are working with. I dont know how to shrink pics, and i dont have enough posts to post a link so just add the http to the link. ://s199.photobucket.com/albums/aa168/jbh11600/Dans%2061%20Buick/ Josh
There is someone on North carolina's craigs list ( I forget which state list) looking to move a 63 skylark with a 4 speed. This may still have problems keeping up with a 455 but with the gas price today it will leave that 455 sitting in the garage,
Well we did get it off the ground, but change of plans. Reverse started going so it sat for a month. So we decided to get things done we would go with a small block. My buddy got a 72 350 and th350. We pulled the 215 yesterday. We also pulled the blower to make room. With the 350 engine mounts it almost fit. But with the 215 engine mounts it fit right in! Even with the stock 350 exhaust manifolds. We cut out a pc of the firewall and the trans hump for the th350. But thats as far as we made it. We worked on it from 11am to 1am. With a few brakes and a couple beer runs. So this week we are going to get the trans in, and cross member, measure and get the driveshaft cut, and finish the firewall and trans hump. Were probably going to have to use an electric fan but its still not bad. He has the engine and old aftermarket A/C setup on ebay. Ill post the link in the for sale section. Josh
Ha, not real sure on the game but I think granturismo had a 61 special. The stats said it had a 455 in it. The thing was a beast in the game. So somebody has thought of it. Even if it was just a game designer and all they had to do was program it to make more power. I would 350 though. Thats a nice little car, I think keep it that way. It should make power through finess not plain brute force. Justas kit would be sweet on it.
Well we are about done. Allot of hours into it but we got it all in now. Had to cut out the trans hump, some of the fire wall, and do a patch on the rusty pass side. Move the cross member back, and make a new mount to help with the angles. My 64 olds F-85 driveshaft fit perfect. had to make a bunch of small custom pcs. Like the shifter linkage. But overall it wasnt as bad as i thought. The engine bolted right up with the 215 motor mounts. We had to run electric fans. And we are still unsure of hood clearence. It will fit but not sure about the filter. Today it will make its first drive with the new drivetrain. Ill let you guys know how it gos. Josh
You might keep an eye on that rearend. They weren't the strongest units out there. I managed to break one with a 4bbl/215 in my 62 with only 72,000 miles on it a long time ago. Ended up keeping the motor and scrapping the car (this was in 1981) because I couldn't find another rearend. Eventually I got tired of moving the motor around and sold it to some guy that wanted to use it on a 3-wheeled motorcycle project. You will like the car alot better now that you have the turbo 350 transmission in there. The 2 speed automatic the Skylark came with was like using a big rubber band between the back of the motor and the rearend! Post some pictures when you are done. Later, Randy
I never did update this thread. We ended up with a 72 Buick 350 and th350 trans. Turned out great. We had alot of fun with that little car. Here are a few video clips. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0vwXEW0EKr8&feature=related http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MxY5V2l4RSE&feature=related
Looks like a blast! The more and more I see pictures and videos of these year specials, the more I want one!
I know this is an old post, but I knew the car you were referring to, and decided to look it up. It was a '62 Special from Gran Turismo 4 (I believe, or maybe 3), but, it was also a real car! Not sure if it belongs to anyone on the board, but it was built around 2003, and was called "BuWicked." Not sure if the real car has a 455 or not, but it's a beautiful, and mean looking car, fully deserving of the name.
Yeah it was. The 350 swap wasnt that bad, other then the floor work. But it really woke that car up. It was just a stock 72 350 with a carb only. And i put a shift kit in the trans. I think im gonna build one myself someday.
