Hello. I'm a new member to the forum. Years ago I rebuilt a Buick 350 that I took out of a 1974 Skylark. I put that motor into a 1981 Oldsmobile Cutlass. The car has since gone by the wayside but the engine and transmission remain. I recently purchased a 1986 Camaro. There is no engine so I'm hoping to plant the Buick in there. It might be a pipe dream but I was wondering if anyone has ever done a conversion like this. If so, are there conversion parts available or am I going to have to make custom mounts for it? Thank you.
You can probably find most of the parts you will need in a late '70s to late '80s BOP version of the Chevy Nova, or even there, if it had a V6 to begin with. What did the Camaro have in it originally? BTW, welcome!
you'll be doing all sorts of fabbing. the biggest pain will be pulling the exhaust, dropping the rear axle and pulling the fuel tank to remove the fuel pump. besides that, you'll be making motor mounts and a torque arm mount. also you'll need to fab exhaust up. you'll need both sides to go to the right. this will be a major project. you'll need a welder and time. it isn't a bolt in swap by any means.
The last owner took the exhaust and fuel tank out. So I don't have that to mess with. Getting the exhaust to go down the right might be a little problem. I forgot about that. I'll post pics once I get started. Thanks.
Head over to thirdgen.org. I have a 1990 IROC and have been a member there for years. Tons of information! I have seen lots of Pontiac swaps and an olds swap. Can't say I recall any Buick swaps.
Many years ago I did a swap in a 1978 Chevy camaro. It had a Chevy 305 in it and we converted it over to a Buick 350. We were able to use the y pipe off of the Buick and mount it to the existing exhaust.
It just so happens that I came across a 1989 Camaro with a good engine but the interior is in shambles. The plan is to swap the engine out of the 89 and put it into the 86. I am then going to drop the 350 into the 89. I've got another project now. The engine blew in my 98 Blazer so I need to fix that first. Then back to the Camaro project. I'll keep you posted.