**** Call TA today and put down a deposit on the Alum intake and heads****

Are you going to run E85? That is what is helping a lot of really successful turbo combos work.

 

The rear tires are 255/70R15 and the front are 255/60R15

---------- Post added at 07:25 AM ---------- Previous post was at 07:24 AM ----------

Is Ken still involved in these heads or is it strictly ta now?

 

DING DING, we have a winner! Correct on the tire sizes!

Ken is still designing and building a set of heads so we will have TWO options for Buick 350 aftermarket heads soon!

 

I think we need to look at the History of TA projects for the 455..

STG 2 SE heads
Single Plane intake (s)
Timing covers
Water pumps
STG 1 SE heads
STG 2,3,4 High port race heads
Tomahawk blocks

and numerous small projects for the 455, and a whole host of things for the V-6 crowd.

These are the aluminum casting projects that TA has committed to, and followed thru on, regardless of actual demand, deposits or pre-sales.

If Mike says he is going to make something, he does.

I believe that we will have new 350 heads and a higher performance capable intake than the current offering, in the near future here.
How the 350 responds to these new heads/intake remains to be seen. Based on what has been done in the past, the 350 wants to rpm, so good flowing heads/intake should be beneficial to them.

But the current iron head is so bad, even in fully ported form, none of us really knows what can happen with that engine.

Will it open a new market in the Buick Performance world?... will folks be scouring junkyards for 350 Buick blocks to put in their street rod? Probably not right away, the new SBC (aka LS series) has that covered for now, but sooner or later, folks will want something other than the belly button pickup truck motor in their hot rod, and we very well may see a resurgence of the Buick 350.

Don't get me wrong, the LS series of engine is very good, and just like it's SBC predecessor, it has had a ton of aftermarket support right out of the gate. But hot rodders especially, crave something different, and I think that it's very possible that with new aftermarket support, the long forgotten SBB may see renewed interest. They are light and compact, and with alum heads and intake will be a viable options to those rod builders out there, looking for something different.

I think the next 350 project after the current head/carb intake manifold is behind us, has to be a very cool looking EFI dedicated intake. That will spur the rodder interest even more.

In my opinion, the bulk of the market is not the power adder guys.. it's the NA guys that want to build rods, and the GS350 owners who want to keep the 350 in their car, make 450-500 hassle free HP, and be able to enjoy it, without screwing around with blower belts and turbo wastegates.

We will see how it works out, I expect good things, based on history..

JW

 

I hope for TA's sake that there wasn't just a bunch of tire kickers going here.That was my point. As many other people who repop things and develop things have went through,there are alot of I'm in...till the need for cash shows up. I would have went the 350 route if this was happening 7-8 years ago,but since nothing changed,I just opted to do the 455 route. I am currently 3/4 the way to Stage 2 heads for my car and having a girdle added. Is it overkill? Perhaps,but I don't have the 1000's of extra dollars to rebuild a motor again after it's done the 1st time. I am curious if anyone can build another 1000 HP 350 and see how well and long it lasts. With the 455,there are many options and proven engines. At this time, I don't feel free with my cash to be one of the first timers.As for the 350 motors I have.They are all for sale but 2. I have one in my 73 and want to keep a spare in case something does happen..I don't ever see me messing with the 3-4 others I have..I can use the money for my current money pit..

 

Quote fron Sean:
"I answered some of your questions above but here is a bit more info:

How many Buick 350s do I have you ask?"

I never asked you that, you made that up.

Quote: "Maybe after you get a publishing deal for a Book about Buick performance, and make $4000 off of articles for a Hot Rod magazine then you can toss rocks at me but until then please sit back down Steve and back off....."

Yes oh great kimosabee, you da man. BTW didn't you admit yourself that your book is nothing but a compilation of other peoples information? Yes, you did, all the while driving away another board member who dared to question you.

BTW, Not tossing rocks. I have nothing against the 350s, besides the fact that they are just that, a 350.

Won't sit down, either. We are all great in our own way, your way just happens to be an annoying mixture of speculation and fluff with no facts to back it up. You keep spouting off telling guys to just "twin turbo it" but where are these turbo kits? is it really that simple? NOT.

Would it be great to have al heads for the 350? sure it would. I have at least 4 complete 350's that could benefit from them, but without spending more gobs of money on turbos/blowers, its not an option. The businessman in me says its a big risk to take on this project with the limited demand.

 

"But the current iron head is so bad, even in fully ported form, none of us really knows what can happen with that engine."

being one of the very few who thrash their 350's and we do it at high rpm, the dual plane intake is probably the worse part of the engine, not the heads. when i made my s/p and installed it, it was night and day for the engine to breathe. no longer were shift rpm drops of 1000. it now only drops 200-300 rpms and keeps on climbing. just changing that one item is worth the cost. new heads that can be ported a lot more than the oem will make another big change. the new s/p could end being not big enough to handle good ported aluminum heads.:eek2: regarding a bottom end, i doubt it, unless somebody is going to a 6-71 blower.

nowadays, i only post here to try to correct some of the mis-information. and my information is based on facts from my r&d of the 350 which very few people believe.

have a nice day. :laugh:

 

Instead of all the BS in all the threads that have been started about these subjects I think the only way to truly get a realistic idea of how many people want a new SP intake, AL heads, or even a new block for the SBB (this could also apply to the BBB) is to start a thread asking what you would buy and how strongly you feel you will buy one. By that I mean some percentage from 100% guaranteed you would buy a particular product to maybe 50% minimum. The way I look at it if you think there is less than a 50% chance you would buy something then it really doesn't count so don't bother posting because it is a waste.

This would not be a poll. Polls don't require you to leave a message for all the world to see who is serious and who the talkers are. Also this would not be a discussion thread. No talking about what you would like to see out of an item or what you feel could be included with an item or which engine is best or if it would still be considered a Buick engine because the headbolts use 12 points instead of 6. No Pro/Con, nothing even by the original poster. Just the facts. No give or take. There's about 10 of those threads going on right now so go over to one of those if you have to vent. I'm thinking a monitor could delete any post that adds more than a word or two extra.

This would cut right to the chase and show who really wants these parts and how badly they want them. TA would get a quick idea of how many people are really serious without having to gleam that information from those other tiresome threads that go on and on while hashing out the same stuff. About the only thing that could be added to this thread later on is when the actual purchasers of the items can claim they got theirs in the mail today.

By the way I've got no dog in this fight at this time. I ran SBB's in various cars in the 70's, 80's, and 90's and have the time slips to prove it. Nothing amazing although my fastest was faster than 85% of the 350's on this site that actually have been to the dragstrip.

I'm going to suggest that Sean starts this thread because he seems to like starting them plus he could put this in his without any question.

My thinking for the title would be: Would you buy 350 Buick Intake, Aluminum Heads, or a Block? NO BS!

This would be an entire post other than the OP's explaination:


Intake 100%(more than 1?)
Heads 100%

 

Mike, it seems we are way beyond needing to start up another new thread on the topic. Have you read Mike T's posts? The heads and intake seem to both be well on their way to being a reality in the near term.

 

I understand what you are saying but the thread I'm talking about would be more for informational purposes about who's buying and not just talking. Half of those previous threads are just rehashing the same old stuff and everybody that makes a post wants 3 sets of everything.

 

I Don't even care if anyone else wants to buy heads and intake... I will have mine. I was just letting everyone know that heads and intake will be available as like JW himself says TA will make the parts if they are willing to take a deposits.

Jim hit the nail on the head when he said that the 500 HP NA 350 will be the most popular option and it is going to be dead easy with the new heads and intake.

 

I think rear tires are 255/70R15 and the front are 255/60R15 in that pic on that van.

 

The wooden master for the intake started getting machined yesterday. Air gap, 6 water ports, no heat cross over, can be machined for QJ, Holley, & Holley Dominator. 1.500" taller than stock. Fuel injection bosses

 

SWEET!!!!:TU:

Derek

 

AWESOME!!!!! I have my MP EFI ready to go!!!!!!!!!!!!!

 

Great news!!!

 

mike,
is there enough material there to be machined down to make a blower manifold out of it?
john

 

I like where you are going with this. Can you say Nitro!

 

I could say it, but I like the simpler stuff. :grin:

 

Johnny you need to call John Everett! Ask him about how simple the Nitro stuff is! I am not being sarcastic, really call him!!!