Did an engine swap in 72 Skylark. I know, I know the amount of flamespray I'm going to get. A lot of reasons why this happened....some stars were misaligned and funding was low. I have been documenting this process/rebuild with pictures. ---------- Post added at 10:37 PM ---------- Previous post was at 10:23 PM ---------- https://www.dropbox.com/sc/n3hgy8usifsgi3a/jkwDagojgm Pictures of rebuild
lol on the misaligned stars I dont personally care for chevy in a BOP car butthe stock aircleaners did have a sticker that says keep all parts GM :-D its running an not sitting rusting away so, :TU:
Nice work! I put a 69 327 in my 72 way back when. A couple questions for ya: How did you do the engine mounts? EDIT: I looked again at your pics and saw that you welded the chevy frame pads on and used the chevy mounts. Lastly, what headers did you use and did you have any trouble clearing the engine cradle? for my 327 conversion I had used a transDapt conversion mount with the Buick framepads, and I had to cut clearance in the engine cradle on the drivers side for the Summit headers.
I have an '85 305 in my '68. Originally had the 700 that was also in the donor car, but when it went south, I put a 350 in it. I bought the Chevy frame adapters from Year One. They bolted right into the frame. I have PAW generic headers that have no clearance issues. Pretty straightforward swap. The power steering pump came from a '70 El Camino with a SBC in it. Anything from that era would work, though. It's been in there since December 2000. Not the strongest setup, but I had the engine and trans already rebuilt in the donor car that I junked. Originally, it was my commuter car, so I wanted overdrive.
CHEVY 383??? Personally i've never heard of such a motor! Now Chrysler corporation made a 383 motor back in the 60's 70's, but not chevy
Basically its a sbc 350 stroker,has a sbc 400 stroke crank and .030" overbore.(4.030" bore X 3.75" stroke = 383 cid) Derek
KEN I ended up using 81camaro headers. Had to massage them a little for the shorty spark plugs, this was due to the angle of them with the heads. If your running stock heads, there's No clearance issue. With super vic heads I'm mixing and matching a little of parts. I had to cut 2 inches off My stock driveshaft. ---------- Post added at 01:11 PM ---------- Previous post was at 01:06 PM ---------- KEN I ended up using 81camaro headers. Had to massage them a little for the shorty spark plugs, this was due to the angle of them with the heads. If your running stock heads, there's No clearance issue. With super vic heads I'm mixing and matching a little of parts. I had to cut 2 inches off My stock driveshaft. Luckily I'm running a small distributor, I didn't account for clearance when I installed it.
tight squeeze for aN A-body other then a 70-72 monte but that = 12 second car with bone stock caddy 500
The power steering pump is the only thing I'm lacking, I have the pump but getting the brackets to align is the problem.
The Buick nazis are probably bitting there tougues!Don't worry about it, it's yours and looks like a very ambitious do it yourself project.You can truly say "I did it" when it's done.
I had to put in a spacer between the header flange and the bracket on the pump to space it out, as it is thinner than the exhaust manifold. I used a 1/2" pipe close nipple as a temporary thing. It's been on there over 13 years, now. I can't view your pics, since I can't get dropbox to work.
I got the stock Buick 350 power steering pump and brackets to fit my 327 by drilling one hole in the "inner" bracket for the chevy head bolt pattern. I will try to dig up a pic.
Hey I did the same thing but I have a 71 skylark with and 383 I was wondering if any body can help me with what kind of headers I haft to use dat will fit
I know this is an old thread but they do pop up quite often. The unfortunate part of it is many times the original poster is no longer here. Anyway, all you have to do is used everything that was meant for a `68-`72 Chevelle and it will bolt right in (headers, frame mounts, etc.). Of course, there are a few things you will have to address, like the fuel line being on the opposite side as well as some of the wiring but it's not really a huge challenge. The plus side of this swap is that Chevy stuff is dirt cheap in comparison to Buick parts that are available. Look up the cost of Buick headers and you'll see what I mean. And if you happen to blow up the Chevy just look on craigslist and you'll have a replacement within the hour.
This information is for a 1969 Skylark however, I'm sure it will work for 1968-1972 Skylarks. I have the front off my car redoing the front suspension so the engine install was really easy. I installed the engine first then bolted up the transmission. Note: I installed the distributor before dropping the engine because I didn't know if there would be enough room for the install after the engine was installed. There is plenty of room. Note: Leave the engine frame mount & engine mount bolts loose until the transmission mount is installed. I use the transmission cross member from the Chevelle because the Skylark one required removing the mount to change the transmission fluid/filter. For the fule lines I just ran them across the front of the vehicle to the other side. I was going to run them on the other side of the frame from the tank but thought it would take to long. I also used a Chevy fuel pump that had a return line so I could also use my original fuel sender unit. The drive shaft will need to cut 2 1/2". All the holes for the frame motor pads & transmission cross member were already on the frame, therefore requiring no modification. I used the buick alternator so I wouldn't have to modify my wiring harness. I replaced the resister wire for the distributor with a length of 12 gauge wire for the HEI distributor. Below are the parts I used for the conversion & the vendors I used. I had a power steering pump hose made at the local hose shop $73.00 National Parts Depot 1968-72 Chevelle Transmission cross-member part# C-4081-106A $149.95 1968-72 Chevelle Engine frame mounts part# C-0029-110P $63.95 Advance Auto Parts 1969 Chevelle motor mounts Part# 2283 $6.50 ea. Jeg's 1969 Chevelle headers part #30051 $199.99 Total: $ 499.89
I resemble that remark! :grin: I'm biting my tongue; - and holding my nose, but hey, if you like the car and what it's doing for you that's all that counts, more power to you!:TU:
