Fixing Up 1976 Buick Junkyard Engine

Yep the intake is a direct bolt-on. Change the timing chain and gears and the lifters as well. Then you'll be good to go.

 

Thank you for this great information! I have not gotten the intake yet, so I am glad the intake suggestion came when it did. I will try to follow all the suggestions mentioned. The car that the engine is going into is a 1985 oldsmobile delta 88, so a 455 Buick with all these mods should be a huge improvement over my 140hp 7A headed 307 (It is a curse of mine to always get stuck with bad heads :laugh. This Saturday, I am going to see the mechanic. I will make sure to post update pics as I go along. Again, thanks everyone for this great information.

 

The 455 will be a Huge improvement over the 307:Brow:
The Olds 307 is a good little engine, yeah its gutless, but pretty damn durable.
Not to change your direction, but an Olds 455 would be a lot easier from a swap stand point if you want big block power.

 

Car craft did a dyno test of intakes for the 455 and found no difference in power from the B4B to Performer. The carb pad is in a slightly different spot but otherwise they're nearly the same. Either will make no discernable difference for your driver.

I forgot to mention about intake gaskets. I used the fel-pro revised gaskets (This link) and the cut-down stock valley pan (Click here for instructions), and it works great. Don't do it without the cut valley pan unless you want it to suck up oil through the PCV. I didn't block the crossover ports mechanically, instead using the fel pro gasket to do it. Nearly 10,000 trouble-free kilometers, so it definitely works.

 

A 455 olds would have been easier, but they are so hard to find down here. Any vintage engine is very hard to find down here. A friend of mine who owns a junkyard, then found this engine for me, so I went for it without thinking twice.

I thought I had seen that about the manifolds somewhere before. If that is the case, I will just get the one that is cheaper. And that gasket seems good. I believe that the complete gasket set does not come with the intake gasket, so that would complete everything.

 

Hello everyone. I have another question. I think I need another rear end for my 7.5 equipped car. In my junkyard search, I ran into a 1990s Buick Roadmaster. Would that work for my combo? Also, how can I find the specs for it (which rear it is, what gears, is it a posi? etc...)

 

The Roadmaster might be wider than your Olds. Is the roadmaster a wagon or a sedan? They had different width differentials.

Why are you wanting to change diffs? I run an S-10 diff behind my 455 with no problems.

 

Thanks for the reply! The roadmaster is a sedan. I want to change diffs because my OEM diff is a 7.5, I believe it has gearing somewhere in the low 2's, and later along the way I may have to change it. I would rather change it now, and shorten my driveshaft only once.

Someone from another forum had recommended I use either a caprice or an impala differential. So I was thinking maybe the roadmaster could work as well.

On another note, I just realized I hadn't given many details about my swap, so I will provide them now as this my help have my question get answered easier.

My car is a 1985 Oldsmobile Delta 88
Originally, it came equipped with an olds 5.0L 307, 200r4 Transmission, and a 7.5 differential
I am switching to the Buick 455, which I bought with a TH400 transmission, and am seriously considering an 8.5 differential.

 

For starters, an 85 delta 88 has a 4-3/4" bolt circle. A roadmaster has a 5" bolt circle.

I have no ideas on widths, you'll have to look that up.

You should figure out what your gear ratio is first and go from there.

 

"You can get the newer 10 bolt 8.5 1990-1996 impala or Roadmaster (they are 30 spline axle rear too) rear with posi and 3.08 3.23 and if your lucky maybe 3.42 tow package option. NO wagon rears they are wider than the sedans.

You can also use the 1973-1977 A-body rear in the 1978-1985 B-body also BUT the bolt pattern for the wheel will be 5 on 4 3/4 ...If it is a c-clip rear you can just swap out 8.5 b-body 1978-1985 axle for the 73-77 a-body 28 spline axles and you have your 5 on 5 full size car bolt pattern again. Neat huh?"

This was stolen from Monzaz -- all the credit goes to him...

Original thread link -- http://www.v8buick.com/showthread.php?192238-1985-Buick-Le-Sabre-rear-axle-ratio&highlight=1985+le+sabre

Tons more info on this subject in this thread too, worthwhile read for sure...

 

I have tryed the 77 a body rear in a g body. I didn't like the fit. Rear is wider and control arm had to be spread to get in place . uppers did not match well. Like they where too long. So we redrilled and made drive line angle horrible. I heard you can swap axle tubes with the 7.5 to 8.5 if center tube sizes match. I ended up with a 12 bolt and south side g body kit.

 

FYI -- The Delta 88 is a B body, not G. Not sure how your comments apply?

 

B body should work fine. Your avatar is a regal so I assume it was that. Kinda late to the party. Plenty of b body 3.42 posis in wagons 92-96

 

LOL -- this isn't even my thread -- I was tryin' to help out the OP and while the gears might be good the wagons actual housing won't work, different wheelbase...

 

10,000 km's on it so far. Extremely unreliable

 

I actually had a 7.5 in my 81 regal for a LOOOOOONG time too before upgrading to a GN rear. Seemed to be handling the 455 power pretty good, it wasn't a slouch either -- Crower 52241 grind w/ good stall on the 1st iteration and then had an even hotter 462 w/ KB MK3 cam and 3000 stall -- not sure I'd trust doing alot of hole shots or running slicks on it but for street use it probably will work until you could afford to swap in something a little more stout...

 

Thanks! I was actually not sure, now I feel more confident though. I will probably go for it.

I actually have read that if you you don't abuse it, the 7.5 is pretty reliable.

Thanks everyone for your input.

Today I finally brought the car to the mechanic. He should start taking out the 307 next week. Afterwards, he will check out the 455 and tell my what to buy. Here are a couple pics of what Im starting with.







These final pics show the the 455 (needs a bit of elbow grease :grin.



Sorry for the pics not being so good. I took them with my cheapo camera phone. As the project goes along, I will add more pics.

 

Hey everyone. I am a bit of a new to differentials, so I have a question. I already bought the differential, but how can I know if it is a posi? I am a bit confused. When I manually spin one of the axles, the other axle spins in the opposite direction (which leads me to believe it is not a posi). When I spin the part of the rear that the driveshaft attaches to though, both tires spin the same way (which leads me to believe it is posi). So I am a bit confused, is it a posi or not?

Also, changing topics a bit, with my wheels being for a 5x4.75 bolt pattern, and the new axle being 5x5, I may have a bit of trouble there. Would it be ok if I use wheel adapters to make it work? Or perhaps can the 5x5 axles be modified to work with the 5x4.75? Or are new axles the only way to make it work?