hey guys could use some advice on several questions i have about where i go from here: i have a 1984 buick regal daily driver with the factory 231 v-6 and a th350 tranny (upgraded 5 years ago) i have a 1972 buick 4 bbl 350 complete, ready to take to machine shop. its gonna be a daily driver and i have driven this lathargic beast the way it is for over 20 years now, so i don't need a race car but at the same time dont want to be kicking myself later down the road. do i need an upgraded cam? a better intake manifold to go with that cam? i have read on here where there have been instances where the ta stage 1 intake hindered the performance of the sbb 350 without a high lift cam. should i do both? anything else i need to know before i take this to the machine shop? does 750$ sound fair for install? i am in the san antonio area if anyone has a recommendation. carb, i plan on staying with rochester and getting the q-jet from everyday performance as Sean recommends. engine has equast manifolds, will these work on my regal? what about front suspension? i have read on here people have used monte carlo v8 springs. i have 20" wheels and kinsda worried about the extra weight in the front. what is recommended for ditributor and rotor combo? anything else anyone can think of, i would love some knowledge on this! i appriciate this website and all that contribute!!! -Adrian
1> any "top" engine repairs or upgrades ya wanna do later are all pretty easy to get to and work on , its the shortblock you want to take care of before installation if possible - cam etc , timing , oil pump , crank brg's n seals etc . all those are kinda "down deep" repairs . just like a house - make sure that foundation is good ta go . well , the timing oil stuff is not really shortblock technically but its a pain in the car and real easy when out and should be done asap anyway . so for a driver things like intake , rocker arm , cyl head ignition etc can wait unless they need attention right now . 2> for a driver - stock intake ( maybe some port matching etc ) , stock ignition ( maybe elec upgrade ) , stock exh manifolds w/dual exh - all ok . upgrade as needed later . sounds like you are set on carb direction . 3> you are gonna want to be careful with your pass side rear valve cover/cyl head clearance with the ac/heater box on firewall . and you may want to be a little careful with the stock rear if using a 350/350 combo - not sure how long that will last . be sure your suspension , brakes etc are all checked and ready to rumble . those too you can upgrade later .
thanks for reply, the engine is a total junker, i drainaed the oil and it smelled like gas and water, some clumps of oil came out at the end, it came outta a chevelle some guy bought from a junk yard, so i am sure nothing is salvagable as far as rockers, etc. please tell me if im wrong. took valve covers off and it was 100% rust. port matching on the intake, is this done at the machine shop? is this a pretty standard upgrade when going for a mild street cruiser? should transmission used for the 350 be a th400 rather than a th350? which rear end do i need to be looking out for? thanks again!
Check the parts for sale postings. Jeff Pye is in TX and selling a bunch of 350 parts including a set of nice pistons. The TA intake is an aluminum version of the 1970 intake, no better, no worse, just lots lighter. Use a Crower level 2 or 3 hydraulic cam ( see SBB cam posting ) Set your compression at 9.5 and you will have a very streetable 300-325 HP, 400+ft/lbs torque with iron manifolds and a Q-jet. Also with 3.42 gears or lower you'll get 20+ mpg. Steve
Just to clarify this is a Buick 350 right? Just making sure because it is strange that it was pulled out of a chevelle. I can't imagine too many guys putting a small block Buick in a Chevy.
yes , correct , good point . front dist - buick , rear dist chev probably . from what it sounds like i would just carefully take it apart and assess the situation , ask for someone ( qualified ) to stop by for a second opinion . if ok but just crappy lookin , may be worth redoing . the buick 350 will slide in there pretty easy with little to no hassles concerning trans bolt up , mounts etc . other motors , not so much . port matching is pretty much just making sure the intake ports match up the the head ports . take an intake gasket , mark some lines , die grind carefully in about 1/2"-3/4" , smooth blend , make sure the intake side is a little smaller so you don't create a dam that will impede air flow .
thanks guys, yes this is a buick 350, pulled outta a chevelle, the chevelle owner was pretty suprised too and wanted nothing to do with it, i got it with the tranny attached 200$ delivered. i will check in the for sale section and see what i can find, do i need new everything inside the small block (pistons, etc.) or is that the machine shops call?
The machine shop can tell you what sizes undersize (crank/ rod bearings) or oversize (bores). If you let them buy the parts they will probably get rebuilder grade stuff of questionable quality because they make more money that way. And ask them if are build lots of Buick engines. You don't want a guy building it like a Chevy. Do not ever use high volume oil pump kits, they cause nothing but problems. With proper bearing clearance your oil pressure will be fine. Allways use TA Performance grooved cam bearings installed per the instructions. Be sure the block is zero decked to get the true compression the pistons are rated for. Don't skimp on pistons, you'll be sorry. At the very least use Hyperutectic. Rubber crank seal front and rear, no rope seals. Lots of other great tips in the 2 or 3 other builds going on currently in this section. Check them out.
if you do go ahead and start the "street" rebuild your only real big choice is gonna be piston compression choice . everything else shortblock wise is pretty cut n dry . don't get carried away , look hard at gas quality , cost and especially real world driving style . 9 or 10 to one comp is about it for gas , and 8.0 or 8.5 may be more optimum depending upon future plans etc . homework ! weekend street strip car , you can go a little overboard . but if you are gonna drive it to work everyday thats different . if you think you may at some point turbo it or whatever the lower comp will probably work better and some of these guys can guide you there better than me .
no strip on weekends or plans for turbos, i will be driving everyday to work....just want cool old school sounding muscle car....man i am concerned about the internals of this block, should i assume all is bad or wait and have machine shop tell me all is bad, locate parts myself and then i bring parts to shop? would this be a usual request?
Take the engine in and have them measure every aspect and then they will tell you what needs to be done with the engine for bore, bearing sizes etc. Never by any parts till the shop tells you what specs you need. Northern Auto Parts has the best deal for Master Rebuild kits. I buy the complete kit and then I do not use the cam and a few other things. If you ask them they will delete a few items from the kit. I buy the TA Performance camshaft, lifters, grooved cam, oil pump rebuild kit, adjustable oil pressure regulator, and neoprene front and rear main seals.
I used the regal v8 (307) springs in the front of mine and it held the extra weight fine. when i still ran a sbc in the car i still had the v6 springs and it sat nice but not if i had 20s. im changing around the suspension on my car this winter and will be pulling out the v8 springs if you want them. i would give them to you for whatever shipping would be. may be a few months before i get that far though. the v6 frame stands for the motor mounts will work fine and you can get a radiator shroud from a v8 regal or monte and will work fine with the 350. i would just stick with the th350 trans. otherwise you will be getting a different cross member and drive shaft. i ran the th350 behind my bbb in my regal and didnt have a problem. im actually going to the 350 buick in my regal this winter too. if i can help you with anything just pm me. ive done that swap quite a few times now. dan
thanks alot Dan, your the man! i would appriciate those springs and your willingness to help me via PM. i am not going to be doing this until winter either so i think i will take you up on that offer! as well as with more questions which are sure to come, thanks a lot man!
SUBSCRIBED! I haven't been on the board much since joining but I will be hanging around. I am interested in this build. I have an 81 Regal with no drive-train and need to check VIN to figure out what might have been there. Need to figure out what it needs to go all Buick driver on the rebuild. I have a sbb 350 basket case that was scrounged off the floor of an abandoned shop that I need to identify too. Have a couple transmissions to work with - a 2004r and a th350 - both of unkown condition Seeing this thread got me jump started. I will start a thread later as I don't want to hyjack but will follow along. Thanks SA84regal! Thanks V8buick. Bob
Steve, if your car weighs 3800 lbs. with you in it, it makes 287.77 HP at the wheels. Using your TH350 we'll assume about a 22.5% power reduction through parasitic loss (20%-25% is considered the agreed upon norm for most cars so I just chose the middle). 287.77 / .775 = 371.32 HP at the flywheel based on your 99 MPH quarter mile time, according to the formula in the back of TA's catalog. Even if the car only weighs 3600 lbs. with you in it, you'd still have 272.62 HP at the wheels. Assuming the minimum parasitic power loss of 20%, you'd have 272.62 / .8 = 340.78 HP at the flywheel (surely it's more than this absolute minimum number). So that's 340-371+ HP depending on actual weight and how much ever power loss. We know the TH350 is worth 36 HP, then there's the accessories and rear end... It wouldn't surprise me at all if your engine made 430+ ft. lbs. at the flywheel.
ok im rolling on this, i want to again thank everyone for the information...picked up a qjet from carmantx (Mark) yesterday and met him and learned more than i can possibly retain! but super excited to one day soon have that 350 in my regal. i am dropping of short block at machine shop to get measured then i will be ordering all the goodies as advised in this thread...i am currently looking for heads 68-71...Mark might have found me a set, but not sure, if anyone has any leads i would appreciate the help. i am in san antonio. have a great day everyone! -Adrian
im also dropping the buick 350 in my 84 regal. I'm still in the stages of disassembling my block and still have to get it machined. I'm trying for about 300-350 horses. my buick came with the 231 v6 which has many interchangeable parts with the 350. Ill keep posting and how i solve any trouble i come across to save you from doing it. but overall it hold be an easy swap.
Ok. Engine is in machine shop...got a call that one of my 71 heads where cracked. "Good luck finding one of those" I was told. Got on the phone and within 4 hours found an old cars only salvage 1 hour from San antonio. Found my matching casting no head in a school bus full of gm v8 heads within 10 minutes! Took the head in next day, magna fluxed. No cracks. Going forward again! I have used all advice in this thread. Everything has been purchased. just waiting on shop. Will post updates and pics soon.
