I am a internal combustion enthusiast, with a weakness for things mechanical and electrical. That being said this 340-4bbl engine I am driving around I really don't know much about. Is this a real Buick motor? Is it just a smaller 350? Bigger 327? So Buick could call something their own? Where was it built? When did they start with them? How long a run did they have? What was the idea behind them? Were they good motors? What where their inherent problems? Lay it on me. The good the bad the ugly. Thanks Jay
The 340 is very much a "Buick" engine, the engineers were changing and improving the SBB a lot in those years, until they hit 68 and the 350 came out, and that stayed the same platform till 1980 with only slight revisions every few years. The 340 is a great engine, they run well and reliable. I feel they have a good performance potential however there are relatively small amount of cars that came with them being a 2 year only engine so there is not a lot of aftermarket support for performance parts. If you are interested in adding performance then head porting, a mild cam, exhaust upgrades, and re-curving the ignition timing are places to spend your time and money. Here is a history lesson about the development of the Buick small block over the years: http://www.v8buick.com/showthread.php?275190-Sneak-preview-of-the-intro-to-my-book
First, be clear this is a Buick engine from its roots as the 215 Aluminum engine Buick developed in the early 60's - no relation to the Chevrolet engine. SO It was in Skylarks, Sportwagons and LeSabre models in 66 and 67. I like mine as it has nice low end torque. One knock is the compression ratio- there have been people on this board that have had trouble taming the spark knock. Other than that it seems very sturdy.
