What will it take to give my 350 buick respect from these late model f bodies

I love buick's especially my 72 buick 350. If my buick brothers would be so kind as to tell me what would i have to do to my engine to give these late model f bodies a run for their money. I am quite passionate over the small block buick, but i know that the real challenge in the streets are the LT1's and LS1's. I know that it can be done, hopefully someone has some good ideas. Thank you

 

You could always put them in the ditch before they get away :laugh: :TU: Stay in this section for help, we have been talking ALOT about building the 350 Buicks up in here.

 

A good 300 or 350 hp rebuild, 3.73 gears, and 220r4 tranny. You'll blow their door off. Now all you need is $$$$$$.:Brow:

 

Jesse,
Like David said, it can be done,but it aint cheap. Dedication and info is what it is all about. Check out this Board for all the info you need.
Good Luck!!!:TU: :Smarty:

 

Oh Yeah, Jesse I forgot to tell Ya, There is no better feeling then blowin off a newer corvette with your 34 year old Big Ass Buick 350:laugh: :laugh: :3gears: :3gears: :TU:

 

Jesse-

This is a long read (330 posts), but if you do what Rob has done, you'll get a whole lotta respect from everybody!

 

my daily driver is a 96Z - 6 speed, 3.42 posi, cold air induction, 1.6 roller rockers, heads mild port, headers, wide open Borla dual exhaust. Easily passes emissions in NY and gets almost 30 mpg on the highway crusing at 65 mph around 1700 rpms.

for my 68, here's our plan
change carb to quadrajet, full port and polish on intake (stocker for a quadrajet) and stock heads, 1.6 roller rockers, shorty headers, MSD HEI ignition, tranny (TH 400 but not sure yet), posi rear (2.73 to 3.73 not sure of how tall/short yet) gonna be expensive but it will be done in segments over time. no rush.

good luck

 

Jim,
I see from your profile your a Long Island boy, Where exactly?
From your post I think you could save some $$ by NOT getting the roller rockers" you don't need em". Your choice of gears "2:73-3:73" is a very Big Difference, You really have to consider everything in your build-up before choosing gears--Cam,Head flow,Comp Ratio, Carb, Headers? Intake, Converter,Tires,Ignition and is it a "street car"? Everyday driver or just "Streetable"?
I can tell you this,Head work is the key.
I understand this is a long term project, but, you can save yourself alot of frustration and money by learning from this board,you can find what works and what doesn't by all our previous trials and errors:Smarty:
PS I'm in W. Babylon,where you at?o No:

 

Oh Yeah, I'm assuming a 96Z is a camaro? I wouldn't be ashamed to run you against my 1970 Skylark 350???

 

I spent $3200 building the 350 in my Skylark convert in 1991. GEARS are important to get small blocks going. My car ran 15.25 with 2.73 gears, but was solid 13's with 3.73's. That was a loaded Convert (no AC but everything else). TA intake, good cam and 10.25:1 compression are musts.

 

This is why I love buicks not only the torque but the people as well, Where I live I'm surrounded by chevy and ford boys, and they just think a buick is a old mans car. Thanks for the suggestions its nice to know that there are people out there that like the small block buick. I know that I can blow their doors away with a 455 but I would like to a 350 with a 350, so I can show those chevy boys what buick is all about. They expect to lose to a big block but not a 350. Well I have a 72 gs clone, I got 3 350's laying around the garage and I think I will rebuild the 1970 block, just cause I like the year I know there is no differance between 70-72 350's but i like the sound of having a 70 block. I also already have the 3.73 rear end (also in the garage -along with a 68 buick wildcat that has been sitting there for 5 years) and yup the 2004r transmission is also laying around. I just need to find a good machine shop that speaks buick here in chicago does anyone know where one is? Hopefully with some overtime,patience , and hard work. I can pull it off

 

oops my clumsy self meant to say that i would like to face a 350 with a 350

 

Your car will have to be fairly hot to kill a later model LS1 F Body.
It's certainly doable, however. Would you consider nitrous?

 

I would consider nitrous but I rather race them fair and square. The truth is that the Ls1 is a great engine, but I still stand by my 350. Lets say that the buick 350 can face a stock LT1 or LS1, will I even stand a chance if they were modified. Good quesion don't you think.

 

You lucky dog. You've aready got all the goodys, with the gears and tranny. You should be able to get 350 to 400 hp with a good rebuild. Best of luck to you.

 

I agree with the others that your rear axle and tranny (if built propely) will work well for you.

Now, as far as wanting to be able to hang with / beat an LS1 powered F-body..... It depends on what kind of racing you're going to be doing.

If getting a better ET in the 1/4 mile is what you want to do, or just run them from stoplight to stoplight in town, that's not too hard. You'll be able to out-launch a stock suspension F-body easily, and then just have enough power to keep them at bay until the 1/4 mile is up. If you want to hang with an LS1 at speed though, that would require a much more serious buildup. Running from highway speeds on up is where these cars really shine.

If you want to hang with LS1's at speed, I would be thinking about 10-11:1 compression, seriously ported heads, port matched intake, Holley or Demon carb 850+ CFM, roller rockers, cam with 250+ duration at .050, .550"+ lift, full length headers, 3" dual exhaust......

To beat them in the 1/4 mile - I'd say a 10:1 motor, with a mild to moderate cam, aftermarket intake, well tuned carb (Qjet is good), heads that are cleaned up and maybe have some mild porting, headers and 2.25 or 2.5" dual exhaust should work well with your rear end and tranny combo.

Good Luck!

 

Good Luck on your project Jesse. Here is my 350 build.

Just a basic overview of the major parts

70 350 Block (from my 70 GS) 10.25 to 1 compression
Ported heads with oversized TA Valves
GS111 Cam with TA Lifter Moly lubed
850 Holley or Demon (undecided)
TA Stage 1 intake.
Cap Screw rods from a later motor.
Stock crank cut 10/10

I will be running a 3000 stall convertor on a t -350 and run 342 gears.

 

Better come on strong! Those LS1's and 6's are no joke! if you plan to take them on the street or the track you better be serious with your buildup. THey are becoming very strong on the street with all the aftermarket bolt on's. 12's is nothing with minor bolt o's. 11's and 10's with nitous, superchargers, or turbo's. If you don't want to use a power adder thats fine but don't expect them not to when it come to winning. They are lighter than are big Buicks so it will take a 450 Hp combo to get running in the middle of the pack with the right driveline components to fit the combination. You can definitely make it a very streetable setup but you will need ported heads and everthing to go with it. Jim B. 350 buildup is a great example. A power adder would be a good idea but you need to make decide before you build the motor so you can set it up accordingly. It would help keep the gearing more streetable.

 

Those cars are definetly quick, a good friend locally has one and the darn thing whines at idle but sounds cool.... Fast car!

 

I appreciate all the help. many good suggestions. I promise to show these chevy and pontiac boys what buick is all about