first of all, hello, new to the sight and car repairs/ improvements in general. I currently have a 1986 Regal which is completely stock as far as the engine and transmission go. I was hoping to swap my engine out for something more powerful/reliable than the 307 that I currently have. I know that my transmission has the overdrive option but other than that, would not be able to tell which of the two transmissions it is (from the teo offered in1986). Please, any suggestions as to what steps to take or which way to go would be greatly appreciated. I ws looking to purchase a Chevy 350 only because they are prevelant in the area and are fairly cheap but the transmissions won't link properly if I'm not mistaken. I was also thinking that purchasing an older remanufactured buick 350/403 could be another option. Please help !!
The buick 350 would be the easiest swap. Just an fyi, 403 are olds engines so going with one of those would cause its own problems (accessories, motor mounts, etc.) And even though they are prevelant (and cheap) I'm personally tired of small block chevy's :boring: but I understand the temptation to use one... I pulled the weak 260 Olds out of my cutlass and went with a buick to do something different and am glad that I did--there's something really satisfying about working on something a little out of the mainstream and going fast doing it :3gears: !!
Actually, a 403 would bolt in to your Regal since you've already got a 307. But... Olds motors literally weigh a billion and a half pounds. I'd do the Buick 350 swap like bluenellie suggests. BTW, bluenellie, do you have any 1/4 mile times with your setup? Just curious... o no:
engine swap check ebay ther is a parts only riviera with a 455/th 400 for $250 says it runs and drives
In my opinion the easier or most cost effective upgrade will be to stick with an engine from the same family.I understand that there are some issues with the wiring routing with some of the BOP's and Chevys.A 403 could be fun,my first Buick had one and it was fine.This time around I wanted a 100% Buick so I got the one with the Buick 350.I believe it wasn't that long ago that Hot Rod or Car Craft did a good article on a 403 Olds build up,good numbers for a street bruiser.If it was my car I would go for the 403 if frame/eng. mounts were a bolt on deal if some fabrication was involved I'd go for the best bang for the money,if going to a Chevy you may or may not have issues with the trans'. bell housing bolt pattern.Just my 2 cents. :grin:
I'd agree with the olds motor being the easiest. I think Olds motors have only one size block with different deck heights, kinda like the Pontiacs. There is no big block or small block. But as mentioned earlier, Olds motors weigh alot. It may be just as easy to find a junker regal with a V6 and get all the goodies out of it for your car.
1988 olds cutlass i had a 307 in my 88 olds and i put a rebuilt 403 in it.had 373 gears true duals,had to change carb because computer wouldnt work with this motor,had a hell of a time getiing the tranny to work decent,which was overdrive also.after i was all done with the car i sold it the next year.the 403 was okay,but i was use to my old 455 in my buick and i thought it would be kool to get a new body style and a nice motor,things didnt turn out the way i wanted it.easy swap but it s not that great of a motor,much more power than what you have but like i said you will have to eliminate all the computer stuff onyour car.see yah Ray ________ MEDICAL MARIJUANA PATIENT
i know everyones gonna want to beat me for this one but if you are new or a vetran to swapping motors in g bodys, 350 chevy is thee easiest and most affordable option out there. they are abundent and all the parts are cheap and readily available. to swap the mounts just ask for say a 1984 monte carlo with a v8 at the parts store, they are like 8 bucks each. as far as tranny i can get a turbo 350 out of the local salvage lot for like 35 bucks, but make sure its a vacume setup with the shorter tail shaft. you will loose your overdrive with this trannt but its cheap, if you want overdrave i would use a 700r4 but you have to switch it to a vacume lock up. if you have any questions i would be more than happy to help you with any of it from start to finish. regalman4925@yahoo.com :beer
Well if you are going to include a motor rebuild or build up a sbc will probably end up being the cheapest. But it can't be easier or cheapier depending on what you pay for an engine than swapping for an Olds 350 or 403 as its plug & play. (Certainly easier to find though) If being cheap were the only thing on his mind he would just run the 307. I think bfdglenns lead could be an an excellent idea great power to dollar and cool & satisfying driveing the end product.
id go with an olds is as straighforward as possible. Im swapping my v6 for an olds, and yes olds are heavier almost as heavy as chevs, the 403 can make good torque and 300+ hp if done right like everything else, if you wanna go buick get a 350 and find all the axesories of the v6 should be pretty easy a lot of g-bodies got stuck with the v6, as for chevy id rather have a buick in it if you want to get more involved, otherwise oldsmobiles make good torque and rev nicely and you have one already, on the hand the buick 350 makes a ton of torque. It depends on how long you plan to get this done, but if i dont take as long i can let you have my frame mounts for a buick, like i said provided you wait. keep on motoring :TU:
