455 - 454bbc - lsx

That reminded me of the times at the track when Tyler would run the red car against the trailered chassis race cars, and be dang close to them on times. And when pulling up to stage, I would always yell out, "TURN THE A/C OFF". Only in a Buick!!

 

You might wonder given the above comments, why anyone would put a Buick engine in a non-Buick car. There are reasons. It is basically a very good engine and a light one as well. You might want to learn more about it (both the BBB and the SBB) before you jettison it for the same engine everybody and his brother has in every car they own.

Jim

 

You never told us your goals so that would help. You can drive the car with any of the engines you mentioned so a little more info would go a long way. LS motors are not Chevy motors despite what anyone in this forum might think. They are put in GM cars and trucks the world over so depending on what you want out of your driver and how much money you have to spend an LS motor might be what you want. Dollar for dollar no Buick motor will get you the performance, driveability and economy as an LS motor will...unfortunitely, time and technology is on LS side. However, there's plenty of options to bring what you have pretty close. Ported heads, better cam, EFI, headers and your choice of overdrive transimission will give you a very reliable and powerful combination for just a bit more money.
If you were starting from scratch with no engine and tranny id say go LS but since you already have the 350, define your goals and budget and go from there.

 

The question is what engine do you want in it.if you put in an engine cause someone else told you to put it in,are you gonna be happy with choice or be thinking you should have gone in a different direction

 

Just another opinion...
You can't beat a 455 for big torque for a driver, but it has the old-tech issues like non-roller cam, oiling issues, etc. Never mind the mileage! But it is the most original way to go, if you don't mind the hassle.
For my money, I don't think you can beat an LS truck engine. The new hotrod formula is a junkyard 5.3, open up the ring gaps on the stock pistons, port the heads a little, and bolt a single turbo setup onto it. Tune it with Megasquirt. The TYPICAL result of this is 600whp on a very streetable motor for about what you will pay for a set of aluminum 455 heads. How can you not like that?

 

Sometimes simple is good. The more **** you add to an engine (as a daily driver) the more **** there is that can (and will, eventually) wear out, break, or otherwise need maintenance or replacement and add to the headache.

You could put a 20,000 HP jet engine in it, but do you really need or want that? I know I wouldn't.

My opinion is if you go Buick, keep it STOCK and open it up a bit to let it breath better: clean up the heads, exhaust manifolds, and put a nice free-flowing dual exhaust on it. Use a factory Qjet for optimal performance and economy, or an Edelbrock for simplicity and effectiveness, depending on what you prefer. Either will last a long, long time with pretty much zero maintenance.

Match the compression with the stock camshaft and the grade of gasoline you wish to use. That's pretty much it. The engine will last the maximum amount of time anyone could possibly go on a rebuild, get the most gas mileage and have the least amount of maintenance and/or headache, from start to finish.

Buicks came from the factory with lots of power. You add in the massaging from the freer flowing heads/exhaust and a properly matched compression ratio with the stock camshaft, and you just added more power than someone who simply tossed on an intake, cam, and headers did. Was it more work? You bet. Did the coolness factor just jump through the roof? You bet. Will the engine look, sound, and behave completely stock, while telling people that it is truly a STOCK engine and camshaft as it continues over the years to impress? Most definitely.

It won't be the fastest thing on the road, but I can assure you, no matter how much money you put into a car, someone out there will have something that's faster. So learn to let it go and just have fun with what you have. What you WILL have, however, is an engine that will last you until your grandkids can ask you 'hey what's that' when you pop the hood on your car.

If this sounds boring or too 'old man' for you, then clearly this is not your path. Choose something else.

That's my opinion, among the list of other opinions in this thread. Nice to have a well-rounded list of items to choose from.

 

Are you planing on keeping the EFI on the LS or converting it to a carb? The LS is a great engine but I bet a 350 Buick will have more low rpm torque especially if the LS is carbed,

 

Hmmmmmm. Uh, no comment.:grin:

 

Hi Marc, if I go with the LS option I will go EFI. to carb it I would just go 455 carbed.