I have a buyer for my 1977 BUICK 350. He wants to drop the engine in is 1981 Chevrolet Camaro.Hes got a 4 speed muncie.I know he will need a new bellhousing.Is it possible to drop the buick 350 in this car (2nd gen camaro).I konw the buick 350 is much larger than a chevy 350...???Does it need a lot of modification to make it fit??(engine mount brackets versus camaro crossmember)?????And exhaust manifold or headers versus the cam a-arms and direction column????........
I love buicks but that seems like one of the worst ideas ever. The question would have to be.....why? Even if you give him the engine for free the cost in time and money would be way more than paying for a chevy 350.
I'm pretty sure those gen maros came with Buick v6 so he could probly use mounts and frame pads for that application. As for headers, not likely to fit but manifolds probly would.
firebirds had buick v6s get a bellhousing then drop in engine and line up mounts to boltholes if lucky it will match i think it will if you get the right mounts similar to apolllo/skylark 73 up so i would say mostly anything is possible
The question would have to be.....why? Buick 350 is ~150lbs lighter than a SBC and, like the big block, is very torquey. this makes for a much better seat of the pants feeling and a really good stop light drag or roll on race car.
Yeah, I asked a maro budy of mine and he said that you are right. The frame pads and mounts from the same gen Buick v6 bird will work in the maro.
still seems pretty silly to me, sorry. if weight is of such high importance why not just leave the v-6 in the car...........any weight saving you would have over the mouse would have to be offset by price and availability of high performance parts. Unless money is of no concern. Then by all means go for it......
Hey bob... I have a buick 350 Ill give you for free. You could put it in your electra and save some weight. HA HA.......:TU: just kidnin...
I have a buick 350 Ill give you for free. i already have 3, but i'd take yours ... if you weren't in Washington. :moonu: spend more on shipping than you could possibly sell it for. you've got a point though, there's no particular reason not to put a 455 in there. :3gears:
now you are talking.... If its so easy to put a 350 in then a 455 should drop right in. That sounds like it would be worth the effort. except then how would we get rid of our old 350's? hummmmmm on second thought, I think I may start a campaign to repower all camaros with 350 buicks.
Sounds like a cool idea. It might cost a bit, but there is a definite cool factor. 454's would fit in those things, so I imagine a 455 would be more of a matter of mounts and driveline than anything else.
89 anniversery ed.( all white pace car) trans am had a buick powered turbo 3.8 It was projected to be the fastest production car in 1988 untill the official release of the GNX. Considering the camaro is conciderably lighter than a GTA or a Turbo Ws6. Even will all the "concidering" goin on ....That baby will fly. Its a very nifty idea and can be accomplished.
That's funny: When someone puts a non-Buick engine in a Buick, the Buick community is moaning about it: You should keep it original and all Buick.....:Smarty: But putting a Buick engine in a Camaro sounds like a good idea ?? What happened to all the "keep-it-original" gurus ?
Hey, I know its weird the buick 350 and camaro story!!!!But we dont have as much v8 350 (chevy,buick,olds,pontiac)up here as you guys do!Now, I just have the chance to sell my 350 , wich is clean and in running condition. and the buyer maybe dont want to have to build an engine, he just want one ready to drop in......
Actually, it's smaller and lighter and yeah, it'll fit. It's all GM fer chrissakes! He could get away with 6-cylinder springs in the front, if he wanted a little more supple suspension (only about 35 lbs. difference between a 250 and a B350). All he needs to do is change the motor mounts. One's off an Apollo should work nicely. Bob
I love it! Thanks for asking me that question: Some vehicles are just that, means of transportation that meets practical needs of a person/persons. Others are classics that have a mistuque and not so much exact originality but brand loyalty is what makes/keeps the vehicle classic. For example, swapping a buick 350 into a Chevy S10 is not going to offend anyone. Its not a classic and who cares what motor is in it. It could be a honda motor for anyone cares because its just another S-10! But when we look at Buick, Olds, and Pontiac siblings, allong with thier cousin Chevy Vehicles up till the late 70s had thier own body syles and soul (enigine design). There is no reason to swap to a non brand matching engine into a classic unless you can't find/build for the needs/wants that you have for the vehicle. For instance I have a Dodge Dakota 4x4 with a 3.9 V6/NV3500 (sawwed off 5.2 V8) that I really love to drive on and off road. I am swapping in a V8 for obvious reasons and would love to use a Buick 350. Iam not going to though because I can get a running magnum 5.2/NV4500 tans combo from a cheep Ram and bolt it to the NP 231 with no mods, or even motor mount issues.
Sorry to get off topic on this thread, I had a 83 fird gen that swapped Buick 350/th350 into and the manifolds worked fine but no go on the Hooker headers. It ran better than the 305 mouse motor.... Sold it for $500 cuz its just another camaro. Bad Boattail, please start a thread in the Bench with your original question and we can respectively agree to disagree on this topic. Cheers, Sean
My 350 went into a '81 camaro tube frame car for some track time.:Brow: Perfect car for the little torque monster. It was really, really, really scary!:3gears: Quick too!:shock:
