Buick 455 into Regal, whats wrong?

Two weeks have gone by and I still can't get the 455 centered into my Regal. I've tried the "Leviathan" string method which makes sense but the only way I can get things almost centered is if I take the transmission mount bolt out of the cross member and when it almost get centered the engine mounts or not really in the location I think they should be and usually one of the two mounts is not flush with cross member. Should the rubber portion of the mounts be trimmed so they move freely in the frame mount side. This is a race only 84 Regal (no heater box, etc) to worry about. I'm starting to think I should have put the big block chevy back in the car but after spending 7 thousand on this Buick motor it would be nice to make at least one pass at Beech Bend before the track closes this year. Any suggestions would be appreciated. Thanks in advance

 

Well...I don't have a BBB Regal, but I do know this. The engines in those cars were offset from the factory to the pass side about an inch. Perhaps that is whats throwing you off. So the stock mounts and trans mount will all be offset.

 

When I did mine, I thought for sure I was all wrong but I verified it was centered and drilled the holes anyway. The passenger side frame mount sits way forward. It looks really crooked. I don't have the car any more but maybe someone who does have one can snap a picture.
MARK

 

How far out is it?

How far out is the alignment?? It is more than an inche out of line with the center section of the rear end you may have the front mounts in the wrong holes. As I recall there are several different front mount bolt patterns in the cross member.

I used the Poston front engine mounts and they bolted right in and the alignment up front was as it should be. I then had to make a Transmission mount support from another type vehicle but I had movement either way off center to align transmission.

Weekender

 

Mine was an 85 Regal and the Poston mounts didn't line up with the holes. I had to elongate a couple of the holes on each side.

 

I used the frame pads from a '68 GS in my 82 regal

 

It will "look" wrong compared to a chevy mounting system. The pad offsets and the "V" being a few degrees different will do it.

Do you have some pics of where the mounts are?

 

Took some measurements

Took some measurements today and are as follows: with the strings centered on each other the engine is almost one complete bubble tilted off center to the left (drivers side). With the engine level (bubble in the middle) the engine is 1/2 inch to the right (passenger side) using the string method. The car is also level (bubble in the middle) before I started this endever. With the engine level and 1/2 inch to the right (passenger side) the string is straight down the middle of the rear end and driveshaft. Maybe it won't get any better than this and I have been chasing my tail, you (someone) tell me! Awaiting new instructions from someone (help)! Thanks again in advance.

 

what motor mounts are you using to try to center it? what trans and crossmember are you using? Are you trying to center with the headers attathced? When i put my 455 in i ended up grinding a little off one of the mounts. I also welded them in you may find it difficult to get it perfectly straight if you are tryin to bolt them in the car I also had to modify the crossmember to make tha 400 trans workin the vehicle. Since its not a direct fityou may need to do some modifying

 

Parts being used

I'm using Poston steel mounts, a 350 turbo transmission with stock crossmember, a bare 455 block (its easier to move around) with is connected to the transmission, driveshaft, and the 8.5 GN rearend. This is the same stuff that I used (never took out of the car) when I removed the 427 Chevy motor. The only difference is the motor mounts. The Chevy mounts of course bolted to existing holes already factory drilled in the cross member. I never checked (or had to) check the Chevy motor to see if it was straight/level. I just hammered it to 11.02 @ 124mph, sure hope this Buick will run similar or better numbers. The Buick is 250lbs lighter than the Chevy motor and of course its all front end weight.

 

1/2 inch?

If you are only out 1/2" I can only say, thats what they have universal joints for. 1/2" out over a 58" or 59" drive shaft length isn't enough to sneeze at, let alone loose sleep over. Look at the difference in height from your trans shaft to your pinion shaft. 1/2" will hardly make your universals swivel.

And remember, your pinion shaft is offset to allow for the ring gear within the rearend housing so it isn't in the exact center of the car anyway, so it is unlikely your tail shaft will be looking staright at the pinion shaft.

That's my story and I'm sticking to it!!

Weekender

 

1/2 inch is pretty good. IIRC I mucked around until I had 1/8 bubble off level and 1/32 off centre. Even at 1/2, considering you're building a racer I don't think you'll notice the vibration unless you're really picky about that kind of thing (I am, and I spent *hours* lining it all up).

One thing lost from the original writeup was that you can centre first, then relevel by making up some shims for the pads out of 1/16" plates. There is always some twist in the frames and the engine mounts being rubber there's a tolerance.

From what you're written, I'd suggest that you favour the centre position over the level position Basically go for the centering string of the engine lining up with the frame centering string more than having the engine perfectly level. The reasoning is that you'll get a slightly better alignment (minimizing vibration) at the cost of the engine sitting a little odd.

Hope that helps...

 

Posten dont work

Motor mounts into regal 350 and 455 dont work, the holes wont line up. I tend to use like Electra mounts engine and frame and drill to fit and shim if nessasary. I did my last 350 into regal and had to do custom fit after Posten would not work. Use a bubble level on the carb base ring top with plate or sq bar and put bubble level on motor and then wiggle left / right till is level at carb, This will give best fuel flow into carb. I did a 455 into my Apollo and the regal is a pc of cake compared to this car. I have a 430 going into my 86 too, and will do all custom shim work with electra mounts. craig

 

not universal

im not familiar with the poston motor mounts but since tha g-bodys didnt originallly come with a 455 most likely those mounts wont be a direct fit in like i was saying before you may have to do sum modifying to make them fit perfect and it still may be a little off if your welding them in grinding them or cutting on them shouldnt make a diff. i believ when i first put my motor in i used some modified v-6 mounts and i could never get it in perfect. i would suggets making sure that the headers you have will clear before you do any final mounting due to the fact that not all buick headers are made the same and it would be easier to make your adjustment before installing mounts permanetly

 

Headers

Took your advice and test fit the headers, guess what? Neither one of them will fit no matter where the engine is placed. I bought them from a guy out in the country (and I mean country). They were in the trunk of a junk 67 Skylark and he didn't know what they fit (guess they were for a 67 Skylark). I only gave him $40.00 for them and they are brand new (at least never used) and not rusted. Guess I will look in the Poston and TA Performance catalog's tonight and see what they have for headers. Any suggestions on who has the best headers to fit a 455 into a 84 Regal? Thanks

 

ta 1 7/8 headers would be the biggest that i know fits but they hit the
control arm mount on pass side (trim some mount off)
i hear stage 2 headers fit good but you would need different heads
as far as mounts i used the stamped steel from a 72 electra

 

So... you won't be needing those headers? :Brow:

 

TA shorties are the easiest fit, no real work needed.

With full length from TA, expect to gring about 1/4 off the bottom of the lower control arm ont he passenger side, flatten the body seam ont he firewall, and trim the rear part of the lower control arm about 1/8.

 

i didnt have a problem with the body seam but every car is bolted different
onto the frame

 

I didn't have body seam issues, and I run Poston full length headers.
I can get pics if it will help