Just picked up a father-son project. It is a crew cab car, but my son loves the styling. Just got it home the other day so we haven't gotten far into it. Needs a transmission for sure, engine maybe. Gonna be doing lots of reading and searching for sure. I'm an old Chevy truck guy, so cars are kinda new to me, especially Buick. Upside is a previous owner installed 4-wheel disc brakes. Down side is there is some rust that needs attention. Floor boards are solid tho. The engine idles fine, but if you bump the throttle a horrendous grinding noise comes from the torque converter area. I'm thinking there's something wrong with the torque converter or flex plate. Previous owner thinks there's something wrong with the motor. I'll have to work on figuring that out first. I would rather keep the Buick 350 in there. I already like the idea of the distributor on the front of the motor. I would like to go 4 barrel but it looks like that could be tricky on these motors. Exhaust is definitely on the list. Loading the car on the trailer, the cheesy unwelded exhaust a previous owner installed was hanging up on the edge of the trailer and ended up getting pulled apart.
Welcome. Swapping out the 2-barrel to a 4-barrel isn't too tricky, just need to get a 4-barrel manifold, which aren't too hard to find or that expensive. Cast iron intakes just weigh a ton and are a chore to pull out by yourself. Lot easier with an engine puller to lift them out. Cracked flex plates are fairly common on these old gals, but could be something else. Just as long as you're having fun...
Welcome - Nice looking "crew cab." You should only need the intake, carb, and throttle cable to do the 4BBL swap. There's some posts on here about sealing the ends of the intake.
Thanks for all the welcomes! I'll have to check into all that! First thing first, need it to get above 10F here in Northern CO so I can unbolt the torque converter and start figuring out the source of the horrible noise.
What are good places to shop for parts for these cars? I have YearOne bookmarked, but are there others? Specifically I know we'll be needing a new/reman power steering gear.
I've used Year One, Original Parts Group, and The Parts Place mostly. Others are would depend on what you're looking for.
The parts place (TTP) has most parts. Cost half of what OPGI costs. I usually check ebay first. The parts place and oldbuickparts.com both sell their stuff on ebay.