Yep, sub the Qjet for the carb and you are off to a great start. When you start getting in to trans converter, gears, etc, you can start spending money quick. probably need new transmission even. A nice 2500 stall convertor would be good for street.
If I added all the stuff I mentioned, how much HP would that give me? I think I may want between 350 and 400 now that I'm thinking about it.
You would have to figure a cam that will work with your engine and its lower compression. Say you add the TA212 cam with the other parts and tuning you could be producing between 220 - 240 if the parts you get work well together .
I don't know if this would work or not but, my cousin suggested that it would cheaper and better to put a carbureted 5.3 with a corvette cam. What are you guys opinion on that?
Doubt it but depends on price of engine.brackets and pulleys, hoses.intake ,carb and distributer.transmission. frame pads for mounts would need to be changed. Custom exhaust downpipes. Mounts and driveshaft change depending on what trans you get. Alternator and starter depending on setup. You will need a fuel pump .I doubt cheaper but definitely much more labor.
I have an extra block and crank with derek and know where rods are. I could build you some crazy 350 just tell me how much you want to spend we could build it.
grasshopper, you have much to learn. you need a sensei. you need tools , books not any help until you can find your way around an engine and understand how it all works. So many landmines to waste time and money on. Buicks are not chevys very different animal. This site a great start. You need to get a clear plan down on paper first. mild Street I'm guessing by your description. I would recommend small steps. Distributor to HEI or petronics first. Cam selection second. Carb third. Posi build/swap next. Exhaust/headers etc . Most important- get help from those that have been there and done that! That 350 can be woken up significantly with not even getting into the block and heads and you can do it Saturday shade tree style but you need a sensei. All great wrenches learn from a sensei. It is possible to self teach but it takes tons of time and you will make many mistakes that cost lots of money and headaches. and setback. I've seen many a project by a grasshopper eventually abandoned and or ruined. I helped rescued a 455 project rebuild last year by a high school kid who assumed the machine shop tightened and torqued the rocker shafts among other things. He could figure out why it wouldn't run. He Spent weeks on it. Lucky for him he found a local gearhead to mentor him and help him through the project.
I was reading that the buick 350 was limited. If it was a Chevy 350 then it would be a different story, so I thought about a 383.I called BB&T racing and asked them about a 383 or 5.3 and they suggest a 383 stroker. They said they could be me one for $5800 with 450hp. Is that price high. I'm not saying that's the route I'm going. I'm just trying to get a plan before I start.
That price depends on what parts they are going to use,I can build a sbc 383 with 450 HP for less than 3k! Sounds like that guy thinks his building skills are worth a LOT more than most. It is VERY easy to get that kind of HP out of a sbc 383 because of all the aftermarket support that the sbc gets because the parts sell,so a lot of china parts are made. If you start with a sbc factory roller block it makes it even cheaper to get that kind of power. And at only 450 HP all that is needed is a cheap cast aftermarket stroker crank(around $200 good for 500 HP),$200 aftermarket I-beam forged rods,cheap hyperuetectic pistons(around $180 a set that includes moly rings),$500 set of chineese al. heads and a factory style roller cam and lifters. NO magic there,better off keeping the Buick 350 if you want to spend $5800 on an engine build you're going to pay someone else to do. I'm in the process of building a sbb 383 for another board member that wants to put boost to it,so a little higher end than what you're after. A N/A sbb 350 stroker wouldn't be that hard to do and less expensive,but even a sbb 350 standard stroke stock rod engine can get that kind of power if it is done right with the right parts for less than that "$5800" price tag if you do it yourself. And the good part is that it will be Buick.GL Derek
Realistically the Buick 350 is a very potent engine however as you can see the SBC is tough to beat when you compare $ to hp... The only engine that tops the SBC and BBC in the $ vs hp ratio is the 6.0 LS engine. It is not that a Buick 350 is limited, as much at is just more work, money, and more challenging to make the power. Alum heads and intake are currently being manufactured and it will open up the bolt on performance options for the Buick 350. I called TA and put a deposit on the new heads and intake, they will be great! Currently we are limited to ported iron heads but that is still very successful if done right.... If you look back in old posts there are 350-1021 hp buick 350s.
Don't forget all the parts you will need if you change to a Chevy engine. Brackets,pulleys,trans, hoses,fuel pump and lines,starter. You could get a SBB 370 built for about the same price with similar HP. It depends on what you want and how much you want to spend. But you can do anything you want. I have done the 383 Chevy but was not what I wanted in the end. I still have a tune port injection left from it that I will never use. Jegs and summit both have crate Chevy engines. You can get that easy and cheap. Many decision to make.
I'm taking what others say and comparing it to the knowledge on here so I can come up with a game plan on what I want to do. I know I want between 350 and 450 HP I just don't know how I want to achieve that goal. I know I orginally said 200 HP, but I want more now. I would love to keep my current motor and add parts to it to get the horsepower that I want. I just don't want to eat up a bunch money doing it. I'm looking for the best and cheapest way to gain 350 to 450 HP. I'm not looking for cheap parts. I just don't want to hear someone say why did you spend $$ on that motor when you could have spent $ for the same or better motor over here.
Don't put to much into what someone else says. Its your car and your paying for it not them.do what you want. And plenty of info on here to easily build 350 hp from the Buick engine if you go that way. Don't forget in your decision that TA performance is making new heads and intake for the 350 Buick .you would have the lightest 350 gm produced and be able to compete with Chevy engine with them.
How much does a Buick 455 cost? I was just quoted $2645 for a 350hp 400 lbs of torque 455. That seems kind of cheap to me.
That's including the core. $1895 for the 455 $250 for shipping and $500 for the core. The guy said that was stock, but he could add more parts for more power.
