I just aquired an 87 Regal with a 307 (blown) and have a 455stg1 laying around. I picked the car up for $500 and couldn't believe that the guy took it. Now, before I bought it I had a friend look at it with me and noticed almost no rust on the under side except for the drivers front floor (very small) and the passenger side 1/4 (small). There is no rust in the trunk or valley where it would seem water would sit. Frame looks very solid along with the radiator core support, once again no rust. I also did the tapping manuver which hunts out bondo and didn't "see" any. It seemed like the guy didn't really want to give it up because he kept talking and beating around the busgh came deal time, so in all honesty I basically stole it from him . The guy was watching us head down the road as we pulled away, kinda thought he was going to run after us. Enough about that. I want this to be a street/strip car when all said and done. The transplant really doesn't seem all that difficult but a bit time consuming, which is fine with me since I have fall and winter to finish the project. I started sourcing parts. So far I have and dont have Motor mounts- TA performance Carb- 750 DP Tranny- TH400 came with motor 0 miles Rear end- can't find a decent 12 bolt locally, anyone? DS- have to wait for the rear end Shifter- don't have a clue yet It's not everything but enough to get me started for a 2-3 weekends. Some things I picked up so far is it seems that the 231 to 455 conversion is a lot more common than what I am doing. I highly doubt that the 307 mounts will bolt up, correct? I have a new radiator on the way since the old one, well is junk. The heater and AC are not going back into the car so clearace won't be a problem. I am keeping the PS though. Any other tips or tricks I need to know or learn on the way? Thanks for reading, and I will have pics up very soon. Mike
mike i have the same project going on, the only two things i have had that are challenging are the frame pads, getting them lined up is tricky but there is a very helpful thread on it on the board, and headers :af: which have been a royal pain in the butt. if i would have just kept manifolds i would have been done 3 months ago. but im sure the pain is worth it in the long run. dan.
I read what and how to do on TA Performance, their way it quite a bit of work but seems the most logical. Not sure if you want to keep them bolted in or just weld the pads to the frame ???
looks like a great car to start with. im suprized to see all of the black t-type trim on a 307 car. that in itself must be a rarity. welding the pads in could make it easier, have to admit i have debated it but of coarse i bought ta's aluminum mounts. go figure. dan. i have some extra regal parts if you come accrossed something you need. dan
Instead of a 12-bolt... I'd suggest using the 8.5" 10 bolt from the '84 and up turbo Regals. It's a bolt-in, nearly as strong as a 12-bolt, and a bit easier to locate. You can go pretty fast on one of these with a good posi unit and a decent set of axles. You can find 'em for sale on the turbo Buick sites or thru vendors like G-Body Parts and Musclecar Salvage. Good luck, Rick
Whoa!! Don't weld in the pads! Trust me, you'll regret this later. Buya set of pads from TA performance and bolt them in. This will make centering and levelling the engine much easier. 12 bolts are tough to find, best of luck! Last piece of advice, check out the FAQ at the top of the forums list of posts. This answers a lot of your basic swap questions. Looks like a nice project!!
If you find one please let me know. What are the differences in the cover from the 7.5 to the 8.5? I'm guessing the 7.5 looks round but the 8.5 seems a little oblong near the top. I found one locally for 1k but seems quite high on the price. Edit: What other 8.5 10 bolt rears will "bolt" in? I am a welder so that doesn't bother me but having coil spring perches makes life a little easier. Sorry for all the questions, Im still trying to get back up to speed on American cars, I've been playing with imports for the last few years (have pictures of my current driver).
67-72 chevy 12-bolt or 71-72 GM 8.5 10 bolt/ A-body I am fairly new to board and hope I don't get 'flamed" for offering some advice. But basically any rear out of an earlier GM "A" body will work. Lower arms bolt right in and you can use Southside Machine or Iceman Products upper "12-bolt" conversion arms to align the "A"-body rear into the G-body chassis. Had heard a rumor that SSM had closed it's doors; so I'm not certain on the availability of their UCA's; but Iceman Products can be reached by clicking onto maliburacing.com. He's one of the sponsors of that site. Recently bought a set; they were $145.00 a pair. I've done this swap on my 80 Lemans and it worked with no problems; I used an 8" wheel with 5.5" BS. The passenger lower shock bolt had to have about an 1/8" removed from it to clear the inner lip of the wheel. This might be an alternative route for you if you aren't able to find an 8.5 G-body rear or don't want to pay the higher prices they bring. Hope this helps.
The 8.5" G-body axle assembly is a direct bolt-in. It will work with your existing brake lines, shocks, control arms, and wheels. When used as a direct replacement for the 7.5" unit, the driveshaft must be shortened by an inch to accomodate the larger housing. These axle assemblies are found in 1984-1987 turbo Regals (GN's & T-Types - 3.42 gears), and in Cutlass 442's (3.73 gears) of the same years. www.g-bodyparts.com generally keeps a few in stock, and a posi-equipped unit will cost $750-800. Using one of these axles will allow you to upgrade things like the control arms and suspension when your budget permits because you can initially install it with the stock stuff. It's not easy to describe the visual differences between the 7.5 and the 8.5 rear, but the 8.5 is (obviously) visibly larger and has 'fangs' at the lower corners of the housing when viewed from the rear of the car. There is also a bulge for the ring gear that the 7.5 does not have. Maybe some other members can chime in here with more detail. HTH, Rick
v8regalowner looks like a great car to start with. im suprized to see all of the black t-type trim on a 307 car. that in itself must be a rarity For whatever reason Buick broke up the "T-Type" package for 87 and offered as three seperate options: The "T" suspension package, the turbo package and the blackout option. This made for some off the wall combos in 1987, like mine: I have the turbo car with all chrome trim, there are even some limiteds with the turbo motor. (talk about sleepers) Is this a rare combo? yes, but does it make the car any more valuble? not really, so by all means have fun with it. RK is correct: the 8.5 10-bolt GN rear is a direct-fit unit.
I found a rear for about 600-650 to my door, not a bad price. It is a non-posi which is what I was after because of the much taller gears that will be going into it, along with an auburn posi unit. The motor pads should be here later this week if not early next week, might give me extra time to recam the motor. Time to hack the exhaust and get the motor ready for pulling later today whenever my buddy gets off of work. Next up pics from the engine bay (soon).
Looks like fun, the only con against the GN 8.5 rear is that it is a c-clip rearend, an axle breaks and your whole wheel is coming out, but it does take alot to break an 8.5. One nice thing about the 307 changeover is that you have the rad and fan shroud needed for the 455 conversion already! :beer
Yup, but the bad thing is all 4 springs are shot, it leans to the passenger side just a little bit Thats all because the last owner was using the spring saver spacers and the passenger side fell out. Now that the motor and tranny are out (easiest motor I have ever done) I am going to start work on the front suspension. I am going to be using new spring and Competition Eng 50/50 shocks, take the old mounts off of the frame and pressure wash the engine bay. I found a rear end locally for 500 from an 87 GN assuming its posi that been nailed in the front (really bad). So once I get the rear end done with taller gears put back in the rear suspension will be done to help level the car out. Then if that goes together good then we start leveling the motor in the car. Just thinking that this was suppose to be a winter project, might not even take that long. Can the GN rear end be converted to eliminate the c-clips? Now knowing that it kinda scars me since the car is being built for street/strip action. Complete sleeper. Also how beneficial is it to run shorty headers over stock manifolds? Seems like TA is the only one's who carry these and spending 400+ on headers seems kinda high. Maybe even run the stockers for a while because the exhaust will bolt up to the shorty location. Does anyone have the option codes that are one the trunk lid anywhere? That should tell me pretty much everything about the car. The things I am looking for are: Driveshaft (stocker looks a little wimpy) Shifter and cables for TH400 (column shift is history) Fuel pump Carb Radiator (had a decent hole in it) Winning lottery ticket (optional) thats all I can think of off the top of my head. Soon up pics of the engine bay. Mike
86 Regal Project good luck with your project i started a 86 regal a few weeks ago was go'in with a 70 bbb 455 but after i found out how much it's go'in to cost verses a bbc i'm go'in with a 454 chevy , i think i'm go'in on the fourth week owning the car and i already have ten thousand dollars (10k ) into it , and it still look's like the $1300.00 car i bought only now with weld wheels , fuel cell, battery , fuel pump and filter in the trunk , my list still has $7000.00 worth of parts to buy . so good luck and i hope you plan out your project better than i did. :laugh:
Re: C-Clips... You can add a C-clip eliminator kit to the 8.5 as easily as it can be added to the 12-bolt. However, if this car's gonna see some street duty you'll end up with the inevitable leaks. A good set of Moser or Superior axles can be added for less than $300 and this upgrade will greatly reduce the chances of an axle actually breaking. Unless you build a combination that's gonna hit the tires really hard (i.e. transbrake or stick with slicks) I don't think you'll break an axle. Take a look how fast the GN guys are going on this rear axle assembly without issues. Again, just my .02... Rick
