i fool with small blocks cause: 1. if i get more points on my liscence i lose it 2. i get 18mpg (im sure some bbb guys will say they do too ) 3. v8 power in a car is always good enough for me :3gears: but for racing a 455 is better imo
I like them all, 215, 300, 340, 350, 401, 425, 400, 455. They all have their strengths. They all seem to cost a bunch to build. Have fun with what you run! :grin:
Bottom line is that $ for $ hp is easier with larger cubic inches, plain and simple. Many of us run the 350 because it is an underdog type engine with no real support... If you can make them run then it is more to be proud of. Everyone needs to keep in mind that cubic inches for cubic inches 500 hp from a 455 is comparable to a 380 hp Buick 350. The 455 is a good engine for under 600 hp, just does not have the block strength to hold much more... Now i have his heads and plan to boost 14 psi with the turbos! Now, for the TA block there is no doubt that it will hold crazy power it just will not be a Buick engine it is an aftermarket block with Buick style.
Oh stop... Following your train of thought, then unless your 350 has everything in it produced by Buick Motor Division, then it's not a "real Buick". Pleeeeease..... JW
Well, I guess I got things going some! That was part of the point and rethinking where I was going. As for the heads they are at about the max for a 350, larger valves smaller guides and much port work. The one regret was the pistons, but if I every refresh it I will fix that. People keep talking about streetable. As I stated this is a car for racing only. I will haul it to the track and run race gas. The days of me or the family running around in something that will get us tickets are over I hope. It's not that I don't admire these cars or you people that want to do that, but I had rather be in an airbag equiped modern vehicle for street travel and race these cars. You haters go for that statement. And as JW said, a hipo 350 is not 100% Buick and if we could get more race stuff we would use it. Thanks Jim N.
I just dropped a stock 1970 455 into my 1976 Century.It was a 350 car.I paid 900 Canadian for the motor,and as my wife got the Garage so I had a shop put it in for another 600.Total cost about 1200USD.Horsepower gain 200%.torque gain 150%.When I had Pontiacs I had 455s and when I ran a small block Chevy I ran a 400.My brother in law liked 283s?!?For a restoration sure.Bigger is cheaper and any stuff you can do to a 350 you can do to a 455.I drive mine daily so 510 gross ft/lbs of torque is enough and I really do get the same miliage as my 350 2bbl 140hp(net)screamer.
No no no, that not what I am saying. My Buick 350s are Buick 350s no matter if I have forged parts in them or not. Turbos, custom intakes or anything else we add does not make then "less of a Buick engine". When or if they ever make alum heads for a 350 then it will still be a Buick 350 withaftermarket heads. An aftermarket block is not a Buick, pure and simple. They are strong, well designed, and awesome just not Buick blocks.
Whoa this thread brought a lot of people into our section of the forums! Even the Big dog J W:shock: ! But anyways when I got my skylark the first thing I wanted to do was get a 455 because there were no parts for the 350 and I had no real knowledge about buicks especially being in Iraq when I bought the car :af: ! My plans were to rebuild the 350 for street and build a very nasty 455 and put it in another skylark, but now I dont know if I want to. I am leaning towards buying another car down the road doing all the race mods to it and building a really $$$ 350 with turbos and all the goodies just for the simple fact its different and every buick I see at sac raceway is turboed v6 or a 455!
as far as i know nobody to date has a proven turbo 350 combination. I have not seen any track times posted and all i see is a lot of hype and speculation. a butt dyno doesnt count. until i see somebody who is actually running a "fast" turbocharged 350 it is all speculation. it's amazing how we suddenly have all these 350 "Gurus" yet no numbers or actual Built and running engines to back up the claims. Flame away :af:
Though it is funny the same stuff being said, is the same stuff the Cheby guys use to say building anything but a Cheby is worth less. Right or wrong. [More power, more parts, less money bla bla bla......] You will never convince a Cheby guy to run a Buick or a BB Buick guy to run a 350 all for the same prejudice reasons. Though I stand by post #20, give each brand or engine combo the same amount of years of major parts supplier support and user mods and no one would have jack to say as it would all come down to a matter of tenths of a sec. Though folks with glass blocks with out fillers n griddles shouldn't throw stone
Why didn't anyone try the possibility of making a fast 350 years ago??? It's not like they weren't around since 1968..That's 40 years and the fastest I think I've known a Buick 350 go was 11's....Like Bob stated...Put up or shut up.I know several GN's that run 10's and faster with a V6 no less.Where are the big guns with their "Proven" 350's???
I'm trying.. I'm still a long ways away from having a running car. But, I still dont really expect much more power than a really good running 455. I'm guessing 550 HP or so. If I do much more that that, I will need to upgrade the entire driveline as well. I'm already having a T350 built to hande the power. My build is basically a solid 350 rebuild with custom ground turbo cam. Home ported heads, with roller rockers and port matching. I plan to use Mark's turbo kit with a Barry Grant Blow Through carb and run about 8 PSI of boost..
If we are talking $ for $ might as well take the buick motor out of it and put a chevy motor in it. We all know building a buick cost more. You can say all you want about the buick 455 being top dog but for the money a chevy 454 will do it cheeper and just as fast. I personaly like the 350 for simple reasons. Its reliable, has a nice bit of torque and a good amout of power for a simlpe fun to drive car. Make no bones about it if you want power cheep you will not beat a chevy so take the money part out of it. YOU WILL NEVER BUILD A BUICK 350 or 455 CHEEP! I agree with what other also say about rooting for the underdog but I firmly agree with Jim Lore you should have detuned a 455 and then as they get better increased the power. A 350 will peak and then you will have to build a 455 motor all over again and you wont get a fraction of your money back on the 350 as resale of built 350s from what I have seen is sad to say the least.
in 1992 at Concord North Carolina a Buick 350 whooped up on the Street Stock guys ( basically, a Chevy 350 class ) on two consecutive nights, collected $6,000 and got the driver into the NASCAR collectible Maxx card set. now, i realize that's circle track stuff and not competing against big blocks but you need to be careful about talking the small motor down too much. and i also don't consider it fair to be threatening SBB guys with the new aluminum block. you give the 350 an aluminum block ( and allow them to siamese the bores and open the diameter up to the theoretical max of 4.00" ) and the SBB 350 will also be a completely different animal. of course, with aftermarket blocks for both BB and SB i'd have to go with displacement.
Things are coming allong... I know my 350 will make over 700 hp and last longer than any stock block 455 with bandaids.
A Buick engine with an aftermarket block is no different than a Buick engine with aftermarket heads. Its a Buick engine either way, pure and simple. If your going to get nitty gritty and not consider it a Buick because the block is aftermarket then you likewise cant consider it a Buick if the heads or intake is aftermarket. No matter how you look at it they're all parts with their own unique function regardless if it was made at the factory or aftermarket so you have to treat them all equally so imho.
Huh?? An aftermarket block is VERY different than a factory block with aftermarket heads! Did Buick make the AL block? No, so the AL block can be classified as a Buick block copy at best. The block is the engine, everything else is an accessory. You guys act like it's an insult to not call the new block a buick block, it's not like that at all. Just stating a fact.
Do you two actually sit and think before you post or just wing it??? Either way,it matters nothing whether you cal it Buick or not. As long as the basic design is there,can use the same parts as our cars came with and look the same,it's a Buick. When these 10,000 hp super webbed designed,non band aid 350s are running the 455-535 cid(non BUICK motored cars off the track) then I'll be a believer. Bill M's car only made a handfull of track runs..Compared to several hundred 455's,that's no comparison.Not to do any injustice to Bill(as he's a great guy) but I need to see more proof.. I for one am happy as heck that places like TA want to make aftermarket parts. I have used several pieces over the years from them and can't wait to see the aluminum block. Buick or not..We all have our different opinions,but in the end we all want the same thing...A fast Buick!!
so let me get this straight.. because one very talented guy with resources and some one off parts parts hits 1400 hp or something like that , you guys are now 350 "experts" and are going to set the old fashioned outdated Buick world on fire. what you have so far is an unproven single plane intake, a turbo kit that is not track or longevity tested. a set of aftermarket rods and pistons. I'm glad that you guys already know all there is to know about 350's and 455's and all the fundamentals that go with engine building, maybe one day you can atually have an engine that makes an honest 500 hp in the car instead of on paper or a web board. Disclaimer: i have nothing against the buick small block.
