Whats needed to put a chevy engine in my 72 skylark?

I know I know why put a chevy engine in a buick, im defiling the car, im bastardizing the buick spirit.....

im also a college student who needs an engine in his car and chevys are more affordable, more parts are available, and when i graduate i can always switch it back to a buick engine if i want.

for now lets stick to:

what do i need to do to be able to put in a chevy engine in my buick skylarks engine bay?

is it possible to reuse the existing peripherals with a chevy engine in there? (power steering pump, brake master cylinder, alternator, etc.)

can i use the current transmission with a chevy engine? ( i dont know what model it is all i know is the car came with a 350 code j engine and when i go to change out the filters i always have a hassle because the filter and transmission pan correspond to an old trucks)

would i be able to use my buicks exhaust manifold?

is there particular chevy engine that is easier to put into my 72 skylark?

particular engine manufacturer that makes those chevy engine that is trusted and reliable?

i thank you in advance for all the help i know you can give me. please help me out here.

 

It will probably be cheaper in the long run to find a good used Buick 350 to put in. The Buick trans will NOT fit a chevy therefore you'll either need a diffferent tranny or an adaptor plate. The manifolds wont fit & probably you'll need to modify the header pipe. Different motor mounts, rad hoses and modifications to the wiring harness will be needed. Most acsessories will fit but may be in different places relative to the engine and/or car requiring further fabrication. IMHO it will be much easier & cheaper to find a good reliable used Buick 350 than swap in a Chevy. BTW what is wrong with the engine in your Skylark?

 

Marc is right.

Not only will you avoid the cost and trouble of a conversion by putting a Buick 350 in your car, but you will be keeping the resale better.

It's your car and I'm not telling what to do but changing to another brand of engine will bring extra costs that you are not expecting and resale will go down.

 

Sorry to tell you that you are wasting your time here asking about chevy motors.
Are you in college for rocket science or becoming a brain surgeon?

IF you do a little more searching in old post you will find out that this has been beat to death quite a few times.

Lets start off with what is wrong with your motor currently, If you cannot figure that out then a motor swap is the last thing you need to tackle.

You will be amazed what a good tune up, carb rebuild or a few filter can do.

Start simple and work your way up from there. Are you still running a points distributor? Are your plug wires junk? Is your ignition timing correct?

But if you actually need a motor then finding a good running buick that will drop right in will be an easy task on this site.

I have never had any problems getting parts for a 350 buick ever.

 

To start with what is wrong with the engine in the car? You should have a Buick 350. Post a pic of the engine bay so we can see what you have there since who knows what engine could have been swapped in there.

If you have the ways and means of removing the engine then why not fix that one! When I was a broke student and the engine went in my 76 I bought a corvette chevy 350 and planned to drop it in... I ended up finding this site and trading the Chevy engine for another Buick 350 and a bunch of cash. I was on the road for the price of $250 for engine gasket kit, spark plugs, wires, cap rotor, carb rebuild, fuel tank cleaning. I went from a car with a knocking engine to a tire roasting fun machine in 2 easy days!

I have bought over 20 great running Buick 350s for about $100-$300! I took one and made 398 hp with very easy rebuild! Spares are stored and wating for use.

You will not save any $ puting a chevy engine in the car, it is a major head ache.

You would need the trans adapter plate, 72 Chevelle engine mounts, frame pads for the engine mounts, fan shroud, many accesories, wiring mods ect.

Un bolting the frame pads is a pain, as well as figuering out which holes the pads bolt to. It usually takes a trial engine install to figuer it out and line it up.

in my opinion list your location, and put a wanted add in the "parts wanted section" for a Buick 350.

 

I just had an Olds 350 in my 68 skylark, so it's possible to put another brand in. Here are some problems you will run into:

1. Fuel pump is on the wrong side
2. Not sure if the mounts are in the same place (they are for an Olds)
3. Wiring harness might need to be modified.
4. Exhaust won't line up.
5. You may have throttle cable/trans kickdown differences in locations attach points
6. Unless you have a universal bell-housing on your trans, you will need to get a different trans. I wouldn't go with an adapter plate as you may have to modify the drive lines length and possibly the trans lines themselves (too short or break).
7.You need the brackets for the specific brand engine.
8.Most important LIST YOUR LOCATION SO PEOPLE NEAR YOU CAN HELP.

 

To start with, post your name and location in your signature line. It will be easier for everyone here to help you. Next, post a wanted add for a good used 350 Buick engine in the parts wanted section. I don't know what you consider "more affordable" than a Buick but I just sold a complete running 350 Buick engine for $300. There's no way you can swap over to a Chevy engine for less than that, but if you still insisted on the Chevy swap you would need to get all the necessary hardware from a `68-`72 Chevelle. Have you tried to buy Chevelle parts lately? So, if you need an engine for your car then focus on locating a suitable Buick replacement, your life will be a lot easier for it. And as far as the oil filter goes, the next time you buy a filter, cut the box top off and throw it in your glove compartment so that you will have the part number ready when you go to buy a new filter. No need to keep looking it up everytime.

 

you also mentioned you wanted to know about a good engine builder or whatever - ? - spendin' some money ?
1 > know your budget , be realistic
2 > keepin the car long term ? is it worth it - value wise ? rust ? accidents ?
3 > all your "buds" runnin chevy's ? the whole point of hot rodding is to be dif . also , my mopar race info i used to get in stressed one point - if ya run whatever combo everybody else runs YOU WON'T BE ANY BETTER / FASTER ! good car builders take risks . some big , some small . but when done you have a greater sense of accomplishment .
4 > yes there will be more homework/work/swearing/bandaids/razzing involved . the point is to then "get even" .
5 > if you have a complete running sbc and matching trans on your garage floor it won't be a big deal - but - if you are gonna run out and start buyin stuff to make it work then ya better hang on .
thats it . just some thoughts to ponder brother . no matter what - enjoy , learn and mainly - drive that sucker . del

 

Also the metal fuel line for the Buick goes to the opposite side of the engine bay as the Chevy, so the fuel line would have to be moved too. I think the lower radiator outlet is larger on the Buick than the Chevy, have to double check, but that would likely require a universal flex hose to match up as opposed to any OE one.

To me, any costs saved on cheaper chevy parts are going to be a washed out by having to source a Chevy engine, purchase conversion parts for the transmission, frame mounts, and the nickel/dime stuff unless you are going for a full on race engine where you are spending a ton of $$$$ on the engine itself.

 

You should never wake a sleeping bear.

 

:error: :birthday:

 

Well, it appears that putting a Chevy engine in your Buick is expensive, time consuming, and reduces the value of the car.:Smarty:

It might be better to sell the Buick and buy a something that already has a small block Chevy in it? o No:

Of course, you could always build the "Deathmobile" like the one in Animal House....

 

I so have to get one for the summer lol girls will digg it!:3gears:

 

Put a chevy straight 6 in it and confuse everybody!

 

just sell me your skylark so I can put a 455 in it and you will have cash for a chevy

 

Now I remember dude has an enginge built by marshall that didn't last very longo No:

 

You are right... Here is the old thread.

http://www.v8buick.com/showthread.php?t=203750

 

The original poster now has lots of reading and research to go on. Give him some time to digest it. After all, he hasn't even been back since he started this topic.

Devon

 

I can't speak for anyone else but I love when people ask me if I have a chevy 350 in there and I say its a buick 350... new car techs and some old say they never heard of a buick 350. So I burn off for them and leave their mouths open... and say yeah its ah 2 barrel:birthday:

 

thank yall.

ive been following up on all the leads you gave me which is why i havent been back on. currently i live in austin texas my name is jonathan i make gross 1300.00/month

heres the reason im in this situation. my grandfather bought me this car so its sentimentally attached and i wont get rid of it. everyone tells me to junk it.

it came with a 350. the bosch spark plugs broke apart in it and ruined the engine. so i bought a 350 from marshall engines. turns out it was a 60 pull engine and it didnt last a full year. now if that engine qualifies for the warranty by manufacturer defect i can keep the 40 pull 350 they sent me.

i just dont trust them after they pulled that crap with me. im a college student i need my car im making no car payments on it because my grandfather is paying for it. i make 1300.00 per month gross.

i saw that chevy engines are cheaper and the mods for them are cheaper. for example headers for a chevy 350 are under 200.00 while headers for a buick 350 are 450.00.

i also read that chevy 350s get better gas mileage and the chevy crate engines have more hp and torque than the buick 350s stock specs. thats why i want to get a student loan out and just use it all to finally fix my car and have it last me.

i need reliability, i need to be able to find parts without scouring forums and craigslists, i need hp and torque otherwise why have a hot rod, i need better gas mileage than my last buick 350 gave me (a full tank didnt last me a week and i only drove 4 days a week).

these are the reasons im trying to find a way to get a chevy 350 in