Craigslist find: $250 running Buick 350 motor from a ‘78 Electra. Guys were using body for smash up derby, and preferred Chevy motors. Tickled by the ad, I asked, “How can I tell if it’s running, if you pulled it?” Answer: “We have it on a chain. It’ll start and run.” OK, I thought. I gotta see this... Go to the site, and sure enough, they have it on a chain. We replace some missing plug wires, pour some gas into the fuel line, and hook starter leads to a battery. Clamped the hoses for heater, radiator, and water pump. Started right up, and idled. SOLD! Took it home, pulled carb and sent it, (along with 3 others) to Quadrajet Power, and he sent me a rebuilt one for a discount. Removed and replaced the oil pump, pulled oil pan, checked timing gears, and found out that it was a blue painted reman unit with cross-hatching still evident in the bores. Like, less than a 1000-mile rebuild. The top end of the heads looked new. Put a Flo-kooler water pump with studs, TA oil pump and restrictor plate and HD springs, stock exhaust manifolds with studs, had the flywheel from Sean resurfaced and got a mid-level performance clutch, and then put it all back together and painted it rustoleum hammered green. Mated it to a completely rebuilt Saginaw SM465 4-speed with a rebuilt Dana 20 transfer case (both took me about 4 months of weekends to collect parts and rebuild). End result? A pretty sweet Buick 350 that BOLTED IN to the same engine mounts as the factory Buick 225. FYI, this motor and tranny took the Commando 1370 miles to Moab, ran 300 miles of the roughest trails (Poison Spider, Hell’s Revenge, Top of the World) and back with only a few minor issues. Next up: Ranger Overdrive (4.10 gears and 33” tires makes for 3000 rpm at 70 mph... I got 11 mpg out and back) and Chevy 350 TBI complete with computer-controlled HEI ignition. Hope you like it.
Some Moab pics...and some from what I like to do best: Overlanding in the Natural State (Arkansas). These pics from this weekend. The Buick 350 is a FANTASTIC motor for 4-wheeling. Great torque at low RPMs. Perfect for a 66:1 gearing ratio in low range and granny low on the 4-speed... It will literally idle straight up a hill.
That looks awesome I am glad to have helped! Email me some full sized pics and I can add them to the book...
If I remember right those commandos had some funky clutch pedal linkage but been 30 plus years since I had one did you go with a hydraulic clutch by any chance? I always wanted to convert mine but never did mine very cool story
I like the new air intake so you can drive that thing under water! How about some pics of how you have that rigged?
This is pure awesome. Beautiful job, and great testimony on what a general purpose stock engine can be used for.
Thanks for the compliment! Novak makes an awesome hydraulic push-style clutch for GM motors that bolts onto the Buick 350. I had to space it with a washer on one end, and two on the other, and grind down a little of the aluminum on the BOP bell housing web, but it works perfectly.
Thanks. It’s a generic Jeep Wrangler TJ hood scoop system. I used a different air cleaner lower half, and spun it to meet the 4” air hose. Cut the air horn and clamped a rubber fern on to it. Sealed off the other holes. Works great, and I actually get a small boost going down the highway (slight ram air effect plus cooler outside air). This is how the beast looked just before I dropped it in. I had to put a Champion radiator in it... the old V6 radiator just couldn’t reject enough heat... Here’s the hose system just before I sealed the holes. If you notice, I’m running a remote oil cooler. Not enough room with the new radiator. Is there any way to flip these photos?
If you took the photos with your phone, and they're still on there, in the camera or gallery app there should be an option to rotate the photos. Sometimes they hide em behind the 3 little dots in the corner in the settings of said apps. Or shove em on MS paint and rotate em that way and re-save.