I have some one who is interested in my old buick 350 V8 for their 1961 Toyota Land Cruiser. Any one heard of this being done? I know they have kits for a SBC 350. John:jd:
Had the Chevy in my 72 FJ40 Land Cruiser years ago. Nice swap. Never heard of a Buick in one though. o No: I checked my Advance Adapters catalog and they have motor mount and bellhousing kits for Chevy and Ford V8's but not the Buick. Motor mounts could be fabricated relatively easily but the bellhousing to attach to the Toyota transmission would be a problem. Your best bet for the Buick would be to find a 60's Jeep that came with the Buick V8. Use the trans and transfer case from the Jeep. From my experience you would be hard pressed to find a better trans and transfer case than what came in the Toyota. Those old Land Cruisers were build for abuse and are pretty hard to break. As much as I like the idea of a Buick in a Cruiser, IMHO I would stick with the Chevy in this case.ou: I know there is a member on the board who's got a Buick powered Jeep but I don't remember who it is. Maybe he'll see this and have more info.
I have a 70 Jeep Wagoneer that came from the factory with a Buick 350 th400 and a Dana 20 transfer case. I also have a 71 Chevy powered (not really powered anymore because I spun a bearing) FJ40. I have to agree with the previos post in that it would probably be hard to mate the LC tranny to the a buick bellhousing. You could run the whole set up from a V8 jeep, but I've heard that the Dana 20 is notorious for being the weak link. I run a th 350 in my cruiser, which may be an option. I know you can get adapters for th350 and th400 to LC transfer cases from either Advanced Adapters or Downey off road. The conversion kits run around $600 if my memory serves me correctly.
So weld the 350 frame pads in. Get a trans out of an 80s diesel GM truck with the BOP bell housing. Add the adapter for the Toyota T-case and you got a ToyBuick. John
Buick 350 in a Willys PU Hmmm... My new possible project will be a '50 Willys pickup with a '70 Buick HO350. I've found a 1/2 T Chevy truck with 4sp and 205 transfer case. Debating whether to use the 4spd and adapt to the SBB or use one of my BOP TH350s with the Advance Adapters ($580 for parts only). Also I have to find good front and rear differentials. Dana is prety hard to come by. I'm told the Chevy stuff doesn't work well with the Willys. Input? How's $1500 sound for the '70 4bbl 350 with 4000 miles on the rebuild, guaranteed to run well. It just happens to be the numbers matching 350 out of my '70 GS (now Stage 1). Looks like I'll be here on the SBB page for awhile. Looks like a whole different crowd from where I usually hang.:TU: Thanks.
Gary, Seems kind of hard to find some one willing to spend real money on 350s. Are you sure you want to get rid of the #s matching block? I have a good used reman motor with 10K miles on it. I would like to get $700 for it. I have not even tried to sell it because I doubt it would sell. Would you need a 4WD TH350 or does the adapter work with a 2wd. 4WD has a shorter output shaft. If only 4WD works then it would be tough to get a 4WD trans with a BOP bell housing. I think the diesel truck had a BOP pattern, everything else is Chevy. That would mean buying another adapter. John
Re: Buick 350 in a Willys PU Love those old Willys trucks. Used to plow snow with a wagon back in about 1978. Good fun:bglasses: There is a Willys wagon locally that the owner built used a complete frame/suspension/axles etc from a GM pick up. Unless you're into the "monster truck" style you'll find that axles from a full size pick up are way too wide. I like the "stock" looking height and width and ran into the same situation building my 36 Chevy truck. Solved the axle problem by looking at old International Scouts. They use Dana diffs and commonly have front disc brakes and good parts availability. The axle width is just about perfect for narrower vehicles like my Chevy and the Willys. An added bonus is the initial cost. Old rusty Scouts can be purchased complete for not a lot of money. :TU: My truck is kind of a long term project but if you want some photos/measurements let me know.
John, I guess I wasn't clear ou: .. I'd be BUYING the numbers matching 350 that came out of my car before I bought the car. What are the specs on your 350? Buick right? Year? Stocker? What's with it? Alternator, ps, fan, etc.? On the TH350: you're right about the output shaft needing to be changed along with the tailshaft housing. The Advance Adapter unit includes these parts but would require a tranny shop to do the work adding to the $580 parts cost. Or, I could try to find a Chevy 4WD TH350 or 400 and adapter plate for the Buick engine. I might go with the 4spd out of the Chevy truck. Jim Burek at PAE says he can get me an adapter to fit between the 4spd and the Buick engine and that an amount equal to the thickness of the adapter should be machined off the transmission bellhousing to ensure that the clutch engages properly. I'm looking into that setup as well. Now all I have to do is catch my neighbor at home to firm up the deal on the Willys and I can go get the chevy pu. We're off to get a '72 4-door Skylark Sunday. It's a very dry car with good steel so will take the front clip, etc. for future use, the 8.5 rear for a pal to build posi for his '69 GS 400, and maybe use the 350 (if it runs), radiator, steering box, etc. for the Willys. Thanks for the feedback.
Gary, It's a 68 PO 350. Unknown compression or cam. It was balanced, other than that??? Came with my car. The heads were cracked so I put new heads on with hardened seats. Runs great, no leaks, good oil pressure. Complete pan to 4bbl intake, Fan blade to flexplate. I have alternator and ps pump with brackets. New mounts, fuel pump and fuel line. Even still has the frame pads on it. I actually miss it. Having some issues with my 455 swap. Any ideas what bell housing the diesel trannies had? If BOP you might find one that fit you 4 speed and SBB. I am going to look at a 72 4 door this weekend too. John
I had a buddy back in high school (class of '81) who wrecked his '70 GS 350, then bought a Willys "wagon" (?) and swapped the entire drivetrain in, including the rear posi, front disc brakes, and Rally wheels. I have no idea how he did it all, but it would absolutely FLY! Looked pretty nice, too! Not sure if it was 4wd or not, though... Would it be called a Willick, or a Builly? Or should the Buick/Toyota be a Buyota? James (Mr. sleep deprivation :spank: )
Yessiree.. there will be lots of 'issues' to deal with to get this project off the ground. I've seen on a few Willys sites that they're using Scout diffs.. will have to keep my eyes open. I'm told the full-size Chevy rear is actually narrower than the Willys.. I'll have to check that out for myself, just doesn't sound right. I know the front and rear are differenct widths on the Willys. I've been thinking hard about a GM crate 350.. brand new 12mo/50k mi. warranty. '69-85. Would need a carb and intake, headers or manifolds, alt, ps, etc. but most of that will be on the '79 Chev 4x4 parts rig I'm buying. Might make life a lot easier if not as interesting. Thanks guys.
Alex, Is there an adapter between the engine and trans on your '70 Wagoneer? I looked at one in a yard and it was Buick 350, cast iron adapter to AMC TH400 (I think), then transfer case. Thanks.
Re: Re: Buick 350 in a Willys PU Dave, I might take you up on that eventually. So far I have a Scout II Dana 44 front end, Ford 9" HD rear @ 62" width and the stout pumpkin with big, internally oiled bearings.. heaviest duty 9" made BTW. Now I'm looking for a 350/205 or 400/205. No need for a lot of low range and someday there might be a low range gearset available for the 205. All I'll need with this combo is a BOP-Chevy trans-eng. adapter from Advance. Gonna go 4.56 and 35" tires. Stock width front and rear. Picked up a running '76 455/400 and running '71 350/350 4bbl. this weekend along with an 8.5" posi.
buick cruiser I've had a number of buick powered wagoneers and have found the drivetrain would handle anything I've ever thrown at it. Only thing I've ever had to replace on the transfer case was the rear seal. I've pulled heavy boats, very heavy trailers extreme four wheeling and had no problems with the transfer case. You will find the biggest weakness in the drive train to be the poor cam oiling of the buick engine! I would install new cam bearings with the groove and possibly new cam and lifters(look in pan pile of metal means new cam and lifters) as this should take care of the weak link. You will find this to be a very good dependable setup for you cruiser. Have fun four wheelin'.
