These questions have come up a lot, so I thought I'd finally find out the answers. A buddy of mine also has a '65 Skylark with the 300 v8 and st300 tranny. 1. What needs to be done to swap in a Buick 350? Will a 200 4r bolt in also? 2. And what about a small block C...Ch...Chevy swap *ducks*? (I'm trying to get him to keep it Buick powered, but hey to each his own. At least another "oldie" can stay on the road.) Thanks
For starters, the buick 350 engine will bolt straight in. Same motor mounts, acessory brackets, etc. as the 300. As for the 200r4 tranny, that's a popular and logical swap... post in the tranny section, and someone will fill you in with all the details. Lots of buick guys are running the 200r4, and they can even be built to handle the torque of a 455! So no problems there. If your budy *must* have a small block chevy [sic], then it's practically a bolt in as well, just make sure you get a complete chevy engine with all the acessory brackets, because the buick parts will not bolt up. Otherwise, use parts for a chevelle of the same year. [motor mounts, radiator hoses, etc] ***The SBC and buick use a different tranny as well.*** The buick 350 is the better swap for your friend, not just because it's a buick, but because the 300 that's in the car now is about 200 lbs lighter than a chevy engine. If he goes chevy, he might have to spend $$ to upgrade the suspension. A 350 buick is about 50 lbs heavier than the 300, and should not require any suspension mods. There are other reasons that the buick is better than a chevy. The buick 350 has the longest stroke of any small block. That equates to more torque!!! The 70 high compression [10.25:1] buick 350 made 315 hp and 410 ft/lbs bone stock!!!!! Your budy would have to spend quite a bit of money to get those torque numbers from a SBC. Also, the buick engine is incredibly reliable. I *personally* own 3 of them with over 1/4 million miles on each of them, and they've never been apart!!! Try that with a chevy:gt: High compression/high performance buick 350's were installed in just about every model of buick between 68-72, and the junk yards practically give them away! With the addition of only a T/A aluminum intake, a mild cam upgrade, an HEI distributor, and an oil pump booster plate, on an otherwise totally stock rebuilt 350 buick, your friend could get 350 hp and 430+ ft/lbs from an engine that will give him 100,000+ miles of trouble free performance! The buick wins hands down over the SBC in my book!!!!!
Or he can go one better and do what I did...Get the adapter frame mounts and bolt in a 455 :Brow: I know this is the smallblock forum, but man, there ain't nothing like a BB Buick in the older A-bodies...:grin: Real tight fit on driver's side between stock exhaust manifold and steering shaft(maybe at the most, a half inch clearance):eek2: ... You can still do the 200-4r tranny swap...It is roughly the same length as the ST300, so driveshaft length will still be the same, and I believe that only the tranny crossmember will need to be moved back a couple of inches, but that shouldn't be a problem as the frame already has holes in it for the longer 3 speed switch pitch tranny that was behind the 401 GS motor...I have a TH350 behind my 455(It just bolted right in place of the 2 speed ST300 that used to be in there)... If I had to do it again, I would probably put the Buick 350 in there...As Darryl said, it will drop right in just like it came like that from the factory and people who don't know Buicks wouldn't even be able to tell it isn't the 300 that came with the car... Whatever your buddy decides to do, get the biggest radiator he can fit in there...The rads. in the earlier A-bodies really weren't that wide to begin with, and if his car is a non-a/c car, it probably only has the 2 row radiator in it like mine had...Needs at least a 3 row, whatever motor goes in there...
Good news I told him if he's going to drive a Buick, he must follow the "Buick Code of Ethics"..... He going to go with the 350 and the 2004r! I think the 350 came out in '68???? What years/models had it?
That's great to hear!!!:TU: The buick 350 was available from 68 up untill about 79 or so. I'v heard of canadian [export] cars with the buick 350 as late as 81. From 68-70, it was available with either 9:1 or 10.25:1. From 71 on, it had 8.5:1, and later 8:1 in it's final version [going from memory on that, but it's about right!] Either the 9:1 or the 10.25:1 motor is a fine choice. Both make excellent power. The 9:1 motor will make about 15-20 less HP overall, but at the same time, it will run just fine on 87 octane. The 10.25:1 really should be run on premium. The 68-69 model oiled the rockers thru oil ports in the heads. 70 up oiled thru the push-rods. Either is fine, but you need to remember that if you order new valvetrain components for it. Find out the engine code on it, and let us know the details... 2v or 4v, what car it came from, miles, etc... And we will be happy to help you every step of the way!
