Im a new owner of a 1984 Buick Regal Limited. As far As I know that the V6 231 c.i.d. (I hope I did that right) was rebuilt. But I am very undecided what to do now. Should I rebuild that 231 V6 and turn it into a Turbo V6 or should I just drop a Buick 455 or Chevy 350. My overall plan is to make my Regal look stock but when I put my foot on the gas they got another thing coming. The reason why I'm posting this is because I'm looking for help on parts and also website out there that can help me find parts. Right know I'm working on replacing my suspension front and rear, but I cannot find control arms that are priced with in my buget. I plan to spend about 1500 on everything not inculding labor. So please if you have any websites I should take a look at please respond to this forum.
well your going to spend the most by turning it into a turbo car. buick 350 is the easiest swap for a 231, and can stll be made to run pretty well. 455 swap isnt horrible as long as your using exhaust manifolds and not headers. 350 chevy would be the cheapest to go fast, but your not going to get alot of help on here with putting a chevy motor in it. most of the board members are pretty die hard buick. id say see what motor you can get for reasonable and go from there.
Thanks for the help. I have one more question to ask you, where is the best place I should look for a Buick 350 or even 455 and the price they normally range from? I figured that about the Chevy 350..This Regal is my first Buick and I don't think Its going to be my last...I have always loved the the styling of the Buicks of the 80's since thoes are the one I groew up around.
well buick engines are often found for sale on here. where are you located? more people may chime in if they see that your near them. theres alot of really good people on here.
Well, "unsure of where to go" is a better start than just going!:TU: My favorite suggestion to new Regal owners is to look at the bang-for-the-buck solution - the rear end. Obviously you're not going anyplace quickly with that V-6 in there so you need to do the engine, but consider that even the venerable 455 will be a dog if it has to push those 2.56 highway gears and lose it's torque advantage spinning one wheel. The stock rear end can be changed to posi with a 3.42 and will hold up against a stock 455 until you start putting on sticky tires. You're looking at only $200-500 to do these mods and you're REALLY feel them. There's lots of meat in your suspension, spend a few $$$ there before spending big dollars for 10-20 hp gains....
Thanks for the info Leviathan, my suspension is the first upgrade I'm going to make. I have been thinking to start from the ground up with the suspension rather than work with the one thats already on the car. Would that posi with 3.42 improve the feel of the stock V6 I have now?
I put a 342 gear in my V/6 Regal and it improved performance somewhat but you have to look at what you working with. The basic engine doesn't have the torque or horsepower to take advantage of it. My motor is almost stock (headers/carb work) and it is still a slug. I didn't expect much improvement and thats what I got. Spend you money wisely! Additionally: There are some complete running 455 Buick motors on E-bay under the heading Buick 455
You'll "feel" the 2.56 to 3.42 change almost as much as the v6-455 upgrade IMHO. That 6 really lacks the oomph to make it a fast car though. If you want good bacg for the buck it's a simple upgrade. If you're working on suspension as well, you want to get the front frame braces (jounce bars) and beef up the swaybars if you're not changing springs. This will cost you all of $20 from the wrecker and make the car feel stiffer and corner better. When you eventually go to a 455 these mods will make the car feel much better.
Thanks for all the helpfull tips for my regal...I am wondering if there are any good shops in Arkansas that specialize in rebuilding engines?
I used to live in Cabot- you should be able to find a good buick 350 powered car around there for about $500 bucks. Upgrade your rear end, and you still have $500 to play with. My .02.
How far is that from Pine Bluff? Im not from Arkansas, I just go to school down here....But Im not looking for the whole car jus the engine and or trany... If you know of any respectable enigne shops in central arkansas please let me know...
Buick engines are notoriously hard to machine correctly. Read up on the forums here and you'll hear the right things to ask about...
