I just wanted some opinions on what people think I should do. Im only 17 so my budget is kind of tight, and Ive wanted to do some things with my 340 and cant find alot of parts. Would it be worth it for me to convert to a 350, because the things I cant find for my 340 such as headers and intake, I can very easily find for a 350. Would it be worth it to buy a 350 and put it in? It would be a lot easier of a decision if my 340 was bad, but it has 33,000 miles on it and runs great, even when I start it up about every month-month and 1/2 in NY wheres it cold, it doesnt give me any trouble. Any advice from the buick veterans? Thanks Joe
Well, what's your plan for the car? Street cruising only? Some strip action? The 350 does have a lot of performance upgrade options available from places such as TA and Poston. Or maybe you want to look into a 455 since you are looking to upgrade. If you're only planning on driving it on the street, you may want to stick with your 340 as long as it is running well. You "should" be able to find a 4bbl intake for it if you keep searching, and I'm pretty sure hotter cams are available. Yes, headers are a problem, as the 340 was a limited production engine, not intended for performance applications, so there's not a lot available. A 455 will offer the most aftermarket options, and HP/TQ numbers. On a very limited budget, you might be best off saving up the cash to do a 455 swap eventually, and just enjoy the 340 for now.
BTW, you can probably come up with a running 455 for $500-$1000, putting you way ahead of the game compared to a stock 340/350.
Thanks for your input, not really a drag car, but just wanted to get more performance. My cousin already went to that extreme with his 66 Skylark w/427. I just wanted to get my hp numbers up. I got a big surprise this morning and Im pretty sure I have found my intake, and postons said I could use their headers but would have to get them modified to fit around the b-body frame, is that true? Now that Ive found my intake (finally) and if the headers would work, I think Id be pretty happy with sticking to my 340, as all I want to do next year is get it painted. Basically the only thing I need to know now is if poston is telling me the truth on being able to modify their headers to fit. Thanks again for your input. Joe 66 LeSabre 2dr hardtop 340 2 barrel (soon to be 4 hopefully) 89 GMC Jimmy 4x4 (winter beater)
Joe, I'm afraid someone else will have to answer you regarding the header fit on your LeSabre. Did Poston give you any specifics about mods that would be necessary? Or are they just shooting from the hip, figuring that you'll figure it out once you've got the headers in your hands. I would certainly bet on mods being necessary to get A-body headers to fit a B-body. Probably major mods that you personally may or may not be able to do yourself. Ask Poston more questions, is my advice.
They just told me that it would fit up to the engine, but to make it work around the frame they would have to be bent. Thanks for the advice again, last thing I need is my headers, Im really hoping I can get them to work. Joe 66 LeSabre 2dr Hardtop 340 2 barrel (soon to be 4) 89 GMC Jimmy 4x4 (winter beater)
My guess is that the headers will have to be bent out at the collectors to match up with the transmission crossmember. I don't know any other "clearance" issues really.
Thanks for your input, so you dont think postons is lying to me saying the headers will work? As long as I can get them to work I'll buy them because my alternative is getting them custom made, which as u probably know are very expensive. I cant wait to hear back about my intake, headers are basically the last thing I have to worry about. Man I cant wait til spring! Joe 66 LeSabre 2dr Hardtop 340 2 barrel (soon to be 4) 89 GMC Jimmy 4x4 (winter beater)
Might want to consult someone who really knows if it will work or not. I mean, you can always "make" things work. nip and tuck here and there.... I have A Body headers on my B Body, and I had to bend the collectors out to match the hmp in the crossmember...that was it for me though... Oh, I also had to permanently remove the small braces connecting the crossmember and frame....and also reroute the transmission cooling lines.
Also had one more question for you guys. If all goes well in april my buick should be getting Comp Headers 2 40 series flowmaster mufflers 4 barrel intake manifold 4 barrel carb new camshaft K&N chrome air cleaner + filter braided hoses getting front bumper + valve covers re-chromed I have 2 questions, 1.What cfm carb should I have with these upgrades (stock was 550cfm) 2.Any recommendations on camshafts? Company/model etc.... Thanks guys Joe 66 LeSabre 2dr hardtop 340 2 barrel (soon to be 4) 89 GMC Jimmy 4x4 (winter beater)
The 66 LeSabre is a cool car, with only 33.000 miles on it it should run good when you put on a 4 barrel intake with AT least a 750 cfm carb on it. If you CANT get direct fit headers, at least run 2.5 inch duals on it with at least an H pipe. Ditch the points ignition, get an HEI distributor, wether its a factory Delco unit or an MSD unit. Put in a mild cam, nothing radical, TA Peformance or Postons can help you with this. VERY important, find out what gearing you have in the rear end, Buick probably put in upper 2 series gears in the rear, they usually did that with the larger "non" perfomance full size cars, that car would really wake up with a 3.23 or 3.42 gear set in the rear. Theres really no sense in putting all sorts of money into the engine just to get MAYBE and additional 40 hp and have the engine lugging against a crappy rear gear ratio and 2 plus tons to move. The 350 or 455 would be good options, but why fix something tht isnt broke, work with what you have for now, then down the road, when time and alot of additional money allows, got a Skylark, or smaller Buick and go for it:bglasses: Also, I noticed in your post, you mentioned braided hoses, while they look cool, they're pricey, and being on a budget, just use new hoses, and put the money into "go fast" parts:beer Mark
Another thing you can look at doing as opposed to putting headers on, is getting your stock manifolds ported by Greg Gessler. www.gesslerheadporting.com And use an X pipe on that exhaust system.
head porting ain't cheap though, and I doubt greg has experience with the 340's. Mark, glad to see your input here, I was hoping you might stop by! I'm with you on just running the 340 as long as it's in good shape, and it isn't a strip car.
750 cfm? Really, wow thats a decent jump for just changing, but I guess it makes sense. How do I find out what gears I have, Im not to familiar with checking things like that, but I am going over to the garage to start it up tomorrow. How much more should I expect to pay to have X pipes made for me? (only had pipes bent one time before, but that was for my 85 caprice w/fake duals). And does the X-pipe make a big difference in the power gained? Well let me know on how to check those gears and I'll look at that tomorrow, and how would I go about changing my gearing and maybe most important is this expensive? Thank you for your input I appreciate it. Joe 66 LeSabre 2dr Hardtop 340 2 barrel (soon to be 4) 89 GMC Jimmy 4x4 (winter beater) Previously owned 85 caprice (got hit well parked by a guy going 60 in ford f-150, ouch)
Didnt know if you guys were interested, but I thought Id show you a pick of my Buick. Only mods so far are cragar ss rims and added the water temp/voltage/oil pressure 3 pod gauge cluster (chrome). Well enjoy!
Hey 66! The most accurate way of finding out your rear gear is to remove the rear cover, on the ring gear, thats the larger gear in the rear end, there will the some numbers, what you want to look for is a combination of numbers like 34-12 or 37-12 or 37-11. you'll see numbers like I said above, when you find them, write them down, wipe the oil off your hands:grin: and divide the numbers and that will give you your actual ring and pinion ratio (the pinion gear is the smaller gear that drives the ring gear) Mark
Hey thanks alot mark, I'll look into this. Thanks for all your advice guys, I really appreciate it. Joe 66 LeSabre 2dr Hardtop 340 2 barrel (soon to be 4) 89 GMC Jimmy 4x4 (winter beater)
sometimes numbers aren't on the gears... in that case count the number of teeth on the pinion and the ring gears and divide the two.
