Is there such thing as a "wide-block" Buick 350? A car listed on ebay claims to have one, stating the engine was placed only in 1970 Gran Sport 350s. http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=2413814517&category=16124 I'm curious as I've been thinking of sticking a Buick 350 into a 1970-73 Datsun 240-Z. If there is a wide-block 350, and it's significantly better than a regular 350, then maybe I'll try to find one.
Just my humble opinion but this guy is a bit full of it. Yeah, it might be the high-compression 350 from 1970 GS (315hp). 400-600 HP.. I dunno about that.:eek2: Ultra-rare, again I doubt that. And that engine makes the '72 a non-numbers car and I seriously doubt it would go for $6000 if he "fixed a few little things". And he wants the buyer to pay for a battery to hear it run (and rattle)???:moonu: Whether it's worth the $3500; that's for someone else to decide. But as far as the wide-block 350, it's news to me; maybe someone else has heard that term. uzzled: uzzled:
Can't tell you how many times I have heard some of the 'less informed' crowd refer to the Buick 350 as a big block 350!?! I guess when it's compared to a 302 Ford or a 350 Chevy - it IS bigger in size...not to mention TORQUE!:TU:
The 70 350 was no "bigger" than other Buick 350's of the era. Higher compression, yes. Hotter cam? Maybe. Wider? No.
Most people who are familiar with the buick 350 and the chevy will call a buick a wide block due to it being much wider than the chevy. Gary is right. No way it's going to make 400 to 600 HP unless it is heavly modified and then 450 hp is probably going to be the high number.
Thanks for clearing it up (for me at least). I've read that a Buick 350 weighs in at around 450 pounds--that's light! Didn't the 1970 Buick 350 put out 315hp and 410ftbls.? With a set of DOTs, that should propell a 2400-pound 240Z down the strip in about 12.5 seconds!
Chris, I would be careful calling a 348/409 Chevy a truck motor. There were plenty of these running very strong in the drag and circle track racing in the early 60's. The factory hp for many of these engines were in the 350-425 hp range, certainly not truck motors. The 348/409 are also one of the better looking engines with the valve covers appearance. The 348/409 is the engine that is the precursor to the big block Chevy that came out in 65. 348/4009's have a mix of small block and big block design theory. If you can even find one, a 409 (even from a truck) will fetch about $1000 for a good core engine that needs rebuilt. 348's are a little less and also more popular. Back to the topic of the original msg, I agree that the seller is just mixed up and does not have his info straight.
They weren't derived from truck motors?? No disrespect, I'm not anti-chevy. I always heard that the 409 was in family with the 348 and was intended as a truck motor. Doesn't make it a weak or bad engine. The Viper's V-10 is a truck motor in design. It was originally intended for a truck. Not a bad thing, but everything I've read and heard about them says a W block is a 348 or 409, and that the fabled 409 was hard to hot-rod because it had some design features in the heads left over from it's original intent- to power a truck. Isn't that the reason the 409 was in production for so little time and was replaced by an engine of smaller displacement? I don't think they are lousy engines.
Wide or Tall I also thought the 348 began life as a truck motor. These versions were known as "tall" blocks. Then again................ o No:
