Hello, Im putting a 455 out of a 75 riviera in my 1980 lesabre, and Im looking for as much info as I can get, but my main question atm is wioll I need to drill new holes for the engine mounts? and where would the correct block position be?(forward holes or rearward holes) I can find all kinds of info on regal/g-0body swaps but nothing 80s b-body related.
Personally, when I put a 455 in a 1975 Skylark (Nova-style car), I left the transmission in place for positioning. Then, set the bare block in with motor mounts attached and frame pads bolted to motor mounts. Set it in the frame cradle and seen what I had. If it is not lining up in your instance, move the motor mounts/frame pads to the other location. When I got that situated like I wanted it, I sprayed some white spray paint around the frame mounts. When I pulled the block back out, I had outlines of where the frame pads needed to be. If holes, great. In my case, I had to drill some new ones.
were the buick 350 mounts similar? because that was an option in my car and would probably have a mounting point drilled in already
I do the same as Greg above .... Saves drive line work.. But I also learned before the motor is bolted to the frame install the radiator for a test fit.... Now buick used both long and short water pumps. So B4 you tighten or drill test fit everything.. moving the trans rearward might be a non option...
I dont see why the firewall wouldve needed to be cut up, they had the buick 350 as an option in my lesabre, and people put the 455s in regals all the time and thats a smaller car, im also running a manual valvebody th350(i know its not gonna last long, but its what I have atm) also my 1980 lesabre rad is the same part number as the 75 riviera the engine came out of
The 350 trans should hold up fine, the '75/'76 455's were only 205 hp and 345 tq. I think compression was less than 8 to 1 Do like Greg said, position the engine wherever the trans. dictates
I would bet this set-up would be similar to yours? https://www.v8buick.com/index.php?threads/stage-2-powered-caddy.372160/unread
okay, sounds like a plan, I do intend to upgrade the engine some in the future(heads intake cam, etc) I just got the 455 because it ran and ran well, and its eectronic ignition, also read the oil issues and block issues of the early 455s were situated by that point. Also its gonna be a far cry from the dinky 301 pontiac that only got the car up to 35 mph on a hill
I didn't know that! I would suggest you contact him and see if there is some help from his install? Good luck
I think the width of the two cars are close if not the same, the difference comes from the wheel base length. The rear in my Caddy is the same width as A- bodies from 1973-77, as a matter of fact, the rear in my Caddy was originally built for a 1977 Grand Prix, and was a direct bolt in. The 455 will go in your car using 1968- '72 GS frame mounts. There may be holes pre drilled in the frame that may work with said frame mounts, I wasn't so lucky with the Deville, I had to trial fit the engine, remove engine and drill holes( the only holes were for the Cadillac engine). I think the Olds 98 and the Buick Park Avenue are C-bodies, I believe the Cadillac is a D-body
I was gonna try using the mounts out of the riviera, im kind of on a budget atm or id be getting a different cam and such too
Forget the Riviera mounts. They are probably the taller sheet metal frame brackets because the '75 Riv. is the large old style frame/body. The engine will probably sit too high. Saving $100 now could cause you a headache later. The LeSabre is pretty much the earlier 73-77 Regal/Century. No problem fitting. As mentioned, leave transmission in car and bolt engine to trans. with motor mounts in holes 2 and 4 going from the front. Leave frame brackets on and drop it down and mark mount positions. Drill probably all the holes. Go from there. This swap has been done many times before.
As said above leave the trans in place and drill holes to mount the engine pads. If you later decide to do a trans swap that's fine, but do one at a time or you will have a much tougher time lining everything up. I also agree, try to use low profile engine frame pads like the ones TA sells. Or stock Skylark 455 pads, just place them on your frame where they need to sit.
I dont have 100 to spend... but if its just hood clearance issues Im planning on putting a scoop on it anyway
The height difference isn't even an inch. It fit just fine with big car mounts in a 75 Skylark with an iron intake and a stock air cleaner. With a drop base, you can put an aluminum B4B in without hitting the hood if money is that tight. Been there, done that as a poor college kid in a gravel lot.
not only is money tight, but the lesabre is my daily and its had a roached cam since around june, I need to get it back on the road, and if Im gonna spend the money I wanted a good baseline engine to modify later on, also the pontiac 301 that was in the car is a dog, it barely hit 30mph climbing a hill
