has anyone here done this , good ,bad etc, heater -ac box clearance issues,,, headaches, advice ?? tell me your story !!! thanks Jim
If you take a '70-'76 455 and swap it into a '77-'79 Buick, there may be some legal headaches concerning emission controls, and proper year engines (need a newer engine than the car's model year, technically, in some places.) Around here, they wouldn't know even how to find your engine code #, probably wouldn't care, and the car's too old to need emissions testing by law anyway, but check your local laws. This summer, the inspector was actually looking at the "emissions" sticker under the hood of my '70. After walking onto the shop floor (they didn't like that much) and asking him what he thought he was doing, he said "checking your emissions"....then I informed him of state law and invited him to try and locate my engine code. Then I closed the hood and asked him to finish the inspection, please. This same guy had to be convinced that yes, my seatbelts are supposed to work that way, and no, shoulder belts were not required in a convertible back then. I guess my point is, you'll eventually find some dolt who THINKS he knows old cars who will cause you an inspection headache, so be prepared.
462cid hey, thanks, so far i'm lucky to live in a state that is not preoccupied with making misery of owners of old cars that are so few in number , as to be a non issue in the real big scheme of things. that being said, if it comes to that issue with the car sometime in the future, it could live on the strip...but for now, i just want to build something that can run , have a big block sound, and excite the crowd once and a while thanks Jim
Jim, i met a guy in Texas through Phil G. on here, that has a lark' like your talking with a stg. 2 in it. as i recall he was dumping almost 400 hp of NOS to it and having an absolute blast eating the local chevy boys up with it. he flat out told me he WONT race without it !maybe Phil will see this and help some out with some more info......o No: it can be done and has been. but thats all the info i have for , sorry.............. later..............................
yowsa that is exactly what i had in mind... and those new 'pop can heads' are sure what we'll convince ourselves we ''need'' but hey, its more fun than golf, isn't it ? Jim
78 skylark for sale hi every one i have an amazingly rock solid 78 skylark for sale v6 auto 2 door trunk car if any one is intereste email me at sherman1977@aol.com i am asking $200 for it thanks justin
75-79 skylark oh ya im also the owner of a 77 skylark that has a 350 its currently in hibernation due to winter but it will see road time again with only 77k original miles
Hey dave, saw your post. the car is a 77 skylark. The engine is a stage 2 462 and sprays in the area of 225hp NOS. The engine is tight in the engine compartment. With stage two headers the upper control arm and foward bold had to be notched. The stearing shaft going to the gear box also was notched due to the stage two headers. A standard 455 with headers will fit with minimal modifications. The modifications I have spoke about only exsist on the Stage 2 application. So Last but not Least The 455 will fit in a 77 skylark. Good luck!
This Vehicle happens to be my friends. The motor mounts should be standard GS big block mounts. then you will also need the frame pads sold either by TA or Poston. I will see if I can get a pic of the car and motor installed. Dave if your on here give me a call when you get a chance. I have PM'ed you my number.
Boy i was off on the NOS "hit", anyways, just for that i will come over (like we planned) and we will take a look at the car a little closer. Phil i will catch you on later tonight or i will give you a ring. Everyone else : is there anything in particular that you would like me to look at as far as the swap goes ? be more than happy to help you out if i can with the info. and to be honest, this is to be a NOS info gathering trip for me,,,:Brow: . gotta stay informed,especially if we get a new block that will handle a good "hit". where is that bottle off the nova ????????? anyways. I'll watch for special requests on info. later.............................
I would like to know what exactly was used for motor and frame pads. what trans was used, and anything we should be aware of. Bowtie Overdrives makes a trans mount for the 200/4r and the 700/r4 that fits the stock location Thanks Paul
Paul the mounts are stock off the shelf napa motor mounts for a GS. The frame pads are from poston for a 455. He runs a 400 with a 4500 stall. Anymore questions? I can take pics for you on turkey day as we are going to meet up in the afternoon. Dave All I have to say to you my friend is we made an error on compression on my motor can you say 12.1 the heads are 58cc. talk to you all later.
thanks Phil,, this information is great ! sure will make doing the motor swap easier for the first part anyway....the its all the other 'little stuff' like headers, steering box, etc, to finsih it up... sure does help to belong to this board and have such experienced guys who are willing to help us newbies create our 'dream'. Jim
Jim, On the stage1 motor that was previously in this same car there were no clearence issues. But not sure of AC. I will take a pic of it so you can get an idea. The problem was with installation of the stage2 headers. So If you want to put a stock/stage1 you should have very minimal problems. Let me know if there is something spacific you want to know I will take a pic if I can get to it. and ask him about more detailed questions. Dave the bottle is in the back staying nice a warm under it's little blankky
swap Phil, if its possible, I'd like to make the ac work, since this is not an all out racer, but more of the desire to have a cruiseer tha can roast some ricers and have comfort doing it . .. the sort of sleeper look, you know - v6 emblems, etc.... do you know if the ta sp1 will need a cowl hood to clear ? guess the cowl hood would kill the v6 emblems, maybe some used ported iron heads to get me by the short term until the desire and budget catch up... LOL is your friend using a th 350, 400, 700r or what ?? any suggestions regarding tq, trans, gears, traction control would be welcome.... its always cheaper to copy the success of others and not duplicate the unsuccessful efforts and waste time and money. I'm thinking 3.73's if i don't use a od 700r or 4l80. what do you or anyone else think ? 850 holley / demon ? is the single plane intake the way to go, since the bufords have so much torque anyway ? and the x bodies are a little lighter to start with. give me some opinions and options... thanks Jim
Thanks. Phil This information should make things go a little easier. I plan to use stock manifolds, so clearence is not an issue. any photos would be greatly appreciated. Thanks Paul
I am gonna have to take a look, but the SP1 will cause some mods to the hood. The transmission is a turbo 400 with a 4500 stall. You probably don't need that much.:grin: He runs a 342 or 323 can't remember. but he has higher gearing due to nitrous. I would say 342-373 gear set would nice for this application. If your looking for hood clearence you might try a dual plane edelbrock to see if you can keep it under the hood. As of right now he is running traction bars but was working toward a later bar setup. Air conditioning might be a problem I will get a pic of the engine compartment. I am not sure if the car came originally with air or not so I will let you know for sure tommorrow or friday.
ac Phil, any pics and info would be really great.. maybe my desire for ac would be served by vintage air...they seem to do things without a huge air box in the motor area, and have some really nice clean installs for the 'rod' guys... i'll have to check that out...sometime.. the only reason for the hood issue would be the sleeper look..ive mentioned before that i think Larry Hodge has a really cool looking 75 (?) buick skylark and if somebody didn't know how great that thing runs, well , lets just say they would be in for a big surprise. sleeper looks is cool..and the looks on the faces when they lose is priceless !! thanks Jim
Jim, I spoke with my buddy here and he said it will be a tight fit for AC. He also state that the break booster is kinda close also. As for droping in a stage 1. no problems he said you could even mount the block and have enough room to slide the headers in and bolt them right on. He said you might be able to get the SP1 under the hood but it would be a trial fit and would defenetly need a drop base aircleaner. He said for you application you might lean toward the dual plan just for clearence. I will post a few pics tommorrow. His car was an original V6 car also. Later!
