hello! i am new on this site. thank you for having me. i am in the process of restoring this car that my dad and i built when i was 15.the car sat for 32 years and was recently recovered. i have a ton of questions so i had better get started reading every single bit of info on this site!. i am replacing the 350 with a built 455 thats out of a 1973 buick. i remember from when i was a kid that this swap meant moving the motor mounts? can i even purchase the correct mount? i also have questions about replacing the rear end with a 3:73 post 12 bolt. do they sell remanufactured rear ends to fit this car? i have dozens of questions. thank you for any help.
ok this is funny. the car sat in a tractor trailer box for 32 years. we pulled it out with a tractor. my friend scooped the car up hoping his forks were long enough to grab the frame! maybe 3" of forks were on the frame. he then carried the car through a bumpy field that was about 100 yards long. then onto a road. luckily a train was coming so traffic was stopped. he set the car down perfectly, unharmed so it could be shipped to my house. i cant believe it didnt get destroyed during this process.
we bought the car for $50 back in 1985. the engine was dead but the car was from florida. right now the farms, floors and everything are still in pretty good shape.
Welcome. Nice project. Don't know much about those but guys on here that do. Those could be had w/a 455 (at least through '74) so 455 motor mount frame pads should be available.
welcome from FL, "IF" that was mine I would be rebuilding the original small block and adding the aluminum heads from TA. Add a little more compression and cam and whala! With the great parts available today for the 350 why go thru all that trouble. Also you will need to find you a tranny cross member with the double humps for true dual exhaust. Remove the vinyl from the opera window and that would be a gorgeous car. As per the rear end that is a 8.5 corporate a very strong third member, just buy you a new posi with a 3.42 ring and pinion set up and you would have a all around killer cruising car. Hope your interior plastic is in good shape because is one of the hardest things to find for the Colonnades. Fernando
hello fernando! thank you for your reply. the 455 is already being built but im gonna save the 350 and trans. is the double hump tranny cross member an available part? i did consider just replacing the ring and pinion with a posi. the stock rear gears are 3:73 right? thats good to know that the stock rear end is strong. the interior plastic is in good shape. we are gonna paint it cause it does need refinished. i bet certain parts are hard to find for this car. the weather stripping needs replaced around the windows, trunk. i bet thats gonna be a challenge to find.
yes! even though the car was originally from florida there was some serious rust on top of the body at the time. the side windows rotted out pretty good. my dad riveted panels over the windows and we covered it all with a vinyl top. this car was built on a budget ( both time and money ) when i was a kid. those side windows do look pretty cool though on the original brochure.
