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buick 350 - chevy 350

54K views 23 replies 19 participants last post by  sean Buick 76 
#1 ·
i have been looking around on this cite for a while and there is a lot of great info in here but the one thing i haven't found is the difference between a Buick 350 and a Chevy 350. i know they are built alot different but are the specs the same as in hp and torque :evil: ? i have a 72 Buick skylark with the 350 but i also have a Chevy 350 sitting around so i was wondering if i should build up the Buick 350 or transplant the Chevy in to it and build it up. both engine are stock. if you guys could give me a push in the right direction i would be thankful. :pain:
 
#2 ·
buick 350-chevy 350

Heard a noise........sounds like a can of worms is being opened!?! Put that belly-button engine in and you'll never hear the end of it from the Buick guys. Look up T.A. Performance on the web. It justs costs a little more to do a "Gentilmans hot-rod" is all. Stay all Buick and you'll be happier in the end. :welcome: :D :thumbup:
 
#3 ·
THe Buick has a different bellhousing pattern than the Chevy- so youll need an adaptor or a different tranny. I would instead just swap the motor mounts and build a Pontiac 400 or an Olds 350- either is better than a Buick 350 (also known as the worst 350 made). You can get any of these engines from a salvage yard for a few hundred, which in comparison to an engine build is pocket change.
 
#5 ·
Keep the Buford ALL Buford! Buick 350's are more expensive to build for sure and they need a little more attention to details to make them survive but they can be decent performers and the cool factor is off the chart!

"Worst" 350? Never heard that but "worst" is all a matter of perspective. My kid had one in one of his demo cars, ran it out of water, low on oil and caught it on fire. Went out the next day and it fired right up. A friend of his ran it in two more demos after that. This was an engine that had clearly not had regular maintenance and had 100,000 miles on it.
 
#7 ·
I know of a Buick 350 with ported stock iron heads that pulled 1100 horsepower on the dyno. a set of buick 350 heads can be ported to flow 270-290 cfm on the intake side and 190-200 on the exhaust side. thats enough to make one screamin 350 engine. one of our club member ashas a buick 350 that is naturally aspirated and makes nearly 600 hp.one thing we Buick guys love is the lack of info out there about Buick power and potential. the look on a guys face when he gets his doors blown off by a Buick that looks stock is worth every extra dollar we had to spend. also a Buick 350 engine weighs 100 lbs less than a similarly equipped chevy 350
 
#8 ·
135 mph

I had a 350 with a mild Schneider cam and a quadrajet and my 1970 Skylark convertible could bury the speedo.135? maybe more. I totally freaked out some guys in a 5.0 Mustang when I passed em doing 130... Good luck with the Buick and it is way lighter for sure. I still have the car but it now has a 396 in it.
Clint
 
#10 ·
You can get as much power from a buick as you can a chevy but it is like this people put chevy engines in fords because it is cheaper to build it. They do the same thing with buicks. The only folks i know that don't go that route are the mopar guys. If you have the time and money then stick with the buick engine. I judge car shows in the summer and i will give a higher score to the guy who kept it all original than the guy who bastarized the hell out of a non race car so it would look "cool and shiny".
 
#11 ·
The Buick 350 is a good, durable, pedestrian engine. Expensive to build, though. And limited by poor heads.

If it were me, I'd shop around for a Buick 455. Still expensive to build, but with 3.08's it'll run 13's all day with nothing more than a mild cam, intake and headers. And it'll smoke the tires into next freaking week!

If you want more, Edelbrock makes heads as does some of the Buick specialty shops.
 
#12 ·
Daileyviper said:
You can get as much power from a buick as you can a chevy but it is like this people put chevy engines in fords because it is cheaper to build it. They do the same thing with buicks.
I don't buy the cheaper to build argument. I think the real reason the world uses belly-button Chebby motors in everything is because you don't need to think. You just write a check and bolt the motor in.

Keep in mind that the reason every car magazine in the world runs a monthly SBC buildup article is to keep their advertisers happy. Show some spine and keep the Buford motor. I do agree that I'd go with a 455, however.
 
#13 · (Edited)
hi there

wow i still have not ever seen an actual buick 350 or any size v-8 engine IRL ever

seem to be extremely rare and long gone from existence

ive seen pics online and wow they look funny..

very alien.

if you go with chevy then youre gonna have to change everything,.,

exhaust, engine mounts and tranny and so on



good luck
 
#14 ·
buick 350 chevy 350

hey guys

i got good news i am going to upgrade. i bought a 72 455 motor and going to put that in there. haven't gotten around to taking it apart and was reading up on it. i am really worried about my block that it could be bad. cause of core shift. i am going to get it apart and send it in to get tested. but is that a big problem or should i just not worry about it?
 
#15 · (Edited)
The short answer is: Don't sweat it, IMHO.

If the core shift was really bad, it wouldn't have made it out of the foundry.

This isn't to say that core shift isn't a consideration- it certainly can be, mostly with highly stressed apps. Core shift can cause problems w/valve train geometry and cylinder wall thickness, to name but two.

But in your case (I'm assuming a "street performance" build here) core shift is a consideration mainly if a 0.060" plus overbore is necessary.

Hopefully your block- if untouched up until now- will clean up @ 0.030". I've yet to see core shift effect a 30 over rebuild.

Were you able to see the engine run? In any event after the machinist mags the block and heads you will have a better idea of where you stand. I'd be more concerned with a cracked head or heaven forbid, block, than core shift.

BTW, I'm glad you chose this route. You're in for some kinda fun!
 
#16 ·
455 block

thanks for info. i got the engine at a car show here in Wisconsin and it had been pulled already he said it ran but that doesn't mean much. the engine turned over and noting was bent or broken so i figure for 200 dollars i would go for it. if nothing esle i will be out 200 dollars and have lots of parts for the next 455 i find.
Steve
 
#17 ·
Buick 350

Your in for a LOT of fun! A freind of mine had a 70 Skylark with a completely stock 71 455. We ran that car on an 1/8 mile dragstrip and started out running 9.50's. Nothing to brag about. We added an aluminum intake, Holley carb, headers,good exhaust system and some 28x 10 slicks. The car ran 8.20 with those mods. Never had the valve covers or timing cover off! Thats flying for simple bolt ons! The car had 3.42 gears and a 2600 converter. Try that with a small block Chevy. Good luck! :thumbup:
 
#19 ·
Watch the oil flow.

I might be mistaken, but the 70 buick 455 was the ultimate 455, I 've been told that after that, Oil flow was a problem. Find yourself a set of stage1 heads and lots of spare tires, cause your gonna need em;.......

By the way, I had a bone stock 70 skylark with a 350 buick small block in it and let me just say, I never noticed a lack of power, if anything, the stock 2.56 gears were the only thing holding me back. As for Torque, Can't beat a buick. I'd sit at a stoplight and feather a power break and twist that car all over the place. You'd never have guesed by the torque it was a 350.\

just my 2cents.
 
#20 ·
buick 350 or chevy 350

i got some good news buicks never give up. i got a friend with a 76 camaro he spent $8,000 getting his engine done. a 400 out of a vette i guess motor puts out about 380hp. we did a half mile had him till about 50mph then he started to pull away but i still stuck with him. so i can just think what that 455 is going to do to him. well just thought i would share with you guys.
 
#22 ·
omega said:
I might be mistaken, but the 70 buick 455 was the ultimate 455,
just my 2cents.
Just to add a couple of cents, I think the 1970 455 stage 1 buick is the ultimate factory muscle-car engine.

As for the 350's, I had a 73 century w/ a 4bbl 350, a $100 junkyard 200-4r, and 3.08 (I think) rear gears. I never had it on a 1/4 mile, but it would hold its own w/ lots of the local cars when I lived in colorado. And I was getting over 20mpg to boot. I'd love to have that one back. The tranny finally gave up after about 20,000 miles.

I've found a couple of buick engines locally and plan on getting at least one of them for a future project. I wonder how well a 1969 430 would do in a GMC 1/2 ton? :D

Matt
 
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