[rezervation_pitbull]

hey hows it goin guys... i was wondering if building up a pontiac 350 is really worth the biuld... i used to have a 1976 camaro that i was restoring bit by bit and a sad turn of event had me ended up in the middle of the road with a smashed rear end becuase of some drunk girls on a joyride. but not that their insurance if handing over some money i am wanting to buy a 1972 pontiac ventura with a pontiac 350 in it. i checked the motor and the casting numbers and its all pontiac... and its all 350. i am not really do sure how hard its gonna be to put a chevy 350 in it... which would be way easier to biuld since i have alot of parts on hand since i was in the middle of biulding one anyway for the camaro. so i guess my real question is building a pontiac 350 worth it or is swapping in a chevy 350 better? and if the chevy is the better chioce then what do i have to do to get it in there? do i have to swap the tranny as well? how about tranny mounts for the chevy tranny, will they mount up? and motor mounts for the chevy motor. well if theres any info that you guys can give me then that would be greatly appreciated. thanks alot guys!!!

[jimfulco]

Everybody and their brother has a Chevy 350, right? I'd build the Pontiac, just to do something different, and if it doesn't please you, a 400 or 455 will drop in easily, since they are identical in external dimensions to the 350.

If you do want to go with the Chevy motor, get some front springs and the motor mount system from a '68-'72 Nova or '67-'69 Camaro with SBC and use them. You'll also need a transmission that fits on a Chevy block, or an adapter for your current trans. Transmission mounts will be in the same place unless you decide to use a Turbo-400.

[1930u]

Originally Posted by rezervation_pitbull

hey hows it goin guys... i was wondering if building up a pontiac 350 is really worth the biuld... i used to have a 1976 camaro that i was restoring bit by bit and a sad turn of event had me ended up in the middle of the road with a smashed rear end becuase of some drunk girls on a joyride. but not that their insurance if handing over some money i am wanting to buy a 1972 pontiac ventura with a pontiac 350 in it. i checked the motor and the casting numbers and its all pontiac... and its all 350. i am not really do sure how hard its gonna be to put a chevy 350 in it... which would be way easier to biuld since i have alot of parts on hand since i was in the middle of biulding one anyway for the camaro. so i guess my real question is building a pontiac 350 worth it or is swapping in a chevy 350 better? and if the chevy is the better chioce then what do i have to do to get it in there? do i have to swap the tranny as well? how about tranny mounts for the chevy tranny, will they mount up? and motor mounts for the chevy motor. well if theres any info that you guys can give me then that would be greatly appreciated. thanks alot guys!!!

I'd give the poncho a go. Their really great motors. Before you decide check the prices on parts especially cam kits. Pontiac's as I recall have a non adjustable valve train but there are many ways to upgrade. Great story...in high school one buddy of mine had a 71 429 super cobra jet Torino with a 4-speed. Another guy had a 66 326 .040 over 3 speed Lemans. We all used to race at lunch time but we could never get the guy with the Torino to roll it out with us. Finally one day he committed and lined up with the Lemans and that old pontiac busted that Torino by about a fender. About the only other car that could beat the Lemans was a 65 Chevelle 327/300 4 speed but the ol pontiac would stay right with him until 4 gear and then the chevelle would walk way. Bottomline none of us knew what we were doing but God it was so much fun. Build that Pontiac.

[Grusome Goat]

By all means stay with the Pontiac. If your are not satisfied with the 350 in stock form then contact Ken (Ace) Brewer at Pacific Performance Racing as he has developed a stroker kit for the 350 Pontiac to where you can build to a 383 that makes 462 hp and is fully streetable and runs on pump gas. If that isn't enough then you could drop in either a 400 or a 455 whick is pretty well a direct bolt in.

[Huskinhano]

I say keep the Pocho 350 as well. The money along you'd spend on just the ancillary parts needed for the swap could be spent on the Pocho. Years ago in one of the magazines they covered a Pontiac 350 build up. I forget who the dyno operator was but he was one very well known to just about anyone who reads a car mag. He didn't believe from the power made that it was just 350 cu in. He had to verify my measuring that it really was a Pontiac 350! IIRC, the Ventura that the engine went into was running high 9's, NA.

[Old Gold]

I love the Pontiac powerplants. Put them in most my rides. You can build a nice 400hp Pontiac relatively inexpensively. Besides they are low winding tourque monsters, and that nice wide block looks awsome in any rod. Stay with the Poncho!!

[gonzo II]

Not trying too hijack his thread... but I'm thinking similar thoughts.

I have a 350-350T from a 71 BOP (assuming Pontiac)
what do I have to do to squeeze this in my 1965 Chevy II?

Really, I'm going to do it starting tomorrow, other than motor mounts and oil pan issues, what else should I expect?

[WDCreech]

posted by gonzo II: "what else should I expect?"

If what you have is a Pontiac 350, in that light Chevy II body, you'll have one fun street machine, with enough torque to just about rip your head off. The Pontiac 350 (actually 354 cu in), internally, is exactly the same as a 400,except for the piston diameter. Other than the pistons, everything else is interchangable, including the intake manifold. So you could put an early 70s 4bbl manifold on it. To be sure if it's a Pontiac 350, check for a 2 letter code that would be stamed above the water pump on the front of the right bank, and the heads should have a 94 cast on the top of the two center exhaust ports. Good luck and have fun!

[gonzo II]

The engine has a Qjet 4 on the intake
It is stamped 71 under the distributor and 350 on both sides of the block.
I'll look for more stamped numbers in the morning. It does have VERY small numbers stamped in the block, drivers side front, on a small tab just under the heads.... can I cross reference this number anywhere??

The transplant begins Saturday

[WDCreech]

"It is stamped 71 under the distributor and 350 on both sides of the block."

Is the 71 stamped, or is it cast on? I don't know of any Pontiacs having the year stamped on. Does this engine have an oil tube at the front to put oil in, or is the only place to add oil, the valve cover breathers?

[gonzo II]

Yes, I meant cast... 71
the oil filler is up front, directly above the water pump

[WDCreech]

"the oil filler is up front, directly above the water pump"

That would make it an Oldsmobile 350. Bigger bore and shorter stroke than a Pontiac (4.055 X 3.385 vs 3.875 X 3.75). Still a good engine, but I'm into Pontiac, HARDCORE!

[gonzo II]

But same questions now apply.

I found a 71 Catalina in the local scrap pile, can I steal those engine mounts, exhaust manifolds and get away with putting them on the Olds..
I know, I will have to do my own motormount mods to make it work, but do they bolt straight to the Olds?

And dif' stroke, what will I see in the car?
Hey - I've only rebuilt imports up til now, but 50 and I always wanted a rat rod.



Thanks for all your help.

[WDCreech]

If the Cat had an Olds in it, you could probably use the mounts, but I don't know for sure. Like I said, I'm into Pontiacs, and that means traditional Pontiac engines.

[Skylark65350]

I have a '69 pontiac 350 H.O. in my '65 skylark and i love it that thing runs like a raped ape and its not even worked other than a holley 4160. but since your planning on running the olds you need to either custom fab motor mounts or find a nice set out of another olds car that you know had an olds motor. as far as tranny goes GM mounts are universal but you need a TH-350 that is for an olds. they are all generally similar except for the shape of their bell housing of whatever you whish to call it (the part that bolts to the rear of your motor) some are round i think the chevys are round the pontiacs have a dip in the top. idk as far as the olds but all the mounts for the tranny will work.
let me know if you have any more questions.
-Jack