4.1 v6 to buick 350 build (about time) lol

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KrisW said:
I use motor oil and a 3M pad on top of the pistons. I rotate it until it gets to the top, then clean it when its at the top. Wash it all off with WD-40 afterwards.

Everybody's different...

Since you have the engine all apart, absolutely DO pay attention to what the poster before said about the oiling system. I'm a Buick veteran and I can tell you, its the most important thing you can do. If you are going to do it yourself, at the very least you must do a few things.

1. Replace your front cam bearing with one of the "grooved" bearings that TA performance sells. This is not an option.
2. Take your timing cover off. Buy a new timing cover gasket from the auto parts store. Gasket match the oil holes from the block to the gasket, and the timing cover to the gasket with a dremel tool.
3. Buy and install the adjustable oil pressure regulator from TA Performance.
4. Buy the oil pump thrust plate and install it from TA Performance.
5. Buy the 5/8" oil pump pickup tube from TA Performance.
6. Buy a new oil pump pickup tube gasket from the auto parts store, and gasket match the block. Then install your bigger pickup tube.

For a normal street cruising, "FUN" engine, these little mods will make your engine last forever. For hard use and racing you need to do a bit more.

You will need to clearance your Air Conditioner box a little for the RH valve cover to clear. The Buick V6 is actually based off of the old 300 V8 and it uses a slightly narrower engine block. The 350 has a wider block due to the increased stroke having a bit of a problem in the 340 engine blocks. It fits, but its just too narrow and puts too much stress on the block. So, the 350 is a little wider, and it hits there.

You can use your CCC Quadrajet, but you have to do a few little mods.

-You need to remove the vacuum advance stuff from your HEI distributor. You will need to take the 7 pin module and wiring harness from your Buick V6 distributor and mount it in your V8 distributor, OR you can have someone just take the V6 gear off of the bottom and put your V8 gear back on to your original V6 distributor. Then put your V8 cap on it. The timing advance is run off of your ECM as well as the CCC Carb.

-You will need a PROM chip from a V8 car. The Olds 307 powered cars would be the best one to use. It needs the V8 chip so that it can tell the RPM signal that its getting is for an 8 cylinder engine. If you leave the V6 chip in there, your timing and fuel will be way off. You should be able to get a chip (or the whole ECM) from a wrecking yard for nearly nothing. You may even get a slight bump from a carbureted Z28 or Trans Am chip. The fuel injected chips won't work.

Good luck man!






Thanks for all the great info! That was exactly what I was looking for. I've decided to buy all new internals for the engine, its all going to be from TA Performance. I still have to do more reading up to what pistons, would be best with what cam, and all that good stuff. Do you think if I beef it up a little with the higher performance parts TA performance offers that it will still be a reliable engine?
 
So I had a chance yesterday to hang out with Mel and after he helped me change a bad engine mount on the Regal, we did a little dissasembly and cleaned up the engine, primered and painted. Heres some picks.


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v2vera said:
So I had a chance yesterday to hang out with Mel and after he helped me change a bad engine mount on the Regal, we did a little dissasembly and cleaned up the engine, primered and painted. Heres some picks.


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NICE!
 
two90west said:
looking good bro, and yeah you were right i got the th 350 with the universal bell housing!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Cool glad that worked out for you, Good luck on your swap!
 
Putting in work huh...that looks like fun...I kinda want to get a 350 block and learn how to build a motor myself...then either keep it or slang it, or put it in the next project...

Good job Vic...keep them pics coming
 
v2vera said:
...I've decided to buy all new internals for the engine, its all going to be from TA Performance. I still have to do more reading up to what pistons, would be best with what cam, and all that good stuff. Do you think if I beef it up a little with the higher performance parts TA performance offers that it will still be a reliable engine?

There are two things that you should do. The first thing is to buy a book on Buick V8 engines, so that you have a good spec sheet and good advice to help you rebuild it.

The next thing is to call TA Performance and talk to them. If you are going to rebuild the engine yourself, which is fine in my opinion (I do it in MY garage, you can do it in yours, too) then you need to take it apart down to the block and work on that oiling system like I described above. The Buick V8 book will tell you exactly what to do. When I get the link to that book I will post it here for you.

The guys at TA Performance have a great tech line. They can advise you exactly what to get, as far as pistons and all that. Basically, you shoot them a performance goal for your car, they can tell you what horsepower you'll need to get there and what engine parts you need to make that horsepower. As far as Buick V8 performance goes, they are a one stop shop.

Good luck man, and I'll post that link for the book soon.

And, YES, it will still be reliable.
 
Had a good time wrenching with you this weekend. First time i've tore into a buick engine and i'm learning a lot already. Working on your car is making me want to make the guy around the corner an offer on that t-type regal. I'll swing you by his house next time you stop by. I'm selling the nova to my little sister so I might have to start saving my lunch money and make the guy an offer he can't refuse. If I get it i'll build it for my wife "T-Type Nancy" :mrgreen:
 
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