Finally after approximately 8 or 9 months of work, my Ford truck project is (mostly) back in one piece. It's now running and drivable, though it needs some odds and ends (small exhaust leak, needs a timing cover gasket, drivers door needs reassembled, I want to coat the underside with Fluid Film, etc.) I really loved doing that project and it was a lot of rewarding hard work, but it did distract me from my Regal. I'm now at a good stopping point with the truck that I can shift my focus back to the Regal.
If you aren't already aware, my 1987 Regal, which started out as my first project car in March of 2012, has been sitting under a cover in my home garage with no engine or transmission for about two years. In 2016, about a month or two after completing the extensive amount of body work, which included lifting the body off of the frame, I decided I couldn't stand the gutless nature of the original V6 any longer (it never ran great, anyways) and so I pulled it and the metric 200 transmission out and bought a 1976 Buick 350 with grand plans of building it up to make decent horsepower.
Well I got the motor disassembled and cleaned, and carefully labeled and organized, and then life got in the way and its still apart today. At this point, I am much more familiar with Buick engines than I was when I bought it, and knowing what I know now, I don't really want to invest the kind of money it would take to get that engine to where I would be happy with it.
Now I could still easily do a hone and re-ring on that engine and put it back in the car and have a running, driving Regal with a Buick 350 in it, but then I still have to get a transmission, radiator, driveshaft etc. to get it running, and if I decided to mod it later, I wouldn't feel comfortable doing power upgrades on a bone stock re-ringed engine.
So here's where I am now. My current idea is this- I have a 1998 BMW 323is Coupe that is sort of an extra car. I really do like the thing, and it's super fun to drive. It needs nothing (other than a stick shift swap, which I have been hoarding parts for) and I have done a ton of maintenance work to it, using only BMW parts and I have receipts from the dealership for everything. However, I don't drive it very much. In fact, I don't drive it at all during the winter. So I am considering selling it and using the money and space from that car to buy a running, driving G-Body with a decent engine already in it, and swapping the complete drivetrain into my Regal. I can probably pick something up cheap, as it doesn't have to be pretty, complete, or even have a title. It just needs to run and drive. I can swap the power train over, and then part out/sell/scrap whatever is left, and make a little bit of money back. I can also take the Buick 350 I have, do a re-ring and put new bearings in it, and sell it as a refreshed engine, and possibly make a little off of it.
I'm still sorta in the idea phase of this whole thing and nothing is set in stone, but I will be getting back to the Regal soon, one way or the other.
If you aren't already aware, my 1987 Regal, which started out as my first project car in March of 2012, has been sitting under a cover in my home garage with no engine or transmission for about two years. In 2016, about a month or two after completing the extensive amount of body work, which included lifting the body off of the frame, I decided I couldn't stand the gutless nature of the original V6 any longer (it never ran great, anyways) and so I pulled it and the metric 200 transmission out and bought a 1976 Buick 350 with grand plans of building it up to make decent horsepower.
Well I got the motor disassembled and cleaned, and carefully labeled and organized, and then life got in the way and its still apart today. At this point, I am much more familiar with Buick engines than I was when I bought it, and knowing what I know now, I don't really want to invest the kind of money it would take to get that engine to where I would be happy with it.
Now I could still easily do a hone and re-ring on that engine and put it back in the car and have a running, driving Regal with a Buick 350 in it, but then I still have to get a transmission, radiator, driveshaft etc. to get it running, and if I decided to mod it later, I wouldn't feel comfortable doing power upgrades on a bone stock re-ringed engine.
So here's where I am now. My current idea is this- I have a 1998 BMW 323is Coupe that is sort of an extra car. I really do like the thing, and it's super fun to drive. It needs nothing (other than a stick shift swap, which I have been hoarding parts for) and I have done a ton of maintenance work to it, using only BMW parts and I have receipts from the dealership for everything. However, I don't drive it very much. In fact, I don't drive it at all during the winter. So I am considering selling it and using the money and space from that car to buy a running, driving G-Body with a decent engine already in it, and swapping the complete drivetrain into my Regal. I can probably pick something up cheap, as it doesn't have to be pretty, complete, or even have a title. It just needs to run and drive. I can swap the power train over, and then part out/sell/scrap whatever is left, and make a little bit of money back. I can also take the Buick 350 I have, do a re-ring and put new bearings in it, and sell it as a refreshed engine, and possibly make a little off of it.
I'm still sorta in the idea phase of this whole thing and nothing is set in stone, but I will be getting back to the Regal soon, one way or the other.
