Got my first G. A '78 Regal

[Boone708]

Hey guys. Im another new guy. Ive always liked G Bodies and was looking for a clean Cutlass in Chicago. I came across this halfway decent '78 Regal for a good price, so i pick it up instead. It needs work, but thats part of the fun of ownership. Anyway, the Pontiac 301 took a crap. Id like to find a 350 to put in it. Since Chevy motors are the easiest/cheapest to find and build up, where can i find a how-to on swapping in a Chevy?

 

[Evan11]

Nice car. Welcome to the forum. Those 78-80 regals are probably my fav regal

 

[malibu80kc]

welcome buddy.

 

[wonderboy24]

welcome,nice regal. as far as chevy engines yes they are easy to find and cheaper to build. As Far as engine swap there are trends on here on for different things.

 

[oldtinsmith]

Boone708,
Welcome to the site.

Doug

 

[mebe007]

And yet another 78-80 regal joins the crowd. Awesome! As far as a SBC swap goes its pretty straightforward. You can look at my build in my sig for some ideas, beware theres lots of pictures. First things first you will either need to go to moroso solid mounts for a 78-88 monte carlo or you will have to ask around here/scrounge your local junkyard for SBC frame pads as well as the clamshell mounts for the engine. This is what i used with Energy suspension polyurethane frame pad inserts. Now as far as the fuel system goes i am unsure as to whether the poncho motor has fuel lines on the driver side or passenger side. Mine had the 3.8L in it so my fuel lines were on the drivers side. There are 2 ways to do this what some consider the wrong way and some consider the right way. They say the right way is to run new fuel lines along the frame on the passenger side since the chevy fuel pump is on that side. This is the way the montes came. I never got around to this and simply ran braided line from the driver side to the passenger side with a hard tube compression fitting to an adapter. (like $10 at summit). Next it will take alot more stuff to keep the ac which i didnt, such as the right compressor/brackets not to mention everything else. As far as wiring well thats all pretty striaghtforward. you can get the correct sending units for oil pressure and water temp etc for your idiot dash lights or omit them all together (what most people consider the wrong way, all up to you and how much effort you want to put forward. Ayways welcome to the site and let us know if there is anything else you need help with.

 

[Boone708]

Thanks for the warm welcome. There are alot of really cool cars built here. I was really concerned about converting to an sbc, but after looking around the site, i feel the knowledge and help is here, its more of a time and effort thing now. I'll definitely be leaning on you guys for help 😀