Hello everyone...

[kornball426]

Hi I just wanted to introduce myself... I'm John. I'm new to the forum and new to owning a G-Body. But I've been on the net in forums for years, and my bro used to have a Monte SS that I helped do several engine swaps on, first a 383 stroker, then a 454, and then back to a 350.

Anyway, I just bought an 86 Regal LTD that I've got some plans for. And a couple questions about.

First, how do I find out if I have the 7.5 or 8.5 inch ten bolt and what gear ratio it is? It's very sluggish, but I don't know if I should chock that up to only having 140 hp, or if it's a very very high gear. And what model cars can I pull a rear out of? Is it strictly G-Bodies, or will an F-Body rear also bolt in? I seem to remember the F-Body having a traction bar, and a panhard rod and I don't think the G has that but I'm not sure.

And the other question is... In theory any Olds V8 will almost directly swap into place of the original 307 or am I mistaken? From what I've been learning the blocks are identical in dimensions except the deck height which is an inch give or take taller on the big block than the small block. I'm thinking about doing a 425 or a 455 Olds once I have the chassis up to snuff if it's the kind of job that can be pulled off in a weekend by a pair of shade tree mechanics. I can't do anything that would take the car off the road for more than a few days since it's my daily driver.

Then down the road some rims and tires, and a paint job as well as getting rid of the half vinyl top.

 

[outsider_27]

I can tell you that the Olds blocks are all bolt in, you can pull a 260 and install a 455 in it's place. The deck height is the only difference. Although you don't want to use a TH200 transmission with a 455 :lol:

 

[Blake442]

Welcome!

Your car has a 7.5" rear. You can find the axle ratio by looking up the code on the RPO label under the trunk lid. We've got the codes listed here:
http://gbodyforum.com/viewtopic.php?t=5155
An F-body axle won't fit, but the carrier will. Stock you have 26 spline axles, and you'll probably have to upgrade to 28's to run an F-body carrier.
You could also take a step in the right direction by getting an 8.5", but they are expensive and hard to find. Only came in '84-'87 Turbo Buicks, '84 H/O's & '85-'87 442's.

Any small-block (260,307,350,403) or big-block (400,425,455) Olds will drop right in on the stock mounts, but the stock trans probably won't last long.

I put a 455 in mine. 😀

 

[kornball426]

So what trans do you think would be the best choice, a TH350 or TH400? Or maybe a 700R4? I am not planning to ever go completely buck wild on the motor... But I'm looking for like 375 to 400+ horsepower. So I don't know if it would be better to go with a lighter trans and get better MPG, or go with the bigger trans and never really have to worry about blowing it.

Didn't the 8.5's come in Monte SS's? I'm definitely going to do a rear swap... IMO. There's no point to doing the motor up if you're stuck with highway gears, peg legging, and possibly grenading an axle or the diff. :lol: If I have to I'll find a rear out of something and make it work. I can weld and fab a little so I could weld the brackets for the control arms and coils onto another rear maybe an old 12 bolt or 9 inch, or even a ford 8.8 inch, or something. I'd just vastly prefer to find a usable rear that I could just bolt into place. :wink:

And thanks about the info on the engines, you confirmed my assumption. I can definitely pull off that swap in no time. Sounds as easy as taking out a Chebby 305 and putting in a 350. 😀

Of course this is going to be an ongoing project that pry won't be done for quite a while so I'll pry be around a lot. :shock:

You got pictures or video of that 455 Regal? I'd love to see them... What kind of power are you putting down... What rear gears... What trans do you have? And what kind of times does it run? What are the specs. I'd love to know, since you seem to have done what I want to do. :lol:

 

[outsider_27]

Don't quote me, but on an Olds block, you won't find a 700r4 that will bolt up. The 2004r is the overdrive used with Olds engines. I would go with a TH350 or the 2004r. If you go with an overdrive, you can go with a higher gear ratio in the rearend without having the engine rev real high at cruising speeds. The TH400 requires more modifications to the crossmember, mount, and driveshaft to work, but people have done it.

 

[kornball426]

Oh sorry... I didn't know that a 700r4 wouldn't work. I figured there was one with BOP bolt pattern I'm not at all knowledgeable about BOP stuff. Just Chevy and Ford... Which is part of why I'm here, I've read a lot of articles and stuff and I'm just trying to learn stuff about the car I own. And what I can do with it. First thing that came to mind was I wanted a 383 SBC and even though I think I could handle the swap without a problem... It'll be easier to just stick with an Olds motor I think. They're cheap enough, and pretty abundant... With a rebuild, some decent compression. cam, intake, carb, and headers, with a little home port job I think I can get the power I want. And what'll it cost a couple hundred bucks more than a SBC? I mean honestly manifolds and cams are more expensive but most of the other stuff costs in the same range. And it saves me some effort of having to relocate stuff for the bowtie motor. And I'll learn a little somethin in the process.

I've only ever owned some ford and chevy pickups, an S10... And a Camaro. This is the first car I've ever had that wasn't Ford or Chevy, except my moms car I used to drive in highschool that was a Dodge. :lol: I think I've got some stuff to learn.

200r4's are pretty expensive to rebuild aren't they? I'd like overdrive it's a nice feature... But with budget restraints I think I might get stuck with a turbo 350.

 

[Blake442]

If you don't go too wild with the power, a mildly built 200-4R should hold up alright. A big trans cooler will help big time. They are a bit more pricey to build, and that's what kept me away. You'd probably be just fine with a well built TH350, but if you want overdrive, the 200-4R is definately a better choice than a 700-R4, in my opinion, as fewer modifications are necessary. A 700-R4 will work with a BOP motor, there are adapter plates available, but the torque converter will have to be spaced accordingly.

My 455 is in an '85 442, not a Regal, though the principals of the swap are the same. There's some pictures on my CarDomain page, though I didn't do a very good job of taking 'in progress' pictures... No video or track times yet.

No 8.5's for Monte SS's... Just the special Olds and Buicks.
I'm one of the lucky few whose car already has an 8.5 from the factory, so I have the stock rear end in it for now, complete with 3.73 gears... though it desparately needs a posi. Though since I switched from the 200-4R to a TH400, it buzzes quite a bit on the freeway. I've considered swapping to a 3.42 or even a 3.23, since the 455 makes so much torque, I really don't need the 3.73's. Someday when the funds allow, I'll have the 200-4R gone through and put it back in the car.

 

[kornball426]

Hmmm well... I'm not really anywhere near the step where I have to pick a transmission. So it seems I've got some thinking to do. I've been comparing 200's to 700's... And the 700 appears to have a more solid package and I wouldn't mind doing the driveshaft shortening. But needing an adapter sounds like a pain in the butt and pricey. I dunno, like I said I don't need to make a choice, but most likely I'll go with a th350 or even a th400 just for the price savings.

I looked at your CarDomain and your car is friggin sweet. Awesome job man. Speaking of other cool cars, I can't believe someone else already put a old T/A Shaker hood on a G-Body I was thinking about doing that and then I saw it on one of the car of the month threads and I don't want to be a copy cat. :?

Oh well I'm sure I can tack down an 8.5 eventually... Maybe I'll get lucky in my parts hunt someone will not know what they've got and pick it up dirt cheap.