Help with engine and upgrades
- Thread starter Baker87
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i seen a cool idea on another site a fella put a 3.1 fwd in his mgb you would have to use a metric bolt pattern bellhousing and notch it for the starter but from what i have read they should bolt right up with a few minor mods it would be different and a stock 3.1 has the same horse as a stock lg4 305 and around 200 pounds lighter! if you look it up you can find out how to do it and what you'll need
It really depends on how much money and skill you have. A turbo Grand National v6 would be great, but tracking down all the needed parts could be expensive. Then there is some people who have put a super charged 3800 V6 into these cars, but again, that can take a lot of money and requires fabrication. Any Buick V8 will be a direct bolt in.
I bet the 3.1 would be an up hill fabrication battle from motor mounts to transmission to making your accessories work. On top of that it has less torque and requires more rpm to get to it than the 3.8. Horsepower is moot if you don't have enough gear & gears. If you thought getting your heavy (relative) Regal moving with the carberated 3.8 was slow you would be disappointed with how long it would take you to get up a head of steam to get it rolling with the 3.1.
If you can locate one a Buick 350 would be your best easiest swap if you want decent power & economy and if you don't need something extremely fast. Check out http://www.v8buick.com as they have a section dedicated to us titled "V8 Buick powered Regals" where people have and are doing this swap. That board would also be a great place to locate a Buick engine. If you want more power the Buick 455 is a great high performance street platform. I had a Buick 455 and wish I still had it. The downside of a 455 is a lil more work & expense on the install especially if you want to use headers.
Aside from that about anything will fit the Regal / G-body which is part of what makes them a great platform to build a great & powerful street car out of. Heck click my pics button and you can see where I put a Cadillac 500 in a 442 Cutlass.
The most common swap would be a sbc which is the worlds most common motor. Unique you would not be but they are easy to find cheap & plentiful with plenty of used after market parts everywhere and that in itself is a virtue. Its a little more work time & money to install but the idea is that if the motor is cheap enough & after market parts are cheap & available that you can more that make up for it. In fact there is a sticky here on doing that swap. Hope this all helps and have fun.
Edit The newer fuel injected & computer controlled version of the 3.8 ie the 3800 would also be a great choice. You would have a little more to contend with than a simple old v8 swap such as needing an intank fuel pump & dealing with the computer but it has been done as seen on this board in the past and you would even have the option of the factory supercharged 3800. It would have both power & economy & great street manners and be your v6. The guy who did it and posted here was from Indiana & has a transmission shop with a website. In fact he said something to the effect that he would do this swap for people in his shop for a fee. Somebody may have a link or more info on him.
BTW Your Regal looks clean & sharp. I always liked the Buick ralleys although I don't like the little 14x6s. FYI if you want to upgrade but like the look and want to keep it Buick you might find the identical wheel on the Buick site only in a 15x7.
If you can locate one a Buick 350 would be your best easiest swap if you want decent power & economy and if you don't need something extremely fast. Check out http://www.v8buick.com as they have a section dedicated to us titled "V8 Buick powered Regals" where people have and are doing this swap. That board would also be a great place to locate a Buick engine. If you want more power the Buick 455 is a great high performance street platform. I had a Buick 455 and wish I still had it. The downside of a 455 is a lil more work & expense on the install especially if you want to use headers.
Aside from that about anything will fit the Regal / G-body which is part of what makes them a great platform to build a great & powerful street car out of. Heck click my pics button and you can see where I put a Cadillac 500 in a 442 Cutlass.
The most common swap would be a sbc which is the worlds most common motor. Unique you would not be but they are easy to find cheap & plentiful with plenty of used after market parts everywhere and that in itself is a virtue. Its a little more work time & money to install but the idea is that if the motor is cheap enough & after market parts are cheap & available that you can more that make up for it. In fact there is a sticky here on doing that swap. Hope this all helps and have fun.Edit The newer fuel injected & computer controlled version of the 3.8 ie the 3800 would also be a great choice. You would have a little more to contend with than a simple old v8 swap such as needing an intank fuel pump & dealing with the computer but it has been done as seen on this board in the past and you would even have the option of the factory supercharged 3800. It would have both power & economy & great street manners and be your v6. The guy who did it and posted here was from Indiana & has a transmission shop with a website. In fact he said something to the effect that he would do this swap for people in his shop for a fee. Somebody may have a link or more info on him.
BTW Your Regal looks clean & sharp. I always liked the Buick ralleys although I don't like the little 14x6s. FYI if you want to upgrade but like the look and want to keep it Buick you might find the identical wheel on the Buick site only in a 15x7.
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