How To Swap Buick V6 3.8 to SBC 350

[87CutlassSupremeBrougham]

Started my swap to a sbc327 and I have some questions:

I have a th350 with the 6" tailshaft for a total length of 27-5/8. The th200 is 28-1/4. Am I going to need a longer driveshaft or is the shorter overall 5/8" not a problem?
How bad is the handling if you dont swap your front springs?
Do I just get stock gbody V8 brackets for alternator, AC and steering pump?
Can I leave the v6 computer in or what exactly do I do there?

 

[Sargent]

Started my swap to a sbc327 and I have some questions:

I have a th350 with the 6" tailshaft for a total length of 27-5/8. The th200 is 28-1/4. Am I going to need a longer driveshaft or is the shorter overall 5/8" not a problem?
How bad is the handling if you dont swap your front springs?
Do I just get stock gbody V8 brackets for alternator, AC and steering pump?
Can I leave the v6 computer in or what exactly do I do there?

-The driveshaft will work with no issues.
-I can't answer the spring question. I haven't driven my Regal yet
-All the accessory brackets can be found on eBay. I'm not sure about the factory ones since I just bought new.
-You could leave the computer in but it isn't hard to remove. You just remove the interior panels by the passenger's right foot and pull the wiring out from the engine bay side. I used a rubber expansion plug to fill the hole.

 

[87CutlassSupremeBrougham]

-The driveshaft will work with no issues.
-I can't answer the spring question. I haven't driven my Regal yet
-All the accessory brackets can be found on eBay. I'm not sure about the factory ones since I just bought new.
-You could leave the computer in but it isn't hard to remove. You just remove the interior panels by the passenger's right foot and pull the wiring out from the engine bay side. I used a rubber expansion plug to fill the hole.

Thanks for the tips. I am going to drop in the SBC with the trans attached. What can also be installed before it goes in? Pulleys and water/fuel pump?

 

[Sargent]

Thanks for the tips. I am going to drop in the SBC with the trans attached. What can also be installed before it goes in? Pulleys and water/fuel pump?

I put my 350 in with the th350 hanging off the back too. I got my engine with no accessories on really. Had the water pump, fuel pump, exhaust manifolds. I don’t think the starter was on it but there is no reason the alternator and power steering can’t be on there at the same time. I had the whole front clip with the core support removed which made installing the engine super easy. I also had the steering shaft removed and steering gear

 

[stew86MCSS396]

Re: coil springs...I've done a chevy 229 V6 to SBC '81 Monte, Buick 231 to Buick 455 '81 Regal and SBC to BBC '86 Monte SS. None of them got upgraded springs up front but there was a noticeable drop that I did not measure the before and after. Keep in mind, of the 3 mentioned the SS from the factory had stiffer springs as compared to the others.