My First Project Ever- 84 Regal Limited w/ Pontiac 400

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CoelacanthsKill

Not-quite-so-new-guy
Jul 30, 2017
14
9
3
MI
It needs a trans rebuild (1st and 2nd gears got me home.. reverse is getting out and pushing it out of the driveway,) mufflers put back on (CO headaches and heated floors are not fun,) interior needs lots of work, and possibly a new rear end (only afraid of twisting something.) Most I've ever done is change rotors and pads on a car, so this is going to be a major learning experience. It's a little more rough that what the attached picture shows, but it's worth the under $2k I paid. I won't be doing much until next summer, so I have plenty of time to look over every square inch and prioritize the important things.

If you have any tips for a beginner with a Pontiac 400 in a gbody, I'd love to hear them. Links to books and manuals are appriciated as well. I posted this on Reddit as well and got a lot of great feedback. You'll see me on this forum looking for parts and asking questions.
Reddit Thread

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MrSony

Geezer
Nov 15, 2014
6,790
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Des Moines, Iowa
Coolio. I don't think I've ever seen a Buick with a pontiac motor, stock or otherwise. Not a common swap, for whatever reason. And I know that feeling. My Th350 sh*t the bed on my way to school. Lost all but reverse and gained 3 more neutrals. Had to leave it there until later that night in a crappy part of town, lucky nothing was stolen. There was nothing of value in it besides my cassettes, and if they could drive it away with a blown trans, they could have it. Keep us updated man. Also, it's considered common courtesy to introduce yourself on the forum. :p
 

CoelacanthsKill

Not-quite-so-new-guy
Jul 30, 2017
14
9
3
MI
I did have short intro, but lost what I typed when I accidentally clicked on a link.

I'm Pat, a full time student at a community college getting an associates degree in software development. I've always loved the look of all gbodies, but the price of beautiful ones scared me away as a broke college student. Well, I finally found something that was in my tight price range that wasn't falling apart for the few bucks I had. I'm happy with it, and I can't wait for the day when I can take a step back and appreciate all the hard work that will be going into her.

I was trying to find other people who have dropped a Pontiac 400 in a Regal to see what kind of work they've done. Maybe I haven't looked hard enough
 
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MrSony

Geezer
Nov 15, 2014
6,790
6,673
113
Des Moines, Iowa
I did have short intro, but lost what I typed when I accidentally clicked on a link.

I'm Pat, a full time student at a community college getting an associates degree in software development. I've always loved the look of all gbodies, but the price of beautiful ones scared me away as a broke college student. Well, I finally found something that was in my tight price range that wasn't falling apart for the few bucks I had. I'm happy with it, and I can't wait for the day when I can take a step back and appreciate all the hard work that will be going into her.

I was trying to find other people who have dropped a Pontiac 400 in a Regal to see what kind of work they've done. Maybe I haven't looked hard enough
Coolio. For the most part, any info on any other 81-88 g body with a swapped in poncho motor will apply. All the cars may have different sheet metal, but they're all the same underneath.
 
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Oct 14, 2008
8,806
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Melville,Saskatchewan
I assume the trans is a TH350? Do the usual upgrades. If it is a TH2004R, it will need more. What year 400? You should at least upgrade the spider gears if nothing else in the rear end.
 

CoelacanthsKill

Not-quite-so-new-guy
Jul 30, 2017
14
9
3
MI
I assume the trans is a TH350? Do the usual upgrades. If it is a TH2004R, it will need more. What year 400? You should at least upgrade the spider gears if nothing else in the rear end.

Pretty positive it's a 200, although listing said 400. The purchase included a 350 that needs a complete rebuild, as 'all gears are neutral.' I was told the 200 can be built up to be pretty damn good. I'm looking for cost effective solutions that I can still have fun with.

A few things that would ease my mind:

Proper throttle return spring(s) (Currently one stretched to alternator bracket)
Fuel cell foam
Stopping specks of rust from spreading on roof
Change oil and as suggested put zinc additives in

What octane gas do you suggest? I was told 93 made it run just a little happier but I've on heard it with 87 so far.
 

ck80

Moderator
Moderator
Supporting Member
Feb 18, 2014
5,742
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Welcome aboard!

Step number one is decide what you want tell car to be and work back from there. Is it for drag strips? Street use? Is gas mileage any concern at all?

Right now is the time to plan a final tranmission/rear gear/wheel&tire combo. Lots of guys just toss stuff together - oh, thays a strong trans... oh I hear lower (numerically higher) gears are good... oh I like the 'look' of those size tires.... the reality is all those things need to work together for the best results.

Then they wind up with a car that spends most of its driving time outside the optimal power band for that particular setup and complain about not enough power and horrible mileage.

Find the casting numbers and learn what you've got in the motor. Typically those poncho motors are torque monsters. Late 70s, say 77/78 TAs with w72 and the 400 used some of the biggest factory qjets of the era. So start with trying to figure out what you've got, then find a similar dyno to get an idea of power bands, use an online calculator couning your tire size to find which trans and rear combo places you comfortably in the power band at the speeds you want to run.

Also, I notice you have no wheelwells in there. I'd make a list of what else is missing on the car to start gathering for when you really start doing work.
 
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CoelacanthsKill

Not-quite-so-new-guy
Jul 30, 2017
14
9
3
MI
Welcome aboard!

Step number one is decide what you want tell car to be and work back from there. Is it for drag strips? Street use? Is gas mileage any concern at all?

Right now is the time to plan a final tranmission/rear gear/wheel&tire combo. Lots of guys just toss stuff together - oh, thays a strong trans... oh I hear lower (numerically higher) gears are good... oh I like the 'look' of those size tires.... the reality is all those things need to work together for the best results.

Then they wind up with a car that spends most of its driving time outside the optimal power band for that particular setup and complain about not enough power and horrible mileage.

Find the casting numbers and learn what you've got in the motor. Typically those poncho motors are torque monsters. Late 70s, say 77/78 TAs with w72 and the 400 used some of the biggest factory qjets of the era. So start with trying to figure out what you've got, then find a similar dyno to get an idea of power bands, use an online calculator couning your tire size to find which trans and rear combo places you comfortably in the power band at the speeds you want to run.

Also, I notice you have no wheelwells in there. I'd make a list of what else is missing on the car to start gathering for when you really start doing work.

Definitely street use. The car was mostly stripped for racing. As you noticed the wheel wells were removed along with the center console, gauges where air controls would be, has fuel cell, and the battery was put in the trunk. Battery kinda sketches me out being in an enclosed area with gas fumes. Should it stay, or should I move it back up front? I do want wheel wells back for sure since it'll be on the road a lot, and then I could put the battery up front. I'd either want a complete center console back with oil temp and pressure in a console race pod (shown here,) or invest in a rally cluster and 'delete panels' for air controls+radio and a decent looking boot to go over the shifter.

Gas mileage isn't too much of a concern since I'm not burning anything above 93 octane.. yet. The block is a either a 75 or 76 with 6x heads.

When I put the short mufflers on I have and change the oil in a few weeks or so, I'll see what trans I have and decide what I want to do from there. I'm a broke college student, so I'm in no hurry to do anything other than get the trans rebuilt and prevent rust from spreading.

I don't consider it road worthy yet, even if it had a fully working trans. Today I got a surprise when the braided fuel hose touched a post on the alternator. I think I'll be replacing all of the hoses, rerouting brake lines away from the exhaust manifolds, and wrapping the exhaust manifolds in the near future. Oil filter is about 3/8" from the exhaust too. I start to see why a big block isn't extremely common in a gbody, but it'll be worth it in the end
 

84GP455

G-Body Guru
Jun 19, 2007
779
95
28
Methuen Ma.
First off welcome to the forum and good luck!

Pontiac lesson # 1 - Pontiac does not have a "big block" or a "small block" those are Chevy terms, all Pontiac V8 blocks are the same size externally 301-455 with different internals. And "big blocks" and bigger engines are very common and sought after in g-body's, just ask anyone on this wonderful forum!

Pontiac lesson # 2 - It is sacrilegious to paint any Pontiac block "Chevy orange" the color does not look good on a true Pontiac engine! The correct color is Pontiac blue.

Other than these 2 points I like your setup and it looks cool!
 
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CoelacanthsKill

Not-quite-so-new-guy
Jul 30, 2017
14
9
3
MI
First off welcome to the forum and good luck!

Pontiac lesson # 1 - Pontiac does not have a "big block" or a "small block" those are Chevy terms, all Pontiac V8 blocks are the same size externally 301-455 with different internals. And "big blocks" and bigger engines are very common and sought after in g-body's, just ask anyone on this wonderful forum!

I keep trying to remember it's not a big block, but my brain is like a wet sponge most of the time
Of the few g body's I've seen in person, I have yet to see one without a stock engine. Maybe if I go to shows more often I'll see some with bigger engines, lol.

Edit: For point #2, I completely agree... But that will be one of the last things done to this car unless it needs more engine work.
 
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