New Member- Buick Regal questions

[tarzanxx]

I'm brand new to the forums, so this may be my introductory post with a couple of questions 🙂. I'm from Saskatchewan, Canada and recently acquired an '81 Buick Regal from a friend. It was a project he got partway through and never finished. He did a fair bit of work to it, part of which was to swap in a 400 Chevy small block from a '76 Impala. He never got it running once it was in the Buick, and life just got too busy and the car has been sitting in a field for about four years.

He basically gave me the car and all his new/used parts for free a couple weeks ago and I've been figuring out where to start.. My first concern with the car is that the motor just doesn't look like it sits right to me. I was there helping years ago when we got the motor finally on the mounts but it seemed way harder than it should have been. The original motor in the Buick was a 267 Chevy, so we figured the 400 would be a straight swap, but the 400 sits way up high and almost looks like the fan would hit the hood if you closed it. I have looked this up a bit on Google, and I think I've found the answer- but can someone confirm that the motor mount brackets from an engine in a big car like a '76 Impala are different and need to be swapped for smaller or lower ones- (like from a 78-88 G-body)? Any idea what the chances are of swapping those brackets without fully removing the engine? Maybe undo the bolts and lift one side of the engine up at a time? (I'm a little short on engine hoists 🙂

I'm also curious about the fuel pump on the 400. It has three connections- presumably one line from the tank, one to the carb, and one return line. Should I block off the return line, get a new fuel pump, or any other suggestions? I had a similar situation before. My very first car was an '81 Monte Carlo which I got shortly after high school (which was longer ago than I care to admit 🙂. That car had a 267 which I swapped for a 350 Chevy and then a 500 Caddy from a '76 Eldorado. The Caddy engine had a fuel pump with a return line, and I was advised to just plug it. That didn't really work as it built up pressure and caused leaks (my guess anyway) so I ran a return line back to the gas tank. Anyway, just curious if anyone has fuel pump thoughts about this.

Thanks to everyone for taking the time to read this- this is a great site! Please excuse my very first post being a fairly long one. It's been a while since I've had a G-body but it's good to be back 🙂. I'll try to post some pictures of this beast- hopefully it will soon be more than a very large lawn ornament. Incidentally, my very preliminary plans for this are to get it running and see how it drives- then grab some spray cans to make it all one colour (maybe do a real paint job later). Depending on cashflow, I might do a mild cam and intake manifold swap, with a simple dual exhaust. Right now I think the exhaust manifolds from the 267 are on the 400 but that might not be the best long term solution for good power 🙂.

 

[85 Cutlass Brougham]

I am surprised you didn't just re-use the whole 267 mount set back then. It would have been the best option. If you still have them, go ahead and swap them in a side at a time.It may be a PITA, but it should be do-able if you get it high enough. If not, a hoist rents for around $25-50 a day, so that is always an option. Then again, you can even do a 4 hour rental at some places.

For the fuel pump, I would try plugging it up, and if that does not work a stock replacement pump is not very expensive for a Chevy, maybe $20. Just get one for an application with only two bungs on it. If the 267 was a 2 bung, just order one for a 267. As always, it is easiest to replace when the pump cam is on the base circle and not on the lift portion of the lobe. Use some grease to keep the rod in place until you can attach the pump. The grease will dissolve in the oil in time, but it makes changing a Chevy fuel pump MUCH easier! With ow long it sat, you may have to replace it anyways as the diaphragm may have dry rotted.

As for mods, I would just get it running and sorted first, and worry about the rest later. If you shop around, you will come up with the pieces you need for relatively little cash over time. Check old pickups in the junkyard for aftermarket manifolds. I cam across 2 or 3 Performer intakes in pickups within a week of each other a few months back, so they are out there. For a carb, a 1976+ Quadrajet is your best bet. Just make sure the primary throttle shaft is tight and not worn out. Otherwise, you will need to bush the base plate. Quadrajets make great street carbs and are also easy on the wallet. I pulled one that had been freshly rebuilt out of a 1979 Chevy van for $35. It is in my car now, and works fine as was. I plan to finish fine tuning it, but that's about all I need to do to make it a great running carb.

 

[Blake442]

Welcome!

Those Impala block mounts on the 400 are far too tall, and like mentioned above, the stock 267 mounts should have been retained.
Hopefully the originals are still laying around, but if not, they're not too hard to come across.

Do not plug up the return fitting on the fuel pump. Plenty of people will say they've gotten away with it, but that doesn't make it a good idea when the correct pump is only about $20.
Go get one for a 267 that has just inlet/outlet and you're good to go...

 

[tarzanxx]

Thanks very much for the comments! I hope to get to work on this over the weekend 🙂. It would have been nice if my buddy still had the original motor, but I think he sold it as soon as it was pulled. Unfortunately I wasn't really involved in the project much at all. My buddy just called me up one day after he had everything in place and was having trouble getting the motor mount bolts in. I didn't think it looked right but he insisted that it was just a hair away from dropping in...

Thanks for the comments on the carb and fuel pump. If this one doesn't run- which I don't have high hopes for after 4 years- I'll see about picking up a used QuadraJet cheap. Hopefully this weekend will be a transmission swap (the one he put in had the mount torched off or something..) and swapping those motor mount brackets. If this project takes off, maybe I'll make a "build thread" with progress pictures 🙂.

 

[tarzanxx]

Buick Regal questions - Transmission problem

It’s been a while and this project has come along a ways but stalled at a transmission issue. Basically, the transmission that my friend put in the car had its mount cut off with a torch and was useless. He didn’t realize it at the time so he bought another used one at a wrecker and I inherited it with all the other parts. I swapped in this transmission (TH350) but have yet to be able to get the car to move. I double-checked all the linkages to make sure it’s actually shifting, and the detents seem to be all correct, but it gives no indication of moving at all in any gear. The fluid shows a little high- sitting cold or running (above the full line), so I am wondering if the dip-stick may not be the correct one. I didn’t add any fluid after the installation, and I don’t know if it’s common to not lose much fluid during a swap. I’ve also had someone suggest that the torque converter may have been installed wrong and crushed the oil pump in the transmission when I bolted it to the engine.

So, I’m wondering if I should just dump a couple litres of oil into it to see if it’s too low, even though the dipstick shows high, or if I should pull the transmission back and take a look at the oil pump/torque converter situation. Any suggestions for this- anything else that would make the car not move at all? Thanks very much!

 

[olds307 and 403]

It should be fine, try driving it first. Any Cutlass(Canada), Monte, Regal or El Camino motor mounts should fix that problem. Where in Saskatchewan are you?

 

[tarzanxx]

Near Moose Jaw, SK. I have the motor mounts all sorted out- the problem is the transmission now. Nothing happens when I put it in gear. (see most recent post)

 

[1evilregal]

if the front pump was crushed when installing, you'd hear what sounds like a cat caught in the belts... don't ask me how I know this...