I always thought that all of the tourqe converters for the 200-4R were the same. I know that I bought one off ebay some time back and it worked out okay. I installed it on my olds/2004R combo and I never specificed that I has an olds v8 engine. The point that I'm making is that if they were different I'd probably have a Chevy tourqe Converter on my olds v8 since most stuff is geared towards Chevy by default...
What do I need to swap SBC 350 into my 88 307 car...
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Chevys are the best engines to have for cheap builds based on free or cheap parts. I paid $15 for the Performer intake on mine, and $30 for the carb. Lots of the other stuff is based on leftovers from people I know.
As for the AMC, mine is a 1979 Spirit GT with a 360 in it. I have had it for 20 years now, and will be getting rid of it soon. Parts are too hard to come by and I just don't want it anymore. The money from the sale will buy new wheels for my Cutlass, and maybe another car to play with that I really want, like a 91-94 Sentra SE-R or 92-95 Civic with a B16 swap.
As for the AMC, mine is a 1979 Spirit GT with a 360 in it. I have had it for 20 years now, and will be getting rid of it soon. Parts are too hard to come by and I just don't want it anymore. The money from the sale will buy new wheels for my Cutlass, and maybe another car to play with that I really want, like a 91-94 Sentra SE-R or 92-95 Civic with a B16 swap.
The difference in the converters is how they bolt to the flexplate.
Buick and Olds use a flat flexplate with holes drilled through for the torque converter mount. A proper Buick/Olds torque converter will have three thick metal blocks that are welded to the converter to match those holes. Those blocks will be threaded and the bolts to hold it together will have a flange head and serrated markings under the flange for extra grip.
Chevy and Pontiac uses a "bumpy" flexplate (for lack of a better term.) You will see either 3 or 6 "bumps" or raised sections on the flat part of the flexplate where the torque converter lines up. The proper Chevy/Pontiac torque converter will just have little metal tabs welded to the torque converter that line up with the holes in the flexplate, not solid thick blocks of metal. There will be a hole drilled in each tab, and the flexplate will have a bolt coming through from the engine side with an egg-shaped self locking nut on the back side to hold the converter to the flexplate.
While the 3 hole pattern is the same for most GM engines, the mounting flange and style is not. There is a slight difference between the depth of the nose of the torque converter (which rides in the tail end of the crankshaft) and the mount flange of the converter to the flexplate. Sometimes it looks as if there is a slight gap when you put it together with mismatched parts. You can use a flat washer or similar spacer to take up the gap to make it right. Some people just tighten it down anyway and then it warps the flexplate and damages the ring gear and starter.
If the alignment is off the other way, you think the converter is lined up just fine and it bolts together great, but the nose of the converter is not tight against the rear of the crank. That's where the minute wobbling happens that eats the front seal. You most likely won't feel a vibration from the misalignment due to the hydraulic oil inside the torque converter acting as a fluid type damper.
Damage can happen, though...
Buick and Olds use a flat flexplate with holes drilled through for the torque converter mount. A proper Buick/Olds torque converter will have three thick metal blocks that are welded to the converter to match those holes. Those blocks will be threaded and the bolts to hold it together will have a flange head and serrated markings under the flange for extra grip.
Chevy and Pontiac uses a "bumpy" flexplate (for lack of a better term.) You will see either 3 or 6 "bumps" or raised sections on the flat part of the flexplate where the torque converter lines up. The proper Chevy/Pontiac torque converter will just have little metal tabs welded to the torque converter that line up with the holes in the flexplate, not solid thick blocks of metal. There will be a hole drilled in each tab, and the flexplate will have a bolt coming through from the engine side with an egg-shaped self locking nut on the back side to hold the converter to the flexplate.
While the 3 hole pattern is the same for most GM engines, the mounting flange and style is not. There is a slight difference between the depth of the nose of the torque converter (which rides in the tail end of the crankshaft) and the mount flange of the converter to the flexplate. Sometimes it looks as if there is a slight gap when you put it together with mismatched parts. You can use a flat washer or similar spacer to take up the gap to make it right. Some people just tighten it down anyway and then it warps the flexplate and damages the ring gear and starter.
If the alignment is off the other way, you think the converter is lined up just fine and it bolts together great, but the nose of the converter is not tight against the rear of the crank. That's where the minute wobbling happens that eats the front seal. You most likely won't feel a vibration from the misalignment due to the hydraulic oil inside the torque converter acting as a fluid type damper.
Damage can happen, though...
85 Cutlass Brougham said:
I don't agree.
The reason I got into Buicks and Oldsmobiles in the first place is because I could get entire engines free from the demolition derby guys. The only true advantage that the small block chevy has is the fifth head bolt per cylinder. It doesn't mean as much as you think when it comes to performance potential, but it means one heck of a lot when you smash the radiator and run the engine with no water! LOL! Those chevy small blocks can really take an overheating!! LOL!
Anyway, I routinely buy whole parts cars with running engines for less than 300 bucks, and I have been doing it since I got my first Electra with a 455 for 250 bucks when I was in High School. The cars are still out there, you just have to do a scavenger hunt to get them. I am willing to put in the time and so I do it.
As to the machining comment, I have experience to stand on. I have never taken apart and measured any small block chevy that didn't require machine work according to the spec sheet. Not one. Even low mileage take outs. I did also rebuild two separate 400 small blocks and I didn't machine them; I just honed them and ran the tolerances a little loose. They seem to be fine with that and I was beating the hell out of them anway.
I have shelled apart many Olds/Buick V8's with the intent of doing what was necessary only to find that an overhaul was all that I needed and no machine work. Maybe chevy owners have beat their engines harder or maintained them less, I don't know. It just seems that Buick and Olds engines were assembled better when new and they were never built in Mexico.
I have done a few serious power builds of Olds engines and I didn't spend as much as the chevy guys did after they went to the machine shop. That was my point. I also buy intakes used from swap meets or eBay/craigslist, but I rarely buy new any speed parts other than the cam. I don't like to run those used. Everything else......
Well being as I'm 21, college student, and working part time, I don't have the time or funds to get a whole car to tear into. I wish I did, it would be alot easier, but hey atleast this way I'm puttin the parts into it that I want. There will be no cast peices in the rotating assembly. Might not be goin for high hp, but I do want reliability.
No problem.
I learned this stuff the hard way, and the expensive way!! I'm just trying to save others the pain.
As for the original poster of this thread who is 21 and in college, please don't take me the wrong way. I don't like chevy, but so what? It's your car and you can do what you want. I am glad that you bought it and plan to put lots of love and money into it.
That is the important thing.
Even 85 Brougham's car can be saved!! It's easy enough to transplant a B-O-P V8 under that hood and re-use most of the GM injection goodies under there. The intake can always be sold on eBay! hahahaha
Anyway, I think everyone here is doing good because nobody is buying these cars to scrap them here. We are all fixing them up, whether they become unrecognizable heaps of metal at the stock car track, drag cars that can no longer be used on the street, or your every day V6 grocery getter.
No worries and good luck; no hard feelings here about your engine choice at all.
I learned this stuff the hard way, and the expensive way!! I'm just trying to save others the pain.
As for the original poster of this thread who is 21 and in college, please don't take me the wrong way. I don't like chevy, but so what? It's your car and you can do what you want. I am glad that you bought it and plan to put lots of love and money into it.
That is the important thing.
Even 85 Brougham's car can be saved!! It's easy enough to transplant a B-O-P V8 under that hood and re-use most of the GM injection goodies under there. The intake can always be sold on eBay! hahahaha
Anyway, I think everyone here is doing good because nobody is buying these cars to scrap them here. We are all fixing them up, whether they become unrecognizable heaps of metal at the stock car track, drag cars that can no longer be used on the street, or your every day V6 grocery getter.
No worries and good luck; no hard feelings here about your engine choice at all.
Exactly what machining are you referring too in a SBC? A SBC is by far the most commonly used engine in an old school GM muscle car. I've built several and the only machining required is the basic machining any motor gets. Are you forgetting that a Olds is still GM? You people act like you own a Ford or something. A G body is a G body, minor differences but the principle is the same. Stop bashing a chevy V8, your Olds engine isn't the best thing out there. They are great motors and the Chevy 350 is as well. For someone on a tight budget a SBC is the way to go for big power even with the little things needed for a swap. I'm sure a Olds 350 could make good power too but just take a look at the aftermarket between the too.
Also, what are my options for a carb? The computer and all it's BS are goig bye bye, but can I just de-computerize the q-jet or am I lookin at a new carb?
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