Why everyone is putting Chevy's in the off brands!
- Thread starter teambop
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Why ask Why?
Well, lets see. Why did I choose a SBC over a BOP engine? Because when I started with g-bodies my 84 had the V6 Buick in it. I helped my nephew look for V8 Olds parts for his Cutlass, unsucessfully. I already had a 350 Chevy and all the bracketry along with a rebuilt TH350. I was going to have to change the frame mounts anyway and $25 later I had all I needed to drop that carbed 350 in my 84 Cutlass.
That progressed to a 383 TPI with AFR heads, hyd roller cam and T5 transmission. It was also further upgraded to SuperRam intake and a T56 trans.
A bad case of So. ILL. cancer killed that Cutlass so I bought an 86 with a better body. So now I'm in the process of swapping it all over to my 86.
I thought "Hot Rodding" WAS about upgrading what you had with what you could get. Just because you build a car aimed more toward drag racing does that make it better or worse than the guy who chooses to leave his stock or, in my case, toward the pro-touring theme? Which is better, auto or manual transmission? Black, white, blue, or green? Bucket seats and console or bench seat? What size rims are best, 14, 15, 16, 17, or 20's? Conventional springs and shocks, air ride, or hydraulics? Trailer queen or daily-driver? I never could understand why people would put their car in storage the first time the temp dropped below 60* in October and not have it see the light of day until May. Does that make it right or wrong? No, I'd rather enjoy mine all year long. But again, it's not a trailer queen with 10,000 original miles either.
Weather you like what I've done with my car doesn't matter to me. I probably don't like yours either. Would I "DUPLICATE" your car in mine? I highly doubt it. Just because I like Camaro's it doesn't mean everyone that someone built was to my liking. Does that make it wrong? No. I'm sure the very first guy who modified his old Ford was looking for everybody to agree with what he had done. He did it to be differant!!!
Just because you choose to put an Olds motor in your Cutlass does that make it better than mine with a 383 SBC? Does that mean if you have a Pontiac or Buick that specific V8 family is all you can use? Is it right or wrong? Personally I'm too busy to worry about it!!!
Well, lets see. Why did I choose a SBC over a BOP engine? Because when I started with g-bodies my 84 had the V6 Buick in it. I helped my nephew look for V8 Olds parts for his Cutlass, unsucessfully. I already had a 350 Chevy and all the bracketry along with a rebuilt TH350. I was going to have to change the frame mounts anyway and $25 later I had all I needed to drop that carbed 350 in my 84 Cutlass.
That progressed to a 383 TPI with AFR heads, hyd roller cam and T5 transmission. It was also further upgraded to SuperRam intake and a T56 trans.
A bad case of So. ILL. cancer killed that Cutlass so I bought an 86 with a better body. So now I'm in the process of swapping it all over to my 86.
I thought "Hot Rodding" WAS about upgrading what you had with what you could get. Just because you build a car aimed more toward drag racing does that make it better or worse than the guy who chooses to leave his stock or, in my case, toward the pro-touring theme? Which is better, auto or manual transmission? Black, white, blue, or green? Bucket seats and console or bench seat? What size rims are best, 14, 15, 16, 17, or 20's? Conventional springs and shocks, air ride, or hydraulics? Trailer queen or daily-driver? I never could understand why people would put their car in storage the first time the temp dropped below 60* in October and not have it see the light of day until May. Does that make it right or wrong? No, I'd rather enjoy mine all year long. But again, it's not a trailer queen with 10,000 original miles either.
Weather you like what I've done with my car doesn't matter to me. I probably don't like yours either. Would I "DUPLICATE" your car in mine? I highly doubt it. Just because I like Camaro's it doesn't mean everyone that someone built was to my liking. Does that make it wrong? No. I'm sure the very first guy who modified his old Ford was looking for everybody to agree with what he had done. He did it to be differant!!!
Just because you choose to put an Olds motor in your Cutlass does that make it better than mine with a 383 SBC? Does that mean if you have a Pontiac or Buick that specific V8 family is all you can use? Is it right or wrong? Personally I'm too busy to worry about it!!!
i'm a practical guy. i get what works and fits my needs and wants. now technically any engine will handle most of the stuff i want an engine to do but i'm looking at picking an engine from different angles, not just one or two.
displacement. i want a BIG motor. guess what line of GM cars had 500's in them?
weight. i want big cubes BUT i dont want it weighing down the front end. heavier is heavier, PERIOD. if i can get big inches from a lighter engine and still get great power then i'm happy. guess what engine fits this? it starts with a C and ends with one as well.
funky factor. its odd ball even now to have one of these in anything but a cadillac.
cost. yes cadillac engines cost a little bit more than a SBC but i think if you went with a mostly stock build it might cost less than a BBC. cost will differ between owners though since we all have our preferences in what our engines do. it's cheaper than a pontiac and that's just comparing stock rebuilt long blocks since that's about all i want or need really.
for other cars i might pick something else and for a daily driver i would probably go with a SBC. yes they are cheaper, they're easier to get parts for etc.
my only complaint isnt so much about parts availablity its the fact that these engines have been around for well over 30 years and there is STILL a tiny market for certain engines outside of chevy. what BS. companies only make what they think or know what will sell and as it so happens chevy out sells buick olds pontiac and even cadillac by a large margin. that's the nature of cars. you'll even see this with cars, they'll pay MORE for a monte carlo because its a chevy than pay less for a regal even if both cars are in the same condition.
i'm not willing to pay more just because of the name, i am willing to pay more because the engine fits in my parameters better than most other engines. whether its a pontiac or a chevy means nothing to me.
i like the buick V6. yes this oil spewing boat anchor in its naturally aspirated form sucks but i like it however...to get any decent power from it that im wanting it would cost too much and wouldnt be what i really need. its a fine engine honestly, it has performed flawlessly for me aside from carb issues. but its just not right for the application for the car now but its great for daily driving.
use whatever engine you want, i dont think its wrong to put a chevy in a BOP car, its your car do whatever you want to it. my approval or lack thereof is not a requirement for someone to use X engine in their car. use whatever fits your requirements and as long as you're happy thats all that should matter.
displacement. i want a BIG motor. guess what line of GM cars had 500's in them?
weight. i want big cubes BUT i dont want it weighing down the front end. heavier is heavier, PERIOD. if i can get big inches from a lighter engine and still get great power then i'm happy. guess what engine fits this? it starts with a C and ends with one as well.
funky factor. its odd ball even now to have one of these in anything but a cadillac.
cost. yes cadillac engines cost a little bit more than a SBC but i think if you went with a mostly stock build it might cost less than a BBC. cost will differ between owners though since we all have our preferences in what our engines do. it's cheaper than a pontiac and that's just comparing stock rebuilt long blocks since that's about all i want or need really.
for other cars i might pick something else and for a daily driver i would probably go with a SBC. yes they are cheaper, they're easier to get parts for etc.
my only complaint isnt so much about parts availablity its the fact that these engines have been around for well over 30 years and there is STILL a tiny market for certain engines outside of chevy. what BS. companies only make what they think or know what will sell and as it so happens chevy out sells buick olds pontiac and even cadillac by a large margin. that's the nature of cars. you'll even see this with cars, they'll pay MORE for a monte carlo because its a chevy than pay less for a regal even if both cars are in the same condition.
i'm not willing to pay more just because of the name, i am willing to pay more because the engine fits in my parameters better than most other engines. whether its a pontiac or a chevy means nothing to me.
i like the buick V6. yes this oil spewing boat anchor in its naturally aspirated form sucks but i like it however...to get any decent power from it that im wanting it would cost too much and wouldnt be what i really need. its a fine engine honestly, it has performed flawlessly for me aside from carb issues. but its just not right for the application for the car now but its great for daily driving.
use whatever engine you want, i dont think its wrong to put a chevy in a BOP car, its your car do whatever you want to it. my approval or lack thereof is not a requirement for someone to use X engine in their car. use whatever fits your requirements and as long as you're happy thats all that should matter.
I totally agree about the Caddy motors. I had a few company catalogs for the Cad and it wasn't going to be too bad a swap. Again, in my case, the only thing lacking was the engine.
Coveted said:shotgun said:"chevy motors are just better. " Wrong, better for what?
I just love stupid blanket statements.
They are cheaper and have been done to death.
Plenty of Chevies have seen the tailights of my Pontiac powered Olds!
I shift @ 7200 rpm :shock:
I was shifting a 305 with a stock bottom end at 7200rpm without issue.
chevys are cheaper, easier to come by, easier to find transmissions for, weigh less
need i go on ?
A Buick Big Block weighs only 60 pounds more than a Chevy small block. This is because Buick used nickel in the block and heads for strength. Chevy didn't, requiring a bulkier casting for strength. This low quality cast iron is also why Chevy's need hardened valve seats and Buick's don't. Your stock bottom end isn't going to take that 7200 RPM for very long with stock rods.
BTW, The Buick 455 has forged steel rods from the factory. After you blow up a couple engines is it still cheaper?
you cannot compare a big block to a small block.
as for the stock rods. I put 65 miles on the motor with zero break in time. all the miles were down the local eigth mile drag strip and 2 burnout competitions where I spun the tires in second gear at 7000rpm for 10 minutes + each round, 2 rounds per competition. Ive got the trophey sitting still.
other then that it still ran fine and got fine oil pressure when I sold the car.
as for the stock rods. I put 65 miles on the motor with zero break in time. all the miles were down the local eigth mile drag strip and 2 burnout competitions where I spun the tires in second gear at 7000rpm for 10 minutes + each round, 2 rounds per competition. Ive got the trophey sitting still.
other then that it still ran fine and got fine oil pressure when I sold the car.
I haven't posted here for a really long time but his sounds like a fun thread.
I had a 500 cadillac in an 81 malibu because of i wanted to be different and fast with big cubes. It was actually quite disappointing. I had big money into it and it wasn;t that quick, then i got ripped off by one of the cadillac vendors then it wasn't reliable either. always broke down and blew head gaskets. It was torture. Now i am finally going to a BBchevy. off brand motors are cool but i think not good for young guys just getting started into the hobby. learn on a chevy. BTW--i also have a 89 mustang with a sbc!
Brian
I had a 500 cadillac in an 81 malibu because of i wanted to be different and fast with big cubes. It was actually quite disappointing. I had big money into it and it wasn;t that quick, then i got ripped off by one of the cadillac vendors then it wasn't reliable either. always broke down and blew head gaskets. It was torture. Now i am finally going to a BBchevy. off brand motors are cool but i think not good for young guys just getting started into the hobby. learn on a chevy. BTW--i also have a 89 mustang with a sbc!
Brian
brian said:
how could it not have been fast in that car? its 500 cubes. Heck in stock form they make more power than most motors and you say you had money put into it. Sorry to hear that. I heard mostly good things about the caddy 500
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