Guest Posted February 20, 2001 Share Posted February 20, 2001 Hi,<BR>I recently bought a 87 regal limited for $700. The car is in great shape. I took all the trim off of the car and there is no holes in the body anywhere. The surface rust is easily fixable. The interior is spotless, looks brand new, its not even dirty. I'll have the body fixed and painted by this summer. I was wondering what the best engine would be to put in it though. It currently has the 3.8 Its extremely slow and i wanna add some get up and go to the car. What engines would be an easy swap and hw much horsepower and torque do they produce? Also would I have to change the tranny? Its just a three speed, no overdrive. <P>Thanx<BR>Jason<p>[This message has been edited by londerville (edited 02-19-2001).] Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted February 21, 2001 Share Posted February 21, 2001 t Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted February 21, 2001 Share Posted February 21, 2001 First consider your ultimate goal.Just a little more oomph or would you like to scare yourself when the throttle is mashed? For a "little more" I'd suggest building what you have. Add a 4.1L 4bbl intake/carb (with orig.computer controls),a VERY mild cam,bowl work on the heads,3.08-3.42 rear gear and true dual exh(no headers)it would be a world of difference.By the way,on the subject of exh. get two cats,and a dual inlet/dual outlet muffler and let a good shop bend pipes to fit.The dual in/out muff. acts as the crossover for the exh system. the farther<BR>back you put the crossover,the better (lower)<BR>the torque/throttle response.I know first hand because many years ago i had a 78 turbo<BR>regal w/blown mtr.The only mtr I had handy was a pontiac 389 I built for my goat.It was <BR>2x4bbl,ported heads,blueprinted,the works.The point is...it was WAY over cammed for a car w/2.56 rear gear but I threw it in <BR>cuase I needed a "driver".I used the above mentioned exh.set-up and tuned the old carters(jets,rods,etc.).Even running the linkage to open BOTH sets of primaries simultaniously this thing had off-idle throttle response that would rival a port fuel injected car.Hey I'm rambling,sorry guys.***or***Swap in some big cubes or turbo<BR>drive line.<BR>Good luck w/your project,<BR>Ken Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted February 21, 2001 Share Posted February 21, 2001 I would like to add a lot more oomph than my 3.8 will ever have. The turbo engine is out of the question because i've looked and they are very hard to find. The SBC is also out of the question. I've heard talk about a 350 buick engine from the 70's fitting in. Is this true? If so does anyone have any info on this? Also how much horsepower and torque does this engine have?<P>Thanx<BR>Jason Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted February 21, 2001 Share Posted February 21, 2001 Jason, I'm just going to cut and paste what I said in the other post. I believe it should answer most of your questions.<P> <BLOCKQUOTE><font size="1" face="Verdana, Arial">quote:</font><HR>Well here's some info on the Buick swap, if anyone's still interested:<BR>I swapped the 350 into a 307 car, but a V6 car would be much easier. <P>-The tranny WILL bolt up, no problem. And there really are no clearance problems, because the 350 is actually a smaller engine than the 307. It is wider though, so there's not a lot of extra room width-wise.<P>-Make sure to use V6 engine mounts. The bottom half of the 307 mounts look like they will work, but the sit to low, and you can't get the bolts in.(The other problem I'm having right now.)<P>-Get all the accesories from the 350, or at least the brackets.<P>-The power steering lines are different, but I think V6 ones would work.<P>-Since the Buick has the starter and alternator on opposite sides, both sets of cables will have to be lengthened. Again, not nessasary with the V6. <P>That's just about it. As for the power distance: I have a 1980 engine.(the last year) The 350 is rated at about 15 more hp and 25 more lb-ft of torque. And as an added bonus the Buick engine also wieghs alot less. I drove both the 307 Regal, and the car the 350 came from, a big Electra Park avenue. Even with the big weight disadvantage, the 350 felt faster. Of course the output can be increased easily, especially since the 80 engine has only 8:1 pistons. Returning the 350 to 1970 specs would get you 285hp and 410 lb-ft of torque.<BR><HR></BLOCKQUOTE><P>Like I said, swapping in a 350 into a V6 car would be really easy. Since the 350 is basically a 3.8 with two more cylinders. If you have any more questions just ask.<P><P>------------------<BR>-Keith<P>'87 Lesabre T-type<P>'86 Regal w/350 (still in progress)<P><A HREF="http://members.nbci.com/lesabrettype/index.html" TARGET=_blank>The Lesabre T-type Page</A> Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
86 2dr.ltd Posted February 22, 2001 Share Posted February 22, 2001 Just remember you need to get it inspected.Hope you "have a guy". Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted February 23, 2001 Share Posted February 23, 2001 get what inspected?<P>Jason<BR> Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
86 2dr.ltd Posted February 23, 2001 Share Posted February 23, 2001 emissions Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted February 23, 2001 Share Posted February 23, 2001 Not in my State. <P>-T Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted February 23, 2001 Share Posted February 23, 2001 Don't have to worry about emissions. I live in Wisconsin. No one ever checks.<P>The stock v-6 tranny won't bolt up to a 350 will it?<P>Jason Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted February 25, 2001 Share Posted February 25, 2001 The tranny will work no problem. In fact all you'll need is the engine, and related parts- carb, distributor etc. In fact I believe that your accesories would even work, but you might want to double check.<BR><P>------------------<BR>-Keith<P>'87 Lesabre T-type<P>'86 Regal w/350 (still in progress)<P><A HREF="http://members.nbci.com/lesabrettype/index.html" TARGET=_blank>The Lesabre T-type Page</A> Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted February 26, 2001 Share Posted February 26, 2001 Ok, now that i know that the tranny will work, will it be fast? With the 3.8 its really slow, is this because of the tranny or the fact that it only has 110hp or both?<P>Also i should have some pictures of my car on my website soon. I'll tell ya when i post them.<P>Later<BR>Jason<P>------------------<BR>Until you find something worth dying for your not really living. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted March 1, 2001 Share Posted March 1, 2001 t Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
86 2dr.ltd Posted March 1, 2001 Share Posted March 1, 2001 Have you been to any of the Regal sites?Seems like that 3.8 should have more than 110 h.p..Couldnt you get enough extra power from some modifications on that engine.Save tons on money and hours. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted March 2, 2001 Share Posted March 2, 2001 In the Chiltons manual it says that it only puts out 110hp. I don't know if this is right but is seems that way because these cars seem extremely slow, I've owned two and both are not quick at all. <P>Do you know any good Regal sites with info?<P>Jason Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
86 2dr.ltd Posted March 2, 2001 Share Posted March 2, 2001 <A HREF="http://members.nbci.com/CarbedTR/" TARGET=_blank>http://members.nbci.com/CarbedTR/</A> <BR> <A HREF="http://home.flash.net/~rjgeorge/" TARGET=_blank>http://home.flash.net/~rjgeorge/</A> <P>These mainly cover 78-83 but have links to other stuff.Cruise around never know what you might find. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Create an account or sign in to comment
You need to be a member in order to leave a comment
Create an account
Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!
Register a new accountSign in
Already have an account? Sign in here.
Sign In Now