Diesel Regal to Buick 350 swap on the cheap

[Dstoltenberg]

Hello everyone,
I am just trying to gather some information on a project that has been forming in my head. I am in the process of swapping out the 350/th350 in my 1970 skylark for a built 455/4-speed, a project that I have been working on about the last year an a half, and for about the last 6 months, I have been a broke college student with this skylark as my only form of transportation...and Its been sitting in the garage where it will probably sit for quite a few more months.
A friend has offered me an 83 Regal limited for the hard to argue with price of 300$. Body's straight, little surface rust. Red interior is mint. It has the diesel motor and automatic trans combo, and does not run.
So I am left with the possibility of this 300$ Regal, and my Freshly rebuilt 70 Buick 350 with Th350 that also has a new shift kit in it.
What would it take to get this 350/Th350 combo into this regal? I already have all the obvious in my possession- I have all the stock accessory brackets, pulleys, motor mounts and frame pads. What would else would i need for this swap? Throttle linkages, shifter, trans mount, drive shaft, etc.?
I am just trying to get an idea for the time and money that would be involved in the swap, as this would simply be a cheap daily driver to get me by until the more expensive 455/4-speed swap in the 70 is completed later this year.

 

[charlief1]

Depending on where you live you may have an issue with passing emisions. If you want the easiest way then just swap the heads, intake, distributor, and cam, for a set off an olds 350 and clean out the gas tank. If you don't want the diesel engine and you're in TX send me a PM.

 

[bnova]

I had a car like this a while ago. I believe I used the V-8 mounts, and had to re-weld the crossmember bracket in the correct place, and it worked fine for me. The diesel hydroboost system will work just fine as it is powered off of the power-steering pump. I had ran a car like that for years with no issues, and it was a easy change-out. I believe all your brackets will work with the 350(ones off of the 350gas) and will bolt to the P/S pump in the car. The throttle bracket maybe the only one you'll need to find or buy. Again, not hard at all. Good luck.

 

[Dstoltenberg]

Thanks for the replys guys, I am located in MT and have no need to pass emissions (Yet)
Sounds like it is a straightforward swap, which is what I was hoping for. What Trans does the diesel Regal use?

 

[charlief1]

After talking to a friend of mine I found out the conversion from diesel 350 to using the same block for gas isn't that easy. Go with the 350 Buick but you may need to do some fab work on the motor mounts. If you decide to make a killer engine you can do it with the diesel block and with some interesting mods you can make a 440 CID small block out of it later.

 

[Dstoltenberg]

440 Small Block does sound a bit interesting, I may have to keep the diesel in the garage for later mods. But for now, just a straightacross swap to the 350 would be more economically smart. A little fabrication on the motor mounts shouldn't be a problem, i should be able to make it work. Does anyone know if there is a difference in driveshaft lengths or if I'll be able to use the original regal ds?

 

[charlief1]

The only thing you'll need is a set of frame mounts out of a car with the 350 Buick in it. Since you have that now no problem. What I'd probibly do is put everything in the car as a one piece unit, mount the tranny, and see where the frame mounts fit. Then you can see if the drive shaft will fit.

 

[Dstoltenberg]

Thats what I was thinking would be the easiest route. Thanks for the replys, Its looking like I'm going to pick up this Regal in the next week. I'll let you all know how the swap goes

 

[87GN_70GS]

There is a lot of info on the www.v8buick.com site. There is a sub-forum dedicated to folks who have done the V8 regal swap.

 

[Dstoltenberg]

yeah I've been a member of v8buick for awhile. Only problem with that subforum is nobody ever uses it. Lots of good info in past threads though. I parted out a 70 chevelle today and kept the radiator for this swap, kept the DS too. Called the owner of the Regal and he hasn't had any interest in it, I'll put up pics when I get it home.