will a buick 350 from mid 70's bolt up to a 1955 dynaflow 2 spd ? my little nailhead v8 is tired . i kinda want to keep the dyna flow . and yes , i know about the torque tube driveshaft .
Why? It cannot be tradition with a 70's Buick engine. More gears = more better. Why do you think that just about everything these days has 6-10 gears, even the high performance stuff?
I don't think that there has ever been an adapter made for that swap. Reason that anyone swapping a Chebbie engine into a Buick that had a Dynaflo would toss the trans . There is no free lunch with sticking a chevy engine in it here. Either you replace the trans and rear axle and go though the hassles to do it or you rebuild the 322.
The big 15" diameter '55 flex plate doesn't fit inside of the later BOP bolt pattern on the back of the 350 block so you would probably have to make a two-piece adapter plate. One bolts to the block and allows for the larger Dynaflow bolt pattern and a maybe a spacer to allow for the flexplate. At a glance, it looks like the Buick 350 block doesn't extend out quite as far as the '55 block. That might be a good thing, allowing room for the adapter plate(s) without pushing the engine forward and requiring a long flywheel adapter. Figure in a place to bolt the '55 starter to. You would need to adapt the '55 flex plate to the crank unless they share the same bolt pattern. In that case it may just be a spacer to account for the adapter plate and provide a pilot for the Dynaflow converter. It's a lot of work to adapt a nice engine to that obsolete transmission but I understand the torque tube issue. You will need some machinist skills or be able to calculate and prepare drawings of the various parts to have them made. All in all, it might just be better to rebuild the old 264 incher or find a 322 to build up while you nurse the old one for a while.
ok . all good thoughts . the 264 has major blow by issue . but i'm going to run it as is for a while and see where i get . i suspected the bolt pattern was different . its why i asked .and the dyna flow is a neat tranny . thanks guys .
I got rid of my 55 Buick due to a leaky Dyna flow and all what’s involved with it . Also , I’m just lazy !
Interesting proposition and dilemma.... The 350 Buick is a good engine with good torque, and lighter than a 350 Chev, so much lighter than a nailhead. The Dynaflow isn't a bad transmission, they handle a lot of torque, just not "hot roddy". So you're faced with replacing a 70 year old engine with a 50 year old engine, and maybe more stuff to swap to get the car up to "semi-modern" standards vs. returning it to serviceability in stock form. IF you have to rebuild the 350, check parts pricing carefully... they were not a high volume production engine, therefore parts might be spendy. Compare that to a stock rebuild of your nailhead to determine the $$$ of either one. Add in whatever adaption parts will be required to mate the 350 to the Dynaflow. Again, since it's not a popular swap, probably kind of spendy. Converting to an open driveline (by using Chevy pickup trailing arms, etc.) is do-able, but not cheap, especially if you have to pay to have it done, but it would allow the use of a later transmission. Not my car, not my money, but since you like the existing trans, you might want to consider picking up a little later nailhead (more cubic inches), rebuild it while you drive the car, then make an engine-only swap. Last thought is... the Dynaflow obviously works well for you, but bear in mind that rebuilding that could be $$$, and finding someone competent to do it might be another challenge. Good luck!
Check out Greenblade's '63 Rambler Classic build. While it isn't a Buick, it does show a torque tube to open drive conversion such as what you will need if you go to a later Buick engine.
Just remember that ’53-56 V8 engine blocks have the same bellhousing bolt pattern but they changed in 1957. If you want to retain your current transmission your choices are limited to the 264 and 322 engines. I don’t know if the ’57 Dynaflow will mate to your torque tube but that would allow you to use the bigger nailheads and still keep it a Dynaflow. In the early ‘60s my buddy Lance bought a nice ‘55 Buick Special. That little 264 ran way better than it had any right to. We looked into converting it to a stick shift but for two kids it was too much. We did add a 4 bbl carb, glass packs and some bigger rear tires. It was a fun car and the Dynaflow was never a problem.
so , i guess for now i'm going to get it running decent with the existing power train . i ordered seal kit for the dynaflow from classic transmission solutions .https://www.classictransmissionsolutions.com/ great bunch of guys . very helpful . and i'll work on the body while i drive it around . it needs some rust repair . and paint . by then i should have a better idea on what to do for power train swap .
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