Buick 310 Wildcat engine..What do you know

Ive got a line on a 66 Buick 310 Wildcat engine 2 BBl version in a Buick special..I am also slowly building a 28 Model A Tudor..I have SBC's..Plenty of them 327's..350's..
I was wondering if the 310 Wildcat Buick engine would be a more "acceptable " engine to throw into the A?
and what can be done to this engine..If i recall the 310 is a number placed on it for its torque rating,,the true C.I. on the engine is 300..(true?) are there many performance mods. that can be done..intake choices..3X2's etc..

Looking for opinions, and knowledge, also those that are running this engine..and pictures of how they look in Mod. A

 

http://www.v8buick.com/forumdisplay.php?f=8
They are light weight, distributor in the front, and compact. they make good power, plenty for an A. 215, 300, 340's are more interchangeable. 350 stuff is not. No good manifolds, just 4 barrel I believe. Cams and Distributors are avaliabe.

 

So with them being compact and Distributor up front..no fire wall modifications on the A necessary?
and only a 4BBL intake available.? bummer..thats ok I guess.
were the auto trans. that backed them up reliable? or would there be a better candidate?
Any A's out there running this engine? please show em.

 

BOP pattern. You can use a 200r4 out of a GN and have an overdrive. The Wildcat 310 is actually the 300 2brl. 310 is the torque rating. Some came with aluminum heads and I think a 2x2 manifold is available.
www.aluminumv8.com has heads and stuff for them.

 

2X2 intake would be acceptable..
Yeah, I thought the 310 was the torque on the wildcat 300..the aircleaner says "wildcat 310"

so even a 700R4 could go up behing this? that would be cool with maybe a 3.73 rear gear and get some really nice high way mileage out of it..and still enough torque out of it that in the city it could still be "fun"

 

If it is a 300 cu.in. you can get the aluminum heads off a '64 motor. Offy and edelbrock both make aftermerket intakes that should work. I plan to use 4bbls on my 215s, I think the performanc will be better with the other mods. They do make adapters depending on the ****** you want but it should not be needed (215s are oddball for ******). I know Enjenjo was building one up.

 

200r4 would be a better choice, no adapter needed. less power lost through the ******. better gearing. smaller and more compact so no takes less tunnel m***aging.

 

good point.!
wonder how or if a T-5 would or could bolt up?..or what would be the best trans. rear end combo?

is the 300 Buick 8 a rare animal? engine wise?..and is the Buick special (the car) rare enough to keep it togeather and not molest it for its power train?

 

Go over to v8buick.com to the Small Block section and do a search. TONS of stuff on 300s...lots of knowledable people. A guy named Sean from Flint had a '64 Special running 12.5s with a 300. You'd need an adapter of some sort to run a 215 intake on a 300. The only 4 barrel manifold that will correctly fit your '66 iron 300 is a factory '65 iron 4 barrel manifold. The 300 came out in '64 with iron block/aluminum heads. In '65 they had iron heads and intake and bigger intake valves...This was the only year for iron 4 barrel 300s. In '66/'67, 300s came in 2 barrel only, as the 4 barrels were 340s. 340s had a different intake than 300s. As far as collectibility, it really depends on condition and body style...if it's a 2 door in good shape, I'd say leave it together...

 

Is the rear of the crank bored for a common pilot bushing? Can you still get a flywheel? If the bellhousing pattern is standard BOP, it shouldn't be a problem sourcing a Lakewood bellhousing. I think you'd be hard pressed to find an original.
With a 200-4R, the OD ratio is .66 and low gear is in the neighborhood of 2.50 like a TH350. 3.73 rearend with .66 OD = 2.46 final drive. Good takeoff and a tall overdrive for blowing the cobwebs out. An 8" Ford would be plenty stout for the small engine size.
Firewall wise, I think you'll still end up needing to recess it.
If the Buick was a GS edition, I'd think twice about molestation. You don't see many Buick Specials around. You wouldn't have to worry about seeing an almost clone of your car at a run if you used that little Buick.

 

Well it is a very nice condition 66 Special..but not a GS..I have sent out the feelers on that buick site to see what happens, but I have to say im really pro HAMB..and am having a hard time not visualizing that odd ball motor in my Tudor. But on the other hand i do have respect for what isnt out there any more..I guess it will come down to one thing..If im offered enough for the buick ( if i get it), than it will be come a mule to get where i need to be on my A..if I dont get a good offer on it..it will become an engine doner..and some buick guy can buy a real nice shell to do what he wants with it. Really at this point its all speculative..just would really like to know if anyone has done this? and if so how it looks and if its a good fit or not.

 

My brother had one in the late 60s.
Someone hit him and totalled it so we cut it up and made a tractor out of it for our woodlot. We plugged a manual 3spd behind the auto for gear reduction and drove it long and hard. With bus wheels with homemade cleats on the chains it spent it's time towing a cartload of wood.
It had the cast block and aluminum heads and 2bbl.
It was a great engine for us.

 

wow enginuity!

made a work horse out of it..i have heard they are torq-y little *******s

 

Transmission ratios: http://victorylibrary.com/mopar/aod.htm

 

"enginuity" Funny!

 

lol,,i tried,, you were the first to catch it..

little play on words..

 

Got pics of the Buick?

 

Im going to be really surprised if no one on the HAMB has a Buick 300 in their Hot Rod..

 

yeah ,,but they ****..no light in the barn..(yep its a barn find)

and it was a very tight fit , so i coulnt back up far enought o get a good shot of it. I will try my best this week to get back out there..I will try also to post what pictures i have

 

still working on this picture thing heres one.

 

and another one..there is a little hood damage..right on the nose..it got pushed in a bit..maybe 3 inches. and that cool reflection on the rear quarter is just that..a reflection

 

Yup. That's a tight fit.
I was always amazed that the "little" 300 could pull that big car as fast as it could for my brother.
Yes, interesting reflection.
Gee.... your barn find has shiny paint! WAY cool.

 

Yeah I couldnt get over how nice this car was when i got there..I was thinking it was going to be a turd.
Now why couldn't this be a 32? or even my 28 when i found it?
this is my luck..i find something totally O/T in the barns i look into...lol
now im torn between fixing it up..or jerking the engine and selling it as a core..

 

Ya, we can't all be as lucky as povertyflats. He rocks.
All I find in barns are mice.
Hey man... if ya like it it's not OT. There is a whole 'nother world outside the HAMB.
Oops. Did I type that? NOW I'm in ca ca.

 

Mine is a 65 4 barrel motor. I installed two barrel pistons so I did not have to run premium gas. I installed a TBI on the 4 barrel manifold, and am using a turbo from a GN V6 with modified GN headers. I had a V8 version of a GN cam ground for it.

A coil in cap HEI will not fit without manifold, and distributor cap and body modifications. So I am using a modified chevy divorced coil HEI distibutor. I may change to a small body HEI from Dave's, built on a window cap body.

I built a 200R4 with all the good stuff, super servo, GN valve body, turbo convertor, ect. rear gear is 3.42.

This is going into a 65 Skylark Sport Wagon.

 

I've been looking for a rust free candidate like that for a sleeper project. The low milage (three p***es down the 1320) aluminum head L-88 that's been stored in the shop for the last 20 years is getting restless for some exercise. A light weight A body 2 dr would be just the ticket. A Skylark or a Tempest would be perfect. I really don't want a Nova or Chevelle as the suprise factor would be too low.

Frank

 

i say fix up the buick

 

After seeing the Buick, keep the Buick. If not, sell it to me.

 

wow..im torn as what to do..Im not sure what this guys bottom line is..but i will be talking to him.
Im really wondering if i will have problems putting that 300 in the model A? things like ..wheres the oil filter?
distributor issues?
pan issues? engine mount and vega box interfearence issues..really would like to know if this has been done before?

 

should I start another thread asking for the Model A crowd to pipe in?
maybe with this ***le they arent looking?
surely some one has tried this, i cant be the first