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MG MGB GT V8 Factory Originals Technical - Aluminum heads/ intake for 350 Buick

TA Performance has just announced that they will be making aftermarket aluminum heads and intake for the 350 Buick engine, resulting in a sub 400 lb (wet) engine weight. Forged pistons and connecting rods will also be available. Some builders have already taken these engines to 1000 hp so the potential is certainly there. 350 Buicks are one of the most common engines around and they match the 215 in exterior dimensions and configuration, plus it uses the more common BOP bellhousing pattern. A new header design is all we need to perform a bolt in swap just like the Rover engine. The only downside to this swap that I can see is that the deck height is about 1-3/16" taller meaning that the carb will probably sit higher by 3/4" or so, but this promises to be a very good option for high performance swaps.

Jim
Jim Blackwood

Any chance the 350 was ever fuel injected and any of this is available in aluminum?
jim stuart

I haven't seen the specs on the new aluminum intake, but I think you can expect it to have injector bosses cast in at the very least. The other parts are pretty generic.

Jim
Jim Blackwood

Jim,
if the dimensions of the Buick 350 are the same as for the Rover 3.5/215, it is a question of positioning the engine deeper and more to the rear.

When i did my converion in the early 1980's, no sparts were available for this job to put the Rover 215 ito a 1973 boddyshell.
So i cut off the engine mounts and made custom ones, mooving the engine further back and deeper, of course, the body panels behind the engine had to be modyfied too. The service pick up mounting on the front cover had to be cut away and the crank pully modified on a late to fit over the steering rack, that is between the pully and the engine front cover on my car now. Angular fittings for the lines from the oil pump base to the radiator had to be used, as there is very little clearence left in this area of the engine compartement.

As a result, i have no fooling to the bonnet although i have a 3" tall aircleaner mounted on the Holley carb. So if the Buick 350 has the same dimensions as the 215, it should work this way.

The engine mountings on my V8 are bolted to the sides of the chassis rails, where i weldet on a a thick piece of sheet metal. I drilled holes and taped them, then bolted on 90° brackets on which the engine rubber mounts are positioned horizontaly. Comparable brackets were fabricated fot the engine and it 'stands' on the same rubber mounts sice more than 20 years now.

May be this way of installation can help to fix the problem with the higher Buick 350 engine in your conversion too.

Hope this helps

Ralph
Ralph

Thanks Ralph. Those of us who did conversions in the 80's had very little help as you mentioned. In my case I positioned the filter between the rack and the swaybar which puts the engine very far forwards and mandates a hole in the hood. It works out fine now though since the blower requires a hole anyway, and was a good preliminary for the MGB/Roadmaster where I need all the room I can get, both fore and aft. Yet even there I'm retaining the heater shelf. (The Roadmaster uses the 455 BBB engine)

But your point is a good one. There is ample space to move the engine back and down when using the 350 SBB. I wouldn't be surprised to see one of the more progressive vendors come up with a header for this engine, and it's likely that a set of engine mounts from the BOP/R engine would be suitable. I wonder who's mounts position the engine closest to the firewall?

Jim
Jim Blackwood

This thread was discussed between 13/09/2007 and 14/09/2007

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