sdoDrew Posted November 24, 2003 Report Share Posted November 24, 2003 Postign this for a friend, any help would be appreciated. I own a 1979 Firebird Formula that has a 4.9L v8 engine and is automatic. The engine has well over 290000 km's on it, and it is running terribly - so I decided to replace the engine. I found a friend's 1985 Buick Regal Limited that has a 5.0L V8 and is automatic also - he is selling me the engine because it works fine, but the transmission is shot. We took the 5.0L out of the Regal, and took the transmission off (since we're using the transmission in my firebird.) However, we seem to be worried about the difference in electical components. I was told that the transmission would fit (between my car and the buick's engine) and the mounts would fit, and everything would be fine.. but then we noticed that there are a lot of wires leading into the car from the engine in the Buick, and the Firebird's engine is less cluttered: it does not have nearly the amount of wiring. Before we attempt to finalize this project, we would like to know how vital all of the tiny wiring is on the Regal. Are these all fancy sensors unneccsary to performance, or are these vital to performance/operation? Would we have to do something like take the wiring harness out of the regal and somehow splice it into the Firebird? Thank you for your help, I can give you more specifics if the situation isn't clear enough Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Heza Posted November 24, 2003 Report Share Posted November 24, 2003 all pre-w-body questions. im sure it couldnt be that hard though. the older the car, the easier the swap. from my experience that is Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sdoDrew Posted November 24, 2003 Author Report Share Posted November 24, 2003 Yeah, sorry bout that. I know there are a lot of guys who are good with cars here. So this would be a good palce to ask...no harm in asking right? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest TurboSedan Posted November 24, 2003 Report Share Posted November 24, 2003 you'll need a non-CCC (Computer Command Control) Q-jet and distributor. the newer 305 has emmission stuff and is computer controlled so you'll need the older carb & distributor. i kinda did the same when i took the original 3.8 Chevy V6 out of my '81 Malibu Landau coupe. i replaced it with an '85 350 from a 9C1 Impala. the V6 electronics wouldn't work on the 350, so i cut the wiring out and went old school with a pre-81 (non-CCC) Q-jet carb & distributor. you'll probably need to block the EGR off on the manifold too. worked great. hth joshua Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest TurboSedan Posted November 24, 2003 Report Share Posted November 24, 2003 oh yeah, you'll probably need Chevy V8 motor mounts, and the Firebird's tranny might not bolt up to the SBC 305 V8. if not i would go with a TH-200-4R overdrive transmission, or a 700-R4. i used a 700-R4 from my '85 Impala but had to do a little modification so the transmission crossmember would bolt up correctly. i had to get the driveshaft shortened 3" also. joshua Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
patgizz Posted November 24, 2003 Report Share Posted November 24, 2003 is it a chevy 305 or a olds 307? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Housser Posted November 24, 2003 Report Share Posted November 24, 2003 It's a 305. (This is the friend he posted it for... I went ahead and became a member) So from I've read here, installing the 85 Buick Regal Limited's 5 litre into the firebird wouldn't work without purchasing some new equipment? -Matthew Housser Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
89oldscutlass Posted November 25, 2003 Report Share Posted November 25, 2003 All you need is a turbo 350 transmission and SBC motor mounts and you might have to change your drive shaft. A drive shaft out of a 1970 thru 1981 Camarro will work. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sdoDrew Posted November 25, 2003 Author Report Share Posted November 25, 2003 What would the easiest course of action be? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest TurboSedan Posted November 25, 2003 Report Share Posted November 25, 2003 most if not all of the sensors are unnecesary to performance/operation, and you might even be able to re-use the Q-jet from the 301 on the 305. you'll definately need to change the distributor for a non-CCC (pre-'81) vacuum advance type 4-pin HEI distributor - i'm assuming the '85 305 has a 7-pin computer controlled HEI distributor (the '85 350 i put in my Malibu did anyway). also, the '85 305 will need to have the EGR hole on the manifold blocked off (or get a non-EGR intake manifold). this means you'll also need to block the holes in the exhaust manifolds or get non-EGR exhaust manifolds. does your Firebird have a TH-350 tranny or? you might not be able to use the Firebird's BOP (Buick Olds Pontiac) tranny if it doesn't bolt up to the 305 Chevy engine. if it originally had a BOP TH-350 and you swap to a Chevy bolt pattern TH-350, you probably won't need to swap the driveshaft. other than that probably just Chevy motor mounts and you should be good to go. joshua Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
quaddriver Posted November 28, 2003 Report Share Posted November 28, 2003 Postign this for a friend, any help would be appreciated. I own a 1979 Firebird Formula that has a 4.9L v8 engine and is automatic. The engine has well over 290000 km's on it, and it is running terribly - so I decided to replace the engine. I found a friend's 1985 Buick Regal Limited that has a 5.0L V8 and is automatic also - he is selling me the engine because it works fine, but the transmission is shot. We took the 5.0L out of the Regal, and took the transmission off (since we're using the transmission in my firebird.) However, we seem to be worried about the difference in electical components. I was told that the transmission would fit (between my car and the buick's engine) and the mounts would fit, and everything would be fine.. but then we noticed that there are a lot of wires leading into the car from the engine in the Buick, and the Firebird's engine is less cluttered: it does not have nearly the amount of wiring. Before we attempt to finalize this project, we would like to know how vital all of the tiny wiring is on the Regal. Are these all fancy sensors unneccsary to performance, or are these vital to performance/operation? Would we have to do something like take the wiring harness out of the regal and somehow splice it into the Firebird? Thank you for your help, I can give you more specifics if the situation isn't clear enough It sounds like the 79 had a poncho 301. The 85 regal is almost certainly a Y code 307 olds motor (8th digit vin) aside from not only giving up a few hp, you will UTTERLY HATE the y code. the wires you are seeing is because the Y code uses the C3 ECM whereas the 79 does not. the y code also has a 'ticking carb' (E4ME) and a weird vacuum system called the ILC to control idle speed. (when it works tho it works well) what you need is a 4bbl M4MC carb from say a 79 cutlass with an R code, and the dist (or for that matter, the whole damn R motor would be nice) you need to ditch the EST dist on the olds motor and pick up a regular HEI and change the plugs to .060 or .080 (extended tip) all the rest of the sensors you can sh*tcan also. if you felt REALLY lucky, attempt to find a 78-79 big GM olds or buick with the 403. (ignore the X code buick 350) but your best bet would be an R motor from 76-79 or even an H/K olds 350 from 74-75 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
quaddriver Posted November 28, 2003 Report Share Posted November 28, 2003 just read the other replies...verify if the 85 regal had an H (305) or Y (307) in the 8th digit of the vin....if its an H, you probly wont be able to use the motor as the 301pontaic had a BPO tranny, and unless you had a BPO-C (unibell) you will only get 4 of 6 bolts on a marginal setup to begin with. but the rest of my post holds...the H code 305 used an equally impressive amount of gizmos on top that wont work in the 79 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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