Got the motor and trans out...

[GreatScat1965]

Yup, and Carmen's sumped oil pan.

[Polishmeatballpizza]

Is this cover supposed to be on all the valves?

[Polishmeatballpizza]

Hows it look?

[WkillGS]

That's an oil splash shield..... keeps oil away from the breather in the valve cover and the pcv valve.

General cleanliness looks about typical, maybe a bit better.

What are your plans for this engine?

[Polishmeatballpizza]

That's an oil splash shield..... keeps oil away from the breather in the valve cover and the pcv valve.

General cleanliness looks about typical, maybe a bit better.

What are your plans for this engine?

Probably rebuild it, nothing radical.  Mild cam?
What do you suggest?

[Polishmeatballpizza]

I noticed there are not a lot of aftermarket cams for the 300 motor, not even four barrel intake manifolds. Am I looking in the wrong place?

Anyone ever put a crate motor in their car? That's gotta cost a pretty penny.

I wonder if I am better off finding a Buick 350 or 400 - 


And, what about the V6 motor? I had no idea that they made a V6 back in 64-65.

[elagache]

Dear George and mid-60s Buick fans of  . . . . MORE!!!!

What are your plans for this engine?

Probably rebuild it, nothing radical.  Mild cam?
What do you suggest?

I noticed there are not a lot of aftermarket cams for the 300 motor, not even four barrel intake manifolds. Am I looking in the wrong place?

Anyone ever put a crate motor in their car? That's gotta cost a pretty penny.

I wonder if I am better off finding a Buick 350 or 400 - 


And, what about the V6 motor? I had no idea that they made a V6 back in 64-65.

Well do you have lots of choices . . . you just need to dig a little more.

Unfortunately, the 300 cid Buick engine is the least supported of the 1960s Buick engines even if it has a very proud heritage.  It was the descendant of the all aluminum 215 V-8:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Buick_V8_engine#215

As described on that Wikipedia article, Rover bought the rights to this GM engine and in 1967 Rover started using it.  It was so successful that GM tried to buy it back!  Rover used it for many decades.  I have a Welsh friend who owned a Rover with this engine until a few years ago.

TA-Performance used to sell the Rover Aluminum heads that could be adapted to the Buick 300.  I can't seem to find them right now though.  Unfortunately, there is little in the way of speed parts for the 300.  On the V-8 Buick there is this thread on the options to rebuilding the 300:

http://www.v8buick.com/showthread.php?191151-A-guide-to-building-the-lil-guy-The-Mighty-300

You have many more choices if you consider the other Buick V-8 engines of the 1960s.  When I decided to replace the engine in my trusty wagon, the big-block had so much more speed parts that it was difficult to say no especially given my goal of towing a heavy vintage travel trailer.

Today the Buick 350 has much better support and it less costly to build.  I have a friend in New Mexico who upgraded his 300 to a Buick 350 and went to a lot of trouble to make it look like it was done in 1965 (right down to the nailhead green paint.)

You could even consider the later Buick V-6 engines that were in the muscle cars of the 1980s.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Buick_Regal#Grand_National.2C_Turbo-T.2C_T-Type.2C_and_GNX

These engines with turbo-chargers were considered the premiere "muscle car killers" of there day and there is a custom 1965 2-door Buick Sportwagon using that power-plant.

So you need to decide what you want out of the car.  Simply rebuilding the 300 will make for an authentic car with some decent "get up and go" if you make the usual upgrades like dual exhaust.  If you want MORE you need to decide how much MORE!!!

Cheers, Edouard 

P.S. Silly me I forgot the most obvious choice.  You could also swap in an original 401 Buick nailhead and try to make your car into a 1965 GS clone.  It is harder than the other swaps, but if you want that this is the forum to help you do it!  There are some speed parts for the nailhead and it is a far more assertive engine than any small block.  So that's yet one more option to consider.  Certainly this is the place to look for a spare nailhead that is lying around.

[Polishmeatballpizza]

Dear George and mid-60s Buick fans of  . . . . MORE!!!!

What are your plans for this engine?

Probably rebuild it, nothing radical.  Mild cam?
What do you suggest?

I noticed there are not a lot of aftermarket cams for the 300 motor, not even four barrel intake manifolds. Am I looking in the wrong place?

Anyone ever put a crate motor in their car? That's gotta cost a pretty penny.

I wonder if I am better off finding a Buick 350 or 400 - 


And, what about the V6 motor? I had no idea that they made a V6 back in 64-65.

Well do you have lots of choices . . . you just need to dig a little more.

Unfortunately, the 300 cid Buick engine is the least supported of the 1960s Buick engines even if it has a very proud heritage.  It was the descendant of the all aluminum 215 V-8:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Buick_V8_engine#215

As described on that Wikipedia article, Rover bought the rights to this GM engine and in 1967 Rover started using it.  It was so successful that GM tried to buy it back!  Rover used it for many decades.  I have a Welsh friend who owned a Rover with this engine until a few years ago.

TA-Performance used to sell the Rover Aluminum heads that could be adapted to the Buick 300.  I can't seem to find them right now though.  Unfortunately, there is little in the way of speed parts for the 300.  On the V-8 Buick there is this thread on the options to rebuilding the 300:

http://www.v8buick.com/showthread.php?191151-A-guide-to-building-the-lil-guy-The-Mighty-300

You have many more choices if you consider the other Buick V-8 engines of the 1960s.  When I decided to replace the engine in my trusty wagon, the big-block had so much more speed parts that it was difficult to say no especially given my goal of towing a heavy vintage travel trailer.

Today the Buick 350 has much better support and it less costly to build.  I have a friend in New Mexico who upgraded his 300 to a Buick 350 and went to a lot of trouble to make it look like it was done in 1965 (right down to the nailhead green paint.)

You could even consider the later Buick V-6 engines that were in the muscle cars of the 1980s.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Buick_Regal#Grand_National.2C_Turbo-T.2C_T-Type.2C_and_GNX

These engines with turbo-chargers were considered the premiere "muscle car killers" of there day and there is a custom 1965 2-door Buick Sportwagon using that power-plant.

So you need to decide what you want out of the car.  Simply rebuilding the 300 will make for an authentic car with some decent "get up and go" if you make the usual upgrades like dual exhaust.  If you want MORE you need to decide how much MORE!!!

Cheers, Edouard 

P.S. Silly me I forgot the most obvious choice.  You could also swap in an original 401 Buick nailhead and try to make your car into a 1965 GS clone.  It is harder than the other swaps, but if you want that this is the forum to help you do it!  There are some speed parts for the nailhead and it is a far more assertive engine than any small block.  So that's yet one more option to consider.  Certainly this is the place to look for a spare nailhead that is lying around.

Great info. Thank you.

What about the early Buick V6? How were those motors?

[Polishmeatballpizza]

This is the only cam I could find - will it fit my 300?
http://www.crower.com/camshafts/rover-hydraulic-flat-tappet-camshaft.html

[66nailhead]

Crower makes good cams for these engines. That's what I put in my 340.  300 and 340 are pretty similar engines. Lots of interchangeable parts. Just the block has a taller deck on it and different intake. It is possible to build them up.  My 340 has fully ported and polished heads, intake and exhaust manifolds. Bigger valves, roller rockers and a crower  50234 cam with cam saver lifters. Ta pistons , chrome moly rings. Zero decked the block and a I have a true 10.1compression ratio. And tons of  other parts. They all were from ta or crower. Here's some pictures.

https://youtu.be/saB91pTuJTc


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[66nailhead]

So hope this is some good motivation to keep that 300. They are pretty cool little motors.
Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[WkillGS]

Dan, nice build on the 340!!

For a mild 300, the Crower stage 2, pn 50229 or 50230, would be a good choice.
A bigger cam will lose a little low rpm performance to increase hi rpm performance. It all depends on how you want to drive it.
Bigger cams work well with higher compression, head porting, upgraded exhaust, and more gear ratio in the rear axle.

You can even have a 340 crankshaft machined to fit a 300 block for the ultimate '300' sleeper.

[elagache]

Dear Dan, Walt, and mid-60s Buick 300 experts,

Thanks for all the helpful info on the 300.  I've always felt a little guilty upgrading to a big-block even if for my application it was really needed.  I'm glad to know there are some neat options for the 300.  I knew that TA-Performance didn't have much and I didn't know where to turn.

Thanks again! 

Cheers, Edouard