Everything except the bellhousing bolt pattern is different. Of course one is better than the other but it depends what area of the engine you're talking about.
Front distributor (Buick) is better for less spark scatter but worse for cold starts and oil pressure because of the long internal passages. Bore to stroke ratio and rod material - forged - is better on the Buick, thin wall casting (Buick) is lighter and has a higher tin content so it lasts longer but can only take one overbore, the mains will exit out the bottom as you pass 575 ft lbs of torque unless you have a bottom end girdle (Buick) - and so on.
I have run several Buick 455's and they are easy to make power with. However, you won't find one in my Firebird - ever!
The Buick engine is a good engine but has its problem areas, same as just about any engine out there.
Get yourself a 2nd gen Regal and slap it in there. With the turbo hood.... I had one I painted Ford blue and white. Sweet car! Super fast with the 455.
I was thinking about it because its a good deal but I just dont think its right. I was curious about the differences more than anything. Its funny to look at the differences from then and now. Now everyone shares the same designs to be more competitive and then, everyone had their own signature. Dont worry Dennis, I wont put that thing in my car
It's strange how we react when someone wants to put a Chevy (or Buick, etc) into a classic Pontiac. The Buick/Olds guys get bent out of shape when they see a Chevy under the hood of a classic GS or 442. We get annoyed when we see a Chevy under the hood of a Firebird or GTO. Chevy guys rarely get bothered at all, because nearly every Chevy has a Chevy engine under the hood.
It was only a few years after the Musclecar Era died (later 70's) when GM themselves began dropping Chevy engines into Oldsmobiles, Oldsmobile engines into Buicks, Chevy engines into Pontiacs, Buick V6's into everything.
No point here really, I just think it's odd how defensive we are when someone wants to stray from a traditional "matching" engine powerplant when talking about pre-1974 era cars.
But I'm one of those people. Keep it Pontiac powered.
Personally, what has got me against the mongrols is when I happen to buy one, they are so darn cobbled! If it is done exactly right then a mix and match engine car is fine with me. I just hate cobble jobs!
Right, a decent job should look like the factory did it. There's really no excuse for a shabby GM swap. Now, about that 1965 Buick Skylark with the Mopar 440 on Ebay ...
I think it's also a reaction to the multitude of Chevy small blocks that were swapped into cars just because the engines are the cheapest to build. I don't remember hearing much about number matching back in the '80s either.
