what engine now?

If that's the case, ranch....just rebuild the 307. Providing you don't mind the lack of snort and you just want a good mileage highway wagon....that's what GM tried to do with the wagon you have. Rebuild the 307 and it will do what you want.

 

Now that I see you want a highway driver I would suggest rebuilding the engine you have for that purpose. Port and polish the cylinder heads with a three-angle valve job and backcut the intake valves. Pick a torquey cam in the correct rpm/power range. Headers, gears, etc...

 

So what ?
Petrol is so cheap in North America, who cares about fuel consumption.... ?

I voted now: SELL THE CAR
Looks like you're not man enough to own and drive a Buick...

 

I agree, but Buick V8 frame mounts for a 77-90 B-body are more difficult to come by, plus a number of other parts need to change. Any Olds motor bolts in.

As for mileage, get a small port, J-head 455. Use an RV cam. Use a free-flowing dual exhaust and a well-calibrated Q-jet. With a properly built 200-4R you'll get in the high teens or better, provided you keep your foot out of it most of the time. Gas mileage depends more on weight of the car and driving habits than on engine size. 20+ MPG in a 4,000+ lb B-body wagon is not realistic with any motor.

 

I had a Buick 455 in my model year 1983 Caprice wagon.

I used engine mounts from a model year 1973 Electra 225, not much trouble in that departement.
Had to hammer the firewall and transmission tunnel to get the TH-400 in, also relocated the transmission mount and shortened the drive shaft.

Chained the engine to the chassis at the driver's side, otherwise it would touch the bonnet when driving off under full throttle....

Weakest part was the original 10 bolt rear axle, the first axle only lasted for about 30 seconds during the first test drive.
Second axle did a wee bit better, but I also destroyed that one after a few weeks.

Parked up the car to find a 70's 12 bolt, but never finished the project and the wagon was sold a few years ago.

 

Yup, sounds like an easy bolt-in swap...

 

I agree, it's not too much work if you want your car to have a decent (read Buick torque) engine,
those weak Chebby parts were the real culprit !!

 

funny!

 

I beg to differ on that. The 200-4R was a damn strong tranny and was used in the fastest production American car in the 80's, the Buick Regal Grand National that ran 14s out of the box and easily will run 10's with a few upgrades.

 

ok to remind my self.
i will write it, so I can see it but I guess I'm slow or my eyes are going bad at my age but I remember saying in my introduction and in my reply #4, 12, 15 that uncle buck is going to be my highway car.

i was just teasing.
but yes this car will be my highway traveler but I want it to run like 1995 and 1985 caprice's did. they both had 350 with 7004R and 373 gears. the 95 got 25 mpg highway and my 85 got 23 mpg ! both cars you could easily spin the tires into a nice Smokey cloud in town for fun but most of all ,on the two lane black top at 75 mph. I could down shift and over take(pass) slower traffic like they where still in park. that is the safe way to pass some one on our road's because if you car take long time to pass some one HERE, the more your likely to run into oncoming traffic. that is not safe for any one.
I know what I had before and it worked and I want the same with this wagon. that’s why I was wondering about the 307 or 350 olds engine's ,I'm lost out in the very left field when it comes to Oldsmobile or Buick engine's. that's why, for now. I'm asking the question's and looking for answer's. remember i'm just having fun but yes uncle buck need the engine fix or replace.

 

I will disagree with you on that as well. I got 24.7mpg on the highway going to Jersey and NYC in my 92 Roadmaster TBI powered 350 and it has a titled weight of 4859lbs. Around town I get an average of 18.7mpg after the tune up, running on 87 pump gas. I have terrible driving habits as well. I hate to follow anyone and I believe the fastest way to get from point A to B is Stab and Steer.

I say swap out for a 92-93 TBI 350 with harness and computer system or even better, find a 96 and up Vortec 350/harness and computer system from a pickup/suburban and it will stomp the azz off any stock LT1 powered wagon.

 

I've fragged two 200-4R transmissions behind a totally stock 307 in my Custom Cruiser. The GN versions had internal mods, but they STILL won't hold up to a 10 second car in stock form. There are several trans houses that specialize in mods to the 200-4R for the GNs. More to the point, a turbo car is softer off the line than a big block. The boost lag goes a long way towards helping the trans live. Same phenomena in my son's Evo. He ran a best of 10.67 with the fragile stock transfer case, but due to the large turbo, his 60 ft times are horrible (well over 2 seconds). That DOES save the driveline parts, however. Same for a GN.

 

I know guys that run worked 2004R's behind 800 HP. I ran mine behind 480 HP and beat it. These tranny's are far tougher than people think. If done up right...for not a lot of money...they will take a licking and keep on ticking.

 

If you can get away with just bearings then that is the cheapest solution. Precious few motors already knocking won't need the crank freshened up.
I'm another detractor of Old's 307. LOTS of better engines from the General will bolt right in it's place.

 

Well, I voted for the fuelie 350 combo, but... If you are talking low dollar, that's probably not feasible. I myself would buy a running car (maybe a wreck, or ? ) and swap engines. Way cheaper than buying parts retail and as my Uncle will tell you "all cars run on used parts" (he owned a wrecking yard). Maybe you can even find a good fuel injected one (I believe it would be the only way to go for you, what with your mpg and daily driver type requirements).
As a side note- 373 rear gears won't be good for fuel efficiency (as I'm sure you know). 1800 rpm on the freeway is the ticket to many miles per gallon