287 rebuild or swap out for 400

[68ragtop]

I bought a 55 star chief 2 door hard top and looking for some input it has a 287 in it and from what I see a rebuild is a little pricey so how hard is it to swap it out with a pontiac 400/400 turbo/700r I going to be doing a frame off this winter going to keep rest off the car stock any input would really help me out

[Larry]

First of all, congratulations one a heck of a cool old Pontiac!

Secondly, you are right about engine rebuilding being costly, but there is much more to consider than just the price of the 287 rebuild.

That engine should have most everything you need for the mechanical rebuild available from MANY, MANY places. There were so many factory and after market parts made for those cars that they are still around today, and at very reasonable costs- dare I say at no higher costs than the equivalent newer engine parts.

And, unless you have a perfect 400 located to replace it with, you'll most likely have rebuild costs associated with it too.

Any engine can be put into any car... with the right amount of labor and money. Consider that into the cost of the conversion, and perhaps earmark some of it to the 287 rebuild (if it is even more expensive than the newer engine). Oh, I almost forgot... are you getting the new stuff for free, because you do have the original stuff already.

Those original engines and transmissions when new or rebuilt properly are almost bulletproof. Unless you're building a drag racer, you will get plenty of good performance and reliability out of them. There are even performance parts still available for them too. If you want the cool factor and a sweet exhaust note, the original setup will deliver that big time!

Last consideration is if you keep the original parts, you will have a much more desirable car to many people- hopefully to you too. It's not like you have a 6-cylinder sedan that will never be worth much money to anyone in stock configuration. You have a Star Chief 2-door hardtop... and unless it had a top that went down, you don't get much better than that.

Keep us informed of your decisions, and if you need some help just give a yell.

[68ragtop]

I was leaning towards the rebuild of the 287 I do have a good 400 sitting in the garage that I just need to freshen up was saving it for my 68 gto ragtop in case something would happen to it. should be pulling the body off within a month going to have to make some lifts to get it off the frame will be living in the garage for the next 6 months ? would like to have it done for summer back to the 50s but then I might be dreaming a little bit this one is more work then my others rides other one's the motors where all running in when I started the restore on them. will be asking more questions once I get into this project have all new chrome and new glass for it.

[Larry]

New chrome and glass, huh? That's probably the lion's share of a lot of the cost already covered.

Since you're doing a frame-off, I wouldn't discourage you from at least doing some looking to see just how involved an engine swap might be. Since you have the engine already (and trans?), a little playing around with an engine stand might provide some good answers to how much work it might be. I can say that plenty of people have done this swap already, and as with most any swap, if you're ready to address motor mounts, trans mounts and frame crossover, and the obligatory trip to the driveshaft shop, that will only leave some pretty piddly things like carb linkage, radiator hoses, exhaust...

I don't want you to think I (or hopefully anyone else) would try to discourage you from making your car exactly how you will enjoy it the most. Sometimes it's nice to have options. As long as you hold on to the original stuff, in 50 years (hopefully many more!) when you're gone and the car is in probate, the kids can get even richer from some purist... kidding!