i have an opertunity to buy a 76 firebird with a 400 with racing heads and cam... for 400.... i have a v6 now i was just wondering about your opinoins of the swap from a 2.8 to a 400... using the firbird as a donar car.... chevy pontiac mut? thanks any advice is also appreciated

 

400 chevy or pontiac? might be a good deal on the chevy engine, i'd pass if it were a pontiac

 

a good majority of people on here would suggest using a v8 car to start with, as you should replace a lot of the front suspension parts & they will also suggest having a 3rd gen donor car.
the additional problem is the oil dipstick will be on the drivers side (clearance problems with the steering linkage to the gear box).
your best route would probably be to find a 3rd gen 305 car & use the suspension & other components, preferably a carb or TPI model (I prefer TPI myself).
plus the fuel pump may need to be changed, depending on if yours is carb or if you go with TPI
your exhaust will of course have to be replaced, at the least the manifolds, might as well spend the $150 for headers (not sure if the ones from the firebird will fit or not) and then new exhaust
I'm sure there's more, that some of the more expereinced members know.
hope that gives you some insight

 

A 76 should be a Pontiac engine. A few guys have done it. You probably would have gotten a better response if you had indicated the "Pontiac" part in the topic line (too late now).

Having a factory V8 3rd gen wouldn't help much for this swap, since basically nothing is the same between SBC and 400 Pontiac. It makes a little more sense to do this to a Firebird, but even then, the power to weight and power to cost of this vs. a 400 SBC (or even 350 SBC) are not favorable.

 

thanks for the post i'll prolly pass on the swap thanks for the info