I have access to a 1987 3.8 Buick V-6 and was wondering if it would be easy to put it in my 72 GS in place of the 350. This would give me time to fix my 350 and not have to park the car while doing the work. Thanks.
Can't help on this one but I can't help wondering...what if you threw a turbo at that V6. Some are making in excess of 1000 horsepower. You may not want to put the V8 back in after your first few wheelstands :eek2:
It shouldn't be a problem...as long as it is a rwd 3.8L motor...The motor mounts are in the same position...All the info I have heard on doing that same swap(though in reverse, V6 to V8) is that the rubber motor mounts are different...In your case, you would need to use the 350 rubber motor mounts on the V6 motor and then it should just bolt right in place of the V8...Everything else should just fall right into place...Should be a very simple swap... Let us know how it turns out... BTW, if you can find a factory 4.1L Buick motor in a salvage yard near you, it will have an aluminum 4bbl factory intake on it that will bolt onto the 3.8L motor with no mods needed...Throw a small Q-Jet(possibly from the same 4.1L motor, if it's still there) and it will wake that little 3.8L motor up...You may also want to check the parts for sale section over on www.TurboBuick.com for the 4 bbl intakes...Some of the turbo guys are building the 4.1L motors into turbo motor's for the extra cubes in a factory appearing setup...
Fred: Your problem is not going to be the motor, but all of the electrical harnesses required. Hopefully, you were able to retain or acquire all, and I mean all, of the wiring from the GN. If so, the swap can be done. Once you get the swap done, you'll want to keep the V6 in there. That is, if you want to go fast:laugh: :laugh: . Good luck.
No its not a GN motor, I wish it was! It is a 1987 V-6 from a rear wheel drive Grand Prix. The only reason I would do this is I can't find a decent running Buick 350. But today I happened to find a mid 1970's fullsize Buick that was taken off the road in March, so I will inquire about it Tuesday.
How does that 4.1 Buick compare to the Cheby 4.3. I know the Cheby is just a 350 missing the back two cylinders. Gm does too many engines. I have a 2.8 V6 in my Firebird but its only compatible with 3.1 3.4 motors as they are 60 degree motors where the 3.8 [TTA only] 4.3 350 are 90. Matt uzzled:
I dunno much about the engines but an 87 in a 72 I don't see it happening without it being way more trouble than it's worth due to the extra wiring.
The V6 from a RWD car will almost drop right in....... you will have to reroute the fuel line to reach the carb and the fan shroud will not be long enough......that is about your only problems you should have. I have done the swap a few times and it was a piece o' cake. Mike
v8 to v6swap i have an 83 and a 79 regal had a v6 droped in a 350 buick i used v6 mount on engine and wiring come close so i think if you use 350 mounts it should bolt up right and you wont loose any power to the tires with those weak strechy v6 mounts(i see a lot of jump on my 350s and have used grand nat poly mounts since) but i wouldnt use the computer form the 87 just due to the amount of work to wire a comp carb into the car with out any computer at all_take advantage of it and loose the computer and the headaches when sensors go out. if your near chicago i have a 79 turbo 4barrel setup (without computer) would enhance the v6power and still get you good gas milage i also have a fresh 70 gs 350 engine sp code block-30 over ta 313 cam 10.2 comp ta intake factory points dist with recurve,hei with msd module and recurve,new rocker and shafts,new pushrods,lifters,springs,oilpump kitwith 5/8 pickup ,block drilled for large pickup,still on stand never fired 1700 :blast:
A 4.1L (252 ci) buick is an overbored 3.8L (231 ci) buick, which is a destroked buick 350 minus two cylinders. Neither should be confused with the 3.8 Chevy (229 ci, believe). There are a few other variations of the 3.8L Buick, I think there was also a 3.0L version--don't confuse that with the 3.1, which was a 60* metric V6. It could be worse, it could be like a GM 350... Every division (except Cadillac I think) had one, and they are all different.
I'm not complaining about my Buick 350, it confuses people when I pop my hood and the distributor is in the front. Its also fun to say that my car was rated with more ft/lbs with a 2bbl than some 4bbl chevy 350s...
The Buick 3.8 did have a bad rep for a while. I remeber many of them first regals like to blow out number 6 cylinder. car would run fine except for all the colant coming out of the pipe. or was that the chevy 3.8 they were using. I think that is why the turbo 3.8 cars were kinda ignored by the general public. I remember when the 3.8 GN hit and it was like a big thumbs down eve though somehow they ran well. People wanted to v8 of the past. Matt uzzled:
v6 i i have had good luck with many v6 buick including a 75 regal with the oddfire6 . i think most problems stemed from lack of maintanence treating it like a chevy v8 and never changing the oil and slick50 gets rid of lifter ticks in them pretty good!!:TU:
About the turbo 3.8, I'm pretty sure I'd rather have a high 13 second V6 than a mid 16 second V8 (the 307 option in '87)
