I hope i didnt put this thread in the wrong forum, but I have a question. This question will help me in my restoration later on hopefully. How much horsepower does a stock non turbocharged 231 V6 have????? My drivers manual doesnt tell how much and I've looked over the net and couldnt find any info on it. Whatever it is, I know it probably aint much, but in the future, i hope to beef it up a little with few mods. Oh, and how much torque do they have? Even an estimate would be nice. The only mod that has been done to my car is the K&N air filter which makes it breath better, and increases horsepower by a little. But other than that, how much horsepower does a non turbo 231 V6 carry?????? How much torque???????? Thanks
Cody, In 1976 they were rated at 105 hp. I remember well, as I had a 75 Skyhawk new back then with the V6 and it was rated at 110 hp. I was thankful to have the "extra" 5 hp over the 76's! Sorry, don't remember torque figures, but they are stump pullers at low rpm, not much point in revving them past 4000 rpm.
Cody, That question is about your 1976 Century, right? That's 105 HP @m 3400 rpm for the 231 CI with 2 barrel and 8:1 comp. ratio. Torque figures are 185 lbs-ft @ 2000 rpm.
How could you be thankful when you bought this car new and didn't knew anything about things happening for modelyear 1976 o No:
Erik, I guess I didn't make it clear...I was happy when the 76's came out 1 month after I bought my new 75 model. I bought the '75 very late in the model year. I was happy I didn't wait for an "improved" 76 model. OK?
I was just putting you on Brad :beer But I see in your signature you still have a 75 Skyhawk, is this still the same car? We have a 350 Vette powered lime green Skyhawk running around here in the Netherlands. I wonder how he ever got that registered here since they didn't come with a V8...o No: Here's that V8 Hawk <img src="http://www.chevythierry.com/images/2003/20030824-Weert/images/Weert49.jpg">
Erik, No problem :beer :beer , I sometimes think faster than I type, so things become muddled. That Skyhawk is sure, umm, green uzzled: :shock: . I suppose the reason it got registered was that a Monza could be had with a V8 and they guy convinced someone that a Skyhawk with a V8 would be OK. The 75 I now have is almost like my original, red 4 speed etc. My first one had a black leather interior (not vinyl, but real leather), this one has a white cloth interior. It brings back a lot of memories, oh from the 75/76 time frame...when they had either 110 or 105 hp :laugh: :laugh:
thanks guys:beer :TU: you helped me alot. I suppose my car now has 110 to 115 horsepower thanks to the K&N air filter. My future goal for the horsepower is anywhere from 195 to 315 horsepower with the same engine and same 3 speed tranny. I want to have flowmaster, cherry bombs, or thrush dual exhaust system, a 10 bolt posi(or a posi-trac that suites it well), another new K&N air filter, maybe a bore and stroke if they can do it to a V6(?), a high performance cam, and im still thinking of stuff to add to my list of performance things im gonna have done when the time comes. I love skyhawks too. There is a teenager here in town that drives a light metallic silver one with a 231 V6 manual transmission. It seems to be pretty fast from the way he drives it. thanks for the help. could you have a 231 V6 bored and stroked?o No: Thanks
You can stroke it with a 3.625" stroke crank (pretty sure that's right). No clue what kind of availability or pricing on those. Keep the boring limited to .030" or so. Best thing to add to a 231" would have to be BOOST!!!:Brow: :TU: :bglasses: Good set of heads wouldn't hurt either.
Cody, the best performance thing that you could add to your V6 would be a DUMPSTER completely surrounding it!!!:laugh: Put a good-running 350/455 in its place!:Smarty: Hope I don't offend you, the V6 is a good engine of course by being a Buick, just hampered by Fed restrictions.:rant: I just personally feel that a big car like the Century deserved an appropriately-sized engine. I've owned a 75 Century 350 2-barrel. BEST-RUNNING car I've EVER owned! ($400 car BTW, which BY FAR puts it at the BEST DEAL also!! In my eyes, it was a $2,000 car at the time, in its condition. But its prev. owner did NOT want his son to have it any longer.uzzled: o No: )
Now there is an oxymoron. Cody, don't listen to any of them. They want you to switch to a V8 because very soon you will be able to make more HP and qualify for the Q8.:laugh: :laugh: Take a step back and look at the big picture. Even if you doubled the power of the stock motor, you'd only be at 210. The Busch boys were running Stage 2 V6 motors at 498 HP with single carb and headers. Keep a close watch on some of the V6 turbo boards for a complete 231 GN driveline. If the car is in good shape, the driveline swap might be the answer. Also: The BPG, its not just a V8 thing.
I like and appreciate V6's also, in Skyhawks. A 252, headers, intake, carb, compression, 4-speed!:TU: VERY cool combo! But in a full-size car... NOT!:moonu: Now a late-model GN/Regal Turbo transplant, thats a completely different story!:eek2: But cost-wise, your money is BEST spent on a stock, very cheap and commonly available V-8, IMO! just my .02 o No:
Ah contraire mon fraire... I never said they were not fast, just that STOCK needs HELP! And in a Century, why bother? Add CUBES!!:Brow: :moonu: :bglasses: :laugh:
Cody - I notice you have a '76 231"....they were pretty close to the last of the old ODD fire engines. Performance parts wise....you'll find MANY more parts for the EVEN fire 3.8"/4.1" V6!! That's something to consider. You could pick up a 350" or a 455" in good running condition for $500 or less - might even find a complete donor car for that kind of money. That would give you all the extras like tranny, bigger radiator, etc. Bottom line....YOU need to determine which way is best for you!!:Smarty: :TU: Tons of BUICK options out there for you....and you can make good power with anyone of them!!!:bglasses: :beer
I'm not necessarily advocating swapping out the motor either. Howerver, another thing to consider is that for the same money in go-fast parts to get decent power out of a six, you would get much more power out of a V8. Probably your best bet would be to take a look at your budget. - Freed
Well, right now money is kinda tight, in other words, dont have a big amount. And before i got into all of the performance parts and stuff, I was planning on just restoring my whole car to original and using it as a Show Car( you know, a scratch-and-dent free car, in use for shows only), but at the same time i thought i might as well start dropping the show car thing and going with a performance car. all you guys are right, probably the best option would be a swap for a good running buick V8, but like i said, I might go to having a restoration that takes the car back to '76 with whitewall tires, little non turbo 231 V6, peg-leg rear end, priginal paint, single exhaust system, 15 inch buick rallys, you know, all original except it will be in show quality. The whole plan i have for the future is while im getting the '76 restored, I want to get a '70-'72 GS with a 350 engine, even if it is an automatic, i want a 70-72 GS 350 to use as a driver car untile i get my '76 restored and then get the 70-72 GS restored if it isnt already. lots of thoughts for the future. And i.o.u. all a thanks for the great ideas. Thanks. P.S., I still love little V6's even if they really arent that fast. Thanks
Hey Cody, I don't know if you've noticed this or not, but at the lower right hand corner of a posting is an edit box. If you click on this box, it allows you to change, add, or delete as you see fit. :Smarty:
