231 V-6 Assistance

[zodiacblue442]

I have a couple questions about the Buick 231 "odd fire" V-6 that was available in Olds Cutlass and Starfire, etc. My dad is looking for one of these engines for a project he is working on. What are the pros and cons of this engine? I know they aren't real powerful, but that's OK. What vehicles besides the Oldsmobiles I mentioned were these engines available in?

Thanks!

[damaged442]

To say they aren't real powerful is quite an understatement. I had an 84 Regal and my brother had an 85 Regal with the 231. With the two barrel, my 0-60 times were in the 14-15 minute range. My car was a winter rat in the best of definitions. I drove it for two years in Central NY winters and it never left me stranded. My brother, as you may have heard from my stories, is much more abusive on vehicles than I. He never changed his oil and had about 12,000 miles since I had done it for him. He went to start the car to go to work at about -20 °F, his throttle cable froze wide open. Needless to say, the car started and proceeded to rev at WOT for the amount of time needed for him to run in, get me, ask me what to do, run back out and shut the car off. Ummm yeah, hysterical, but he was 16 and had no clue. "It's kinda making a noise" he says. I told him that he probably did a bit of internal damage, but he took off to work anyway. When he was coming back from work, I heard the motor knocking from down the street. I have no idea how it was still running. I realize this is a long winded story, but I thought it was amusing. Makes me laugh anytime I hear someone else with that 231. In my opinion, they're pretty tough.

[73hurst]

Is this the same V6 they used back in the early 60's? I'd have to check some references, but if it is, I believe it would be an aluminum block, like the turbo charged Olds version. If that is the case, then it has been around for a long time and was used in Land Rovers until a few years ago. It may have been low on power, but that's a pretty good testament to its durablilty if it lasted for three plus decades as the motor of choice for Land Rover.

Pete

[Stocker]

It's an iron block. The aluminum block you're thinking of was the 215 V8.

Kaiser-Jeep used the 225 cid version of this as the "Dauntless" from 1965 to '70. Buick bought it back from AMC in '74 I think and bumped it up to 231. It went into every Buick except the Electra and Riviera. They went from odd-fire to even-fire in '77. (The 225/231 is a very common swap for Jeep owners to replace the four-banger.)

There was a 196 in the late '70s, a 181 (FWD) and a 252 (RWD) in the '80s, and a 204 (FWD only) in the early '90s.

[damaged442]

Found this in addition to Stocker's info:

http://home.off-road.com/~merls_garage/oddfire.html

http://www.gnttype.org/general/v6hist.html

Quite informative. I just learned quite a bit.

[zodiacblue442]

Thanks Bert - My dad is still deciding what he wants to use. He's got a buddy that has a few good running Buick 231's. He is also considering the Chev. 4.3L V6. My dad bought back his `56 Jaguar that he restored in the late 80's/early 90's. It was a sad car when he bought it the first time. Did not have an engine or trans. and the body was extremely rough. He put a `70 'Vette 350 and TH-350 trans. in it. The car is FAST :eek: but has cooling problems on a hot day. He's considering putting in a smaller engine. The problem is just not enough radiator and grille opening to cool the V8. Any cooling experts out there??? If he does an engine swap, he knows he'll give up some performance. He's going for reliability and drivability. A fast car isn't so fast when it's on the side of the road with steam coming out from under the hood and coolant boiling all over everything. The Jag had a 3.8L inline 6 originally (which equals 231 c.i.) and they were even known to overheat.

I know this shifted from an Olds topic, but let me know if you have any good cooling suggestions. My dad's tried about everything except louver the hood, and he's not going to do that!