The Buick 231 V-6 engines were known grenades in their era from the late 70s to the late 80s give or take.
They were carbureted and had known oiling issues which generally spelled their demise at about the 70,000 mile marker.
The 231 was derived from a Buick 225 inch V-6, the same one GM sold the rights to Jeep where they served some of their time under those hoods. GM later bought the rights back to use them in their late 70s-80s scrap.
The engine base was later revised as what they called the 3800 (3.8L) that went on to become one of the most successful engines in their lineup. The oiling issues had been resolved in 1981 when Buick prepped and sent a turbocharged unit to compete in the Indianapolis 500. They went on to race and win in many classes of racing in the 80s and 90s including a 2500 horse unit that ran in NHRA.
Because they were known to fly apart, the engines were hard to find and if it already had 50k on it, it was already nearing the end of it's lifecycle, so it was like bolting in a failure.
The reman stuff was no better, and new crate engines were very costly at $1200 and more of the same junk.
We found out that the 231 was basically a 350 Buick V-8 missing the two front cylinders and all of the accessory mounting holes were in the same locations.
The plastic fan shrouds were made with an extension that was stapled on, so there was nothing you had to cut.
The V-8 cars were dime a dozen because they were old rust buckets by then, often only costing $100 for engines that were capable of hitting 100K miles.
The only other mods we had to do was an upgrade to the V-8 springs so the front end wasn't sagged.
With the junk car and the springs hitting the $150 marker, that left the remainder of the $800 invoice to go towards the labor.
It took about an hour to snatch the engine out of the junker and four hours to R&I the engine in the car getting repaired.
Most of the time I cleaned and repainted the replacement engines so they weren't sleazy-greasy which could use up a half an hour.
The spring job took an hour, so within 6 1/2 hours the ride was back on the road with a very reliable engine for a song.
The profit was a tad over $100 per hour back when the dealership shop rates were probably a third of that, so it was a very lucrative operation that made for very satisfied customers.
They were carbureted and had known oiling issues which generally spelled their demise at about the 70,000 mile marker.
The 231 was derived from a Buick 225 inch V-6, the same one GM sold the rights to Jeep where they served some of their time under those hoods. GM later bought the rights back to use them in their late 70s-80s scrap.
The engine base was later revised as what they called the 3800 (3.8L) that went on to become one of the most successful engines in their lineup. The oiling issues had been resolved in 1981 when Buick prepped and sent a turbocharged unit to compete in the Indianapolis 500. They went on to race and win in many classes of racing in the 80s and 90s including a 2500 horse unit that ran in NHRA.
Because they were known to fly apart, the engines were hard to find and if it already had 50k on it, it was already nearing the end of it's lifecycle, so it was like bolting in a failure.
The reman stuff was no better, and new crate engines were very costly at $1200 and more of the same junk.
We found out that the 231 was basically a 350 Buick V-8 missing the two front cylinders and all of the accessory mounting holes were in the same locations.
The plastic fan shrouds were made with an extension that was stapled on, so there was nothing you had to cut.
The V-8 cars were dime a dozen because they were old rust buckets by then, often only costing $100 for engines that were capable of hitting 100K miles.
The only other mods we had to do was an upgrade to the V-8 springs so the front end wasn't sagged.
With the junk car and the springs hitting the $150 marker, that left the remainder of the $800 invoice to go towards the labor.
It took about an hour to snatch the engine out of the junker and four hours to R&I the engine in the car getting repaired.
Most of the time I cleaned and repainted the replacement engines so they weren't sleazy-greasy which could use up a half an hour.
The spring job took an hour, so within 6 1/2 hours the ride was back on the road with a very reliable engine for a song.
The profit was a tad over $100 per hour back when the dealership shop rates were probably a third of that, so it was a very lucrative operation that made for very satisfied customers.
