Coming home with a Buickload

[zeno]

Your Buick should get low-mid 20's mixed driving. My squaw
had a '99 LaSabre & got mid 20's. She bagged a dear so
only got abt 150K on it. Never needed "tune up" type stuff
but that engine was a leaker !
Assuming 18 gals that would give about 400 miles.
Either engine isnt running right or cat is plugged, O2
filthy etc. IF you need a cat price it at a custom exhaust shop.
One on my crown vic was rattling & got it changed for <$250.
Whatever u do be damn sure its running right when done
or you will wreck everything again.

73 Zeno
LFOD !

[zeno]

For snow driving most cars if you put it in "2" you lock out
low gear & make it much easier to get traction & avoid
downshifts going up hill.
On RWD it also eases you down hill with very little braking.
Just avoid sudden downshifts or you get spin out.
With FWD there are a few more rules. Biggest thing with FWD
is if you HAVE to go out in snow storms get snow tires. You
may not need them but it makes a HUGE difference.
My 1st FWD car was one of these.

https://www.cargurus.com/Cars/1972-O...ureId:11444845

About 3000 lbs sitting over the front wheels made it go in snow even
with bald bias ply tires. Added snows the next year & you could
go almost anywhere a big 4WD truck can.

73 Zeno
LFOD !

[TUD1]

One of my dream cars (among many) is a Jeep Grand Wagoneer. My favorite SUV ever. I would love to have one, but they're getting so darn expensive. Put snow tires (or chains) on that, and you can go anywhere. Only problem is that since Grand Wagoneers are getting so rare, you would have to be careful of all the road salt.

[Marco-nix]

Originally Posted by Captainclock

I think you mean 283 V6? as V8s started at 318 CID (like the famous Chrysler 318 which was also another rock solid engine that was built to last but sadly was discontinued when Chrysler discontinued their A-Body cars like their New Yorkers and Diplomats and the Gran Furys in 1989 and replaced them with the M- and K-Bodies which used V6s and 4 Bangers.) Interestingly enough All three car makers had a 3.8 Litre V6 engine of some sort Ford like you said had one, Chrysler had one and GM had one, although GM was first I believe and GM's is more famous.

It seems you are a younger boy . i'm 60 years old and a 283 was a small V8 chevy block I had in a Chevrolet Impala 1967. Later , I had a 318 is a small V8 in a ( Dodge Aspen 1977 ) . Not the same .. GM is GM and Chrysler is Chrysler my cap'tain ...

[tom.j.fla]

Before the Chevy 283 V-8 there was the 265 V-8. And before FORDs' 289 V-8 there was the 260 V-8, don't know what Chrysler had before the 318. All the best,Tom.J

[Captainclock]

Originally Posted by TUD1

One of my dream cars (among many) is a Jeep Grand Wagoneer. My favorite SUV ever. I would love to have one, but they're getting so darn expensive. Put snow tires (or chains) on that, and you can go anywhere. Only problem is that since Grand Wagoneers are getting so rare, you would have to be careful of all the road salt.

I too would also like to have a Jeep Grand Wagoneer but like you said they're rarer than hens teeth now and because of that they are getting extremely expensive now, last time I looked one up on ebay motors one was going for nearly $80,000 and it was in mint condition and only had 20,000 miles on it or so. That's about like the original Dodge Challengers and Chargers which can go for as much as $120k in mint or restored condition.

[Captainclock]

Originally Posted by Marco-nix

It seems you are a younger boy . i'm 60 years old and a 283 was a small V8 chevy block I had in a Chevrolet Impala 1967. Later , I had a 318 is a small V8 in a ( Dodge Aspen 1977 ) . Not the same .. GM is GM and Chrysler is Chrysler my cap'tain ...

Yes I'm only 28 years old, plus ontop of that my mom's dad's family were into Mopar because my grandfather's dad owned a Chrysler dealership out in Myerstown, PA years ago so I'm not as familiar with the GM and Ford Engines but as far as I know Chrysler never had a Small Block V8 engine smaller than the 318 because the 318 was their workhorse engine for years (besides their Big Blocks like the 360, 440 and the 426 Hemi) I know that Chryler's original Hemi which came out in 1955 with the first Chrysler 300 was a 331 CID engine, and apparently according to what I was reading GM at least (don't know about Ford) was trying to limit its V8s to less than 400 CID which is why GM had their V8s in the 200s and 300s as far as CID went whereas Chrysler didn't operate with such limitations which is why they had two extremely powerful V8 engines at over 400 CID (the 426 Hemi and the 440). So that's what I know.

[Captainclock]

Originally Posted by tom.j.fla

Before the Chevy 283 V-8 there was the 265 V-8. And before FORDs' 289 V-8 there was the 260 V-8, don't know what Chrysler had before the 318. All the best,Tom.J

Chrylser only ever had the 318, because it was an engine that just worked and it was the workhorse engine that was put in just about every Chrysler car that wasn't a muscle car (like the New Yorkers, Newports, the Darts, the Diplomats, the Furys, Volares, etc.) My guess is that because of the fuel crisis of the 1970s GM and Ford decided to downsize their V8 engines whereas Chrysler didn't and that probably explains why Ford and GM had such small V8 engines compared to Chrysler, either that or they just were wusses and just weren't daring enough to try and experiment with engine sizes that went over 300-400+ CID like Chrysler did. Either way, its not really something worth arguing over.

[Captainclock]

Originally Posted by zeno

Your Buick should get low-mid 20's mixed driving. My squaw
had a '99 LaSabre & got mid 20's. She bagged a dear so
only got abt 150K on it. Never needed "tune up" type stuff
but that engine was a leaker !
Assuming 18 gals that would give about 400 miles.
Either engine isnt running right or cat is plugged, O2
filthy etc. IF you need a cat price it at a custom exhaust shop.
One on my crown vic was rattling & got it changed for <$250.
Whatever u do be damn sure its running right when done
or you will wreck everything again.

73 Zeno
LFOD !

Hmm, interesting my car as a 17 Gallon Gas Tank and it goes through that tank of gas in a about a week or so, and I do do mixed driving (I mostly drive on county roads to get to work but then I drive on a couple of different highways to get around to different parts of town like when I need to go to college classes or go to church or go to my parents house.) So yeah I definitely should be getting about 22-23 mpg or so but that seems to be not the case, I did have a mechanic check the car out and they didn't seem to find anything mechanically wrong with the engine they just said that the catalytic converter needed to be replaced, but like you said what exactly caused the Catalytic converter to fail in the first place especially since that part is supposed to last the life of the car if the car is properly maintained and running properly. Which like I pointed out earlier the valve cover gasket seems to be a bit leaky on my car but I don't know if that would cause the catalytic converter to go bad.

[jr_tech]

Originally Posted by tom.j.fla

Before the Chevy 283 V-8 there was the 265 V-8. And before FORDs' 289 V-8 there was the 260 V-8, don't know what Chrysler had before the 318. All the best,Tom.J

IIRC, 273.
The smallest V8 that I recall was the aluminum 215 Buick, Oldsmobile, Rover engine of the early 60s. Fun to work on as one could easily pick up a bare block and set it on a workbench.

jr

[Electronic M]

Originally Posted by Captainclock

My guess is that because of the fuel crisis of the 1970s GM and Ford decided to downsize their V8 engines whereas Chrysler didn't and that probably explains why Ford and GM had such small V8 engines compared to Chrysler, either that or they just were wusses and just weren't daring enough to try and experiment with engine sizes that went over 300-400+ CID like Chrysler did.

My 1978 Lincoln Mark V has a 460 V8 (Ford/Lincoln/merc's second biggest) in it. They offered that engine in a variety of cars through the 70's and in trucks through the 90's. It supplanted their biggest the 462.

Cadillac had 500 CID engines in the late 60's and early 70's...I've been tempted to buy Eldorados with that engine.

If you did not have a V8 back in the day it probably seemed a bit cheap....I'd imagine the small ones were the fuel savers for the people that did not want to be accused of being fuel savers.

[consoleguy67]

The 215 aluminum Buick motor was a V-6. Buick did have a 300 V-8.

[jr_tech]

Originally Posted by consoleguy67

The 215 aluminum Buick motor was a V-6. Buick did have a 300 V-8.

Buick indeed made a 215 aluminum V8...early 60s.

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rover_V8_engine


jr

[Electronic M]

Originally Posted by consoleguy67

The 215 aluminum Buick motor was a V-6. Buick did have a 300 V-8.

I believe you are mistaken.

Buick Special and Oldsmobile F-85 for all three years shared an aluminum block 215 cubic-inch V8 engine featuring cast-iron liners to prevent overheating and block warpage problems common with aluminum block engines. Although Buick and Olds shared the same basic engine design, both divisions used different cylinder heads, camshafts, carburetors and compression ratios. The 215 V8 was also available on the Pontiac Tempest for 1961 and 1962 and used the Buick version, but very few Tempests were so-equipped.
For 1962, Buick introduced a new 198 cubic-inch V6 engine for the lower-line Special models in order to allow for a lower base price. That V6 shared many parts and dimensions with the aluminum V8 engine but featured a cast iron block.

From here: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/GM_Y_platform

I read a fascinating article on a car site (wish I could find it) a few months back on the engines of GM's 60's 'Senior Compacts'. That explained the history of that engine well...In that block's original form it was an aluminum V8 that was shared (with tweaks) between divisions of GM...There were casting issues with the aluminum that resulted in reliability issues. An engineer at Buick told his boss that he could saw off two cylinders from the V8, switch to a normal cast iron block, do a few other changes and make a V6 that would be better than the V8 it was derived from. After GM was done with it Jeep bought it and used it (due to it's power and reliability), Buick later bought it back from AMC/Jeep in the 70's and kept improved versions in production through the opening years of the millennium.

The aluminum V8 was popular with speedboaters and when Land Rover representatives were in the states they got interested in the engine and bought the rights to it, and used it for a long time.

[Captainclock]

Originally Posted by Electronic M

I believe you are mistaken.
From here: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/GM_Y_platform

I read a fascinating article on a car site (wish I could find it) a few months back on the engines of GM's 60's 'Senior Compacts'. That explained the history of that engine well...In that block's original form it was an aluminum V8 that was shared (with tweaks) between divisions of GM...There were casting issues with the aluminum that resulted in reliability issues. An engineer at Buick told his boss that he could saw off two cylinders from the V8, switch to a normal cast iron block, do a few other changes and make a V6 that would be better than the V8 it was derived from. After GM was done with it Jeep bought it and used it (due to it's power and reliability), Buick later bought it back from AMC/Jeep in the 70's and kept improved versions in production through the opening years of the millennium.

The aluminum V8 was popular with speedboaters and when Land Rover representatives were in the states they got interested in the engine and bought the rights to it, and used it for a long time.

Yes the engine you are referring to in your post that was basically a cut down V8 was what later on became the known as the 3800 (back then it was known as a 3.8 litre or a 231 CID originally) GM had the 3.8 Litre V6 since the late 1960s.