I've owned both the 3.8L ('87 Buick LeSabre) and the 3800 Series II ('99 Oldsmobile Intrigue). The '99 3800 managed to get to 236k before the plastic intake manifold gaskets failed, and by then the car had too much rot to bother with repairing the engine. Transmission still shifted as beautifully at 236k as it did when I bought it off-lease at 77k.
@@dashcamandy2242 I had a 98 intrigue. Other than rot, the biggest failure I had was the intake plenum literally exploded due to a leaking fuel pressure regulator. Lemme tell you, a gallon of coffee and a line of coke won't wake you up as effectively at 4 am as an explosion. Sounded like a damn 12 gauge went off in the seat next to me lmao
Man, I cannot tell you how many 3800’s I’ve worked on with 300k plus miles, I’ve even seen a few with over 400k miles. Where I live, the death of those cars is usually rust and not mechanical failure. I could talk all day about this video. It’s excellent.
Same story with most of the vortec motors in the S10s and Silverados. The frame and bed on the truck would be rotted away and the motor still running strong and solid.
What he's not telling you is that the Buick 430 and 455 had the oil pump located in the relatively soft aluminum timing cover. Many of them would simply wear out and the engine would have low or no oil pressure. Probably the worst GM big block. The earlier 425 "Wildcat", known as a "nail head" was more durable. Fun fact....Two 425 Buick Wildcats hooked together were used in the "start carts" to spin up the engines on the SR-71 Blackbird spy planes. They were replaced by 427 ci big block Chevrolet engines in 1966 The other thing he's wrong about is the small block Chevrolet engines. Starting in 1987, GM began using high nickel content in the small block Chevy, this resulted in many of them holding a factory hone pattern in the cylinders at 200,000 miles, while the 1986 and older Chevy used a soft iron block that usually had a very detectable "ridge" at the top of the block as the rings wore into the cylinder walls at under 100,000 miles
He ain't lying. And this is the reason why I will NEVER buy a brand new nor newer car even if I had the money. I can guarantee you wont get your moneys worth out of a new car. It'll basically just feel like a rip off a downgrade and a waste of money and not as reliable as the older cars.
Yes, the Supercharged 3800 is one of my favorite all time engines. They are just fun to drive. And overall, minus a few very stupid engineering decisions, they're not too hard to work on. I mean why in the heck would you ever have coolant channels running through a bracket, what the hell were they thinking?
The early versions of the 3.8 in the late 70’s to early 80’s were not that good with lots of balance issues! The later 3800 series was far and away a wonderful engine, and with the supercharger was a monster in power!
@@jtjones4727 the factory PCM tuning and pulley size is very conservative. i have a SSEi bonneville and i had a PCM tune done and swapped down one size pulley. other few minor mods.... front power log, colder plugs..... that engine wakes right up. it's not even modded heavily but it's allot quicker then stock.
The Chevy 4.3 V6 definitely deserves to be on this list. The one I had in my 2001 Chevy S-10 went through FAR more abuse than even the engineers would have thought possible.
Yes, the 4.3 V6 is another excellent engine from GM. I rank it even with the Buick 3800. I've owned 3 of them over the years and have had no trouble with any of them. The early ones had poor valve stem seals and would blow blue on start up. My 92 was fixed under warranty. Depending what vehicle it was in, it could be a real rocket. My 92 S10 was pretty quick at the time...5 speed stick. In an ASTRO van or GMC Safari...perfect for towing and that's what I still have.
I recommended the 3800 engine for my son a few years ago for an interim car when he needed a cheap commuter car .We found a rust free 90 Le Sabre . He put over 20k on it in a year and a half . We still have it , I am retired and now I am driving it . I love it .
Ten years ago I sold a 99 LeSabre. I was the 3rd owner. It was a great vehicle but I needed a van. Every bit as nice as a Park Avenue. It had low miles when I bought it and still well under 100k when I sold it Got over 30 mpg on the highway but city driving was just ok. Don't see many on the road now.
@@michaelf.2449 I heard China was behind the cash for clunkers program here in the USA and that the metal salvaged from those cars was shipped to China. Have you noticed how plastics had replaced metal. The same thing happened to all the metal grocery shopping carts. They were sent to China too.
One of the smoothest driving cars I’ve ever driven was a mid-2000’s era Buick Lesabre with the 3800 motor. What a nice car that was! I honestly think the only reason GM discontinued that engine is because it was lasting too long. You could buy one and keep it for many years
I always thought the 3800 was the best engine I ever worked on in my 28 years as a Certified Master Auto Technician. It had plenty of power and got 30 mpg highway in big Buicks like the Park Avenue and LeSabre.
Considering the GM "High Value" 3.6 replaced it. Now that engine is a pile of trash. It still has problems to this day. A 3800 Series IV and V could have been produced with upgrades to the injection system and the addition of a 6 speed automatic. They all ready paid for supercharging development with Eaton and could have kept using it (far preferable to turbocharging)
As a 2005 Tahoe owner I agree with you, the GMT800 are the best trucks GM ever built my 5.3 (LM7) with 220K still runs like it's brand new. The non DOD LS engines are hard to beat.
I had good luck and service from GM in-line sixes as well. Purchased a brand new 1980 Chevrolet C-10 pickup with a 250 cube six to drive across country, had a new job waiting in western Montana. That little feller ran real well, unless there was a vacuum leak. And, it got great mileage on the open road! It had an ingenious 2 barrel carburetor that had a tiny primary and if I could keep in on that you were sipping fuel! Thank Adam, great subject and talk!
I worked at a Buick dealer in the 2000’s. There were a few dudes who sent their kids through college just doing intake manifold gasket replacement jobs. There were maybe 2-3 guys that just did intake gaskets ALL DAY every day for years. That being said once you fix that issue the engines are indestructible. If you’re handy, get a 2000’s Buick or Pontiac with a 3800 that’s overheating for a few hundred bucks. Guarantee it’s those gaskets. Fix it yourself and have a good cheap car.
I have a lot of knowledge on the 60s and 70s GMs M. Your knowledge is far greater than mine and I just love your reviews and you bring out a lot of details that I was well aware of. Love your reviews on the 66 Catalina as I have owned a 68 Catalina, 68 Bonneville, a 69 Grand Prix, a 66 Cadillac Coupe deVille, 73 Coup deVille, 73 Eldorado, 70 Olds Tornado GT. Ya. I like those older GMs, nowdays I drive Hondas and Toyotas. My farm pickup is a 90 Chevy k1500 and it is excellent. I am looking to update with a 2000 or newer. Only when I find one cheap enough
Too bad the 3800’s were mostly hooked up to weak and uninspiring automatic transmissions. Looking forward to your GM division ranking video. I grew up around mostly chevys and enjoy learning about GMs other division cars/motors👍🏽
@@mph5896 '99 Intrigue, 236k when the intake gaskets failed. I bought it at 77k, the 4T65-E never gave us an issue. The trick is to drive in "3" on secondary roads at speeds below 55 mph, the engine tends to lug at 650-750 rpm and you're constantly in and out of OD. Had the same problem with the 2.8 carbureted '85 S-10 Blazer, constantly in and out of OD, frequent failures until we started keeping it in D instead of OD on those same secondary roads at the same speeds.
@@dashcamandy2242 yep. The transmission would hunt for the gear if you were in OD at 55 and under. Also, they ran hot and would burn the fluid. I installed an auxiliary oil cooler. My LeSabre came with one inside the radiator, but I bypassed it and installed a much bigger one designed for towing mounted on the front of the radiator. Never burned the fluid and never replaced the transmission.
I had 3800s in an 89 Le Sabre and 95 regal gran sport. It was the reason I bought the 95. Great power and torquey. You could beat them endlessly and they never missed a beat. I was so hard on both of them. In both cars nothing ever had to be done to the engines. I own an old bullet proof Porsche 911 today and the 3800 is still tops in my book. Miss those.
I had a 66 Impala Super Sport with a 396. Had lots of power but being in a northern climate, it was always a bear to start in the winter. Love the 3800 engines. My kids both had 98 Buick Lesabres. Had to change the upper intake manifold on both but other than that they were fantastic engines and last forever. I also had a 96 Buick Park Avenue Ultra that had the supercharged 3800. That thing would scream, get great gas mileage and was a pleasure to drive.
That Buick 3800 really was a great engine. It got great fuel economy as well. My dad drove a Buick as he is an older man who knew what was reliable and not imported. He just turned 94 and he misses driving.
My High School auto shop had us work on GM 3800s, we took them apart down to the block and put them back together! They didnt run, but we did see/touch just about every part!
I'd like to watch an episode on American straight 6 engines, one of my favourite engine arrangements. I know about the European & Japanese I6's but not much about Detroit's versions. 👍🏻
The Chevrolet 2.8L, 3.1L and 3.4L V6s were all very prone to intake gasket failure. I had an early 3800 in a 1990 Pontiac Grand Prix that went well over 300K. Everything else was failing when I got rid of it, but the motor was as strong as ever! I've also know several people who had the 4.3L V6 in S10 pickup trucks that put over 500K miles on them in delivery service and changed the oil only every 10K miles. Now those 4.3s were really stout engines! Also...thanks for all of your insights! You are speaking on all of my cars as I grew up in the 1960s.
Yeah the 2/8/3.1/3.4, not a big fan of those. 3400 liked to smoke head gaskets. 3500/3900 in 06+ were basically bulletproof besides leaking oil from everywhere.
We used the GM 3800 Series 2 in Australia for yonks (mid 90's till 04'), we also had a unique tune, Australia specific Aluminum intake manifold. We also used the Series 2 L67 Supercharged V6 too, biggest difference between Australia & US manifolds though were the coolant ports around the throttle body were blocked off.
You were trying to think of the Grand Prix GXP, which also had the 5.3L V8 like the Impala/Monte Carlo SS and LaCrosse Super. The Bonneville GXP did have the Northstar, as you noted.
My 04 Avalanche is knocking on the door of 400,000 miles and it still running strong. It has the 5.3L LS based engine. It’s a great engine and the 99-06 trucks are very well built.
My 1992 (VP) Holden Commodore (Australian) had a Buick 3800. Front engine - rear drive car. Great engine! I wouldn't call it super smooth but it had bags of torque. Gave me 16+ years of reliable service.
@@andrewcipriano2890 I belive you are correct. Good news for me. I have A SC 3800 laying around and just so happens the truck I thought about putting it in has a 4l60e. Probably just need a bell housing and maybe some other bits. Either that or I thought about putting it in a 92 coupe deville. Kind of wanted to do a ls rwd conversion on that one though.
Great conversation! When I was a kid my mom had an 85 Cavalier and it was a very reliable car. Never let her down, and I don’t think she ever did more than suggested maintenance.
I'm a former GM dealer tech (1982-2007) and I totally agree with this video! I have always said that GM's best engines were pushrod design and the worst were OHC, such as the 3.6, vega 2300, Northstar, Ecotec, etc.
The vega motors were garbage aluminum cylinders used tons of oil. However if you had steel sleeves installed the motor was not bad a better choice is The Cosworth Vega that was a decent car
The N* could be a wonderful engine if you wanted to go through the trouble of resealing the block split, and replacing/rethreading the stock head bolts with the aftermarket solution. Which, granted, is a substantial amount of work. But, if done, the N* is fantastic.
The Chevy inline six is a good motor, would have liked to see it modernized with "LS" type heads. The siamese intake ports was a weak point for making power but the bottom end is very strong. Nice workhorse.
@@Dayandcounting The 4200 was a casuality of the GM bankruptcy. I wish GM had continued to refine it. The 4.8 "LS" V8 got better fuel economy . I'd have liked to have seen a refined pushrod straight six, but there was a gap of a decade beween the cancelatation of the venerable 250 six and the new "LS" technology. I like inline sixes generally because of the smoothness and simplicity
@@timothykeith1367 The old Pontiac inline 6 with overhead cam? ( Understand that it is hard to get someone to rebuild it properly,if not rebuilt properly will not be reliable. Was overshadowed by Pontiac's excellent line of V8 engines including the 326.
The problem with the Vortec 4200 is that it was more expensive to manufacture than the LS V8. Which put GM in the position of offering ostensible 'base' powertrains that cost more than the premium.
Agree, the inline six, especially the pre 1976 Chevrolet inline engines, with bolt on manifolds, were excellent in my opinion. As kids looking for a cheap reliable first car we would read newspaper ads; "6cyl runs good". My first car was a Chevelle straight six, and glide. It held up well to teenager abuse. I get it perfectly when I read ads that include the phrase "adult owned"
Thanks for your insight into best (and worst) GM engines! Good stuff that we always wondered about. Am waiting for the review of GM transmissions now that the engines are covered! Hard to wait! Kind Regards.
I enjoy the films, Mr. Adam. The content, your knowledge, and the history stories. I worked at an auto parts store beginning in the mid-80s. This was when GM was getting away from each Division having their own engines in their own vehicles and started putting any ole V-8 in any ole car that was on the assembly line. One of the most annoying things for both the parts clerk and the GM vehicle owner, for example, was trying to determine if the owner of a Buick had a Chevrolet V-8 or a Pontiac V-8 and so on. The second most annoying thing was the husband working on the family-mobile would send the wife to see us when she knew as much about cars as the husband did about cooking.
I purchased a new Buick Skylark in the summer of 1977. My overwhelming reason to buy the Buick rather than a Nova or Ventura (Phoenix) or Omega was because I loved the 231 V6. I actually liked the "throb" of the odd-firing configuration. Since this had been a Buick engine since 1962, it needed to be in a Buick!
Our family's second car was a '78 Omega with a 350, over 300k miles. Once a year we replaced the voltage regulator in the alternator, that was it. My first car was a '83 Omega 2.8L.
The only car I have ever owned, to this day, is a ruby red metallic 1990 Buick LeSabre. It's about to hit 200k miles and shows NO signs of stopping. Has stood the test of time against these eastern PA winters quite well - after nearly 35 years, only a small portion of cancer is beginning to appear around the back right wheel well. Love, love, LOVE it.
I am happy to see a young guy who knows a wealth of information about American engines and vehicles. Best of all you own some of the nicest classic cars left on the planet. I love your channel and so happy I stumbled onto it. Take care.
I continue to be impressed -and entertained- by your extensive knowledge. Another source of pleasure is that you don’t indulge in blanket criticisms of large cars, eras, etc. you approach each video accepting the context of the time the subject car was designed and produced. -A fan with a 68 imperial convertible that I work on making road worthy.
As a hardcore Ford & Lincoln guy, I have only owned one Cadillac. I could never get how smoothly that Hydra-matic trans shifted in all situations. It was AMAZING.
I thoroughly enjoy your porch talks. Personally, I think the weather gods have gifted you an interesting and informative addition to your channel and feel like it's an integral part of the unique appeal that speaks to many of us and sets you apart, miles beyond the rest. My dad gave me his '90 Olds Touring Sedan for Christmas in '93. That 3800 engine was bullet proof, although it ate alternators like M&Ms. Incredibly well equipped car (power lumbars, power HEADRESTS, power your ma and pa! Gauges, Bose, basically everything but the moon roof.) I loved that car and mourn it to this very day.
These porch chats and the comments they generate are excellent. I love the casual, brief and and informative style. Adam you should consider doing these year round. Looking forward to that video on your brand preference.
I fully agree with you about the mid to late 80's 3.0 V6 having a weak bottom end. I had two of them, a 85 Grand Am that I bought new and changed the oil every 3000 miles and a 86 Olds 88. Both of them developed a rod knock at about 120,000 - 125,000 miles.
I’ve had two vehicles with the Pre-Series I 3800 and loved them. They have a nice throaty sound, are pretty smooth, and and all the torque you need to move around in. Definitely a top recommendation when you need cheap, reliable transport.
Iam surprised the 4.3 V6 didn't rank at all till the end. They were tough, strong motors and I got 300,000km each out of 2 of them in the day. Enjoying your knowledge and collection. Cheers 🇨🇦
@@michiganmotorsports That was a Quadrajet equipped engine. Once they went to TBI, it made quite a difference. Admittedly, the 4.3 powered trucks I've owned were all S-10s, which weighed considerably less than a full size truck.
The 4.3 v6 was great. Didn't care much for the vortec version. Chevy's 3.1 I never had an issue with, it just wasn't very efficient in my opinion. The 3800 was and will always be their best motor. I've had a car with every variant over the years break 400k miles.
The Pontiac 400 V8 is my favorite engine of all time. Never had a bad 400. The 5.3 liter in my '99 Silverado is an incredible motor as well, 275k and always delivers no matter what. I really like the porch chats!
@@paulmoss7940 : Nice! I bet you wish you still had that Ram Air 4! My second car was a 69 GTO with a heavily modified YC code 455 H.O. out of a wrecked 1970 Trans Am. Wish I kept it but I was young & being honest with over 550 hp to the wheels it was more than a handful & too much motor for a young guy like me with a lead foot. Yeah, the Silverado I still have does like to rust. I done rocker panels, cab corners & the driver side floorboard but I can't part with it, the drivetrain is just too good!
Right On Adam! My favorite GM engines in cars I've owned by year are: 401 - '65 Riviera 429 - '67 Eldorado ( I've read the '68 472 was better yet I never had any complaints. ) 350 - '68 Firebird 400 - '68 Firebird 400 - '69 Grand Prix 350 - '96 Collectors Edition Corvette Convertible. LT 1 The THM 400 is in a class by itself IMHO. I've friends with glowing experiences from Buick's initial 3800 and I'm looking forward to slipping behind their '67 430 soon. Thanks for posting this review. When GM gets things right, it's a beautiful thing. 👍🏾
My daily driver for the last ten yrs is a 1981 gm 1/2 ton i bought it to work on when i retired cause i like sbc, i took the 305 out an built a 1968 307, so has a 283 bore,350 rods,400 crank,305 heads,and 454 flex plate to balance it, that's why i love sbc, you can pick pieces from the scrap yard an make so many combos and the only problems you have with them is running out of gas :) um p.s the pistons are special order for pin height, if you use the 400 rods can use the 283 pistons but lose stroke mine comes out to about 354, going to put a 400 crank an rods in the old 305 should come out to a 289 ish depending on bore an if you wonder why, just for something to do see what happens :)
GM did some decent L4 engines though 2.5 Cast Iron Duke, 2.5L N was nice with the force balancer oil pump that used the filter as pick up screen, even the 2.2L was pretty reliable... easy to work most of the time and once you figured out their common issues fairly easy to diagnose. They just weren't going to the Indy 500 ever.
Excellent! Commentating before watching - this is my newest car of the collection - a 91 Buick. My highway car. Driving from South Dakota to Las Vegas this month to pick up a 56 Chrysler Town & Country..
i just discovered your channel and i am loving it!! my first car had a 403 olds motor in it, i got it from a guy my Dad worked with at the time, was a warranty motor because it had a lifter tick in it, they are not a bad motor, it had lots of low end torque(i put a cam in it, and some other aftermarket parts) but those windowed main webs were its weak point, i didn’t dare go outside the stock compression ratio on it, another strange thing about it, is that it had its own specific flexplate, i was told you could use a 350 flexplate, but it just kept eating starters, so i asked my Dad if he could possibly see about getting an OE flexplate, i got one, and it fixed all my starter issues!
Excellent video. I smiled when you talked about the 3800 V6. My two Oldsmobiles ( Ninety Eight and Toronado) used the 3800 Series I and Series II. The Pontiac Grand Prix GXP used the 5.3 liter V8 when the Buick LaCrosse and the Chevrolet Monte Carlo SS and Impala SS. I thought the 3800 V6 derived 3300 V6 was a good engine. It should have made the list. I was disappointed to hear about Quad 4. If it had balance shifts in the beginning it would have made a difference. Thank you for sharing.
3800 in my '89 Century Limited - great family man runner. '77 Olds 403 paired with turbo hydramatic 350, baby! I know ya hate my 98! Those were the days.
We have an 2001 Impala with the 3.4. This engine has 215K and is going strong as a daily driver. I have changed the oil probably more often than I needed to which may have helped with the longevity so far.
When you said the 3400v6 wasn't that great , or the 3100v6 I was on the edge of my seat at this point. I breathed a sigh of relief when you said 2.8/3.1 MPFI motors were ok. I have an '87 Cutlass Ciera, the first year for the 2.8 Multi Port. With a THM125c transmission, which I heard was a bit more reliable than the 4 speed. I just baby it and hope for the best.
I do think it is unfair to diss the little chevy v6 for gm's bean counter gasket selection. Not the engine's fault is what I'm trying to say. 😸 I love my torquey little 3100.
I hope your channel subscriber rate takes off. You deserve it. Intelligent, Insightful and just great to watch. I don’t need another car but if a nice late 80’s Buick park Avenue came my way At a good price I’d jump all over it!
I just got interested in classic cars and I bought a 1990 Buick Reatta with the 3800 V6. It’s a great motor to start learning about and it’s cheap and easy to find parts. I highly recommend it 👍
Excellent piece. I can't get enough of this kind of information, and I've gotten more of it on this channel than anywhere else. I've always equated big block/small block differentiation with bore center spacing, but the use of the distinction on Oldsmobile and perhaps Pontiac V8s leads me to believe it may be a deck-height thing as well, or perhaps something less rigidly defined. One wonders.
I had a 1973 Chevy Impala went I was in college. 350-V8 Big Block. Changed the Oil, Tranny Fluid, Coolant religiously. Other than the water pump, thermostat, battery, exhaust, tires and suspension (shocks) that car was running strong with 385K miles after I graduated! I kept it for 12 years but New England Winters caught up to it eventually when my wife insisted I keep it outside or get rid of it. The frame and motor mounts rusted through until I could no longer pass inspection in 1991. Sad.
The 3800's legacy was tarnished by the dex-cool degradation of the intake runner port seals, causing transfer of coolant to oil and vice-versa. I believe there was a class-action suit. I replaced the LIM gaskets when I bought my 1998 Olds LSS S/C 11 years ago before it showed signs of failure, and it's still going strong! I remember my series 2 was produced with powdered metal con-rods, and the fact that it's a non-interference engine, in the unlikely event the timing fails, the valvetrain is unaffected.
An indestructible GM engine was the Opel OHC 1700 from the 60s . Coupled with an automatic it was unbreakable. Bust the best engine ever is the Volvo B18 from also the 60s.
In 1999 I bought a '92 Olds 88 from my aunt. Great price, low miles, one owner. My aunt told me that the 3800 engine might have a miss. No problem. Well, it didn't have a miss. It had a burned valve, which took a long time to find, because the compression was fine. After replacing plugs and wires, a couple of coil packs, and rebuilding the torque converter, the burned valve was finally found! Average retail for the car was $6,500, and I bought it for $3,800. After all repairs, it cost me...$6,500. Great car, though!
I bought an ‘87 Century T-Type new with the 3.8 SFI. It definitely had a certain coarseness to it, something you really noticed if you drove the much smoother, more tractable 2.8 MFI and the 3.8 SFI back to back. But I loved the torque of the 3.8 SFI during hard launches - a good thing because that 3.8 refused to rev lol. No amount of negotiation or coercion could get that motor to spin freely. Despite this, I enjoyed the throaty roar and low speed grunt in that relatively lightweight A-body four-door.
A good video...I currently drive a 1992 Buick LeSabre with the 3800 series with 176.000 miles on it , and have been driving it 10 years! My Buick has been so far the longes running car I've owned....and I've had Chevys...two Cadillacs....one other Buick Regal...Plymouth ...Ford...but the 3800 series Buick has been the BEST....for me so far!!
as a ford guy, i gotta say the 3800's were incredible little motors.dad had an 88 olds, 93 & 01 buicks with 3800s.each of them had over 230k miles on them when he sold them.he had very few issues with them.other than leaking valve cover gaskets & had to put a water pump on the 93.great reliable engines.but his engines rarely got over 3500 rpms.that helps alot too.
I purchased a 1993 Oldsmobile 88 Royale new with the 3800 series I. 170 horsepower, not bad for the era, regularly saw 31-33 mpg highway. I’m a stickler for maintenance, put 90,000 miles on it, only ever needed a water pump replacement. Sold it to a friend, he took it to 225,000 miles, no issues, gave it away to a family that needed a car and couldn’t afford one, they took it to 300,00+. It went to the junkyard still running well, but the body was rusted so badly it wasn’t safe anymore.
I owned three Buick LeSabres with the 3800 as my daily 100 mile round trip commuters. Bought them all used with 80 - 100 K miles. Very little trouble with them and loved getting 27 - 30 mpg in a full size car. Had to replace one intake but it was a very cheap repair (less than $200). 3.8 was a great and very economical engine
There was "on-center" and "off-center" 3.8 Buick V6's before the 3800. You could even get stage 2 block's either way back in the day to support whatever build you had come up with. There was lots of factory support going on within Buick in the 80's with the v6 in the Bush series, NHRA, Indy car, IHRA, and more. There's not many engines that have the factory racing legacy that the small block Buick in all it's many forms has.
I have a 2000 GMC 5.3L that is still running fine at 258,000 miles. There is no question it is 'tired' but it is still running. Planning to replace it or possibly upgrade to 6.0. The chassis is pretty heavy with ext cab, long bed, and 4x4
I had a 3.1 in my 'dustbuster" Lumina service van. Ran on natural gas... I put 500,000 kilometers (300,000 miles) on that thing. Gutless as hell but never let me down. Always started in Canadian winters !!!
Dustbuster!! Lol. I pulled the wheels and swaybar from a silhouette, they're on my Ciera now. Iove GM, they have made some strange designs over the years.
The LS4 was used in the Grand Prix GXP. That was its longest running platform, from 2005 to 2008. Impala SS only had it for 3 years, and the Monte Carlo SS and LaCrosse Super 2 years each.
1970 Malibu: 307v8 and TH350 trans; Edelbrock 4barrel and your hated HEI. Stock cam and valvetrain. Wonderful combination, great power and MPG. Wish I still had it.
There is also the sadly forgotten Cadillac 4.9, it is the direct heir of the HT4100 and 4.5 but outputting 200HP and being very reliable and port fuel injected. It was a brief shine of line in Cadillac's engine line-up between the 70's-80's fiasco and the Northstar era.
I had the privilege of sitting in a Jeep with an odd fire v6, sidepipes, and no doors. What a cool sound! I had a Bonneville with a Series I and I abused the hell out of it for years. Great motor and transmission!
The Buick 3800 was the standard power plant preferred by our local taxi cab companies for at least a decade.
I've owned both the 3.8L ('87 Buick LeSabre) and the 3800 Series II ('99 Oldsmobile Intrigue). The '99 3800 managed to get to 236k before the plastic intake manifold gaskets failed, and by then the car had too much rot to bother with repairing the engine. Transmission still shifted as beautifully at 236k as it did when I bought it off-lease at 77k.
@@dashcamandy2242 I had a 98 intrigue. Other than rot, the biggest failure I had was the intake plenum literally exploded due to a leaking fuel pressure regulator. Lemme tell you, a gallon of coffee and a line of coke won't wake you up as effectively at 4 am as an explosion. Sounded like a damn 12 gauge went off in the seat next to me lmao
I had one and it stop working on the 3rd day
Did you know that the Buick V6 was used in Holden Commodores
@@alpharaptor7510 no wonder they sucked so hard
Man, I cannot tell you how many 3800’s I’ve worked on with 300k plus miles, I’ve even seen a few with over 400k miles. Where I live, the death of those cars is usually rust and not mechanical failure.
I could talk all day about this video. It’s excellent.
How was the 3.9 that replaced it?
Same story with most of the vortec motors in the S10s and Silverados. The frame and bed on the truck would be rotted away and the motor still running strong and solid.
You're one of the most knowledgeable and interesting persons to listen to on the subject of classic era automobiles.
Fascinating stuff.
What he's not telling you is that the Buick 430 and 455 had the oil pump located in the relatively soft aluminum timing cover. Many of them would simply wear out and the engine would have low or no oil pressure. Probably the worst GM big block.
The earlier 425 "Wildcat", known as a "nail head" was more durable.
Fun fact....Two 425 Buick Wildcats hooked together were used in the "start carts" to spin up the engines on the SR-71 Blackbird spy planes.
They were replaced by 427 ci big block Chevrolet engines in 1966
The other thing he's wrong about is the small block Chevrolet engines. Starting in 1987, GM began using high nickel content in the small block Chevy, this resulted in many of them holding a factory hone pattern in the cylinders at 200,000 miles, while the 1986 and older Chevy used a soft iron block that usually had a very detectable "ridge" at the top of the block as the rings wore into the cylinder walls at under 100,000 miles
He ain't lying. And this is the reason why I will NEVER buy a brand new nor newer car even if I had the money. I can guarantee you wont get your moneys worth out of a new car. It'll basically just feel like a rip off a downgrade and a waste of money and not as reliable as the older cars.
I have a Buick with this engine (the 3800). It's awesome!! Very reliable, smooth and easy to service
Yes, the Supercharged 3800 is one of my favorite all time engines. They are just fun to drive. And overall, minus a few very stupid engineering decisions, they're not too hard to work on. I mean why in the heck would you ever have coolant channels running through a bracket, what the hell were they thinking?
Did you know that the Buick V6 was used in Holden Commodores
The early versions of the 3.8 in the late 70’s to early 80’s were not that good with lots of balance issues! The later 3800 series was far and away a wonderful engine, and with the supercharger was a monster in power!
@@jtjones4727 the factory PCM tuning and pulley size is very conservative. i have a SSEi bonneville and i had a PCM tune done and swapped down one size pulley. other few minor mods.... front power log, colder plugs..... that engine wakes right up. it's not even modded heavily but it's allot quicker then stock.
@@alpharaptor7510. Holden is Aussie GM
The Chevy 4.3 V6 definitely deserves to be on this list. The one I had in my 2001 Chevy S-10 went through FAR more abuse than even the engineers would have thought possible.
4.3 is a great engine
Yes, the 4.3 V6 is another excellent engine from GM. I rank it even with the Buick 3800. I've owned 3 of them over the years and have had no trouble with any of them. The early ones had poor valve stem seals and would blow blue on start up. My 92 was fixed under warranty. Depending what vehicle it was in, it could be a real rocket. My 92 S10 was pretty quick at the time...5 speed stick. In an ASTRO van or GMC Safari...perfect for towing and that's what I still have.
I miss my 06 Trailblazer with the 4.3. Reved up smooth and tons of power all the way up.
Absolutely! The S10 and 4.3 were great combos.
Yup this was my thoughts as well. I have had several S-10/Blazers only got rid of them when the body/frame failed.
I recommended the 3800 engine for my son a few years ago for an interim car when he needed a cheap commuter car .We found a rust free 90 Le Sabre . He put over 20k on it in a year and a half . We still have it , I am retired and now I am driving it . I love it .
those lesabres are killer cars to find low in miles
Ten years ago I sold a 99 LeSabre. I was the 3rd owner. It was a great vehicle but I needed a van. Every bit as nice as a Park Avenue. It had low miles when I bought it and still well under 100k when I sold it Got over 30 mpg on the highway but city driving was just ok. Don't see many on the road now.
@@duranbailiff5337 ironically mine too belonged to a pastor originally, who went blind so it sat for a while.
@@robertpace901 you can blame cash for clunkers for killing tons of used good cars like those
@@michaelf.2449 I heard China was behind the cash for clunkers program here in the USA and that the metal salvaged from those cars was shipped to China. Have you noticed how plastics had replaced metal. The same thing happened to all the metal grocery shopping carts. They were sent to China too.
This is heartwarming, as the owner of a GM 3800 in a South African exclusive Opel Rekord 380i, I can testify of the excellence of this motor.
One of the smoothest driving cars I’ve ever driven was a mid-2000’s era Buick Lesabre with the 3800 motor. What a nice car that was! I honestly think the only reason GM discontinued that engine is because it was lasting too long. You could buy one and keep it for many years
I always thought the 3800 was the best engine I ever worked on in my 28 years as a Certified Master Auto Technician. It had plenty of power and got 30 mpg highway in big Buicks like the Park Avenue and LeSabre.
Considering the GM "High Value" 3.6 replaced it. Now that engine is a pile of trash. It still has problems to this day. A 3800 Series IV and V could have been produced with upgrades to the injection system and the addition of a 6 speed automatic. They all ready paid for supercharging development with Eaton and could have kept using it (far preferable to turbocharging)
How good is the 3.9 that replaced it. I can’t find any cars with a 3800 that doesn’t have over 100K miles.
The bottom end of the earlier LS engines is incredibly strong. Hot rodders have made fantastic amounts of power without touching the bottom end.
Hello deep skirted block with cross bolted mains.
I have a Z-28 with one from 98, it's the L S Wonder.
I can out run any LS with my 460. It makes 1100 hp, all motor
As a 2005 Tahoe owner I agree with you, the GMT800 are the best trucks GM ever built my 5.3 (LM7) with 220K still runs like it's brand new. The non DOD LS engines are hard to beat.
I had good luck and service from GM in-line sixes as well. Purchased a brand new 1980 Chevrolet C-10 pickup with a 250 cube six to drive across country, had a new job waiting in western Montana. That little feller ran real well, unless there was a vacuum leak. And, it got great mileage on the open road! It had an ingenious 2 barrel carburetor that had a tiny primary and if I could keep in on that you were sipping fuel! Thank Adam, great subject and talk!
FYI: Among the other upgrades over the years on the BUICK v6, the 3800 series II and III also have stainless steel freeze plugs!
The SC 3800 is the choice engine when somebody is doing a restomod on a Fiero. The engine it SHOULD have had.
@@seththomas9105 There was a prototype of the last gen Fiero with the SC3800, I think it even was built as convertible.
I worked at a Buick dealer in the 2000’s. There were a few dudes who sent their kids through college just doing intake manifold gasket replacement jobs. There were maybe 2-3 guys that just did intake gaskets ALL DAY every day for years. That being said once you fix that issue the engines are indestructible. If you’re handy, get a 2000’s Buick or Pontiac with a 3800 that’s overheating for a few hundred bucks. Guarantee it’s those gaskets. Fix it yourself and have a good cheap car.
I have a lot of knowledge on the 60s and 70s GMs M. Your knowledge is far greater than mine and I just love your reviews and you bring out a lot of details that I was well aware of. Love your reviews on the 66 Catalina as I have owned a 68 Catalina, 68 Bonneville, a 69 Grand Prix, a 66 Cadillac Coupe deVille, 73 Coup deVille, 73 Eldorado, 70 Olds Tornado GT. Ya. I like those older GMs, nowdays I drive Hondas and Toyotas. My farm pickup is a 90 Chevy k1500 and it is excellent. I am looking to update with a 2000 or newer. Only when I find one cheap enough
Too bad the 3800’s were mostly hooked up to weak and uninspiring automatic transmissions. Looking forward to your GM division ranking video. I grew up around mostly chevys and enjoy learning about GMs other division cars/motors👍🏽
4t65e was a 100k mile trans. I used to repair a ton of those.
They were in 4th gen Camaros and replaced the 2.8 and I think you could get it hooked up with a manual
@@theeoddments960 plus, they had aluminum intakes as well
@@mph5896 '99 Intrigue, 236k when the intake gaskets failed. I bought it at 77k, the 4T65-E never gave us an issue. The trick is to drive in "3" on secondary roads at speeds below 55 mph, the engine tends to lug at 650-750 rpm and you're constantly in and out of OD.
Had the same problem with the 2.8 carbureted '85 S-10 Blazer, constantly in and out of OD, frequent failures until we started keeping it in D instead of OD on those same secondary roads at the same speeds.
@@dashcamandy2242 yep. The transmission would hunt for the gear if you were in OD at 55 and under. Also, they ran hot and would burn the fluid. I installed an auxiliary oil cooler. My LeSabre came with one inside the radiator, but I bypassed it and installed a much bigger one designed for towing mounted on the front of the radiator. Never burned the fluid and never replaced the transmission.
I had 3800s in an 89 Le Sabre and 95 regal gran sport. It was the reason I bought the 95. Great power and torquey. You could beat them endlessly and they never missed a beat. I was so hard on both of them. In both cars nothing ever had to be done to the engines. I own an old bullet proof Porsche 911 today and the 3800 is still tops in my book. Miss those.
I had a 66 Impala Super Sport with a 396. Had lots of power but being in a northern climate, it was always a bear to start in the winter. Love the 3800 engines. My kids both had 98 Buick Lesabres. Had to change the upper intake manifold on both but other than that they were fantastic engines and last forever. I also had a 96 Buick Park Avenue Ultra that had the supercharged 3800. That thing would scream, get great gas mileage and was a pleasure to drive.
That Buick 3800 really was a great engine. It got great fuel economy as well. My dad drove a Buick as he is an older man who knew what was reliable and not imported. He just turned 94 and he misses driving.
My High School auto shop had us work on GM 3800s, we took them apart down to the block and put them back together! They didnt run, but we did see/touch just about every part!
I'd like to watch an episode on American straight 6 engines, one of my favourite engine arrangements. I know about the European & Japanese I6's but not much about Detroit's versions. 👍🏻
Just about every straight 6 engine was good.
Ford 300, Chrysler 225, Chevy 250, AMC 258/Jeep 4.0 were amongst the best.
Earlier flathead straight 6s from the 30s-40s were pretty reliable as well. Chevy, Studebaker, among others.
The Mercedes Benz 300 E (1986-1992) inline six is an amazing engine
All the straight sixes from the US companies were bulletproof.
The Chevrolet 2.8L, 3.1L and 3.4L V6s were all very prone to intake gasket failure. I had an early 3800 in a 1990 Pontiac Grand Prix that went well over 300K. Everything else was failing when I got rid of it, but the motor was as strong as ever! I've also know several people who had the 4.3L V6 in S10 pickup trucks that put over 500K miles on them in delivery service and changed the oil only every 10K miles. Now those 4.3s were really stout engines! Also...thanks for all of your insights! You are speaking on all of my cars as I grew up in the 1960s.
Yeah the 2/8/3.1/3.4, not a big fan of those. 3400 liked to smoke head gaskets. 3500/3900 in 06+ were basically bulletproof besides leaking oil from everywhere.
We used the GM 3800 Series 2 in Australia for yonks (mid 90's till 04'), we also had a unique tune, Australia specific Aluminum intake manifold. We also used the Series 2 L67 Supercharged V6 too, biggest difference between Australia & US manifolds though were the coolant ports around the throttle body were blocked off.
I'm interested in using a SC 3800 in a front engine rwd configuration. I understand this setup was available stock in Australia?
@@caddyguy5369 All the Commodores were RWD architecture.
You were trying to think of the Grand Prix GXP, which also had the 5.3L V8 like the Impala/Monte Carlo SS and LaCrosse Super.
The Bonneville GXP did have the Northstar, as you noted.
My 04 Avalanche is knocking on the door of 400,000 miles and it still running strong. It has the 5.3L LS based engine. It’s a great engine and the 99-06 trucks are very well built.
My 1992 (VP) Holden Commodore (Australian) had a Buick 3800. Front engine - rear drive car. Great engine! I wouldn't call it super smooth but it had bags of torque. Gave me 16+ years of reliable service.
My 1997 Holden Commodore VS has the Buick V6 3800. Still going strong.
Ecotec represent
Any idea what rwd transmissions bolt up to the 3800?
@@caddyguy5369 t5, 4l60e, 4l80e I think
@@andrewcipriano2890 I belive you are correct. Good news for me. I have A SC 3800 laying around and just so happens the truck I thought about putting it in has a 4l60e. Probably just need a bell housing and maybe some other bits.
Either that or I thought about putting it in a 92 coupe deville. Kind of wanted to do a ls rwd conversion on that one though.
Hey Adam, thanks for sharing another informative porch chat!!! I learn a lot from these fascinating chats!!!! 👍👍
Great conversation! When I was a kid my mom had an 85 Cavalier and it was a very reliable car. Never let her down, and I don’t think she ever did more than suggested maintenance.
I loved the 350 2-bbl V-8 in my '75 Nova Custom coupe. It was a good engine, in a decent, simple car.
The flaw in the 3800 was the lower intake manifold gaskets which were made of nylon. Upgrade to aluminum and these engines last forever.
I'm a former GM dealer tech (1982-2007) and I totally agree with this video! I have always said that GM's best engines were pushrod design and the worst were OHC, such as the 3.6, vega 2300, Northstar, Ecotec, etc.
The vega motors were garbage aluminum cylinders used tons of oil. However if you had steel sleeves installed the motor was not bad a better choice is The Cosworth Vega that was a decent car
The N* could be a wonderful engine if you wanted to go through the trouble of resealing the block split, and replacing/rethreading the stock head bolts with the aftermarket solution. Which, granted, is a substantial amount of work. But, if done, the N* is fantastic.
@@FedUpCanuck ; Cosworth Vega's price was ridiculously high.
Just buy a Corvette Stingray if you're a Chevy man.
The Chevy inline six is a good motor, would have liked to see it modernized with "LS" type heads. The siamese intake ports was a weak point for making power but the bottom end is very strong. Nice workhorse.
They have access to the Atlas\Vortec 4200 DOHC I6 which displaced up to 4.2L and made 290hp/277lb-ft, last made in 2009.
@@Dayandcounting The 4200 was a casuality of the GM bankruptcy. I wish GM had continued to refine it. The 4.8 "LS" V8 got better fuel economy . I'd have liked to have seen a refined pushrod straight six, but there was a gap of a decade beween the cancelatation of the venerable 250 six and the new "LS" technology. I like inline sixes generally because of the smoothness and simplicity
@@timothykeith1367 The old Pontiac inline 6 with overhead cam? ( Understand that it is hard to get someone to rebuild it properly,if not rebuilt properly will not be reliable. Was overshadowed by Pontiac's excellent line of V8 engines including the 326.
The problem with the Vortec 4200 is that it was more expensive to manufacture than the LS V8. Which put GM in the position of offering ostensible 'base' powertrains that cost more than the premium.
Agree, the inline six, especially the pre 1976 Chevrolet inline engines, with bolt on manifolds, were excellent in my opinion. As kids looking for a cheap reliable first car we would read newspaper ads; "6cyl runs good". My first car was a Chevelle straight six, and glide. It held up well to teenager abuse. I get it perfectly when I read ads that include the phrase "adult owned"
Thanks for your insight into best (and worst) GM engines! Good stuff that we always wondered about. Am waiting for the review of GM transmissions now that the engines are covered! Hard to wait! Kind Regards.
The 455 Rocket V8 produced from 1968 to 1972 were some of my favorite V8 engine's along with the 472 Cadillac V8's produced from 1968 to 1970.
Agree 100% !!
😍
I enjoy the films, Mr. Adam. The content, your knowledge, and the history stories.
I worked at an auto parts store beginning in the mid-80s. This was when GM was getting away from each Division having their own engines in their own vehicles and started putting any ole V-8 in any ole car that was on the assembly line. One of the most annoying things for both the parts clerk and the GM vehicle owner, for example, was trying to determine if the owner of a Buick had a Chevrolet V-8 or a Pontiac V-8 and so on. The second most annoying thing was the husband working on the family-mobile would send the wife to see us when she knew as much about cars as the husband did about cooking.
I purchased a new Buick Skylark in the summer of 1977. My overwhelming reason to buy the Buick rather than a Nova or Ventura (Phoenix) or Omega was because I loved the 231 V6. I actually liked the "throb" of the odd-firing configuration. Since this had been a Buick engine since 1962, it needed to be in a Buick!
Yah we need a vid with some good running odd fire sixes. They sound interesting.
Our family's second car was a '78 Omega with a 350, over 300k miles. Once a year we replaced the voltage regulator in the alternator, that was it.
My first car was a '83 Omega 2.8L.
My 1977 Pontiac Ventura had the 231 v6, I don't recall having any major problems with that engine.
The only car I have ever owned, to this day, is a ruby red metallic 1990 Buick LeSabre. It's about to hit 200k miles and shows NO signs of stopping. Has stood the test of time against these eastern PA winters quite well - after nearly 35 years, only a small portion of cancer is beginning to appear around the back right wheel well. Love, love, LOVE it.
I am happy to see a young guy who knows a wealth of information about American engines and vehicles. Best of all you own some of the nicest classic cars left on the planet. I love your channel and so happy I stumbled onto it. Take care.
Thx Steve!
I worked with a guy who had an OIdsmobile with the 3800 engine in it. It had right around 400,000 miles, and he drove it to work 90 miles one way.
Great Video, very informative! My 3.9 Chevy v6 Uplander is 14 years old and going strong. (Synthetic oil helps)
I continue to be impressed -and entertained- by your extensive knowledge. Another source of pleasure is that you don’t indulge in blanket criticisms of large cars, eras, etc. you approach each video accepting the context of the time the subject car was designed and produced.
-A fan with a 68 imperial convertible that I work on making road worthy.
As a hardcore Ford & Lincoln guy, I have only owned one Cadillac. I could never get how smoothly that Hydra-matic trans shifted in all situations.
It was AMAZING.
Yes. Ford C6s are rough by comparison
Hydramatics had no overdrive in them hence the smoothness and speed
Excellent and informative Adam and pronouncing Jaguar properly made my day 👌
Jiggy-währ ??
I thoroughly enjoy your porch talks. Personally, I think the weather gods have gifted you an interesting and informative addition to your channel and feel like it's an integral part of the unique appeal that speaks to many of us and sets you apart, miles beyond the rest.
My dad gave me his '90 Olds Touring Sedan for Christmas in '93. That 3800 engine was bullet proof, although it ate alternators like M&Ms. Incredibly well equipped car (power lumbars, power HEADRESTS, power your ma and pa! Gauges, Bose, basically everything but the moon roof.) I loved that car and mourn it to this very day.
Thx David!
These porch chats and the comments they generate are excellent. I love the casual, brief and and informative style. Adam you should consider doing these year round. Looking forward to that video on your brand preference.
I fully agree with you about the mid to late 80's 3.0 V6 having a weak bottom end. I had two of them, a 85 Grand Am that I bought new and changed the oil every 3000 miles and a 86 Olds 88. Both of them developed a rod knock at about 120,000 - 125,000 miles.
I had two Corsicas. A 1988 and a 1989. Both with the 2.8 liter 60° V-6. They were always great running cars.
I’ve had two vehicles with the Pre-Series I 3800 and loved them. They have a nice throaty sound, are pretty smooth, and and all the torque you need to move around in. Definitely a top recommendation when you need cheap, reliable transport.
Iam surprised the 4.3 V6 didn't rank at all till the end. They were tough, strong motors and I got 300,000km each out of 2 of them in the day. Enjoying your knowledge and collection. Cheers 🇨🇦
It’s a good motor. Arguably should’ve made the list.
I had one in an '85 Chevy pickup. It was reliable but a turd.
It is a 350 with 2 cylinders cut off
@@michiganmotorsports That was a Quadrajet equipped engine. Once they went to TBI, it made quite a difference. Admittedly, the 4.3 powered trucks I've owned were all S-10s, which weighed considerably less than a full size truck.
The 4.3 v6 was great. Didn't care much for the vortec version. Chevy's 3.1 I never had an issue with, it just wasn't very efficient in my opinion. The 3800 was and will always be their best motor. I've had a car with every variant over the years break 400k miles.
Love the porch chats! Another great episode!
The Pontiac 400 V8 is my favorite engine of all time. Never had a bad 400. The 5.3 liter in my '99 Silverado is an incredible motor as well, 275k and always delivers no matter what. I really like the porch chats!
My first poncho in 1980 was a 69 RAIV GTO. I also bought new a 99 silverado , kept for 13 yrs. great drivetrain , crappy body.
@@paulmoss7940 : Nice! I bet you wish you still had that Ram Air 4! My second car was a 69 GTO with a heavily modified YC code 455 H.O. out of a wrecked 1970 Trans Am. Wish I kept it but I was young & being honest with over 550 hp to the wheels it was more than a handful & too much motor for a young guy like me with a lead foot. Yeah, the Silverado I still have does like to rust. I done rocker panels, cab corners & the driver side floorboard but I can't part with it, the drivetrain is just too good!
Right On Adam!
My favorite GM engines in cars I've owned by year are:
401 - '65 Riviera
429 - '67 Eldorado ( I've read the '68 472 was better yet I never had any complaints. )
350 - '68 Firebird
400 - '68 Firebird
400 - '69 Grand Prix
350 - '96 Collectors Edition Corvette Convertible. LT 1
The THM 400 is in a class by itself IMHO.
I've friends with glowing experiences from Buick's initial 3800 and I'm looking forward to slipping behind their '67 430 soon.
Thanks for posting this review. When GM gets things right, it's a beautiful thing. 👍🏾
Your knowledge base is incredible and you seem like a pretty regular guy - the kind I'd love to sit and have a couple of beers with...
My daily driver for the last ten yrs is a 1981 gm 1/2 ton i bought it to work on when i retired cause i like sbc, i took the 305 out an built a 1968 307, so has a 283 bore,350 rods,400 crank,305 heads,and 454 flex plate to balance it, that's why i love sbc, you can pick pieces from the scrap yard an make so many combos and the only problems you have with them is running out of gas :) um p.s the pistons are special order for pin height, if you use the 400 rods can use the 283 pistons but lose stroke mine comes out to about 354, going to put a 400 crank an rods in the old 305 should come out to a 289 ish depending on bore an if you wonder why, just for something to do see what happens :)
With your story telling you would make one hell of a grandfather or even yet a teacher, great videos.
GM did some decent L4 engines though 2.5 Cast Iron Duke, 2.5L N was nice with the force balancer oil pump that used the filter as pick up screen, even the 2.2L was pretty reliable... easy to work most of the time and once you figured out their common issues fairly easy to diagnose. They just weren't going to the Indy 500 ever.
Excellent! Commentating before watching - this is my newest car of the collection - a 91 Buick. My highway car. Driving from South Dakota to Las Vegas this month to pick up a 56 Chrysler Town & Country..
i just discovered your channel and i am loving it!! my first car had a 403 olds motor in it, i got it from a guy my Dad worked with at the time, was a warranty motor because it had a lifter tick in it, they are not a bad motor, it had lots of low end torque(i put a cam in it, and some other aftermarket parts) but those windowed main webs were its weak point, i didn’t dare go outside the stock compression ratio on it, another strange thing about it, is that it had its own specific flexplate, i was told you could use a 350 flexplate, but it just kept eating starters, so i asked my Dad if he could possibly see about getting an OE flexplate, i got one, and it fixed all my starter issues!
Excellent video. I smiled when you talked about the 3800 V6. My two Oldsmobiles ( Ninety Eight and Toronado) used the 3800 Series I and Series II. The Pontiac Grand Prix GXP used the 5.3 liter V8 when the Buick LaCrosse and the Chevrolet Monte Carlo SS and Impala SS. I thought the 3800 V6 derived 3300 V6 was a good engine. It should have made the list. I was disappointed to hear about Quad 4. If it had balance shifts in the beginning it would have made a difference. Thank you for sharing.
I keep wanting to get one of the firebirds with the 3.8 and a 5 speed. That has got to be a fun ride....😺
3800 in my '89 Century Limited - great family man runner.
'77 Olds 403 paired with turbo hydramatic 350, baby! I know ya hate my 98! Those were the days.
Yes, Jaguar did use the TH400, I have one in my XJ-S
We have an 2001 Impala with the 3.4. This engine has 215K and is going strong as a daily driver. I have changed the oil probably more often than I needed to which may have helped with the longevity so far.
When you said the 3400v6 wasn't that great , or the 3100v6 I was on the edge of my seat at this point. I breathed a sigh of relief when you said 2.8/3.1 MPFI motors were ok. I have an '87 Cutlass Ciera, the first year for the 2.8 Multi Port. With a THM125c transmission, which I heard was a bit more reliable than the 4 speed. I just baby it and hope for the best.
You’ll be fine with that engine and trans combo.
I do think it is unfair to diss the little chevy v6 for gm's bean counter gasket selection. Not the engine's fault is what I'm trying to say. 😸 I love my torquey little 3100.
I had a '92 Z24 with the 3.1 MPFI and 3 speed tranny and it ran like nobody's business. Highway driving helped out with how it ran, too👍🏽🙂
Guessing that Pontiac tops your list of favorite GM makes. Oldsmobile through 1976 gets my vote.
I like both Pontiac and Olds. Maybe Pontiac a little more.
Pontiac motors seem to have a little more power while Olds motors seem a little more durable.
@@RareClassicCars - My favorite engine of that era was the Olds V-8. Reasonably peppy, tremendously durable.
I hope your channel subscriber rate takes off. You deserve it. Intelligent, Insightful and just great to watch. I don’t need another car but if a nice late 80’s Buick park Avenue came my way At a good price I’d jump all over it!
I just got interested in classic cars and I bought a 1990 Buick Reatta with the 3800 V6. It’s a great motor to start learning about and it’s cheap and easy to find parts. I highly recommend it 👍
Excellent piece. I can't get enough of this kind of information, and I've gotten more of it on this channel than anywhere else.
I've always equated big block/small block differentiation with bore center spacing, but the use of the distinction on Oldsmobile and perhaps Pontiac V8s leads me to believe it may be a deck-height thing as well, or perhaps something less rigidly defined. One wonders.
It’s not that well defined. Only when there’s a clear distinction in two engine families between either bore center spacing or deck height.
Thanks for posting this Adam. I drove a 2nd hand Buick 3800 and had a blast. Great car.
I had a 1973 Chevy Impala went I was in college. 350-V8 Big Block. Changed the Oil, Tranny Fluid, Coolant religiously. Other than the water pump, thermostat, battery, exhaust, tires and suspension (shocks) that car was running strong with 385K miles after I graduated! I kept it for 12 years but New England Winters caught up to it eventually when my wife insisted I keep it outside or get rid of it. The frame and motor mounts rusted through until I could no longer pass inspection in 1991. Sad.
Great video, good list.
The 3800's legacy was tarnished by the dex-cool degradation of the intake runner port seals, causing transfer of coolant to oil and vice-versa. I believe there was a class-action suit. I replaced the LIM gaskets when I bought my 1998 Olds LSS S/C 11 years ago before it showed signs of failure, and it's still going strong! I remember my series 2 was produced with powdered metal con-rods, and the fact that it's a non-interference engine, in the unlikely event the timing fails, the valvetrain is unaffected.
An indestructible GM engine was the Opel OHC 1700 from the 60s . Coupled with an automatic it was unbreakable. Bust the best engine ever is the Volvo B18 from also the 60s.
In 1999 I bought a '92 Olds 88 from my aunt. Great price, low miles, one owner. My aunt told me that the 3800 engine might have a miss. No problem. Well, it didn't have a miss. It had a burned valve, which took a long time to find, because the compression was fine. After replacing plugs and wires, a couple of coil packs, and rebuilding the torque converter, the burned valve was finally found! Average retail for the car was $6,500, and I bought it for $3,800. After all repairs, it cost me...$6,500. Great car, though!
I bought an ‘87 Century T-Type new with the 3.8 SFI. It definitely had a certain coarseness to it, something you really noticed if you drove the much smoother, more tractable 2.8 MFI and the 3.8 SFI back to back. But I loved the torque of the 3.8 SFI during hard launches - a good thing because that 3.8 refused to rev lol. No amount of negotiation or coercion could get that motor to spin freely. Despite this, I enjoyed the throaty roar and low speed grunt in that relatively lightweight A-body four-door.
A good video...I currently drive a 1992 Buick LeSabre with the 3800 series with 176.000 miles on it , and have been driving it 10 years! My Buick has been so far the longes running car I've owned....and I've had Chevys...two Cadillacs....one other Buick Regal...Plymouth ...Ford...but the 3800 series Buick has been the BEST....for me so far!!
as a ford guy, i gotta say the 3800's were incredible little motors.dad had an 88 olds, 93 & 01 buicks with 3800s.each of them had over 230k miles on them when he sold them.he had very few issues with them.other than leaking valve cover gaskets & had to put a water pump on the 93.great reliable engines.but his engines rarely got over 3500 rpms.that helps alot too.
This is a wonderful series you've put together!!!!!
The Olds 350 and 307 during the 80's were some of the best longest living engines I have ever owned.
Great video! I've owned cars with some of these engines and I totally agree with you on these.
I purchased a 1993 Oldsmobile 88 Royale new with the 3800 series I. 170 horsepower, not bad for the era, regularly saw 31-33 mpg highway. I’m a stickler for maintenance, put 90,000 miles on it, only ever needed a water pump replacement. Sold it to a friend, he took it to 225,000 miles, no issues, gave it away to a family that needed a car and couldn’t afford one, they took it to 300,00+. It went to the junkyard still running well, but the body was rusted so badly it wasn’t safe anymore.
I owned three Buick LeSabres with the 3800 as my daily 100 mile round trip commuters. Bought them all used with 80 - 100 K miles. Very little trouble with them and loved getting 27 - 30 mpg in a full size car. Had to replace one intake but it was a very cheap repair (less than $200). 3.8 was a great and very economical engine
How about a video of rare/odd/unsung motors from the era - GMC truck V6, BOP aluminum 215 V8, Pontiac DOHC I6, Mopar Poly 318, maybe a few others?
There was "on-center" and "off-center" 3.8 Buick V6's before the 3800. You could even get stage 2 block's either way back in the day to support whatever build you had come up with. There was lots of factory support going on within Buick in the 80's with the v6 in the Bush series, NHRA, Indy car, IHRA, and more. There's not many engines that have the factory racing legacy that the small block Buick in all it's many forms has.
I have a 2000 GMC 5.3L that is still running fine at 258,000 miles. There is no question it is 'tired' but it is still running. Planning to replace it or possibly upgrade to 6.0. The chassis is pretty heavy with ext cab, long bed, and 4x4
I had a 3.1 in my 'dustbuster" Lumina service van. Ran on natural gas... I put 500,000 kilometers (300,000 miles) on that thing. Gutless as hell but never let me down. Always started in Canadian winters !!!
Dustbuster!! Lol. I pulled the wheels and swaybar from a silhouette, they're on my Ciera now. Iove GM, they have made some strange designs over the years.
The LS4 was used in the Grand Prix GXP. That was its longest running platform, from 2005 to 2008. Impala SS only had it for 3 years, and the Monte Carlo SS and LaCrosse Super 2 years each.
The 4.3 V6 is very good. Glad you mentioned it.
I love my LN3 3800, the Series 1 is a simple motor that's easy to get parts for, dirt cheap to run, and never stops
Yup! I love my 3800 series 2. Just the intake and coolant elbows we're the only rough points.
Pretty easy to replace. New ones are metal.
Yo tengo un pontiac grand prix gtp 1999 y es una increíble máquina
1970 Malibu: 307v8 and TH350 trans; Edelbrock 4barrel and your hated HEI. Stock cam and valvetrain. Wonderful combination, great power and MPG. Wish I still had it.
There is also the sadly forgotten Cadillac 4.9, it is the direct heir of the HT4100 and 4.5 but outputting 200HP and being very reliable and port fuel injected. It was a brief shine of line in Cadillac's engine line-up between the 70's-80's fiasco and the Northstar era.
I have a mint 95 deville with the 4.9, 67k. I don't need it , just can't get rid of it. lol
The LS reminds me so much of the FE. The Y block, cross bolted mains, the shallow valve angles. I wish the FE had the wider rods.
My favorite was an Olds with a Rocket 350
bulletproof
The original V6 was also offered in the Oldsmobile F85 from about 1963-65
I don’t see why the 3.8 in the ‘86-‘87 turbo Buicks was excluded. They take one hell of a beating.
Once again, a great video; thanx for sharing.
Here’s a challenge. Since these engines come with transmissions, diffs, and entire bodies; what’s on your tops lists for complete cars?
I had the privilege of sitting in a Jeep with an odd fire v6, sidepipes, and no doors. What a cool sound! I had a Bonneville with a Series I and I abused the hell out of it for years. Great motor and transmission!