3.8L non turbo build up

[TheGeek]

Question. I have a used Chevy 350 sitting in my garage, with everything assembled except intake, carb, distributer and starter. I have NO transmission for this car.
The car is a 1985 V6 Regal sitting (also in my garage) with no motor and transmission.
Realizing I haven't got to the question yet. I DO have the complete motor and transmission that was in this car (and it was running when I pulledn it out).
So, I've been doing my research and I realize how expensive and pain-in-the-assish it is to try and convert the whole set up to a Turbo set up (without a complete donor car). So this will NOT be one of those threads.
Now to my question (i swear): I've read of some off-roaders putting in Buick 3.8's in their trail trucks with a few mods. What kind of #'s would I be looking at if I built the 3.8 up with: Engine rebuild (bored .030 over), Edelbrock intake, cam, 390 cfm carb, headers and distributer upgrades. I've read that these motors can really be "woken up" with these mods.
I'm just wondering by how much.
I'm comparing a few things: Cost of this build vs. having to find all necessary parts for SBC 350 swap (transmission, intake, headers, carb, motor mounts, driveshaft,... most likely rear-end) and as LAME as it sounds, I am thinking about fuel economy (if I had everything to do a V8 swap I probably WOULDN'T be thinking about fuel economy, I'd just say F it).
Would rebuilding/beefing up the 3.8 without any power adders be worth it? Would I notice a difference? Worth the cost in parts?

 

[-83MONTESS-]

I dont think i've ever seen a "built" 3.8L that wasnt turbocharged. As for the SBC you can find any of them parts you just listed on your way out to the mailbox . There everywhere. I guess it depends on what type of power your looking for and what your budget is but it would definately be one of a kind. I say go for it if you have the time and money and keep us posted!

 

[Joerdan81TN]

As far as mods to the car you have lots of options here. Drawthrough is one of the cheapest ways to go but read up on it before you do it. You could just add a 4 barrel intake to it and you have the choice of the stock 4.1, Edlebrock, Kenne Bell, or Weiand. 2 of them are fairly easy to find and the last 2 are hard to find. Don't get the Holley intake because the intake is designed for the earlier heads and won't work on your engine.

 

[kingcolbert83]

You can build the 3.8 and do your own turbo setup or run a remote mount turbo setup.

 

[RITTER]

Man, I WASTED a bunch of money putting those exact mods on one of my Regals and it was still super balless :evil: My sister blew the engine in the 2nd Regal that I owned, while I was in basic training. Being young and dumb, I paid a local shop back home to install a new GM 3.8L crate engine with an Edelbrock cam, intake and carburetor (not sure what brand the headers were) I had new exhaust run on it and I put a K&N filter w/filter lid setup on it. I loved the car, but it was still so slow. I have read about guys who get like a little over 200hp out of those things. But it is such a waste of time and money.

Now, if you're wanting to put the 3.8L back in it for the original factor, then go ahead and get some work done to it. Have the heads gone through or find a set of SFI 3.8L turbo heads. Bump the compression up a bit and then get the camshaft and intake and carb combo. It will all be worthless with the factory compression ratio.

 

[Bonnewagon]

I used an 83' Buick 3.8 for a gas miser build in my old Malibu wagon last gas "crisis". After locating a non computer carb, distributor, new mounts, misc parts, etc. getting it dialed in smooth and quiet, it ran great. Slow as sh*t, weak, but smooth like a sewing machine. I put about $200 in parts, the motor came free from another car, and after all that, the crank snapped in two halfway across New Jersey during a beer run. I know some last 100,000 miles, but I dumped it and all my V-6 stuff and went back to V-8's.

 

[undr8ed]

I've had experience with both turbo'd (sfi) turbo'd (push thru carb) and now, not turbo'd... You'll never get the same power that the 86-87 cars can get (but you can't get that out of a small block either, for compaible pricing...)

My current is: polished everything in the block, turbo crank, mild cam (no lump,) ported and polished heads with a little stiffer springs, and a completely gone thru dual jet... I know it's not a powerhouse, but the fuel mileage makes up for it... I can smoke the tires (just not on the freeway, like the 86-87) but for what it is, I have no complaints... No computer, no sensors that act up, won't have to try and find a maf for a decent price, etc etc etc Power steering pump and alternator (so it's pretty clean under the hood) and simple...

Ultimately, it will depend on what you want in the end... This go around, I wanted a car I didn't have to bail out of impound (after I bailed myself,) didn't have to figure out which plastic sensor was cracked or broken, didn't have to take of 4 miles of emissions and piping to get to the engine, but that kept me being able to say: it's just a little Buick 6 LOL