If you do get a 3800 series try to get the wiring all the way up to and including the turn signal stalk so you can use that to keep the 'cruise control'. The cruise control is a lifesaver with this big v6 which likes to waste a lot of gas on the highway w/o it. You can get 3-4 mpg better w cruise in many situations where it might be crucial.
3800 seriesII swap into gbody
- Thread starter farteaga92
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There is a few turbo 3800 builds on turbobuick.com Turboing it would be the way to go, ive got a blower 3800 in my firebird and it is a great swap but a G body is a bit of a big car to put it in, you end up with a lot of empty space under the hood. It wouldnt be a hard swap, hard part turbo wise is getting manifolds built. Can flip a front factory FWD manfold and run it on the passenger side but there really isnt much for the drivers head.
I have thought about about this kind of swap myself. The Monte SS had 150 HP. This with the trans and steep gearing these cars run high 15'S to mid 15'S . Now imagine a N/A Buick 3800. Firebird's and Camaro's came with this option that gave the N/A 3800 dual exhaust and a 3:42 gear. Total package is good for 200HP. Interesting build potential.
Easiest way to put 3800 in a g-body is to use the engine and trans out of 97-02 f-body. already set up for rear wheel drive. if you use front drive engine, weather a series I, II or III there are a few major points to consider. the major one is probably the trans. while the front drive engines are all 90 degree blocks like the old 3.8 the back of the block is designed to use the smaller bell housing of a front driver trans-axle just like the 60 degree v6. you could use an early model 700r4 that was used in 2.8L s10's or the 4L30 that was used by isuzu and bmw. there may be other's that are bolt on but not sure which ones. another consideration is that the throttle body is on the back of the engine and would end up almost right against the firewall. and no, you can not just flip the manifold around. something else to think about. almost every car that came with a series II and all series III cars had pass-lock security built into the pcm. you would either have to figure out a way to adapt it or program it out of the pcm. the oil pick-up is mounted to the left side of the block web and extends to the center of the engine. there are other little things that need to be worked out but can be done with some thought. imo I think this would be an awesome swap and hope you do it. 3800's were some of the best engines ever made. silky smooth with lots of low end grunt. 30 mpg on highway in 4,000 lb lesabres and delta 88 was the norm for these engines. I'm planning on putting a turbo'd quad 4 and tko 6speed in a 442 and then i'm going honda hunting. show them rice burners what an american 4 cylinder can do. 
. good luck. can't wait to see what you come up with.
. good luck. can't wait to see what you come up with.The L69 305HO in the mid '80s Monte SS was actually rated at 180HP.gearhedjon said:
I picked up a copy of the 2015 edition of the GM Performance Parts catalog yesterday. In the supplement that comes with the new edition, GM lists a 2.0LT turbo 4 cylinder engine that rated at 272HP and 295lb/ft of torque as a crate engine under the part number19328837, as the "LTG" 2.0L Turbo crate engine. Its supposed to be available as of January 2015. Also listed in the supplement is a 6 speed manual transmission, clutch kit, engine controller, and accessory drive system, and these parts are designed for use in a rear wheel drive vehicle.
I'm only guessing here, but it looks to me like this might be a crate version of the powertrain that's available in the new Cadillac ATS. Judging by the photo of the engine in the catalog, it looks like the engine is based on the 4 cylinder Ecotec, that GM has been using for a number of years now.
This might make an interesting powertrain setup to use in a G body. It would definitely turn some heads.
I stand corrected, It's the '95 -02 Fbody that come with the 3800s. The trans from any V6 Fbody will bolt up to any FWD 3.8. From the 80s 3.8 to the 90s and 00s 3800.
The 3800 Series II swap into a G-body has been done many times, especially with the L67 SC motor. There used to be a very detailed website by someone who had done the SC swap into a G-body Cutlass, but that site went away with AOL Hometown, unfortunately. The GN crowd has used the Series II motor as a basis for turbo motors as well. As noted, use the S-10 or F-body transmissions that have the 60 degree metric bellhousing, which is what the Series II block uses.
Am I the only one who says cool! But then realizes "oh wait the engines only to for up to 300hp" LOL. But hey what ever floats your boat.
They are great motors. Wouldn't mind seeing one in a g body. Helped built a few back in the day. This one has a gen 5 blower and a 2.55 pully on the snout. It was a daily driver with 18 pounds of boost. Dynoed at 399 to the wheels.
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