Buick 231 V6

[AlamoCity210]

Hello All.

I was wondering if anyone has any info on the above mentioned engine by means of performance. i dont know to much about engines but I am learning and I am interested in upgrading my v6 as opposed to swapping to a sbc. I have seen some performance parts by TA Performance. Has anyone ever purchased any of their parts or done anything to their V6. I have heard people say that it is not worth spending money on these motors but others say they are silent monsters. any iput from anyone would be greatly appreciated.

Thank you

 

[Clone TIE Pilot]

There is not a whole lot you can do with them, they were built to be gas sippers and not to make very much power. They have a very low compression ratio and poor flowing heads that restricts power. To fix those you would have to rebuild the motor with higher CR pistons and better heads. Only thing you can do that is worth the time or money is to swap the 231 out for a better drivetrain. The n/A V6s are usually mated to the weak THM-200 trans and 2.41 rear axle gears, which hinder power even more. I tried different mods for my old 231 V6 and nothing really helped, so I bought a used Monte Carlo SS powertrain (HO 305 and THM200-4R trans), complete with ECM and emissions. Installed a hotter cam and TES headers and swapped it into my car and never looked back. Then I installed a rear axle with 3.73 gear and POSI into my Regal.

 

[87regalkid]

The stock naturally aspirated buick v6 engine puts out an astounding 110hp 😢

It may be easier to read my previous post GN block question to determine if your block is worth building. If the engine ID numbers on the bottom of the block end in 109, then it is a turbo block. These blocks are stronger than conventional v6 blocks and can potentially be built to have amazing power :lol: . If you really wanted to make your v6 powerful, then turbocharging is the way to go. You can take your block to a machine shop and have them drill a oil return hole in the front flange of the block for possible turbocharging. Then determine if your motor has turbo pistons, crank, rods, etc, which it turns out were all in my NA motor.

I plan on rebuilding my turbo block in my garage but the only thing is that these turbo parts and fuel injection accessories can cost a decent buck and so many people convert to sbc motors including myself because they're reliable, affordable, and somewhat easy to do.

 

[AlamoCity210]

thanks for the feedback. engine can be quite expensive thats why my main concerns atm are suspension, body and interior. im just trying to gather as much info as possible for later time when i have the money. my v6 runs good as it only has about 35k miles on it after full overhaul. so it should keep me going. a TA Performance v6 block would be great but i could never convince myself to pay 4000 for it. anyways thanks guys. looks like more reading for me.