Odd fire vs Even fire Buick 231

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From: vega1972gt_REMOVE_593858_THIS_@yahoo.com


I plan to build up a Buick 231 to put in my 1972
Vega with a T-50 five speed. I plan on using it as a
good daily driven street car. What are the pros and
cons of the odd fire vs even fire engine. Concerns are
smooth idle, high rpm, engine life, or are the
differences nothing to worry about......Thanks.....Barry


[This is message #280 by user vega1972gt on Yahoo! Club Buick Skyhawk owner's Club: http://clubs.yahoo.com/clubs/buickskyhawkownersclub ]

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From: mylesgt_REMOVE_877292_THIS_@yahoo.com


The odd fire will idle a bit rougher with its
uneven firing pulses.
<a href=http://home.off-road.com/~merls_garage/oddfire.html target=new>http://home.off-road.com/~merls_garage/oddfire.html</a>
Towards the bottom of this page, you'll see
GM's funky 'solution' re their HEI caps.

The
first car I bought back in '80, was a '72 with a '65
225 Buick6/2ps auto. They were already a bit rough in
stock form(Buicks had very thick soft engine mounts to
dampen the vibration), after I added a cam, the glass
vette hoodscoop on it shook like jello at idle. : )


Basically, there's nothing really wrong with the odd-fires,
including the early 3.8, which apparently was bored out to
that size to share the 350's pistons. Drawback here is
parts availability, heavier standard flywheel and
crappy heads. The early heads need a lot of work(time &
$) to even bring them up to par with the later
hi-ports. IMO, they're good for nostalgia
only.

Mid-'77 came the even-fires with interim weird stuff thru
'78. '79-on finally had better heads.
These will
behave much better, especially on the street. And parts
are easier to get.
What I had in my '73 was an
'80 3.8 with the enlarged 5/8" oil pickup
tube.

Far as engine life...the best things you can do to
lengthen its lifespan are installing an oil pump kit and a
good set of gears and chain, as they do have a
tendency to chew them up.
The later 3800 series finally
included a balance shaft to address a lot of these
problems. Unfortunately,they're a completely different
animal:
<a href=http://www.thrasher-ep.com/L67_htm/engine_tear.shtm target=new>http://www.thrasher-ep.com/L67_htm/engine_tear.shtm</a>

BTW, If you come across a spare even-fire flywheel,
please let me know, as I've got a spare T50 sitting here
as well.

myles


[This is message #281 by user mylesgt on Yahoo! Club Buick Skyhawk owner's Club: http://clubs.yahoo.com/clubs/buickskyhawkownersclub ]

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From: bluehawksc_REMOVE_446341_THIS_@yahoo.com


Good advice Myles, I think if I was on a buget
I'd search the wrecking yards for a 4.1 V6 that way
you'd get the factory aluminum four barrel intake and
QJet plus the added strength of the turbo crank....
this would be a great starting point for a future
build up. Ian


[This is message #282 by user bluehawksc on Yahoo! Club Buick Skyhawk owner's Club: http://clubs.yahoo.com/clubs/buickskyhawkownersclub ]

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From: vega1972gt_REMOVE_282335_THIS_@yahoo.com


Thanks for the tips. I have had 3 cars with the Buick 231, [77 Skyhawk, 81 Cutlass and 85 Cutlass]liked all the engines really well.....Barry


[This is message #283 by user vega1972gt on Yahoo! Club Buick Skyhawk owner's Club: http://clubs.yahoo.com/clubs/buickskyhawkownersclub ]

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From: mylesgt_REMOVE_181015_THIS_@yahoo.com


And if money were no object, here's pics of one of Duttweiler's latest projects...<a href=http://www.taperformance.com/v6block.htm target=new>http://www.taperformance.com/v6block.htm</a>

Ooooohhhh...Schweeet!!! An SC'd Aluminum Stage2..hmmm I LIKE it! : )


[This is message #284 by user mylesgt on Yahoo! Club Buick Skyhawk owner's Club: http://clubs.yahoo.com/clubs/buickskyhawkownersclub ]