Carb question (3.8 V6)

[Anonymous]

Im Re-posting this here in hopes of finding some answers. i may have posted it in the wrong section.

Well, Im starting to get things in place to get my 81 El Camino back on the road which used to be dads (it was my fathersdays present last year) and now im going to bring it back to life... and then some.

since it has been sitting for the last 5ish years.... i have a bunch of things to go through and will finally be bringing the car home to my place to begin working on it.

my question; I know when the car was parked the Carb could not be tuned to run right, it was hard to start and just lacked the perfromance that i had when we bought it and the mileage was down to 8-10 not the 18-22 that it usually got (about 10 years prior) when it was Dads car. right before it was parked he was told that it would be best to replace the Carb.

I do not have alot of knowledge when it comes to carbs so i dont know where to start. is a rebuild a better option or are there affordable remans, or aftermarket options available? if so where can i find them? I am trying to get her running on a tight budget because i dont want to put alot into the motor since it will be swapped out. i just need it to be able to haul parts while i build/source all of the parts (which will take some time/money)


Any direction would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks,

AD

 

[mhamilton]

No need to really replace the carb, just get a $30 rebuild kit and clean it out. The only thing you have to watch for on the '81+ models is the computer control--you can't dip the air horn because of the internal air seals.

However, if this carb has already been messed with, it may be very difficult to get it back to working perfectly. There are some adjustments on the CCC carbs that should not be touched, so hopefully nobody got into those. If it's just the idle adjustment, you can reset those to a base setting and then give it a slight tweak (since the computer will control idle mixture anyway).

 

[Anonymous]

thanks Hamilton....

now, if my dads so called mechanic did mess with too many things, what can i replace it with... is there any edelbrock, or holly or something that will fit... or does it have to be OEM? also, do i have to use the computer contorl or can the computer be eliminated from the mix?

 

[mhamilton]

You could certainly get a rebuilt OE carb from a parts store (though I am wary of those rebuilds).

If you want to change the intake you can put an aftermarket carb, but don't expect any kind of economy. There are intakes and 2bbl carbs made for the 4.3L V6 that will fit the 229. I assume you have a Chevy V6 3.8L, not the Buick 3.8L?

The computer control can be eliminated if you wanted to, but for what it's worth, it's probably a LOT more work to find all the non-computer pieces, especial if you plan to swap this engine soon. You would have to get a non computer M2ME carb and distributor, then rig up a controller for the transmission TCC, etc.

Is your Check Engine light on? If it's getting that bad economy, it sounds like the computer has defaulted to open loop mode, where it will keep the metering rods at full rich. Could be a sensor problem, or more likely the carb solenoid has gone kaput. Do you hear it clicking away at idle when it's warmed up?

 

[Anonymous]

unless they put the 3.8 buick in the chevy then i have the chevy 3.8.

here is a pic of the eng. info sticker on the fan shoud.

I am looking to get it running for as little as possible for now... i plan on a swap so dont want to do anything that will either make that more difficult than necessary, or that will require a large investment. I would assume going with a 4.3 intake my mileage would not improve any... would performance? could i use a stock 4.3 mani? what vehicle should i look at. i have a pick and pull close by that i could scavenge the parts from.

 

[Darwinskeeper]

Chevy actually did put the Buick 231 V6 into Malibus that were headed for California. I believe that the Buick V6s are like their 350 V8s and have a fwd mounted distributor. The Chevy V6 has an aft mounted distributor, just like a small block Chevy.

 

[mhamilton]

Yeah, as Darwin said, the Cali models got the Buick 3.8. But from your picture, it's the Chevy 229ci with the dist in the rear.

I'm not an expert on the 4.3s, but I do believe you can use the 4.3 intake. I do know the aftermarket manifolds for the 4.3 also fit the 200 and 229 V6s. But not sure that would help you much, the 4.3s had different carbs.

 

[Anonymous]

Darwin-Hamilton...

thanks for the input, it is more than i had to go on before your comments. Ill look into parts options and determine what my best option is. I may look for a carb off of another 3.8... and rebuild it. this sounds like my simplist fix. i did check and there is an EL camino with a 3.8 (among other vehicles with the 3.8) at the pick and pull, so if the carb is still there i may just snag it and some other parts as long as im making the trip, then see what i can do from there. since i obviously have an issue with rodents... i will probably need some new vacume, cooling, and electrical lines. why do those little turds have to eat chew threw perfectly good parts.

Oh well, Ill go from here and see what happens. Ill keep you guys posted on what i find, ill probably have more questions, Im still new to the G-Body world well GM world actually.... I used to only own dodge/chrysler and my race car is a 91 honda hatch (used for autox and road course racing) so i appreciate the input from a couple experts.

thanks alot!

 

[Anonymous]

Chevy actually did put the Buick 231 V6 into Malibus that were headed for California. I believe that the Buick V6s are like their 350 V8s and have a fwd mounted distributor. The Chevy V6 has an aft mounted distributor, just like a small block Chevy.

Darwin,
on a seperate note... i have been checking into swap options, I see in your sig... and alot of posts that you seem to be an expert in the V6 world.

what kind of power are you getting out of the 4.3 and how does it perform in general? just curious, this wont be a track S&*%, but i do want to get some solid performance out of it. ive heard that you can get prety solid power out of the 4.3 is that true?

any input... I have been looking at going the 350 route, but the 4.3 does look to be appealing if i can get decent performance out of it, keep in mind, it wont be built for drag racing, so i dont need a mountain of power, just solid performance and a moderate level of reliability.

 

[Darwinskeeper]

Meano,

I'm hardly an expert, I just happen to have a 4.3 in my wagon and have a little experience with how it does and doesn't work.

I'd say that the wagon's performance with the 4.3 is decidedly mixed. I have guessed, based on what I've seen from an Edelbrock catalog, that my engine might dyno at around 200hp at the flywheel and might expect about 150hp at the rear tires, but I've never verified that. The performance was reasonably good for a 3470lb car (full fuel no driver) with the Comp Cams 252H grind cam and 2.73 rear gears. It may not have been able to smoke the 225/60R15s out back, but she had a lot of punch for driving around town.

I can't recommend the Crower cam I currently have, I had it installed in hope of better fuel economy but seem to have lost both performance and mpg. If I keep the V6, I'll eventually try a Comp 240H grind cam.

The 2.41 gears are a mixed blessing. Darwin is being built for fuel efficiency and I think they would help mpg once I get the engine sorted, but they do make getting started more of a challenge. So far my best highway mpg (23.7mpg at 60mph) was with the Comp 252H and 2.73 gears.

That said I don't think I would have gone for a 305 V8 if I had it to do over again. The acceleration/power has been ok, but the fuel economy has been disappointing. I have rarely seen over 20mpg on he highway in the 3 years I have been driving her. Another thing to note is that V6 unique parts (headers, intake manifold, ect...) tend to be more expen$ive than the sbc counterparts and that can balance the costs of setting your elco up for V8 power.