my friend came across a 78 buick skylark custom 2 door.. with 42,000 actual miles.. old ladies car.. it has a 231, and i was curious on the approx HP rating on that old thing, keep it stock, switch in a V8, or build up the 231

For that question, I would go to Buickv8.com

I would not put an Olds engine in it, just like I would not put anything BUT an Olds engine in an Olds......

I believe it's real shitty....here where I talked about project LeMans (on hold for a while), it's a 1978 and has the 3.8L 231 V6 also, 110HP and only 190lbs of torque....not horrible, but not great either. Buick 455?

TOC Admin
Brando

convert it to electric

that'd be a project I'd be interested in!

Hi all
Not sure about all Olds and Buicks, but V6 would be "Corporate" Buick.
Ch*v used their own abbreviated V8 with 2 cylinders removed.
V8 in the case of my Buick Regal (that I don't talk about) is a "Corporate" 307 Olds.
The best way to change to a 455 (Buick or Olds) would be to utilize a like small block V8 donor car .
Most practical move would be to use an even fire V6, as a surprising amount of torque can be found in them.
Regards, Norm

The 3.8 is a Buick engine, it is only a Buick engine, that became a corperate engine after it was introduced. The 1978 3.8 has 105 hp@ 3400 rpm, and 185 lbs of torque @2000 rpm.

Hi 85cieraholiday, hello all
In 1961 the 231 cubic inch Buick V6 came as standard equipment in the Olds f85, the middle option in the Pontiac Tempest and the standard engine in the Buick Skylark. That was the situation, although not the engine, that caused the "Big Lawsuit".
Because of GM losing the "Big Lawsuit" The CYA was to label all GM engines "Corporate" regardless of their application.
My guess is it happened in late 70s early 80s, but Oldsguy, Stroker or any history buff that might be on the board can probably correct me on the dates.
Regards, Norm

I'm kinda curious why there was this lawsuit, what was the big deal??

Hi Psyco, Hello All
I may be wrong about the names, but, a customer had an Oldsmobile in a repair shop and his (her) technition remarked "you got screwed, this is a chevy engine". The car owner filed suit against GM and the customer, their Lawyer, and possibly members of the class all got paid a lot of money, and GM could continue to use the most practical engine for each application as long as the engines were labelel "Corporate" engines.
This indirectly led up to the lack of identity between Chev, Pontiac, Olds, Buick and Cadillac, and prompted the demise of Oldsmobile.
My question is still unanswered as to which engine the 78 buick skylark custom 2 door would have had, had it came with a V8.
Regards, Norm

Norm is right, about the engines history, and a example of the lawsuit agaist GM is that in my owners manual they put what division each engine is made by, ex I have a Olds but my engine is built by Pontiac. I had been told this story before about people buying Cadillacs and getting Oldsmobile engines or something like that.

Well,,,,,,,,let's see, my '76 Omega has a Ch*vy straight six in it. I think it's the 250cid but not sure. So, at least as early as '76 and probably much earlier. My son had an '89 Buick Estate Wagon with an Olds 307 in it. I see LOTS of Buicks and Pontiacs, usually big cars, with an Olds engine them at the junkyard. Any GM that had a diesel engine, was built by Olds as they are the only division that built a diesel engine (at least for passenger cars). And, as was mentioned in another thread, the IRON DUKE shows up in all kinds of cars.

Back to the original post, I say drop a Buick 455 in it because they have a over square bore (I think thats the term) they have a big bore and a short stroke. Very nice for making power

Hi all
Looks like I got involved in V8 engine choices and forgot to comment on the post. As long as the car is clean and original, I would keep it stock. After it has started showing its age would be time to think about changes.
As a Half assed example of my way of thinking, my one and only new car was a '72 toyota Corona MKII (why Toyota = long story) and only chose to make this purchase after measuring the engine compartment fit for a SBC.
It took 130,000 miles before the engine was tired enough and then I nixed the Ch*v and opted for an Aluminum 215 Olds V8 and Muncie 4 speed.
Another car I should have kept, but, again I digress.
I did a little googling (I can't get away with much at work) on '78 Buick Skylark and only found one vague reference to the V8 used in it and it said 350 Olds. That tells me to use anything from a 350 to 455 Olds if you choose a V8. If the V8 version came with a Buick, that would be my choice.
The idea behind building the V6 was my assumption that it was the same base as the 231 in the TT and Turbo Buicks. My memory has since caught up and I now rember they are not the same.
Too bad because on the streets in my area, a rumbling V8 is expected to be quicker than it is, while a quiet V6 makes a great sleeper.
Regards, Norm

Hi all
Silly me. I didn't even think to swap the GN type 231 in place of the original. I must be getting more senile that I thought. Psycho: You are correct. Shorter stroke = less piston speed = more RPM.
Although all have different characteristics, Buick, Olds, and Pontiac can all make good power, 455 Buicks at higher RPM at the expense of low end because of the shorter stroke. Olds makes massive amounts of low end, because of its long stroke.
Pontiac, like the SBC has been around since '55 and has been improved over the years and went from 287 to 455 inches. It has always been thought to have the most power because of GTO name recognition. Since '54, Olds and Buick, joined by Ch*v in '55 and Pontiac in '57, swapped "Top Dog" status on a yearly (sometimes more often) basis.
Also like the SBC, Pontiac enjoys a lot of aftermarket support. Buick and Olds have much less.
Damn, I was only going to do long vs short stroke. But what else would you expect from me.
Regards, Norm