Blown head gasket

[85cutlass]

Well I managed to come across a relatively rust free cutlass for very cheap (very hard to find up here) so I snagged it up really quick. Interesting thing is it has a carbed turbo 6!

Some people seem to think they're not worth anything and are slow etc, even if thats true I still think it is a very cool motor and would love to get this thing running. From what I was told the previous owner was driving it and the thermostat stuck closed and it over heated and blew a headgasket(s), I was told he only drove for about half a mile after noticing the white smoke. I can't confirm if that's what actually happened so who knows.

I plan to pull the motor out this friday and hopefully It can be saved but I have my doubts, I haven't done anything yet other than pull the dipstick, and it was milky so obviously a bunch of coolant made it's way into the motor. And I've tried turning it over just with the key, and it just clicked. Unknown if it is seized or not.

I was told it sat for a year like this, I ran the VIN and it was last plated in april 2007 so it's probably more than a year.

What are the chances that this motor could be saved? I don't really want to go as far as putting new bearings in (not this year anyways), would the turbo setup bolt onto a N/A V6? Or if the turbo is any good anymore, I assume coolant would have gotten pumped through it as well. Any feedback would be appreciated.

I've wanted a turbo 6 for as long as I can remember, this one isn't ideal but it just sort of happened. I wanted the car for the shell but it just happened to have the motor too!

(more pics here)

It's quite the basket case, but I'm not afraid to get dirty. It's worth it to me for the body.

 

[jimski]

Well I managed to come across a relatively rust free cutlass for very cheap (very hard to find up here) so I snagged it up really quick. Interesting thing is it has a carbed turbo 6!

Some people seem to think they're not worth anything and are slow etc, even if thats true I still think it is a very cool motor and would love to get this thing running. From what I was told the previous owner was driving it and the thermostat stuck closed and it over heated and blew a headgasket(s), I was told he only drove for about half a mile after noticing the white smoke. I can't confirm if that's what actually happened so who knows.

I plan to pull the motor out this friday and hopefully It can be saved but I have my doubts, I haven't done anything yet other than pull the dipstick, and it was milky so obviously a bunch of coolant made it's way into the motor. And I've tried turning it over just with the key, and it just clicked. Unknown if it is seized or not.

I was told it sat for a year like this, I ran the VIN and it was last plated in april 2007 so it's probably more than a year.

What are the chances that this motor could be saved? I don't really want to go as far as putting new bearings in (not this year anyways), would the turbo setup bolt onto a N/A V6? Or if the turbo is any good anymore, I assume coolant would have gotten pumped through it as well. Any feedback would be appreciated.

I've wanted a turbo 6 for as long as I can remember, this one isn't ideal but it just sort of happened. I wanted the car for the shell but it just happened to have the motor too!

(more pics here)

It's quite the basket case, but I'm not afraid to get dirty. It's worth it to me for the body.

This is exactly what im trying to do with my 84 cutlass brougham a sleeper,i see alot of potential here.

 

[b4black]

You could use that turbo set up on a NA motor for sure. It's probably a 78 or 79 set up. These casting numbers should help ID the year.
BEFORE BLACK - Evolution of the Buick Turbo V6



My guess is that they didn't hook up the ESC (knock control) or have a boost guage. They probably over boosted the motor and knocked it to death (head gasket).


Put it togther right and it will perform well. Good find.

 

[usetaboost]

Looks very salvagable. Take your time and do it right, don't get ina hurry. You will enjoy it a lot more

 

[LilSpann601]

Did you try another battery or starter if you havn't changed them recently..I just changed the head gaskets on my 81 gp 3.8 N/A...the job wasn't hard at all just have a partner to help lift the heads on the block trying not to disturb the gasket...Im trying to find a turbo carb for my 81...im thinking about calling it off since their are alot of parts I need..

 

[85cutlass]

The battery was out of my truck so I know it's good, but I have no idea what condition the starter is in. I have a feeling this car may have sat for a long time then someone got it going, and then the previous owner blew it up.

How long could the bearings/turbo have lasted with that much coolant in the oil?

My plan is to pull the motor (hopefully tomorrow) and begin inspecting this motor. If it's not too terrible I may try to get it running on the engine stand before putting it back in.

Would an 81-82ish factory service manual be worth picking up? I think the motor is older but a local used book store has one of the manuals there. Mainly for torque specs and diagrams.

 

[85cutlass]

The motor is out! Now the fun begins.

 

[LilSpann601]

well good luck...how much hp and top speed mph will the 3.8 na produce? oh yea could you take some pics

 

[LilSpann601]

I dont know how long the oil could of been in the engine for it to fail but I just changed my head gaskets and before i changed the head gaskets my car had been sittin up for 4 years...when i opened her up everything was in good condition then i came across this board..I didn't know at first that regals came with a 3.8 n/a turbo...

 

[usetaboost]

Not enough to make you happy.

 

[85cutlass]

Does anyone have any information on these turbos? Are parts available to rebuild them?

This one will still spin, but not very freely. I have yet to take it apart though.

 

[b4black]

It's probablly OK. They don't spin well without oil going thru them.

 

[charlief1]

You have a t3 turbo and parts are still availabe and not that expensive. If you evilbay check out a guy in utah named (LOL) john smith. He rebuilds and sells kits for the t3.

 

[85cutlass]

Good to know, I browsed a bit last night and parts aren't that expensive so that's good. Thanks for the info.

Another interesting thing is that I was told the motor had been redone not too long ago (couple years most likely) but I didn't really care at the time. But now that I've got the motor out it is believable. The engine is a lot cleaner than the rest of the engine bay, there's lots of relatively fresh looking gaskets/silicone on the engine and the frost plugs are nice and shiny new so that could be a good sign.

Still haven't torn it apart, hoping to get started on that this weekend!

 

[85cutlass]

Well I guess it's about a month later, not much progress on it so far but I've done a bit. I've just been really busy lately and haven't had time to work on this thing.

But here's where I'm at now. Drained the 'oil' out of it, about a litre of water poured out first then a bunch of grey goo, woohoo! Oh well, that was to be expected.

I filled the motor with about 2 gal. of kerosene and let it sit for a few days, then spun the oil pump with a drill to get any water/oil crud out before opening it up, it worked really good!

After opening it up and having a look, the main bearings are definitely toast, as well as the rod bearings. From what I can tell the crank will probably need to be ground, but I'm not sure. Can I get .020 bearings if it needs to be ground? The bearings are .010 oversize so the motor has been opened up before, as well as some balancing on the crank. I haven't pulled the heads yet but from what I can tell the passenger side bank is rusty, but there is still crosshatching so might be able to get away with a hone and new rings, but my experience is limited here.

So that's where I'm at now. It will need machine work, and I'm not sure what to do. I'd like to get it done and assemble the motor myself, but I don't know if it's worth it. I could just get another 3.8 and throw the turbo stuff on but I'd like to rebuild this one for the learning experience.

So who knows! I'm sure I'll update this thread in the near future with some pictures.