V6 Flash Back

[gpdcop]

I was thinking about my current project, and recalled that we had a Pontiac Grand Am in the early 90's that had a 3.3 V6. Looked at the family tree and did not see much about it. Does anyone know what happened to these engines? Did they grow to be a 3.4? Shrink back down to a 3.1? Just wondering even checked on Ebay, and there is a listing for a 93 with a 3.3. At one time Pontiac was the test line for GM, was this just a limited production engine?

[1988GTU]

3300's are 90* engines. They are kin to the 3800 found in many fwd cars nowadays.

They are also known as the shaker because they often idled rough and from past exp. they were unreliable once they got older.

[JMo60]

they were very good engines. almost a clone to a 3800, just less displacement. kinda like a 3100 is a baby 3400

[SappySE107]

3300 is destroked 3800. 3100 is debored 3400.

[Azrael]

The 3300's were also heavy for their output. It didn't really any use outside of Buick and Ponitac.

Chevy seems to be the testbed now for a lot of the new things since the late 90's.

[Mr.H.O]

The 3300 is an amazing engine, I've seen 3300 equipped cars come in and have well over 300,000k and still be running great my own 3300 is at 260,000km's and hasnt given me a single problem. Old technology yes but extremely reliable engines regardless!

[JMo60]

im completely with Mr.H.O on this one...

[geoffinbc]

The Buick V6 has reliability no question about it. My uncle had a late 70 something Le mans with a 3.8L oddfire V6 in it. The thing has countless miles on it and the car was completely falling apart. Interior was crusty from the sun the body was rusty. About the only thing that was in good shape was the drivetrain and brakes, the things that matter. He drove it as a winter beater and it never failed to start. It even passed emissions. He bought a Trail Blazer and let it sit for about 2 years starting it up on occasion on his lawn in the back just to see if it was still alive. Eventually a neighbor moved in with a 16 year old kid who got his license. Well now the kid drives a free Pontiac Le Mans with hundreds of thousands of miles on it and its still shaking at idle like a Buick V6 should.

[34blazer]

good to see an odd-fire thats still alive not bad for 60's technology!

[geoffinbc]

Yea I just picked up a V6 performance book written in the late 80's that Covers the 2 Chev V6's the Buick and the Ford. Because the Buick was designed in the 60's it has SO MANY pitfalls compared to the 660. Shitty oiling system, shitty valve train, vastly offset rod journals in the pistons on the even fire engine, poor cooling and poor breathing. But maybe the fact the engine made no power and spun really slow is the reason for its reliability LOL.

[34blazer]

that book is awesome!! too bad i leant mine to weber racing. now i have to get another one once you read the whole section on the buick v6 you will see certain mods to help with oiling and cooling issues. i personally like the oiling manifold in the lifter galley. that book is really outdated and alot of those problems were remedied. the cooling problem; revised gasket steam holes. the oiling system; 9/16 inch oil passages from the crankcase to the pump instead of 1/2 inch. i also like the side-oiler mod, if i ever get another TR most of the stuff that smokey yunick and jim bell did will be done to it. the book doesnt cover the newer 109 blocks, which were stronger. despite the even-fire rods having lots of offset, they still can handle hella horsepower. jason cramer from RJC racing pushed the stock rods past 850 hp and ran 9's. i also spoke with Jim Bell about 5 years ago and he told my to get the oil pump booster kit he made. it helped alot!!! he also said to use the larger pf52 filter instead of the pf47. more volume thru it and less thru the bypass. i currently use a pf52 on my 99 GA. even tho the big end of the rod was offset, it still sat way to one side in the piston. which is also why extra ribs were cast in the TR pistons. a good strong pin should be used when approaching 450-500 whp. along with a main girdle and billet mains to keep the web from distorting. when i had my block align honed the heads being torqued on did help. since then i try to torque the heads on when i align bore. i cant remember how much it distorts the main webs. i think it was like .008?
i think it would be a good motion to have a bunch of people on here to put their heads together and publish a book on the 3x00 performance builds. id like to see how much power can be thrown at the 3x00 before its maxxed and comes apart. does anyone even make a main girdle for the 3x00?

[geoffinbc]

Yea a main girdle is a nice touch but I wonder if the new cross bolted blocks really need it. The oil pan does add a lot of rigidity. It bet one could weld in a cross member into the cast aluminum pan on the 3X00 motors in order to improve rigidity even further.

[34blazer]

yeah something

[gpdcop]

WOW

Had I know that my Grand Am was a "big block" I might have kept it. However a young driver on Thanksgiving day in 1995 had a different plan when he rear ended us. As for 60's technology.... As I flounder on with my 88GMC Jimmy, I often have longed for the simplicity of working on a 60's technology engine. Gee...I can even rebuild a Rochester 4bb but screw around with late 80's emissions and computer controls? I'll take the old technology. But then again....I am old.