Engine Replacement Options/how To Find?

Hello all,

I have the rare Buick 198 V6 that runs but i keep finding more issues little by little. I know the parts are hard to find although it is a good motor. I love the odd fire of it. But am looking on where to source a good V6 replacement for it. I know many have the 225 but where do folks get them? Is there a rebulid source folks are using since any crate motor would be out of the question?

 

A lot of people use the 231 Buick v6 which is what the 225 became when Buick bought the tooling back in 71~72. Site members are occasionally posting 225s for sale in the classifieds.

The Novak Guide to Installing Chevrolet & GM Engines into the Jeep Universals, 1946-1971

Also if you read down through the Novak site I posted they have some recommendations.

 

I have a question - when replacing a 198, how much easier would swapping in a 225 be than any other of the popular swap engines? The 198 shares measurements and bell pattern with the 215 V8, not the 225. The 225 has the same bell and mount location as the later V8 engines including the 300, 340, and 350 Buick V8s, and is significantly a different engine from the 198. To me, the two engines I would consider first are the 215 V8 and the Chevy 4.3L V6. The 215 was used in many Rovers and should be cheap and plentiful in the yards, though I do not know how compatible the Rover-sourced 215s are with the Buick 215 that it descended from. Possible they would bolt-up to your 198 bell and sit on the existing mounts, though you'd have to move the radiator forward. And the 4.3L is a lot more plentiful than a 225 or 231, and a decent donor is easy to come by. The RWD Buicks are still out there, but S10s and Astro vans and C10/G10 and Impalas and Monte Carlos etc. etc. got the 4.3L Chevy.

If you were replacing a 225, a 231 from a RWD Buick would drop in and be worth seeking out. However, a 198 has a different bell and is adapted to a T-90 ... not the same story.

I'm also skeptical that rebuilding the 198 would be more expensive than a swap to any of these engines. True, the parts are expensive, but you should be able to get a rebuild kit from Kanter or maybe TA Performance, and it would be a lot less work to simply bite the bullet and rebuild the 198. It's a conventional US passenger car engine, other than the odd-fire configuration, and any competent shop should be able to handle the machining for a thorough and reliable rebuild. Not rocket science.
https://www.kanter.com/productdetai...CategoryID=31&ProductCode=1660&Router=Gallery

 

As a follow-up to Tim's comments above, the Rover 3.5/3.9/4.0/4.2/4.6 , and Buick 215 aluminum V8 is a bolt-in as far as bellhousing pattern and motor mounts for your 198. The earlier engines with a distibutor (up to about '95 or so?) are easier to swap to carburation for simplicity with several aftermarket 4bbl manifold, or the '61-'63 Buick 2 or 4bbl intakes. The engines are lightweight at around 320lbs, and make nice power for a small Jeep. Yes, they are longer than your 198, but at least the distributor is up front. I ran a Buick 215 (same as the Rover 3.5) for many years in my '64 CJ5a, but it didn't have the offbeat rumble of the odd-fire, but still had a very healthy exhaust note. The Rover engines are all fuel injected from the mid-'80s up, so that is an option to consider if you wanted to go that route.
There is a lot of interchangablity between the Buick 215 and the Rover engines, especially for the earlier versions. For that matter, the timing cover from your Buick 198 should bolt right on to a 1995 Rover 3.9!
-Donny

 

The PO has a 198 bolted to a T90. I had this combination in my old CJ2A back in the early70s. I used regular 225 motor mounts, the Willys truck T90 input gear and an adapter plate. 198 vs 225 made no difference to Jon Compton at Border Parts when I asked for the parts to make the conversion from the 134 L-head. I'm making the assumption the PO has the same arrangement and I'm wondering if the 225 wouldn't just bolt right up to what he has now.

The 198 I believe came with more than one bellhousing- Keys5A I think alluded to this in the past- you could bolt a T90 directly to one type. That was not my bellhousing as it required an adapter and though I'm going from memory of 40+ years ago, I'm pretty sure it was not the 215 bell. I think it was the same as the 225 bell, as what Jon Compton sold me was for the 225 as well.

The PO probably ought to take a few pics if possible- motor mounts, bellhousing from a couple angles, adapter plate etc.

 

There is a member on here with an orange Renegade he calls Gem of the Rockies
He bought an engine from S & J engines in Spokane and was happy with it.
Looks like @1600 dollars for the long block I believe his user name is @dnb5853

rebuilt auto engines search

Edit didn’t see the part in your post about crate motors being out of the question

 

Unlikely any of the reman factories (ie S&J or Jasper) are going to have a core for a 198. Call them and ask. Also very unlikely that the factories can get parts for this engine at a price that would be appealing to their customers.

To rebuild the 198, I predict you will either have to build the engine yourself, or take your core to a local shop that will do the work. In either case, the shop will do the machining required, and you can either pay them to assemble the engine or do the assembly yourself. We can discuss this more if you are interested.

 

There is a single T-90 plate adapter for almost all GM engines that uses the long input shaft and a plate between the bell housing and the transmission. From what Gunner writes, this fits the 198 bell housing too - I don't know. Back in the day, they made both plate and bell housing style adapters. If the OP has a bell housing type adapter, it will only work with the 198/215. The 225 frame towers may work with the 198, but again I don't know if they are placed in the same location with both engines ... possible.

 

If you're set on a 225 keep an eye on craigslist. Here's one that I have no other info on. sacramento auto parts - by owner "cj" - craigslist

There also have been a couple on Sacramento Craigslist recently, not exactly close to you but maybe worth it if you're set on the 225.

 

The reason why I replied in post #4 above is the fact that the Buick 198 shares the same engine block/bellhousing pattern with only the Buick 215 and the Rover engines from about 1968 up to about 2004. There were several aftermarket companies back in the day that supplied custom bellhousings to adapt these engines to various transmissions, and that may be what Jonbbrew has. In fact Kennedy Engineering (KEP) still uses this "two ear" bellhousing pattern as their trademark logo.
Finding a manual flywheel is a little harder for the Rover engines as most Discoverys and Range Rovers came with automatics, though many Defenders and a few Discos had 5 speeds. Several other vehicles came with the Rover V8, but their numbers are very limited as compared to the Land Rovers. Keep in mind that oddfire flywheels should not be used with evenfire or V8 engines.
If Jonbbrew wants alternatives to swap out his 198, these alloy V8's are nearly a bolt in; same motor mounts, same bellhousing, same trans. input shaft- just a little more length to fit in the engine bay.
To use a 225 or 231 (3.8 Buick), there will need to be a bellhousing change, and possibly trans. input shaft swap.
-Donny