Well looks like we've waited long enough Ojas, Diwali's round the corner!
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ID:186 is a
1991 Buick Reatta.
Buick's legendary Riviera platform was shortened to produce the Reatta.
The Reatta had the same engine as big-brother Riviera.
It has a transversely mounted 3.8-litre OHV push-rod V6 in the front, which drives the front wheels.
This V6 has a long history behind it. It is the current generation descendant of an ancient animal, Buick's Dauntless V6, which was even used in the 1965 Willys Jeep.
The Reatta's 231 cubic inch V6 can attain 170 bhp and 298 Newton-metre of torque. It is mated to a 4-speed electronically controlled automatic transmission with overdrive, driving 16-inch alloy wheels. It came with disc brakes on all four wheels with ABS as standard.
The Reatta also shared the same interiors as big-brother Riviera.
That meant
high-tech electronic displays, LCD touch-panel to control the car's computer which activated the climate control, ICE, cruise-control, etc.
It was a two-seat car and the driver's seat could be electronically adjusted in
sixteen ways!
History of the Buick 3800 V6
This is one of the most prolifically produced and popular engines in automotive history!
Buick's first all-aluminum 3.5 liter 215 V-8 came out in 1961.
The next year:1962, they produced their highly successful and long-lived V-6 by chopping off 2 cylinders from a CI version of that 215V-8. The result was the Fireball V-6, the first V-6 in an American car: the 1962 Buick Special.
Naturally the original V-8's firing order was not right for a 90-degree V-6 achieved by simply chopping two cylinders off a V-8. The crank throws and as a consequence the firing impulses were unevenly spaced (at 90-150-90-etc.).
The uneven firing order produced a rough idling engine.
In 1965, the Fireball's bore was increased to produce a 225 cu.in. 3.7 liter V-6. However due to the untreatable rough idle, Buick discontinued using the V-6 in favor of a straight-six.
Hayes Brothers Jeep (a Jeep dealer) in Salt Lake City, Utah, on their own began installing brand-new out-of-the-crate Buick V6 engines into new Jeeps. The owners fell in love with these V-6 engined animals. The uneven firing order was the source of the characteristic and extremely beloved rumble of this Buick V-6 engine, known defacto as the "odd fire" engine.
In time, Jeep noticed and sent development engineers to study Hayes' conversion process, which included
- removing the 4-cylinder Hurricane engine,
- installing better engine mounts,
- and an adapter to mate the engine to the Jeep gearbox.
In 1965, Kaiser Jeep purchased the design and tooling for this Buick 225 V6 engine design (named the "Dauntless") from Buick and pushed their 4-wheel drive Jeeps into the muscle era.
The
Buick "Dauntless" V-6 put out 160 bhp@4200 rpm and 319 Newton-metre of torque @ 2400 rpm. It powered Jeeps till 1969!
When the oil-crisis struck, Buick wanted their V-6 back. So they bought the V-6 design and tooling back from Jeep in 1974.
Buick figured they could bore out the old V-6 to match the bore of their 350 V-8. The V-6 could thus be built alongside V-8, sharing pistons and many other common parts.
Buick reintroduced the enlarged 231 V-6 in 1975 on the Buick Skyhawk, Buick Apollo and Buick Century/Regal.
In middle of 1977, Buick revised the crank throws and adopted a split-pin crankshaft finally achieving smooth even firing.
Two years later, the engine got larger valves and improved intake and exhaust ports, boosting BHP.
In 1984, the engine got "Direct fire" ignition and electronic MPFI.
Two years later, sequential fuel-injection and roller-type hydraulic lifters made the engine even smoother.
In 1988 a new
counter-rotating balance shaft eliminated the second-order rocking couple inherent to all V-6 engines.
Finally with tuned-port induction, the 3800 engine was ready for our 1991 Buick Reatta!
Ram