V6 Buick engine--3800

[drumdoctor]

:wtg:



To any of you that have built a trike using a V6 Buick engine (3800)----

1--Did you use the stock transmission?

2--Is the transmission separate or part of the engine?

3--Is the engine transverse mounted?

I am thinking of building a trike using this engine.

Any thoughts on the subject (pro or con)?

Thank you.


utergreet:

[caveman50]

you might want to check out my trike, (pics in my profile) it has a 3800 buick front wheel drive, complete engine, transaxle, etc. I would be happy to answer any questions you may have. It wears the name Giant Killer. Caveman

[drumdoctor]

Thanks Caveman---<br />
<br />
Did you build it?<br />
If you built it, what was the most difficult part of the build?<br />
How long have you had it?<br />
What kind of mileage do you get.<br />
What year is the engine and trans?<br />
<br />
I will be bugging you with ten thousand questions.<br />
I know that I will need a wiring diagram, so if you draw one up, <br />
I'll be glad to buy it from you.<br />
<br />
Thanks again.<br />
<br />
Have a nice and safe weekend and holiday.<br />
<br />
:wtg:

[caveman50]

Yes i built it, there were not any really difficult parts although the rear suspension (sprint car torsion with air bag overloads) was time consuming as well as the one of a kind steering set up. It has been street legal for 4 years, as far as mileage the donor car would get near thirty mpg on open road, seems to be that or better as a trike, (no speedometer) engine pulling much less weight now & relatively aerodynamic, Donor car was a 85 buick park avenue front wheel drive. As far as wiring you can go to your local library & get a motor manual for the donor car. BE SURE TO GET COMPUTER & WIRING HARNESS FROM DONOR CAR & PUT CAR V.I.N. ON COMPUTER. the 3800 makes a strong running effecient choice for a trike, the complete sub structure unbolts with 4 bolts, keeping engine, trans, & diff in one neat package, will be happy to answer any questions you may have. CAVEMAN

[drumdoctor]

So the transmission is a part of ther engine and not a separate unit, correct?<br />
<br />
Thanks for the info---BUT---<br />
<br />
I am confused---<br />
That engine is front wheel drive, correct?<br />
Your engine is in the front of your trike, so how do you transfer the power to the rear wheels?<br />
<br />
I downloaded all your pics, but it still isn't clear what I am really looking at.<br />
<br />
You had one trike that had a tailgate with the name &quot;Reaper&quot; on it.<br />
The other trike is called &quot;Giant Killer&quot;<br />
<br />
These are 2 DIFFERENT trikes, right?<br />
<br />
Also, who made the front forks that is on the &quot;Reaper&quot; trike&quot;<br />
Those forks look great!!!<br />
<br />
BUT---I am trying to find anyone who has built a trike with this engine and trans, BUT--<br />
where the engine is in the rear.<br />
<br />
Anyone...?<br />
<br />
Everyone have a great weekend and holiday.<br />
<br />
And from this vet to all the other vets--thank you for your service and hope you all have a super-fine Memorial Day!!!

[caveman50]

the engine is in the rear, pipes in front are merely a nib sh** trap, only thing under hood is radiator. fan, fuse panel, & steering box, & yes the reaper is another trike I am building, it is subaru powered, the front forks on the reaper were designed & fabricated by myself ( air ride leading link) the rear suspension on the reaper is also independent air ride. Bring on the questions, I will answer some of them truthfully, LOL, CAVEMAN

[phonedawgz]

The Buick V6 can be mated with the automatics that normally come with the engine or may FWD manual transmissions. It has close to the same footprint as the Fiero 2.8 that you see in many trikes. Many Fiero owners are dropping 3800s into Fieros.<br />
<br />
gmtuners.com can flash the PCM to your custom applications. They also have pinouts that they use for mating the 3800 to Fieros that can be used as a starting point in a trike application.<br />
<br />
fiero.nl has people who build custom 3800 engine harnesses that would be open to making a trike engine harness.

[bojo38]

I am building a trike using a front wheeled drive 1990 buick park avenue 3800 engine and I am still in the process of just building the frame work around the engine. Had the engine running since it was out of the car and sounds pretty good but still have much wiring to do with the computer. I kept the harness and am trying to trace all the wires out to see what they were for. It is going to be a rear engine trike using the front wheeled drive as the rear end.

Here is a link to my website and the trike I am riding now and the VW trike I use to own and built. Home of Triker Bill

[vwmaniac]

Really enjoyed your website and pics of the builds, love the V8.<br />
Talk to caveman on here, he built a trike using the 3800.

[streetshark1966]

Iam using a 2.8 v6 and an s10 tranny and rear end but looking into a shorter tranny