The Buick 3800 was the standard power plant preferred by our local taxi cab companies for at least a decade.

Man, I cannot tell you how many 3800’s I’ve worked on with 300k plus miles, I’ve even seen a few with over 400k miles. Where I live, the death of those cars is usually rust and not mechanical failure. I could talk all day about this video. It’s excellent.

The Chevy 4.3 V6 definitely deserves to be on this list. The one I had in my 2001 Chevy S-10 went through FAR more abuse than even the engineers would have thought possible.

I have a Buick with this engine (the 3800). It's awesome!! Very reliable, smooth and easy to service

I recommended the 3800 engine for my son a few years ago for an interim car when he needed a cheap commuter car .We found a rust free 90 Le Sabre . He put over 20k on it in a year and a half . We still have it , I am retired and now I am driving it . I love it .

This is heartwarming, as the owner of a GM 3800 in a South African exclusive Opel Rekord 380i, I can testify of the excellence of this motor.

The bottom end of the earlier LS engines is incredibly strong. Hot rodders have made fantastic amounts of power without touching the bottom end.

You're one of the most knowledgeable and interesting persons to listen to on the subject of classic era automobiles. Fascinating stuff.

I always thought the 3800 was the best engine I ever worked on in my 28 years as a Certified Master Auto Technician. It had plenty of power and got 30 mpg highway in big Buicks like the Park Avenue and LeSabre.

One of the smoothest driving cars I’ve ever driven was a mid-2000’s era Buick Lesabre with the 3800 motor. What a nice car that was! I honestly think the only reason GM discontinued that engine is because it was lasting too long. You could buy one and keep it for many years

As a 2005 Tahoe owner I agree with you, the GMT800 are the best trucks GM ever built my 5.3 (LM7) with 220K still runs like it's brand new. The non DOD LS engines are hard to beat.

Too bad the 3800’s were mostly hooked up to weak and uninspiring automatic transmissions. Looking forward to your GM division ranking video. I grew up around mostly chevys and enjoy learning about GMs other division cars/motors👍🏽

I had good luck and service from GM in-line sixes as well. Purchased a brand new 1980 Chevrolet C-10 pickup with a 250 cube six to drive across country, had a new job waiting in western Montana. That little feller ran real well, unless there was a vacuum leak. And, it got great mileage on the open road! It had an ingenious 2 barrel carburetor that had a tiny primary and if I could keep in on that you were sipping fuel! Thank Adam, great subject and talk!

I had 3800s in an 89 Le Sabre and 95 regal gran sport. It was the reason I bought the 95. Great power and torquey. You could beat them endlessly and they never missed a beat. I was so hard on both of them. In both cars nothing ever had to be done to the engines. I own an old bullet proof Porsche 911 today and the 3800 is still tops in my book. Miss those.

FYI: Among the other upgrades over the years on the BUICK v6, the 3800 series II and III also have stainless steel freeze plugs!

Hey Adam, thanks for sharing another informative porch chat!!! I learn a lot from these fascinating chats!!!! 👍👍

I'd like to watch an episode on American straight 6 engines, one of my favourite engine arrangements. I know about the European & Japanese I6's but not much about Detroit's versions. 👍🏻

The 455 Rocket V8 produced from 1968 to 1972 were some of my favorite V8 engine's along with the 472 Cadillac V8's produced from 1968 to 1970.

I had a 66 Impala Super Sport with a 396. Had lots of power but being in a northern climate, it was always a bear to start in the winter. Love the 3800 engines. My kids both had 98 Buick Lesabres. Had to change the upper intake manifold on both but other than that they were fantastic engines and last forever. I also had a 96 Buick Park Avenue Ultra that had the supercharged 3800. That thing would scream, get great gas mileage and was a pleasure to drive.

That Buick 3800 really was a great engine. It got great fuel economy as well. My dad drove a Buick as he is an older man who knew what was reliable and not imported. He just turned 94 and he misses driving.

I have a lot of knowledge on the 60s and 70s GMs M. Your knowledge is far greater than mine and I just love your reviews and you bring out a lot of details that I was well aware of. Love your reviews on the 66 Catalina as I have owned a 68 Catalina, 68 Bonneville, a 69 Grand Prix, a 66 Cadillac Coupe deVille, 73 Coup deVille, 73 Eldorado, 70 Olds Tornado GT. Ya. I like those older GMs, nowdays I drive Hondas and Toyotas. My farm pickup is a 90 Chevy k1500 and it is excellent. I am looking to update with a 2000 or newer. Only when I find one cheap enough

Thanks for your insight into best (and worst) GM engines! Good stuff that we always wondered about. Am waiting for the review of GM transmissions now that the engines are covered! Hard to wait! Kind Regards.

I'm a former GM dealer tech (1982-2007) and I totally agree with this video! I have always said that GM's best engines were pushrod design and the worst were OHC, such as the 3.6, vega 2300, Northstar, Ecotec, etc.

I purchased a new Buick Skylark in the summer of 1977. My overwhelming reason to buy the Buick rather than a Nova or Ventura (Phoenix) or Omega was because I loved the 231 V6. I actually liked the "throb" of the odd-firing configuration. Since this had been a Buick engine since 1962, it needed to be in a Buick!

I loved the 350 2-bbl V-8 in my '75 Nova Custom coupe. It was a good engine, in a decent, simple car.

These porch chats and the comments they generate are excellent. I love the casual, brief and and informative style. Adam you should consider doing these year round. Looking forward to that video on your brand preference.

Great conversation! When I was a kid my mom had an 85 Cavalier and it was a very reliable car. Never let her down, and I don’t think she ever did more than suggested maintenance.

My High School auto shop had us work on GM 3800s, we took them apart down to the block and put them back together! They didnt run, but we did see/touch just about every part!

I continue to be impressed -and entertained- by your extensive knowledge. Another source of pleasure is that you don’t indulge in blanket criticisms of large cars, eras, etc. you approach each video accepting the context of the time the subject car was designed and produced. -A fan with a 68 imperial convertible that I work on making road worthy.

I worked at a Buick dealer in the 2000’s. There were a few dudes who sent their kids through college just doing intake manifold gasket replacement jobs. There were maybe 2-3 guys that just did intake gaskets ALL DAY every day for years. That being said once you fix that issue the engines are indestructible. If you’re handy, get a 2000’s Buick or Pontiac with a 3800 that’s overheating for a few hundred bucks. Guarantee it’s those gaskets. Fix it yourself and have a good cheap car.

The Chevrolet 2.8L, 3.1L and 3.4L V6s were all very prone to intake gasket failure. I had an early 3800 in a 1990 Pontiac Grand Prix that went well over 300K. Everything else was failing when I got rid of it, but the motor was as strong as ever! I've also know several people who had the 4.3L V6 in S10 pickup trucks that put over 500K miles on them in delivery service and changed the oil only every 10K miles. Now those 4.3s were really stout engines! Also...thanks for all of your insights! You are speaking on all of my cars as I grew up in the 1960s.

The flaw in the 3800 was the lower intake manifold gaskets which were made of nylon. Upgrade to aluminum and these engines last forever.

I worked with a guy who had an OIdsmobile with the 3800 engine in it. It had right around 400,000 miles, and he drove it to work 90 miles one way.

My 04 Avalanche is knocking on the door of 400,000 miles and it still running strong. It has the 5.3L LS based engine. It’s a great engine and the 99-06 trucks are very well built.

My 1992 (VP) Holden Commodore (Australian) had a Buick 3800. Front engine - rear drive car. Great engine! I wouldn't call it super smooth but it had bags of torque. Gave me 16+ years of reliable service.

I enjoy the films, Mr. Adam. The content, your knowledge, and the history stories. I worked at an auto parts store beginning in the mid-80s. This was when GM was getting away from each Division having their own engines in their own vehicles and started putting any ole V-8 in any ole car that was on the assembly line. One of the most annoying things for both the parts clerk and the GM vehicle owner, for example, was trying to determine if the owner of a Buick had a Chevrolet V-8 or a Pontiac V-8 and so on. The second most annoying thing was the husband working on the family-mobile would send the wife to see us when she knew as much about cars as the husband did about cooking.

Thanks for posting this Adam. I drove a 2nd hand Buick 3800 and had a blast. Great car.

We used the GM 3800 Series 2 in Australia for yonks (mid 90's till 04'), we also had a unique tune, Australia specific Aluminum intake manifold. We also used the Series 2 L67 Supercharged V6 too, biggest difference between Australia & US manifolds though were the coolant ports around the throttle body were blocked off.

I am happy to see a young guy who knows a wealth of information about American engines and vehicles. Best of all you own some of the nicest classic cars left on the planet. I love your channel and so happy I stumbled onto it. Take care.

The only car I have ever owned, to this day, is a ruby red metallic 1990 Buick LeSabre. It's about to hit 200k miles and shows NO signs of stopping. Has stood the test of time against these eastern PA winters quite well - after nearly 35 years, only a small portion of cancer is beginning to appear around the back right wheel well. Love, love, LOVE it.

Excellent and informative Adam and pronouncing Jaguar properly made my day 👌

As a hardcore Ford & Lincoln guy, I have only owned one Cadillac. I could never get how smoothly that Hydra-matic trans shifted in all situations. It was AMAZING.

Excellent piece. I can't get enough of this kind of information, and I've gotten more of it on this channel than anywhere else. I've always equated big block/small block differentiation with bore center spacing, but the use of the distinction on Oldsmobile and perhaps Pontiac V8s leads me to believe it may be a deck-height thing as well, or perhaps something less rigidly defined. One wonders.

The Pontiac 400 V8 is my favorite engine of all time. Never had a bad 400. The 5.3 liter in my '99 Silverado is an incredible motor as well, 275k and always delivers no matter what. I really like the porch chats!

Love the porch chats! Another great episode!

The Chevy inline six is a good motor, would have liked to see it modernized with "LS" type heads. The siamese intake ports was a weak point for making power but the bottom end is very strong. Nice workhorse.

Excellent! Commentating before watching - this is my newest car of the collection - a 91 Buick. My highway car. Driving from South Dakota to Las Vegas this month to pick up a 56 Chrysler Town & Country..

I thoroughly enjoy your porch talks. Personally, I think the weather gods have gifted you an interesting and informative addition to your channel and feel like it's an integral part of the unique appeal that speaks to many of us and sets you apart, miles beyond the rest. My dad gave me his '90 Olds Touring Sedan for Christmas in '93. That 3800 engine was bullet proof, although it ate alternators like M&Ms. Incredibly well equipped car (power lumbars, power HEADRESTS, power your ma and pa! Gauges, Bose, basically everything but the moon roof.) I loved that car and mourn it to this very day.

This is a wonderful series you've put together!!!!!

You were trying to think of the Grand Prix GXP, which also had the 5.3L V8 like the Impala/Monte Carlo SS and LaCrosse Super. The Bonneville GXP did have the Northstar, as you noted.

Guessing that Pontiac tops your list of favorite GM makes. Oldsmobile through 1976 gets my vote.

Still very interesting videos 👌🏻 Very knowledgeable even if you revise your lines before recording but I get the feeling actually you do most if not all content off the cuff. What I like about your content is your attitude, your passion and even technical knowledge even if you aren't a mechanic by profession. A Grade material 👍🏻

Adam, I really like these porch videos. Excellent topic….100% on the money! I always thought the same as far as these engines but it’s great to hear it form someone that actually worked for GM and your knowledge on these topics is Amazing….GM = Big Cars and Big Engines with Reliability……Being from a GM family ,I lived it….I Miss That!

Great Video, very informative! My 3.9 Chevy v6 Uplander is 14 years old and going strong. (Synthetic oil helps)

I hope your channel subscriber rate takes off. You deserve it. Intelligent, Insightful and just great to watch. I don’t need another car but if a nice late 80’s Buick park Avenue came my way At a good price I’d jump all over it!

Great video! I've owned cars with some of these engines and I totally agree with you on these.

I’ve had two vehicles with the Pre-Series I 3800 and loved them. They have a nice throaty sound, are pretty smooth, and and all the torque you need to move around in. Definitely a top recommendation when you need cheap, reliable transport.

Great videos, keep em' comin'. Larely you've become one of my favorite car gurus.

i just discovered your channel and i am loving it!! my first car had a 403 olds motor in it, i got it from a guy my Dad worked with at the time, was a warranty motor because it had a lifter tick in it, they are not a bad motor, it had lots of low end torque(i put a cam in it, and some other aftermarket parts) but those windowed main webs were its weak point, i didn’t dare go outside the stock compression ratio on it, another strange thing about it, is that it had its own specific flexplate, i was told you could use a 350 flexplate, but it just kept eating starters, so i asked my Dad if he could possibly see about getting an OE flexplate, i got one, and it fixed all my starter issues!

With your story telling you would make one hell of a grandfather or even yet a teacher, great videos.

3800 in my '89 Century Limited - great family man runner. '77 Olds 403 paired with turbo hydramatic 350, baby! I know ya hate my 98! Those were the days.

HI Adam, another great video. Thanks so much. Looking forward to the follow-up video with more details. You could probably get several follow-up videos out of that great introduction to GM best engines. But, on another note, would you consider doing a chat soemtime about some of the most famous engines of all time (regardless of displacement): The Chevy 409 and the Mustang 289 are two examples that come to mind? We had a Galaxie convertible with the T-Bird 390, which as a child I knew nothing about its reliability but it is, I believe, an iconic engine. Nor do I know much about some of the more recent engines and if any of them have achieved iconic status other that those you speak of in this video. And you mentioned 4-cylinders -- are there any of note? And America has produced its share of bulletproof straight sixes to be sure. Thanks again. PS: I note that convertibles don't figure much in your collection. Personal taste and the cars you show are not only beautiful, your videos help me appreciate their inherent qualities even more. That said, are there any convertibles you find iconic? I've always thought the 1966 Imperial convertible was rare and hauntingly beautiful, for instance. Of course, there are the classics -- the Lincoln 4-doors, The Ford dardtop converitble Skyliners, the T-Birds and Vettes and the Mercedes Pagodas, etc. We know those. But the Imperial, for instance, is one of those rare birds that doesn't get much media. And once, I was in Bethesda, Maryland, in the late 70s, and in a garage that happend to have the door open, I saw a Continental II (ca. 1955) as a convertible. I thought I wasn't seeing straight or that it must have been some custom show car, but I understand now there were a handful made. It had a particularly beautiful profile and tonneau cover. Anyway, thanks so much.

Great video. All good information. I agree the 3800 was probably the best at the time. Great attention to detail especially when you mentioned the Cadillac 429 oil pump and timing cover issues. I've personally fixed a couple of those. Keep up the good work!

Once again, a great video; thanx for sharing.

Your knowledge base is incredible and you seem like a pretty regular guy - the kind I'd love to sit and have a couple of beers with...

GM did some decent L4 engines though 2.5 Cast Iron Duke, 2.5L N was nice with the force balancer oil pump that used the filter as pick up screen, even the 2.2L was pretty reliable... easy to work most of the time and once you figured out their common issues fairly easy to diagnose. They just weren't going to the Indy 500 ever.

You added some good honorable mentions, but the most glaring omisson in my opinion is the Duramax V8. Through 6 generations, 22 model years and still counting, still the same original displacement. One can make a good argument that it has proven to be the best diesel in heavy pickups over the years, both very tune-able and reliable. Even if not as "legendary" as the 5.9 Cummins, the 6.6L Duramax has already been in pickup trucks 4 years longer than that 5.9 was! That's hard to believe actually... how time flies.

The Olds 350 and 307 during the 80's were some of the best longest living engines I have ever owned.

Yes, Jaguar did use the TH400, I have one in my XJ-S

I had two Corsicas. A 1988 and a 1989. Both with the 2.8 liter 60° V-6. They were always great running cars.

I fully agree with you about the mid to late 80's 3.0 V6 having a weak bottom end. I had two of them, a 85 Grand Am that I bought new and changed the oil every 3000 miles and a 86 Olds 88. Both of them developed a rod knock at about 120,000 - 125,000 miles.

I just got interested in classic cars and I bought a 1990 Buick Reatta with the 3800 V6. It’s a great motor to start learning about and it’s cheap and easy to find parts. I highly recommend it 👍

When you said the 3400v6 wasn't that great , or the 3100v6 I was on the edge of my seat at this point. I breathed a sigh of relief when you said 2.8/3.1 MPFI motors were ok. I have an '87 Cutlass Ciera, the first year for the 2.8 Multi Port. With a THM125c transmission, which I heard was a bit more reliable than the 4 speed. I just baby it and hope for the best.

My daily driver for the last ten yrs is a 1981 gm 1/2 ton i bought it to work on when i retired cause i like sbc, i took the 305 out an built a 1968 307, so has a 283 bore,350 rods,400 crank,305 heads,and 454 flex plate to balance it, that's why i love sbc, you can pick pieces from the scrap yard an make so many combos and the only problems you have with them is running out of gas :) um p.s the pistons are special order for pin height, if you use the 400 rods can use the 283 pistons but lose stroke mine comes out to about 354, going to put a 400 crank an rods in the old 305 should come out to a 289 ish depending on bore an if you wonder why, just for something to do see what happens :)

Great video, good list.

The 4.3 v6 was great. Didn't care much for the vortec version. Chevy's 3.1 I never had an issue with, it just wasn't very efficient in my opinion. The 3800 was and will always be their best motor. I've had a car with every variant over the years break 400k miles.

The 4.3 V6 is very good. Glad you mentioned it.

I bought an ‘87 Century T-Type new with the 3.8 SFI. It definitely had a certain coarseness to it, something you really noticed if you drove the much smoother, more tractable 2.8 MFI and the 3.8 SFI back to back. But I loved the torque of the 3.8 SFI during hard launches - a good thing because that 3.8 refused to rev lol. No amount of negotiation or coercion could get that motor to spin freely. Despite this, I enjoyed the throaty roar and low speed grunt in that relatively lightweight A-body four-door.

Excellent video. I smiled when you talked about the 3800 V6. My two Oldsmobiles ( Ninety Eight and Toronado) used the 3800 Series I and Series II. The Pontiac Grand Prix GXP used the 5.3 liter V8 when the Buick LaCrosse and the Chevrolet Monte Carlo SS and Impala SS. I thought the 3800 V6 derived 3300 V6 was a good engine. It should have made the list. I was disappointed to hear about Quad 4. If it had balance shifts in the beginning it would have made a difference. Thank you for sharing.

My favorite was an Olds with a Rocket 350

Thanks for this info! 🏆

as a ford guy, i gotta say the 3800's were incredible little motors.dad had an 88 olds, 93 & 01 buicks with 3800s.each of them had over 230k miles on them when he sold them.he had very few issues with them.other than leaking valve cover gaskets & had to put a water pump on the 93.great reliable engines.but his engines rarely got over 3500 rpms.that helps alot too.

Here’s a challenge. Since these engines come with transmissions, diffs, and entire bodies; what’s on your tops lists for complete cars?

Iam surprised the 4.3 V6 didn't rank at all till the end. They were tough, strong motors and I got 300,000km each out of 2 of them in the day. Enjoying your knowledge and collection. Cheers 🇨🇦

We have an 2001 Impala with the 3.4. This engine has 215K and is going strong as a daily driver. I have changed the oil probably more often than I needed to which may have helped with the longevity so far.

Thanks for the porch chat series. I really appreciate your perspective on the US auto industry. Do you have a comfortable place inside where it is warm??? (Asking for a friend...) Ha Ha

I had a 1973 Chevy Impala went I was in college. 350-V8 Big Block. Changed the Oil, Tranny Fluid, Coolant religiously. Other than the water pump, thermostat, battery, exhaust, tires and suspension (shocks) that car was running strong with 385K miles after I graduated! I kept it for 12 years but New England Winters caught up to it eventually when my wife insisted I keep it outside or get rid of it. The frame and motor mounts rusted through until I could no longer pass inspection in 1991. Sad.

I’ve got 3 engines off this list, love them all. The BOPC big block stuff is legendary. Nothing but good things to say about it.

I had the privilege of sitting in a Jeep with an odd fire v6, sidepipes, and no doors. What a cool sound! I had a Bonneville with a Series I and I abused the hell out of it for years. Great motor and transmission!

Yup! I love my 3800 series 2. Just the intake and coolant elbows we're the only rough points.

The 3800's legacy was tarnished by the dex-cool degradation of the intake runner port seals, causing transfer of coolant to oil and vice-versa. I believe there was a class-action suit. I replaced the LIM gaskets when I bought my 1998 Olds LSS S/C 11 years ago before it showed signs of failure, and it's still going strong! I remember my series 2 was produced with powdered metal con-rods, and the fact that it's a non-interference engine, in the unlikely event the timing fails, the valvetrain is unaffected.

I thought the Olds 307 (5.0 liter) was a good engine worthy of note. Not to powerful but it did the job in Oldsmobile, Buick, and Cadillac. Always enjoy the clips.

I had a 3.1 in my 'dustbuster" Lumina service van. Ran on natural gas... I put 500,000 kilometers (300,000 miles) on that thing. Gutless as hell but never let me down. Always started in Canadian winters !!!

I love my LN3 3800, the Series 1 is a simple motor that's easy to get parts for, dirt cheap to run, and never stops

In 1999 I bought a '92 Olds 88 from my aunt. Great price, low miles, one owner. My aunt told me that the 3800 engine might have a miss. No problem. Well, it didn't have a miss. It had a burned valve, which took a long time to find, because the compression was fine. After replacing plugs and wires, a couple of coil packs, and rebuilding the torque converter, the burned valve was finally found! Average retail for the car was $6,500, and I bought it for $3,800. After all repairs, it cost me...$6,500. Great car, though!

There is also the sadly forgotten Cadillac 4.9, it is the direct heir of the HT4100 and 4.5 but outputting 200HP and being very reliable and port fuel injected. It was a brief shine of line in Cadillac's engine line-up between the 70's-80's fiasco and the Northstar era.

A good video...I currently drive a 1992 Buick LeSabre with the 3800 series with 176.000 miles on it , and have been driving it 10 years! My Buick has been so far the longes running car I've owned....and I've had Chevys...two Cadillacs....one other Buick Regal...Plymouth ...Ford...but the 3800 series Buick has been the BEST....for me so far!!

An interesting comparison would be the divisional engine comparisons....I have a soft spot for the Olds Rocket V8 since we had one of the variants...the 260...which was pretty much bullet proof...sure not a power house but we ran ours to 140,000 miles with minimal issues. Seemed to do well with the A/G body platform Cutlasses.

Another great porch chat! I have a couple of questions: 1. I've read debates about whether the Cadillac 429 is a big- or small-block engine. A number of folks claim that, because the 429 has siamesed cylinders, it is a small block. Is that the criteria for "small"? And yes, the aluminum timing cover is a pain. One must proceed with great delicacy if one doesn't want to break frozen bolts. But for a "small" engine, it sure generates good power. 2. Long ago, I had a 1973 Trans-Am with the 455 (non-SD) "station wagon" engine. When it ripped apart its nylon-covered timing gear, I asked my Pontiac-mechanic friends if Pontiac's 455 had any design issues. The one comment they made was that the push-rod geometry of the Pontiac 455 was not optimal, creating more stress and valve-train wear than you'd find in other V8s. In their opinions, Oldsmobile did the best job with valve-train design. Have you ever heard comments like that? Thanks!

You just covered 4 of my 5 cars, lol.... the 69 Camaro's 396 V8 and TH400 trans, the Fiero's 3800 series 2 supercharged, the 2010 Camaro's LS3, and the old 327 in the vette. My winter beater would probably find its way on a worst of list... the 3.6L DOHC V6 with the goofy PCV setup that burns about as much oil as a 2 stroke