Question by Gone Fishing: Views on the supercharged 3.8L V6 used in the Buick and other models?
I’ve been looking at getting a Buick Riviera or Regal GS with the 3.8L supercharged V6. Anyone have one of these in their car? I know they used them in the Pontiac GTP and maybe a few others. Known problems?
Best answer:
Answer by Doc
Yes, known problem in the Riviera; either it was the technology of the chassis/drivetrain or the automobile was too heavy. I had my 1980 Riviera with an Corvette LT1 in it. It ran with corvettes too, BTW.
Anyhow, the supercharger worked well in the the Regal, and would be a nice car, with RWD, also 1980 Monte Carlo.
They are great summer cars, not intended for winter, snow, rust or salt.
Finally, the Regal needs a performance chip on top of that, aftermarket upsizing of the supercharger to be a serious contender, and strengthening in the rear end to place down the power and do burnouts, plus to launch.
Know better? Leave your own answer in the comments!
ok i have had one in a 91 and had over 220k on it before i sold it and a 95 that i put almost 40k on
i am very impressed with these you do have to watch the seals closely as they can go out and you need to keep the oil in good condition but besides that they run like a champ
I have had 5 bonnies and 2 buicks with the 3.8 it is a very good engine and well built. It can take a lot of abuse and run strong.
goodluck