Thread: what should I do?!?!?!?!?!

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My 231ci. 3.8 won't even do a burn out on gravel!!!
So I took it home and pulled off the carb. It was full of varnished gas and other things I can't describe. The intake manifold was full of crap too. Would I be better off just buying a new manifold and carb, or should I take these all apart and try to save them? Remember, I'm new to all of this and I'm not a seasoned veteren like most of you. I guess I could also look for used parts. Maybe a 4 bbl would help out a little. I'm learning as I go here folks, so take it easy and have some patience..lol I just swaped the tranny and rearend in this thing, and that was about as serious as I've gotten with this stuff. So help a wanna be out here.......THANKS

Cheapest fix would be a gasket set and a carb kit. Carbs aren't all that complicated, you just have watch closely as you take it apart, watch for springs n' stuff . Don't force anything apart and don't force anything back together. Carb kits usually have a blow up diagram of the parts too. If you want to keep the cost down I would go that route. You can always buy new parts if it doesn't work so youv'e really got nothing to loose by givin' it a shot.

Thanks, I'll give that a try first. If that doesn't work I have a three day weekend this week I'll have plenty of time to replace it with the 4bbl.

A 4bbl carb may be a little over kill for a motor that small, I'm not entirely shure but it may, if not a 390 CFM should be the max.

I don't think you'll find a 4v intake or any speed equipment for a 3.8 V6. I looked in my Summit catalog and they had parts for a 4.3 but nothing for the small 6 that you got. Rebuilding your carb might help but if the 23 year old engine is tired it won't make much difference.
The 3.8 never had much power when new. You should be looking for a 350 V8 to put in it if you want to burn rubber. Some of the third gen Firebirds came with V8 engines so It shouldn't be a difficult swap. If you can change the trans and rear end you should be able to do the swap with a little help from your new friends here at CHR.

I'll be asking a lot of questions along the way if I go that route. I wish I knew about this site when I was doing the trans and rearend!
I also have a 283 sitting here doing nothing. I might try to refurbish it and put it back together. But that thing is bare block! I don't even know where to start there. I'm sure I'll figure it out .

By the way....I was checking out pics on here. And pro70z28, that car is awsome!

Originally posted by eboy
By the way....I was checking out pics on here. And pro70z28, that car is awsome!

Thanks
Down side is, this time of the year I don't have time to work on it. I'll buy a few parts and stash em' in the corner for when work slows down a little.