Thanks for the post, Jill. Pat Goss, the Technician for Motorweek, always liked that engine, too...he used to talk about it on his list of Best Engines. While the narrator is correct about the modern version of that engine dating from the late 1980s, the basic 3.8L block and design goes back to the early 1960s Buick Special/Skylark. It was Detroit's first production attempt at a V6, and somewhat hurriedly done, essentially using about three-quarters of the block of the 300 cubic-inch (4.9L) Buick V8 and maintaining the 90-degree angle of the cylinders. This gave it a fairly rough idle and a certain amount of vibration, which took several years for the engineers to address.....modern V6s generally use a 60-degree firing angle, which is inherently smoother-firing. But it was in production for so many years that the engineers were, decades later, even in GM's dark days of build-quality, able to make it virtually bulletproof. Other GM divisions, of course, also adapted it for their products.

 

Pretty much a bulletproof engine.....Buick's 38. The supercharged ones don't have the egr issues of the n/a one.

 

while a great engine in its day, "ever" is a ludicrous qualifier.

was the engine better than the LS400's V8? I don't think so.

 

Agreed...its difficult to say "ever". Two extremely durable in-line sixes were the famous Dodge/Plymouth 3.7L Slant-Six (which was like an anvil...it was designed to military standards) and the ultra-smooth Toyota/Lexus 3.0L in-line six, which, with modifications, could make some big power figures without being overstressed. The Ford 5.0L inline-six, used mostly in trucks, was almost as durable. Honda and Toyota also made some quite-durable in-line fours in the 1980s and 1990s.

Many automotive historians feel that the 1955 Chevy 265 c.i. (4.3L) V8 was probably the most brilliant and innovative engine GM ever introduced. Though displacement varied quite a bit with later versions, it carried on, in push-rod form, way past the time when most engines had converted to OHC.

 

Cars with these engines back in the days used to depreciate like used underwear. The engines were ok, even though they all had some kind of slow leaks, but the cars these engines were installed into were so badly built and didn't age well at all. They are easy to fix with abundance of cheap parts, and not very relevant today except for people on extremely tight budgets. A lot of these probably were destroyed during the C4C program.

 

^^^ yeah the cars containing the 'best engine ever' were so bad, they fell apart leaving JUST the engine.

 

Everyone knows the best engine is the 2JZ.

 

Smooth and well-built, yes, but a gas hog...it used as much (premium) fuel as the 4.0L V8. I had one in my IS300, and that was my only complaint with it.

 

I wouldn’t call it the “best engine ever” but I would go with “one of the best GM engines ever”...

 

I had one in my GS300, mater with a 4 speed transmission, and I don't particularly remember it being a gas hog. If my memory serves right, I didn't notice much difference when I sold it for a GS430 with the 3UZ and a 5 speed transmission. I do however remember my LS400 being a gas hog, with 4 speed transmission returning roughly 10mpg combined in NYC traffics.

 

just like how you won't tear a hamstring by never getting off the couch lol

 

ehh things like sophistication, efficiency, and power are overrated... overhead cams? variable valve timing!? all that extra oomph will just wear out the transmission sooner, and what the heck is "aluminum" anyway?

 

My IS300, with the same engine, was EPA rated for 17 city, 23 highway, and those figures, even with my non-aggressive driving, were overrated some (I usually got 15-16 in town). I just thought it used a lot of gas for an in-line six of that size. It was a smooth and quiet power plant, though...I loved its driving characteristics.

 

They're not comparable engines. DOHC V8 vs pushrod V6...

3800 may not be "best engine ever" but it sure as hell deserves some respect.

Loads of low end torque made them great for driving on American roads. They lasted well into 200k if taken care of.

3800s felt more powerful than they actually were, and an S/C one would give any UZ V8-powered LS a run for its money in a race.

3800 was light years better/faster/more reliable than any pushrod V6 from Ford or Chrysler, and better than most of their OHC V6s as well. It was better than most of GMs own OHC V6s, lol.

I read this R&T article a few months back where they're praising the old 3800 (and dissing new turbo motors) from a 1989 Oldsmobile they got a hold of.

https://www.roadandtrack.com/car-cul...rtrJQ1iU5h0cqM

"On the move, the Touring Sedan exhibits a torquey authority from the low-tech 3800 Series V6, combined with silent, seamless automatic shifts. It's more than fast enough to keep up with modern traffic, and it can return economy-car mileage numbers when driven carefully. There has been a lot of effort expended in the past ten years to make the current crop of turbo-four-bangers work as well in daily driving as this 31-year-old powertrain does, and most of that effort has been unfulfilling."