Would you say these are better than swaping in a Chevy 4.3L V6?
I was always told to stay away from these Buick V6 that Jeep used.
I agree with Pavement Pounder below... they are a really good motor, with a FI system adapted I think they would be right there with the 4.3. The only reason to go to the 4.3 would be interchangeability of parts with the V8 Chevy's IMO because the parts are so common off the shelf. The 225 is very swappable with the later 3.8 motors so off the shelf parts are common, but once in a great while you have to order stuff, but is still readily accessible. Junkyard stuff isn't as common since the older cars have been getting crushed with steel so high. The motor fully dressed is in the 400 lb range, is very light, and very easy to cool, you have to have a pretty serious cooling problem to get one to overheat.
The only 'bad' thing about the 225 is because it is an 'oddfire' motor they are supposed to be harder on timing sets. BUT there are aftermarket kits that take care of this. The oddfire has a very unique sound to it as well. The 225 version was made into about 1972ish IIRC then they became 231 Oddfires, The Buick V6 switched over to an even fire setup around 1974-1975ish to help with the vibration and smooth out the idle.
www.earlycj5.com has ALL the Buick V6 info you can want, or links to it.
That's mostly because people don't understand them. They say things like that for the same reason that people suggest swapping a Chevy 350 in place of an AMC V8. The 225's became 231's after a couple years. The 231 was carried for a long time and eventually became more commonly known as the "Buick 3.8". 225's share bolt-pattern compatibility all the way up to the mid-80's when the 3800 appeared. If you should happen to blow one up, there's a ton of shit you can get replacements from, including fuel-injected Buick cars.
I don't exactly remember his User Name, but I think it was IndyCJ (or something) that used to run the Buick V6's in his Jeep. IIRC, he built one that liked to spin up so much that he actually disliked it because it was too much power for his liking whern trying to drive in a technical manner. You can do a lot with them and there's actually a lot of aftermarket parts out there.
Also of note is the fact that Buick 350's drop in place of the V6's. The motor mounts and block/transmission patterns are the same. You just need to change out the grille or cut away the built-in "fan shroud" from the stock grille to make a little more room for the extra cylinders. This is particularly nice for Commando owners that have TH400's.
RenegadeII has a Buick V6 in his CJ5, pretty built up... IIRC bored out to 4.1L but it was an even-fire motor IIRC. He is the one that originally got me to keep the Buick V6 for my project after hearing/seeing his Jeep.
