Do I really want to get into this?

I'm looking for an older Jeep CJ5 to keep out at the Ranch for hunting pig, fixing fence and other "run'n around stuff". I found this add on the web and was wondering if someone could help me determine if it was worth the trouble.
It's a 1962 that apparently has the Buick Fireball V6 and was overheated and parked. From the research I did I've discovered that Willys only used the Fireball from 61 to 63???? then swapped to the Dauntless 225 (still the Buick engine???). Anyway, it seems that parts for either engine are hard to come by. I don't have allot of resources to toss around and was wondering what would be the best course of action if the motor turns out to be a better boat anchor than a power plant. The Jeep has no title, bill of sale only (not a big issue as it will never get registered and hopefully wasn't stolen at some point) and the guy is asking 1k for it.
Thanks
Shawn

 

"Fireball v6" ??
Jeep CJ's got the Buick 225 Dauntless v6 from 66-71.
Prior to that, all of them were 4 cylinder. Having said that, many many Jeeps have had engine transplants. If it's a 6 cyl it isn't stock.
If you just want something for a roundabout vehicle you're probably better off to buy something that runs & drives.

 

Here is the link, I'm itch'n to get into something to keep me busy and satisfy my inkling to tinker but again, please refer to the thread title......
http://houston.craigslist.org/cto/4453513124.html

 

The Jeep looks pretty solid overall, probably a good risk. No photos of the engine, but it does have dual exhaust. You'll have plenty of tinkering with just the brakes, fuel and electric systems. The engine may be fine, no telling, may just need a thermostat, new fluids and some fiddlin'. I'd say it's worth going to look at anyway if you can. Might be a gem, might be a money pit. Might make a fine ranch hand.

 

The "Fireball V6" was used in small Buicks from '61-'63 as a 198 cubic inch engine, along side of the 215 ci aluminum v8. This V6 later grew into the 225 ci that was later used by Kaiser Jeep from '66-'71. The 198 and 225 are essentially the same engine, with either bore or stroke differences- I don't remember which.
If this Jeep is a '62 (it is for sure '64 or older from the cowl cover) then it has had an engine swap. It could be a 225 just as easily. These engine are tough. As long as it doesn't have a rod though the oil pan, it may be OK. The Buick V6 engines though the 1980s are all donors, so that is an option.
-Donny

 

Sounds like fun, now for the 70's super used car salesman trick to convince the wife..........

 

There are quite a few parts that do not interchange from the 198 to the 225/231/252 V-6's. the 198 has a round bellhousing to block bolt pattern and the 225 and later rear wheeldrive engines used the BOPC bolt pattern so that is an easy way to tell a 198

 

Talk him down a little and it might be a good deal - if the body is as sound as it looks.

 

I've run a few 198's in Jeeps, decent motors. A guy I worked for used to build motors for people that did the Pikes Peak Hill Climb, He said that he could get more HP out of the 198 than a 225. The 198's seem to handle the rev's better.
I did manage to turn one of mine Into a V4 one day with a nice piece of connecting rod sticking out of the block. It still ran long enough to get off to a side road.
Trying to find a 198 in a junkyard would probably be near to impossable now. They wern't too easy to find 40 years ago.

 

The Buick 215 V8 is the same pattern as the 198 V6, but that does not help you much since they are both scarce today.

Didn't Buick call the early 225 "Fireball" just like the 198? Only the 198 is the oddball pattern, so if it's a Buick 225, you can replace it with the much more widely available Buick 231 from RWD Buick cars... or a Jeep 225.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Buick_V6_engine#198

The Jeep V6 was not available in 1962, so if the year is accurate, the engine has been swapped in. The first year for a Jeep with the 225 V6 was 1966. The 198 was never used by the Jeep factory.

How much do you want to do to get this Jeep going? If it's a 198, you could rebuild the engine, though parts for the 198 are now scarce and a rebuild would be comparatively expensive. Swapping in a different engine is possible, though it will not be a bolt-in operation. Both the later Buick V6s and the Chevrolet 4.3L V6 are popular for these Jeeps. The CHevy is plentiful in the junkyards, but a littl more work than the Buick.

 

"Swapping in a different engine is possible, though it will not be a bolt-in operation."

Why couldn't he just go back to an F-head?

 

Moved to proper forum as this is not restoration and a bump to the top

 

Could, though a decent F134 might be hard to find at a decent price. Certainly he could find a core and rebuild it, but these cores are old... the blocks tend to crack, and you'd at least need a new input shaft for the transmission and some now-missing original parts (motor mounts, bell, clutch parts, likely other stuff).

If it were me, I'd do what was needed to identify the engine before I bought the Jeep. Does it turn by hand? If it's a 198, you may be able to free it and get it to run again. But you're rolling the dice if it does not run. Not sure if the 198 adapter will work with other GM engines ... maybe. Depends on what the 198 bell depth is.

If it's a 225, that's a much easier situation to deal with.

 

A thousand bucks, huh? Yep, that's the lure: cheap. Better plan on spending 3 times that to get it functional.

In '72 I put a 198 into a CJ2A. They are tough little motors. As I recall it came out of a '63 Buick. I can't remember the bellhousing, but I picked up the typical GM bell to T90 adaptor and the longer Willys truck input shaft from John at Border Parts. Went together fine.


Unless you are into the challenges of an engine conversion, you might want to start with a runner for a bit more $.

 

Huh, here's a thread about a 198 for sale.... http://www.earlycj5.net/forums/showthread.php?109143-How-about-a-198-fireball

 

Installation of the Buick 198 Fireball into jeeps goes way back long before the Dauntless ever arrived.
In fact it was likely the 198 Fireball that first got Kaiser Jeep to thinking seriously about installing a better engine into the CJ's.
I have a 1963 Hot Rod magazine with the earliest known 198 Buick V-6 jeep article in print.
It tells about a claim prospecter in the California desert area and how he installed a brand new Buick 198 into his CJ-5.
Before 1966 the Buick Fireball 198 was about the optimum CJ retrofit.

See the magazine here: http://www.ebay.com/itm/December-19...390106544465?pt=Magazines&hash=item5ad4297951

 

Maybe thats a good enough body, for the money, to use as a replacement on a running jeep with a rusted tub?

 

It will keep you busy that's for sure. I'm just up the road in Lakeway if I can help.

 

For a $1000 you should be able to find a running vehicle. Buick V6's are still pretty easy to find, so it just depends on how much money you want to spend. It is really easy to put $10,000 into a Jeep that is worth 2,000 when done.

 

Difficult to see how is the body under a new paint... and to check other parts with no running engine.
This is to say : very careful examination by a specialist. IMO.