dauntless v6 question

a few questions on this motor thats in this jeep i might buy.

The guy said it ran when he parked it.
Are these motors good for power?
Ease of rebuilding? finding parts to rebuild?
Any performance parts made for these?

Are there any other motors that i can install in this jeep and not worry about tweaking the stock open channel frame?
Thanks
Brian

 

Yes
Yes
Yes+no
Yes

 

"good for power" YES, for a V-6 (160 HP and 235 LB/FT of torque @ 2400 RPM)
"ease of rebuilding" YES, no more difficult than any other engine. Power parts are available as well as crank, cam, piston kits etc... just don't expect SBC type availability.
"performance parts" YES, check with Kenne-Belle, TA Performance and I'm sure others as well. Some others will probably chime in on this one...
"other motors" Everything from small to bigblocks have been swapped into these 55-71 frames. Novak and Advance Adapters are the two most prominent companies who supply those adapters necessary. Depending on what you want to do, boxing the frame may not be a bad idea, but I've seen MANY conversions done that haven't done so and appear to work just fine. To me, the bigger concern would be the strength of the tranny, and axles if they're the originals designed to work behind a I-4 or V-6.
For what it's worth, I considered doing an enginge swap some years ago, but have never found a situation that REALLY required that much power for what I did/ do. (although power is GREAT!!:twisted: ) From slow crawling to daily driver duties, I like the combo I have and OBTW, I still pull down 17 MPG!! My .02, HTH

 

power? yes. great torque to weight ratio.

performance parts? alot less than before, but still there. i think TA performance is getting out of the v-6 bidness. its VERY hard to find anything on their website for v-6's anymore.
intake- only 1-2 people make performance for oddfires. offenhauser being one of them. they make a dual port (which is like 2 single plane intakes in 1...1 small intake runner for low end torque, and 1 large for higher rpm).
pistons-speed pro makes 9.5:1 or so pistons for the 231. i know stock 225 was like 9:1 and they are still around. i bought mine for $38 each from summit and they are the 231 +.030 @ 9.6
cam-comp cams make a few different cams, enski makes 1 i think, 1-2 others out there but becoming less each day it seems.
lifters-if you are into anti-pump ups, rhodes makes some for the buick.
hedders-wide variety
carb-edelbrock 500 (with offroad kit), holley 470 are really good for 4bbl carbs, wide variety of 2 bbls. no fuel injection for oddfire with its uneven firing of the cylinders (runs rough like a 6 cyl harley davidson)

engines to bolt in. upgrade to the buick evenfire. it is MUCH smoother and more power on the street. WIDE variety of after fac parts. (RWD only though).
the buick 350 will bolt right up to the tranny and motor mounts (just like 5 inches longer so you might have to cut the shroud to fit it in). 350 ft-lbs stock with 2bbl. the olds/buick/pontiac will bolt to tranny, will need new mounts tho.
i agree that the tranny is the weak link. there are alot of trannies to upgrade too including great granny trannies.
the 4.3 is a great upgrade, but the chevy distributor is in the rear and dings on the firewall. the buick/ford are in the front and are great to tweak.
a mod i have seen catching on here in arizona are installing small 4 cyl toyota diesels. great for low speed putting on rocks. expensive adaptors, but great crawlers.

want advice? keep the oddfire. itll push the jeep all day long. stick the offy dual port on with a small 4bbl carb and that will increase low end torque dramatically. throw in a nice comp cam and heeders and it should do you right. a good comp 252h with said intake and carb and you might need a neck brace. 0=)
or you can buy this (soon to be) turbo buick 350 sitting on my garage floor and pop wheelies all day..0=)
just kidden.
cant beat good power and 17+ mph.
hope this opens up possibilities and gives you ideas.
but stock, they had great power. so if it ran, you should be happy with it.

 

whoa!!! i didnt know they got it worked out!
are they running TBI? not MPI though right? i can see that. but i really didnt know they had worked out the bugs with the FI motors. thats kewl.
might have to search it out now..

 

Kenne Belle no longer makes anything for the Buick motors.
TA performance still has alot of parts you just have to ask them.
You can still get roller rockers from several places, hi-po cams are available from about 6-7 sources. Stainless valves are still available if you want them. Pistons can be found thru several manufactures. Intakes can be had from Weiand, Offy and 1 other (can't remember who). Porting the heads and cleaning them up makes a good difference. Hi-po oil pump is best investment on these motors along with roller timing chains. Fuel injection is very do-able with this motor with the megasquirt u-build kit. And as Sparky said several here have it. Headers are available from several sources, Hedman being the primary one. Mine is stock rebuild with the exception of the edelbrock roller chains, mellings oil pump, and a complete porting job anda poor mans balancing job when I rebuilt the motor. You can swap in the later 75-77 rods for more strength if needed.
These motors in these Jeeps are very stout to start with for the most part, unless you are making something to drag race in the mud or sand they are more than adequate in stock form if they are in decent shape.

 

nice 4.3 install.
yeah the tbi would be a nice way to go. too bad i already have the holley 470 and the offy intake..=)
might stick it on my wagoneer build up.

ok, dont listen to me on 1/2 of the things i say around here..just let me rant and nod yer heads..0=)

 

am happy with the comp 252h and headers on my jeep. been asked a few times if a v-8 is in there.