I have a '89 firebird with the 2.8 v6 (for insurance purposes, im only 16) and found a 88 trans-am 5.7 v8 with the tranny that i could get for $500. it runs and only has 88,000 miles on it. i read somewhere it would just bolt right in. would it?

as far as i know, it should be like the same swap in a camaro. the motor mounts are different, but you can buy a 20dollar bolt on motor mount conversion that is just as good as the real mounts. as long as you have a 700r4 or th350 transmission everything should bolt up. I havent done this swap yet myself, but i plan to in the near future. my instructor is a big shot instructor for gm for the past 20 years. he told me that you can just bolt everything up and wipe the computer out (just disconnect). Be sure to get all the right v8 accesories i.e. distributor, gauges, etc. Can be very simple, but many make it hard and expensive. good luck

The key to simplifying that swap is simple. Get all the little stuff you need out of the donor car. Mounts, wires, computer if applicable. and so fourth. You might need the radiator also. The V-6's in the early years had a different radiator.

I also noticed it said 5.7L if it came from a thirdgen it is a TPI motor. You will need the wires, sensors and the computer. You can convert to a carb, but the heads and cam are not designed for that. You won't have the optimal setup like that. Best thing to do is try and buy the whole V-8 car. Take what you need or anything that's different for the most part and install it on your car.