TrekSportMK3

alright, im new to this, ive owned a grand am in the past and hated it (besides a lil decent power) and im a die hard vw fan, i love my jetta like nothing else... however my girlfriend recently was given an 88 firebird v6 auto and i know nothing about it. she loves listening to me and my idea about my car and she interested in what she can do to hers, of course ive thought about the v8 swap for more power n/a but honestly... im clueless lol. i truly want to do an engine swap to it but i tried readin the "important" stickeys and ya im lost. i can talk vw performance all day but chevy is a completely different language so as an engine swap into an auto 88 v6 what do you recomend? what cars to use engines to use is it worth it to keep auto or is the switch to manual prety easy? (vw's are not easy at all...) plz clue me in

Atilla the Fun

where to start? I guess let's start with: Does she want a manual trans? Because you'll hafta get very lucky (not with her) to do the swap to manual as cheaply as installing a decently-built, V8-compatible automatic. Next, this is summer, so there are car shows everywhere. Find some, go to them, and talk to everyone that owns an '82-'92 camaro or firebird. This will be the best step you will ever take. You talk to enough of them, you'll find someone who is competent and experienced with wrenching on these cars. I'd say do that before even pursuing the technical aspects any farther, just be saving up money and finding fellow enthusiasts.

7SEALS

sit down and get a idea of what you want out of this car. Include your budget with your plans too. I think for a nice general start of GM motors/trannys, you could just build the v6 thats in there for now. Throw some headers and exhaust on there for starts. Shoot over to the V6 board and read some threads there. Its all up to you guys and what exactly you can afford, and what you are willing to do. GM motors are all pretty straight forward, and in my own opinion are pretty simple to work on.