oxrabidus

I can get one for 100 bucks...it will bolt up to my current trans...and i can rebuild it put some race-flo valves, with a good exhaust and maybe do some work to the intake, and have a really nice efficient engine (at least i think)... what do you think? i may get it anyway because 30 mpg is LOVELY and having just as much power as most 305 v8s in a lighter car is just as lovely... how much do you think it will make with the race-flo valves and a ported intake with exhaust, and a nice tune?? this will be a nice temporary engine until i FINALLY decide what i really want to do with my car... Thanks for the info!

project89

not simple at all to put in search the v6 secti9on its been covered many times before

oxrabidus

well considering i can get a wiring harness ecu and either a world class trans with 26 spline input or just a 26 spline input shaft for nine... it doesnt seem too too hard... what i wanted to know is if you thought it is worthwhile to put it in or if it is not worth the trouble?

project89

not worth the trouble but seeing as u have an 86 2.8 that would be carbed right? not worth doing anythign at all to that if it is carbed

avro206

2.8L was FI since 85

oxrabidus

well here is a better question... what needs to be fabricated? because i figured get some mounts for it... the factory wires from the 96 and an ecu for it... maybe put on a gen 1 style serpentine set up on it... if that font work just work it with the way it comes... my current fuel pump should be good for the stock 3.8 right? but if it requires no fab then it should not be TOO complicated...

project89

thnx i wasnt sure if it was 85 or 86, what was the 3800 rated at again stock?
u might be better off going for the head swap

oxrabidus

the series 2 is rated at 200 hp and something like 230 pounds of torque... what i was thinking of doing is v6 make it simpler... buying a older 3.8 from a buick or something and just swapping over the heads and intake... but i would only do that if i could not use the gen 1 serpentine drive... and the 3400 conversion it sounds cool... but limited displacement... i may do something crazy like build a 305 v6 using a anytid aluminum block bored and stroked to 4.155 by 3.75... just to say i got a 305... ha ha

project89

max displacement on an aluminum block is 3.25L iirc correctly i picked up an aluminum block a while back i just havent done anything with it..... yet

i think i would rather build the hybryid motor over the 3.8 even though u only have a 2.8 with the right head set and cam that thing will love to rev, set it around 10.0-1 cr and have at it

oxrabidus

well for that i would need a new harness which i font know if it will work on my engine... and then i gotta get the top end and get a cam position sensor... and get a crank with one of then wheel things on it for the crank sensor... and i read that a GMPP bowtie block had a max bore of 4.155...with a strokes crank that would be 5.0l and it had a may displacement of 5.2l... i font know if they still make it or not...

project89

no u dont u can bolt on the top end and use ur maf(stock ecm setup to run it)i dont belive u can purchase the bowtie aluminum v6 block new anymore,every now and then one will turn up on eby or various forums

oxrabidus

well how would i run the DIS? if you use a gen 3 top end you would need to remove the distributor? or can a DIS be run from just a cam sensor?

grimmcs

^^^Thats the part I dont understand. Why would you want to do something this extensive if it is just a "temporary" deal? Just seems like a lot of time/money/headaches for something thats just going to be replaced by a V8.


Also the DIS is ran from a cam sensor...which your 2.8 block dosent have. You will need to fab up a timing wheel/cam sensor bracket to make it work on your block.

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project89

crap i forgot about that, the dizzy will fir with a gen2 topend but not the gen 3 stuff, one of the other guys will knwo what u need to run the dis

oxrabidus

yes i know. but i did not know that swapping a 3800 would be such a problem as everyone says. i cam get one for 100 bucks rebuild it stock and keep it for a while. a few years. plus my car is just sitting now as it is. and i miss driving it

project89

or if u have acees to a tig machine u can build ur own manifold to clear the dizzy

oxrabidus

well i dont know how to weld... but what is so difficult about the 3800 swap?

oxrabidus

and another thing i may keep a v6 in there'.. and i have read nothing but good about the 3800 and it can make nice power without a turbo or supercharger... and having 30 miles per gallon maybe more considering that is with a car that is 100 pounds heavier and with an auto maybe 1 or 2 more... my biggest concern is if a v8 serpentine set up will bolt on to it... outside of that it should not be amazingly hard... like i said if i dont have to fab anything up to use it then it seems worthwhile to me...

oxrabidus

i am still curious will a regular small block serpentine drive bolt on to a 3800? and i didnt fu=igure it would be so hard because it would be just like throwing in a v8, but without having to swap a to a v8 trans(they are hard to find cheap...) plus obviously wires, ecu and stuff...

grimmcs

Why you aren't getting many responses is because, to my knowledge, I havent heard of someone putting one of these into a 3rd Gen. Many have talked about it...and thats about as far as it gets.

As for the serpentine question....I have no idea if the 3800 and the small block V8s share the same bolt pattern.

One thing I dont think you mentioned is what car this motor came out of. FWD or RWD? Im not sure what cars had the engine.

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2.8RS

You would want to get the 3.8 out of a 4th gen f-body. They are like 3rd gens in that we were the only ones to get a RWD V6 outside of the similar age S-10s. This swap would be very involved and you would run into alot of small problems, search around for the GN 3.8 swaps, its probably the same/similar swap hurdles minus the turbo stuff.

drdave88

i tried doing a search on the guy who did this swap a few years back, but it pulls up nothing. anyway, he did this swap, unsucessfully. he had to fab engine mounts, exhaust, the thing wouldnt run on its own ECM due to the anti theft system being a problem, and a few other things i forget. i think at one point he was even going to swap the dash and all that so he could make it run on its own VATS (ignition and all that) but after a couple of years of messing w/ this, he said bag it. its not worth it from what i read and im sure he would tell you the same. but anyone who has new ideas to put toward a project, go for it. wed all love to see it. he was project85 btw.

Project: 85 2.8 bird

still am





I have comments on this in the engien swap forum, thread title: NA 3.8 into a 3rd gen thoughts/plans I got it to run a few times, but the vats signal thing I bought from e-bay probably stopped working. otherwise, all I really needed to finish the swap was a y-pipe finished. I had already swapped/wired in a gauge cluster from an 88 bird, vss & all

grimmcs

I didn't realize your project was still alive. The engine looks great.

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drdave88

I thought you ended it and dropped in a 305 a while back? decided to try it again huh? very nice!!

Project: 85 2.8 bird

nope, those are pics of the old project. bird has been gone for almost 2yrs now, but I still drop by everynow & then incase there are any questions I can help out with.