I have a 6 cylinder firebird with a blown head or head gasket and i want to swap it with a 350 V8. How much money is it going to cost to make the switch excluding the actual motor? I am on a tight budget and want to research everything before I try. Will i need to change the trans(the one in there is stock with the 3.1- it is a 1990, by the way)? Will ther be connections I am missing? Will the ECM for the V6 work the V8 properly? thanks.

Its gonna be expensive, unless you have a v-8 parts car, im pretty sure youre going to need a new ecm. Along with suspension, radiator, transmission...the list goes on. If you do a search, youll be able to find alot more.

How to change from a 6-cyl car with a blown head gaset to a V8 car, the cheapest, easiest way, in 3 easy steps:

1. Replace the 6-cyl head gasket ($100 and an evening's work)
2. Sell the 6-cyl car
3. Buy a V8 car

You're going to have to buy a V8 car anyway, since it's by far the cheapest easiest way to come up with all the little (and not so little pieces you need. You could either only own one car, or you could own 2, and strip the one to put the pieces into the other.

What i was trying to say......only a lil mor straightforward.

oh yessssss...the total is still to come........If you like spending $$$$on your ride..who cares what car you start with! Just keep those greenbacks handy and mod the **** out of it...My .02...
Now if your counting pennies and hours listen to the guys above..

Forget the v-6 car....listen to the pro's ^

BTW...Ive got around 4g's in mine...:lala:

Im a pro?..........Awesome!

Well actually I was referring to RB....but if you say so...:hail: ..

Boy was I in a mood last night...must be the heat. 90* here yesterday!
If I was to do it over again, I would have still used my v-6 car. Its in great shape..I drove it for about 6 months as a 2.8.....I just cant believe GM equiped their "working Mans" Sportscar with that dog of a motor.....the donor car is a must. I cant count the trips to the bone-yard, parts store...some of the journeys were just to see how something was set-up...Such as motor mounts. I couldnt figure why all 4 holes wouldnt line up...off to the JY to find out you only use 3.....I found this board halfway through the swap. After everyone said" DONT DO IT!!" they were more than helpful. And continue to be.. If you decide to make the swap, Let me know if I can help...of course Im no pro , Like DirtyRob..:hail: But I have "some " experience with this.......here is a pic before the molestation..........she will never be the same...

Damn straight...

Not a Wrinkle...

im doing the 6 to 8 swap in my 92 rs right now. the most costly part so far has been the machine shop bill. i got the engine back and almost passed out. and the total didnt even include assembly. make sure you stash at least 1500 if you rebuild your 350.

It really seems to be a preferance thing. If you like to work on cars, then go for it. For me it was not so much the money thing, as it was "fun" project for me to work on. I have about $3500 in it, but as was said above, my car was also in great shape. Plus, we grow fond of our cars and sometimes another one just will not do!

I say go for it if you have the tools, the time, the cash, and a whole lot of patience. I'm just about finished with my conversion from 3.1 to 305 TPI. You asked for a breakdown of cost. So here it is.
Rebuilt Motor: $900, Rebuilt Tranny: $850, New Radiator: $135, Used Dual Fan Setup: $100, Complete TPI Setup(including harness and ECM): $500, Tranny Crossmember, Serpentine Acc. Brackets & Pulleys, Smog Pump Plumbing, A/C Hoses, Exhaust Manifolds, Exhaust "Y" Pipe: $200(Parts Car), Cat. Converter: $65, Rebuilt Alternator: $50.
Here is a list of items you can reuse.
A/C Compresor, Smog Pump(Change Pulley), Power Steering Pump(Change Pulley), Drive Shaft, and Tranny Lines(A little bending and reshaping).
You will also need little things like a Accelerator Cable, Tranny Detent Cable, Belt, Hoses, Tranny Mount, Motor Mounts( You have to move the brake line back a few inches on the crossmember), etc.
As a side note, I did sell the 3.1 Motor & Tranny for $300, and sold the Parts Car for exactly what I payed for it after removing the parts I needed. I hope this helps.

I bought my 89 RS for 1250. It had a blown v6 in it so I was planning on making it a cost effective build-up with a 350. Well, it was far from cost effective, but a very good learning experience on so many levels. I would say the swap cost me around $3000. Some of the big ticket items were the motor($900), the serpentine setup($225 plus shipping), Radiator($80), and cowl hood($500). I also did the swap without a v8 parts car, so it was a lot of little trips to O'Reilly's and other places. The swap would have cost me a LOT more if my roommate wasn't an O'Reilly's employee. I also got the machine work for my motor free.

thats a cool deal fast 89. my machine shop bill was almost as much as the whole car. i wish i could have done it myself.

Deja vu... my project started with a blown head gasket in my V6 Firebird. I'm dead serious, too.

I thought I'll just drop in a 350. I promptly bought a ZZ4 and sat it on the garage floor for a few weeks while I made a list of things I needed for the swap. Reality hit me and I ended up putting the ZZ4 in my '68 El Camino in the matter of an afternoon. You think you know where I'm going, huh? Well you don't.

After going through an El Camino, two Corvettes, and two trucks I'm back to the Firebird. You know why? Because you can't get hardly a dollar for a V6 Firebird that doesn't run! DO YOU KNOW WHAT I COULD HAVE DONE WITH ALL THE MONEY FROM THOSE OTHER 5 CARS??? I wish I had just done the Firebird in the first place. If you go crazy enough it doesn't matter if it is a V6 or V8 car.

Good luck.

my project cost me about 1000 including the engine, trans, kits for adapting, and a parts car

My TPI swap ran me around 2 grand, BUT I had new valve seals installed on the engine, and a shift kit installed in the transmission (you HAVE to get a V8 transmission). V8 700 R4's run about $300-350, and if you use one, get a '87 or newer (they are a little more solid), they are a direct bolt in, no mods required, no driveshaft cutting or anything, they will fit directly in. Riley's and I argued about the radiator for a while lol . We were both right and wrong on that one. a '90 V6 radiator CAN fit a V8, but the 350 I bought came with an optional oil cooler, so I bought another one with the extra radiator fitting (auto zone, $117 plus tax, lifetime warranty). I had to get a new fuel pump (about $70, uninstalled) New Y pipe (around $115), New throttle cable (about $20 from a GM dealer), plus the "tune-up" parts (cap, rotor, plugs, wires, filters, etc., about another 100 or so. If your V6 ECM has code 730, or 7730 (last 4 digits) it will work with a TPI V8, but the PROM WILL NOT. Motor mounts, ($20 roughly). I replaced the brake line that went across the crossmember. I also bought a COMPLETE 350 out of a wrecked camaro. It came with the wiring harness, and the ECM and PROM. Your '90 firebird is a speed density setup, so for compatibility, I would buy a speed density V8 as well, but you can make the MAF setup work too. Just a thought there. That should shed some light on your situation. If you are new to engine swaps and the like, take the other guy's advice, and buy a donor car. If you know what you are doing and aren't afraid, then buy a COMPLETE engine setup. A TPI setup that's missing "a few" parts can end up costing you "a few" dollars to replace them!

Dont do it. I am in the middle of my 89 Rs 2.8 to a 355 and its a pain in the ***. I would strongly recomend against it. My car is just starting to get back together and its been over a year

Took me 2 weeks...after work and weekends...not THAT tough ..just not real cost effective...compared to a v-8 car...

BUT DO NOT FORGET THAT YOU WILL HAVE A V6 VIN THIS IS GOOD FOR CHEAP INSURANCE...at leat that why im doing mine...

until the accident and they find a v-8 and do not cover you because of false info......

im just about ready to drop the 356 in to my 3.1 camaro. just waiting on the headers, want to get them before i start dismantling the car.

thats why im doin my swap too
this weekend im swaping a 350 from a 69 elcamino and a 350 trans im pritty sure i got all the stuff i need if i dotn then im ****ed cause im doin this swap this weekend

ive been drivin around wiht 191 cubic inches for too long now i neeeeeeed more
and you know what
a v6 firebird looks like its missing something when you look under the hood

good luck to everyone doing this and i hope you like it

LOL, I know that game. I have a 500HP Toyota pickup. Insurance is for the original 22r 4 cylinder.

that really bothered me too. its like you could get in and sit down in between the radiator and engine. thats where the fifth passenger rides.