Okay, I bought an 85 Firebird a few weeks back, and my mechanic finally got all the kinks worked out of it(I hope). It only has the factory 2.8, and so far its bone stock. I know I want to upgrade the engine to either a higher power V6 (a 3.4 more then likely), or just drop in a 5.0 V8. My question is this. Is it going to cost me more to drop in the V8, or just get a 3.4 block and throw all my old 2.8 parts into it then a couple more mods for some extra horsepower? I have spent a few hours reading old messages on the board, and the general concencus is that dropping a V8 in isn't really all that hard. Just take out the old V6 and tranny, change some motor mounts, change some wiring then drop in the V8 (if only it were as easy as just typing that). On the other hand, how much am I looking at for a decent V8/tranny and labor for putting it in as opposed to a 3.4 block and the labor for putting that in. I am not a mechanic, and will have to pay my mechanic to do the work, so labor is also a factor here. The reason I would like to stick with the V6 or the 5.0 V8 is because the car is going to be a daily driver and I don't want to spend as much on gas as I did on having the new engine put in

 

best and easyest thing to do is sell it and get a car allready with the 5.0 if thats what you want,

 

stick with the v-6 if its going to be an everyday car. the v-8 is fun, but to put it in, what a relief when its finally over. it took me a year and a half me being 17. and i never caught a break, problem after problem. and i got about 1800 bucks into it, after my parents buying me the car, and i dont even have all the goodies.

 

I second selling the car and getting one with a V-8 already, because the conversion from V-6 to V-8 is a lot more troublesome and often more expensive. As for the 305 vs 350, if you want a V-8 get a 350 because the gas mileage between them really isn't that much if it's tuned properly. In fact, my 350 got better mileage than my 305 did.

 

I agree w/ everyone else. However, i wish i had a v-6 thirdgen to cruise around im working on my car.

 

That would kick a$$

a thirdgen economy back up, that looks the same, race a dood, lose... bring back big bertha....

i want... but need a truck, winter SUCKS

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91 FireBird 305 V-8
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