ok so here is what i got.... im 16 just got my license(WOOT) i got my firebird for my birthday and it has a little 3.1 in it.. its not that bad but its slow!!! im looking for a motor that i could slap in it. its a dayily driver so its gotta work lol.

also is it hard to get a motor and all that together to swap hard? im learning more and more everyday. my dad is a car guy hes got a 454 big block in his 72 TA. he just gets mad when i ask him to help me with my car lol.

hope to learn a little and all the tips/tricks i can get will help me a ton

THANKS

 

Happy birthday and congratulations.

You can't "slap in" anything. All the choices require a commitment to changes - some might say "extensive", I'll leave it at "involved".

Read the V6 to V8 swap sticky first. That will give you an idea of the minimum required.

Honestly, though, you'd be better off keeping the V6 until you have a year or two of driving under your belt.

 

And that's probably why your dad gets mad. I remember being 16, wanting more power. Now I'm way past twice that age, I see the wisdom in not having power for a year or two. Face it, you're gonna try to show off, or pass someone who'll speed up at the wrong moment, and you're gonna total it.
Start saving up for what you want.

 

a 3.1 is perfect for a 16 year old. it's a cool enough car for you to take pride in driving it, easy enough to work on for you to learn about cars, and it has enough power to get up to highway speeds.

 

Swapping a V8 from a V6 is going to require a little bit of experience and money in order to do it right. Unless you have a mechanic buddy who can help you out, you better start saving up.
Save up some cash to do the swap in the future and by the time you get enough money (we're talking thousands of dollars), you'll know what you want.
What you might look for though is a donor 3rd gen that's a V8. You can pick and pull parts from that.
I was currently saving up for a 383 for my V6. I've put it on the back burner though as I'd rather fix up my car aesthetically than mechanically.