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Engine SwapEverything about swapping an engine into your Third Gen.....be it V6, V8, LTX/LSX, crate engine, etc. Pictures, questions, answers, and work logs.
Hey everyone. A quick back story here. 12 years ago i bought my 1986 camaro and over the years built it up with a turbo 3.8 buick engine. This past winter it was found the floor and frame was too rotten to be practical to repair. So I bought a 1984 camaro with the 5.0l to replace the 86. The plan was to build an all aluminum 5.3 LS with a carb and cam. I have already gathered some parts. Now after driving the 86 again i realized how much i miss the turbo 6 power. So the question is continue with the ls, or swap over the turbo 6?
The turbo 6 is built with a comp cams 212/212 flat tappet cam, a turbonetics cpte 60 turbo, LT1 maf, and turbo tweak chip plus some other supporting mods. It will need new head gaskets and extensive wiring changes to work in the 84. The 5.3 is from an 2006 Silverado with a Edelbrock dual plane LS intake, a Edelbrock 650 carb and a gmpp LS1hot cam kit. Right now its just a pile of parts waiting for machine work.
The turbo 6 is built with a comp cams 212/212 flat tapped cam, a turbonetics cpte 60 turbo, LT1 maf, and turbo tweak chip plus some other supporting mods. It will need new head gaskets and extensive wiring changes to work in the 84. The 5.3 is from an 2006 Silverado with a Edelbrock dual plane LS intake, a Edelbrock 650 carb and a gmpp LS1hot cam kit. Right now its just a pile of parts waiting for machine work.
2 different things. Boosted motors don't pull like NA but u got the 3.8 so I'd say stick with it as you would have fun with it more than a NA 5.3 I think. I would love for the 5.3 with boost either turbo or supercharger. Mainly bc that's what I'm doing. Best of both worlds, v8 low rpm and pulls like a SOB.
Been awhile since checking this thread, and I think I have made my choice. As of a few hours ago I have posted my LS parts for sale on Kijiji.ca. After some thinking i decided I'd miss the turbo motor too much and the costs of building a turbo LS is too much for me right now. There will be a few changes to the build though as I REALLY like the functioning A/C in the 84 and would like to keep that. I will also have to strip down the wiring harness to the essentials. I was never happy with how the harness laid out in the engine bay. The fuel pump will likely be an external style so I dont have to deal with dropping the tanks. The intercooler and piping may change becuase I had to do a lot of cutting of the rad and headlight supports and want to try to avoid that this time. All of this wont happen until later this year and only if all my LS stuff sells... need the cash flow to get started. I will likely spend the summer pulling the turbo engine and parts out of the 86 and start the swap in the winter.
Been awhile since checking this thread, and I think I have made my choice. As of a few hours ago I have posted my LS parts for sale on Kijiji.ca. After some thinking i decided I'd miss the turbo motor too much and the costs of building a turbo LS is too much for me right now. There will be a few changes to the build though as I REALLY like the functioning A/C in the 84 and would like to keep that. I will also have to strip down the wiring harness to the essentials. I was never happy with how the harness laid out in the engine bay. The fuel pump will likely be an external style so I dont have to deal with dropping the tanks. The intercooler and piping may change becuase I had to do a lot of cutting of the rad and headlight supports and want to try to avoid that this time. All of this wont happen until later this year and only if all my LS stuff sells... need the cash flow to get started. I will likely spend the summer pulling the turbo engine and parts out of the 86 and start the swap in the winter.
I have sold nearly all my LS parts, so now the fun can begin!!! I have started to gather some parts such as a 3" downpipe with external wastegate, a scanmaster for tuning, a turbo oil feed line with an inline filter, a stock location GN intercooler and assorted brackets for the a/c system. I started last night pulling some of the accessories off the engine in preparation to yank it out of the '86.
My plans for the car this time around, are to keep the appearance as close to stock as possible (aside from wheels and tires). I really want to have no visual clues as to what's under the hood. I have plans of hiding the scanmaster inside the ashtray, and I need to find a way of hiding the boost gauge. I may look into a different style of boost gauge. Maybe a small digital one that can be hidden behind one of the A/C vents. Any suggestions? I want to limit any modifications to the car to strictly the necessary, but I have been known to get carried away. Here's a pic of how the car looks now.
Here is my plan for the scanmaster. There is some slight clearance issues that will need figuring, but it fits rather well. I will try to make a trim plate to fill in the gaps and help support the unit.
Hi Neilb! I love me a good 3.8 gm! My favorite v6. I like the idea of a turbo 3.8 fbody. I've been in the car business for a long time and I always try to drive something with the 3.8 in it. Got hooked on driving the impala cop cars with the 3.8. They have coolers on everything and a better gear ratio. They alson have no limiters or traction control. A couple of luminas had the 3.8 with dual exhaust and recaro seats. Was wicked for a lumina. I will be watching your progress with excitement.
Hi Neilb! I love me a good 3.8 gm! My favorite v6. I like the idea of a turbo 3.8 fbody. I've been in the car business for a long time and I always try to drive something with the 3.8 in it. Got hooked on driving the impala cop cars with the 3.8. They have coolers on everything and a better gear ratio. They alson have no limiters or traction control. A couple of luminas had the 3.8 with dual exhaust and recaro seats. Was wicked for a lumina. I will be watching your progress with excitement.
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Thanks for the encouragement! I am looking forward to diving into the project a little deeper soon, but as usual time and money dictate to speed of things. The turbo 3.8 is a somewhat unusual powerplant and I enjoy being a bit different.
So after a morning of hanging out with my daughter, I spent her nap time working on my scanmaster mount. I used a piece of plastic from a broken seatbelt from the '86. It was easy to work with. I made a cardboard template, and cut out the plastic using a scroll saw. It was a bit tricky cutting it to fit around the little "zigzag" piece at the left lower corner... (that illuminates the ash tray I think) It retains the factory plastic texture and after a coat of paint it will look factory. I am pretty proud of this little mod, and best of all, it was free!
You know what I voted. Of course the turbo 6. I love them and wouldn't trade mine for a v8 anyday. V8s are all to common and it's just cool to see a v6 turbo thirsgen. Keep it up bud!!!
I know my engine is different (turbo 3.1/3100) but if there is anyway I can help let me know.
Thanks! I was torn which way to go, but the turbo whistle was calling my name. I enjoyed reading your build thread too, and look forward to some more updates.
I came home today to a package sitting on the front porch... I'm like a kid at Christmas! I opened the box and had a a nice surprise. The GN1 Turbo feed line came... AND, they messed up my order and sent me the matching turbo drain line too... I didn't pay for the complete kit so Im not complaining. I am really impressed by the quality of the pieces and would recommend it to anyone. The feed line includes an inline 60 micron washable filter. They reccomend the filter to he cleaned with every oil change. This is a acceptable trade off compared to the bulky remote filter and feed line setup I was running previously.
I like what you did with the traditional scanmaster, but just a heads up for you, Bailey just released it in gauge form a few weeks back, just in case you ever decide to use the a-pillar (see link). Would also recommend ditching the MAF later on when the funds are there, as most Turbo Buick guys go the SFI-6 and SD2 route...;
I like what you did with the traditional scanmaster, but just a heads up for you, Bailey just released it in gauge form a few weeks back, just in case you ever decide to use the a-pillar (see link). Would also recommend ditching the MAF later on when the funds are there, as most Turbo Buick guys go the SFI-6 and SD2 route...;
Thanks! I did see the new scanmaster gauge and it looks very interesting, especially the faster display rate speed. I chose the traditional scanmaster because I got it used for cheap... always on a budget. I am trying to limit the number of visible aftermarket gauges. I still need to figure out a subtle location for the boost and a/f ratio gauges, bit thats pretty far away... still need to pull the engine from the '86. I got a few more things in the mail like my new Downpipe and wastegate, the RJC racing powerplate, plus a variety of brackets for the ac system.
Got some work done on pulling the 3.8l out, started stripping down the engine to get ready for new gaskets and paint. Its organized chaos in my 18' x 26' garage. I still have to pull the trans, rear end, torque arm, steering box, front suspension, and wiring from the '86.
I have a Ttype that is in similar shape as your donor I'm considering dropping my running gear into a 88 GTA as a TTA clone and I was curious about clearance with GN heads.
I have a Ttype that is in similar shape as your donor I'm considering dropping my running gear into a 88 GTA as a TTA clone and I was curious about clearance with GN heads.
They are the 109 heads, and I had zero clearance issues with them in the '86, but that car had no A/C. I have heard there is clearance problems with the A/C housing so I will be proving or disproving that with this car. I WILL be running A/C on this car one way or another.
Some very very slow progress... I've been working on stripping down the '86 of all useful parts for my build, and selling off other parts that I wont need. The car is almost a bare shell now and will be heading to the scrap yard shortly.
The '86 is completely stripped of anything useful and os now waiting for the scrap haulers to pick it up tomorrow. It will be a sad day once its gone. I took some time to give the garage a quick cleaning before pulling in the '84. Sure glad its back inside the garage, its been sitting outside since March! I plan on doing the swap slowly and carefully. I fell into a few traps building the '86 and ended up spending far more time and money on unnecessary parts and pieces.
Pretty sad state she's in.
Enjoying a beverage while reminiscing about all the good times with her.
Hi neilb, I was checking out a few TR swap threads when I came across yours here and was curious if you had ever finished up this swap or?? I wrecked my T-Type back in June but I just picked up a cutie-pie red 90' Formula L98 5-speed that is just BEGGING for this same treatment you are giving this clean looking 84' LOL. Great thread... Hope all is well with you and family- and hope to hear more on this great project
08-30-2015, 02:53 PM
