How you guys doing, im new to the group and I'm buying this 91 rs tomorrow for a freaking steal 400bucks! and I have a few questions. As far as I know this baby only needs a engine the guy that is selling said it had a 4.3 v6, but apon researching the 3rd gen I have found that the 4.3 was not a factory option so either he is full of it or some one did a swap before he got it. My question is if it was in fact a 3.1, would a 4.3 bolt up the the trans? Idk what model trans is sitting in it either but I will find out soon. Also is there anything I should really pay attention to aside for the plastic walled radiators and the heater core issues? This is going to be the largest project I have gotten myself into and just need some tips and advice from some veterans. I have pretty good knowledge of gm from suspension to fuel delivery but if you guys can point me towards some facts that would be awesome.

 

No a 4.3 will not bolt up to a 60° 6-cyl trans.

Stock radiators and heater cores are perfectly fine for most situations. More people get themselves into trouble thinking they're going to "improve" that sort of thing, and instead end up with stuff that doesn't fit, giant hack jobs, parts that are missing something critical, and so forth. Don't outsmart yourself.

Putting a 4.3 into one of these cars that came with a 6-cyl takes EXACTLY the same effort as putting in a V8. Same money, same work, same time, same trouble. But in the end you get FAR less. Not a good plan, to deliberately set out to spend the same but get less. Would you walk into the grocery store, see that steak is $5 a lb, walk up to the butcher, and tell him you want to be "different", you don't want a lb of steak for $5, please give you 12 oz of steak for $5 instead?? That's EXACTLTY what swapping in a 4.3 would be.

Best thing you could do would be to either get a 3.1 or 3.4 out of like a S truck or something, if a 6-cyl would satisfy you; or get a 5.3/4L60E pullout from a full-size truck, if you want speed and power.

 

4.3 has merit for teens who would have much higher insurance on a V8, but 3500 heads on a '93-'95 3.4 would be easier and make the same power. There are plenty of good V6s, but none of them are easy swaps. The new 2016 Camaros have 335-horsepower 3.6L V6s, but noone has retrofitted one of those yet.

 

If it has a 4.3 it would be very easy to swap in a 305-350 easier than any 60 degree v6 all accessories even the water pump will fit

 

It doesn't.

None of these cars came with that.

All the 6-cyl motors in these are the 60° ones. He's talking about swapping a 4.3 IN. Which is, as delineated above, a thoroughly BAD idea.

 

He said the guy selling the car told him it had a 4.3, in it... At some point. everyone should know that didn't come factory like that but it is possible that at one point a 4.3 was Swapped in which would make a v8 swap easier than a 60 degree v6

 

I'd almost be willing to bet, SIGHT UNSEEN, that it doesn't have a 4.3; but rather, has an idiot for an owner.

The question then boils down to, "would this logically and reasonably be expected to have happened". Which is kinda the way I answered it: true, the poster himself isn't looking to do the swap, but he should know the reason as to why what he's being told is utter bull plop.