camaro619

So basically im replacing my 2.8L engine in my 1988 Camaro. I want to go with a stroker 383 6.3L SBC but in San Diego if going from v6 to v8 you must get you car inspected at a referee station rules are the engine must be from a car and go into a car not from a truck and go into a car. Im allowed to go v6 to v8 . I understand that i need all the emissions equipment EGR,smog pump, etc smog **** when it comes to being emissions legal. but what else would mess me up at the inspection

DOES ANYONE HAVE A STROKER 383 IN A 1988 CAMARO IN CALIFORNIA ? i understand its just a 350..... but i heard the cam matters , and im just a little baffled... california makes it so hard let me bolt that **** in and ride it...

1. Must be an engine made for a car not truck,

2. have all emissions equipment

3. Would that engine work it a turn key 383 stroker complete.

4. im reading i need stock carburator, stock ecm, stock intake or(EO# PARTS)


5. WHAT CAM


alot of jumbled information on this..

tealman92

You can go V8 without a referee if your doing a V8 swap that came from the same year Camaro as yours. Since yours is an 88 you would need either a complete tbi set up or a complete tpi set up. No carbs. You can't put in an older engine into a newer car only a same year or newer into an older car. Find a donor 88 or newer Thirdgen and swap all the engine wiring and smog stuff under the hood then go get it smogged. No ref needed.

camaro619

I read basically all that and I guess you do need a ref check if going from v6 to v8

i need to to retain all emissions equipment from original camaro I believe it can only be camaros/firebirds. But what are all the parts associated with the third gen camaro emissions egr, sensors 02 ,?? What else ? CAN I REUSE MY V6 EMISSIONS equipment??

cant go to carb must have tpi . Use stock or emissions legal intake


BIG ONE .. what cam can I use to pass .. I guess depending on cam it can pass. Or fail it .. people in California with 383 would be of help . Basically a 350

can I use wire harness from my v6 2.8l for the 383 stroker ??

thanks !!!

tealman92

From your original car you can use these emissions items only:
fuel tank
Charcoal canister.
That's pretty much it.
Going tpi. Buy an entire engine with the exhaust manifolds and the complete engine wire harness and computer. And your done. It's all plug and play. The egr will come with the engine.
Your best and cheapest option is to buy a complete running car and do a swap.

What condition is your car in?
I only ask because to be honest it's going to be cheaper for you to sell your current car and buy a V8 car already. There are a bunch out here in socal on OfferUp, Craigslist, let go for under 2500. You won't be able to do a swap for that cheap since parts are hard to come by in pick a part now. You will save money and time just going and getting a V8 car and then you can just mod it to your liking.

sofakingdom

iTrader: (1)

First off, as far as "identifying", it depends on what they happen to notice.

For example, a 350 BLOCK is a 350 BLOCK is a 350 BLOCK no matter what year or source, for smog purposes. They're not going to try to decode the stamping to determine that, and fail you if the BLOCK is somehow unsatisfactory.

Other things are more likely to cause that kind of trouble. If you get a WHOLE ENGINE from someplace, especially one that's intact and readily identifiable (e.g. a truck 5.3) then that's quite a different situation from a rebuilt one.

Virtually ANY small block Chevy block and heads will pass inspection as "suitable", especially if it's not all gaudy and tarted-up like the motor in your photo. Paint it the original color (a kind of satin black) and leave the stock tin on it instead of all that leeeeeeky KROME crap.

What's more important overall, is the intake and exhaust systems. As you have figured out, it MUST be from a SAME YEAR OR NEWER vehicle of the same class (passenger car but not any kind of truck), it MUST have EGR, AIR, etc. if that's what the replacement engine came with, and so forth. Furthermore it MUST have the same type of transmission, in some cases the same model, as your chassis OR the donor engine; you could for example put a LS1/T-56 combo in an auto car IFF the engine's ECM is the correct one FOR THAT COMBO, or a LS1/4L60E into an auto car, or in some cases, a newer engine (say, 93 LT1) and a 4l60 aka 700-4R into one of these cars. I'm not sure if a LS1 that came with a T-56 would be "legal" in front of a T-5, if for no other reason that the T-5 won't be crippled with the "skip shift" annoyance.

AFAIK NOT ONE SINGLE PIECE of your 6-cyl can be re-used on a V8. There might be a bolt or 2 somewhere but that would be about it. You need A WHOLE engine assembly, with brackets, accessories, wiring, COMPLETE exhaust system (most of that you could buy replacements for, for a nominal fee), air cleaner, and so forth. EVERY piece will need to be CORRECT for the replacement engine. Since no V8 (with the possible exception of a Cadillac Northstar, which would be a challenge to swap in, for other reasons) will bolt to your existing transmission, you'll have to replace that as well. Basically, EVERY SINGLE PIECE with the 6-cyl taint, will need to come out of your car and go in the trash, and be replaced as appropriate with V8 stuff.

It certainly can't have a Holley carb, those stupid "breathers" on the valve covers, and so forth, as pictured in your photo. The ONLY kind of carb it could possibly have would be a M4ME (electronic Q-Jet), which could ONLY be used if the engine you are putting in is presented as a STOCK 88 or later (not sure how much later is available... maybe none at all) MC SS.

Technically the only "legal" cams are those with a CARB EO #. In reality they won't tear the motor down to examine it, so it's possible to fake that with a careful choice.

I moved out there from TN, and reconstructed my 83 to a point where it passed. I used double-hump heads, a ZZ4 intake, a Comp XR264HR cam, and Edelbrock TES. Be aware also that they have records by VIN that show whether the car is originally a CA car or a 49-state one; they will check the EO # to verify that the part in question is approved for that specific configuration.

So in general, it's quite possible to swap a later-model engine into almost any random older chassis. For example I knew someone when I lived out there that did LT1 and LS1 swaps into old Jaguars with no trouble from the referee.

This is FAR AND AWAY the easiest and most effective way to do a swap. Use Sofa's patented copyrighted eeeeezy 2-step method:

1. Sell the thing that isn't what you want
2. Use the money to buy the thing you DO want

In your case, this will cost A TINY FRACTION of practically ANY V8 swap you could possibly do, EVEN IF YOU COULD GET THE MOTOR ITSELF FOR FREE. If you have to pay for the motor you will CERTAINLY spend more doing that, than just replacing the whole car with a V8 one.

Then once you have a V8 car as a foundation, upgrades and modifications and all that, become VASTLY easier.

camaro619

What exhaust I guess it has to be all stock ?
What exhaust system will fit ? I can't use anything aftermarket ... basically oem exhausts
soo exhaust from like a 2000 corvette or camaro ls1? Legally it needs to be the exhaust from that engine


which exhaust fits third gen ?

y pipes an all headers etc

edit I'm putting ls1 now in but it's the same thing I need all the emissions from the corvette/ls1 or whatever car it was .. exhaust is last problem finishing

tealman92

For the ls1 you will need the fuel tank with charcoal canister and the complete gauge cluster out of the ls1 car as well.

sofakingdom

iTrader: (1)

NO....

You need THE WHOLE ENGINE. Not, piece something together, like engine from here, "emissions" from there; THE WHOLE THING, all at once, right straight out of the car.

NO...

In fact, that's gonna be your ONLY choice for many parts in many possible situations.

Exhaust doesn't have to be "from" the donor engine, since about 90% of the time, that will only fit the chassis it came out of. You need exhaust that fits whatever motor you end up with, and your chassis (82-92 Camaro/Firebird), and has a CARB EO #. Odds are VERY high that it will be something aftermarket, unless you buy a motor from a 88-92 Camaro/Firebird which isn't all that likely unless you can find a WHOLE wrecked car.

There's A BUNCH of LSx swap headers for our cars on the market. Pretty sure at least one will be CA legal. (i.e. has a CARB EO #) Get the Y-pipe that comes with them since they travel as a set; not, get headers from here and Y-pipe from there, that ain't happenin. Once you get those, you need a CA cat if your car is a CA car and a 49-state cat if the car is that (can't ship that into the state of CA though, you'll need to drive somewhere such as Summit's warehouse in NV and pick it up). Then a cat-back system.

Before getting all wound up in stuff like that though, decide what motor you want. Whether that is a legacy SBC, LSx, or what. Then start researching parts for it. Quit "assuming" things that aren't true.

Best eeeeeziest cheeeeeeepest quickest most trouble-free most likely to succeed option is still, SELL that POS 6-cyl POS and buy a V8 car. That'll cost about ¼ as much as ANY legal engine swap you could possibly do to get rid of that 6-cyl POS while keeping the car that's corrupted with it, not to mention, the down time, aggravation, the do / do some more / do over / re-do / do again / do-over factor, and all that other stuff you'll put yourself through besides just pure cash. Get some sense.