Hi. I'm doing a restorating of a 1991 camaro RS 3.1l v6 and I, sadly, have a sinking feeling that the engine is on it's very, very last leg. I'm not a real mechanic, I'm an at-home DIY-er.

Let's paint a hypothetical picture. The engine blows up. Total kerput, can't be rebuilt. I go to a nearby junkyard and rip a 5.7L carbed 350 small block out of a truck. Engine probably has ~100k miles on it. Should I rebuild the entire engine? I won't buy anything without hearing it run.

Does anyone have a list of every single step involved in this? I've already bypassed VATS, so that is one down. I assume I'd need a fuel pressure regulator, but aside from that, I have no clue the steps/parts.

If someone has done this in a build and documented it, a link would be great. I searched and searched and found nothing.

If no one has documented this well, can someone do a laundry list of what would need to be done? I assume it would be something like this:

Take old engine out with a hoist

Put new mounting brackets on for new small block

Drop and bolt a new engine in(any clearence issues? Do I need a new transmission to go with it?)

How does the distributor work? Can I use the stock distributor for this? I thought I'd have to remove the ECM

Add fuel pressure regulator, then hook the fuel like up to the carbs

Add starter, hookup air filter, hookup stock radiator(will stock rad work?)

Add custom exhaust(I am a welder. I can do build it myself)


Anything I'm missing? Does anyone have a full cost? I'm looking to get the car running under $1000. Is it cheaper to do a complete big-bore kit on the 305 and just completely rebuild the thing?

Call me a ludite, but I hate fuel injected project cars. My mini that gets 50MPG? Love FI. My camaro that gets 20MPG? I'd gladly sacrifice some of that for simplicity.

Would I need a new wiring harness?

Sorry for the questions. Thanks in advance.

EDIT: I should mention. I am looking to do this both dirt-cheap and, if possible, keep everything but the exhaust bolt-on. I do not wish to have this car sitting for more than 1 month while I drop a new engine in. I should also mention the wiring is in bad shape, so a carbed motor will help a lot. So my engine options are really a rebuild(don't like this one), a carb 305(dont like this one either) or a carb 350 assuming it is either a bolt on or very near a bolt on(like this one the most).

 

You've got yourself a recipe for disaster. Dirt cheap ain't going to do it. If you do what you're suggesting on a nothing budget, it's going to be duct tape and bailing wire and it'll work as well as duct tape and bailing wire.

Everything on the V6 is different from the V8. Engine, trans, exhaust, cooling system, brake lines, etc. Replacing all of those parts with the parts you need will cost $$$ and take time.

 

That's what I expected. 1/2 of the people seem to say 350 swaps are bolt ins. The other 1/2 say it's the devils butthole in corporeal form. Considering I want my car to last longer than I need it, I'm gonna see if a rebuild is within my budget. If not, a good ol engine swap to the same engine is what I'll do.

 

Do yourself a huge favor before you plunge into removing the existing motor.

Do a compression check, and see if there is adequate compression.
Even if you do a motor swap, you are going to need to get a compression gauge to evaluate the replacement motor.

If a few bucks for a compression gauge is outside your budget, the parts stores will loan one to you.

That will be a good place to begin learning.

If the compression is good (or at least adequate) your existing motor may not be so much on its last leg as you assume.

Its far more affordable (and far less stressful) to fix one thing at a time than it is to try to fix everything at one time, and at the same time creating a list of new problems longer than you possibly imagined.

The appeal of a turnkey solution is great. The availability of an affordable turnkey solution is an illusion.

 

I would read the sticky titled V6 to V8 Swap - READ BEFORE POSTING NEW!


https://www.thirdgen.org/forums/engi...swap-read.html

 

Remove boat anchor sell transmission and cross member to someone who needs one and purchase 5.3 and trans from Boneyard with accessories if possible install same with random parts required from hawks and summit enjoy. Really is cheaper to go 350 than rebuild the 6 and if you are going to do all that might as well do a 5.3 out of a truck, if you work it right you can usually get a deal on the whole package engine accessories an electronics fairly reasonable.