I want to swap out the engine in my 1986 sport coupe Camaro. Currently it has the 2.8 v6 in it, but I was looking around and might have an opportunity to put in a 3.6 v6 from a 2015 Camaro. I have never done an engine swap before but am willing to put in lots of work, but is this even a feasable idea? I can get the transmission and ecm and stuff too, and it seems like a good way to get 335 horsepower...

 

Feasible, sure. But it's very likely to require quite a bit of custom fabrication. Engine mounts and headers/exhaust are the big ones. I don't think anyone makes off the shelf stuff that works for it. Not to mention fueling requirements, wiring, custom tuning, oil pan options/fit. Doable but a lot of work even for someone who has custom fabrication skills.
Personally I'd pass on it. A whole lot of work for a maligned 6 cylinder.

 

In general, the V6 cars are more advanced and complex than the V8 cars making the V6 a much more difficult swap. Engines are getting more and more integrated into the cars than they used to be, meaning you need to take more stuff from the original car to make things work. And the little things that don't work stop the whole show because of the interdependencies between sub-systems.

Some things that could make it extra difficult that you maybe want to look into before you buy anything:

* How many different ECM's are needed for engine, trans, fuel pump to work?
* Is fuel pump a PWM type (pulse wave modulation), and can you get that into your fuel tank?
* Are gauges operated via CAN (connected area network)? Your original gauges are not.
* Will the diagnostics go berzerk if it doesn't see everything the way it ought to be, and is there programming software that will allow you to fix that?
* Will the transmission fit in your teeny tiny trans tunnel? (probably not)

 

Hmmm.. so it wouldn't be very easy then. I'll probably pass, seeing as I just scraped together enough money to get my car as the first car I've ever owned, and have never done an engine swap before. I'll have to find some other way to make more power...

 

Please stay away from the Suzuki/ GM 3.6L Engine Platform.

It was literally designed from the start as a "Throw Away" Engine (Lease Vehicle/ 50,000 Mile/ Min Life Expectancy).
GM never intended that Engine to receive a "2nd Owner" Life... It was supposed to get crushed after the Lease-Period...
And it should be.

 

Really? It is in almost everyone of their vehicles. The ones I have seen are pretty reliable too.

 

Sadly Yes Really.

Just look up Acadia/ Traverse Engine Failures.