Suggestions! What should I do with this thing? =) (v6 rod knock)
 

A series of odd events has lead me to buying a 1984 v6 camaro(straight body, terrible interior) for $300. It sounds like it has a rod knock, but im not totally sure. (noise comes and goes in intensity, Oil light comes on under 1000 rpm) I drove it 2 miles to my friends house and its still there...

My question is money and time, where should I go with this?? My one friend has a 350 long block in his garage I can have for free, another friend of mine has a clean 5 speed he'll sell me for $200. Otherwise I wouldnt mind having a v6 cruiser, im just wondering what kind of cash it will take to make it run alright? Can a crack be gotten for cheap? Id be alright putting about $5k into it to have a decent sports car, just not sure how hard it is to make a V6 into a V8, if this is the wrong car to start with.

(and yes, I did some searching, found MILLIONS on a 305 to 350, but not much on v6 to v8)

Thanks for any and all advice, Ill take it all into consideration.

Re: Suggestions! What should I do with this thing? =) (v6 rod knock)
 

On your way to fixing the rod knock on your current engine you could have a very decent V6. You'd just be tearing it down to the heads and replacing parts upon reassembly. While you"re in there you could do a cam and some head porting too if you were gonna stick with the V6.

I'm no fan of V8 swaps, I always say if you want a V8 car go out and find one. But if you wanted to swap it you'd need new front suspension parts (heavier engine) and a new wiring harness.

Re: Suggestions! What should I do with this thing? =) (v6 rod knock)
 

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

Read that a few times. That should help you decide what you want and what you can do.

Re: Suggestions! What should I do with this thing? =) (v6 rod knock)
 

simplest fix would be to go pick up a good junkyard 3.4 and drop that insplce of the stock engine.

total cost should be around 300-500 bucks

Re: Suggestions! What should I do with this thing? =) (v6 rod knock)
 

:) I'm with K-slice here . If your "straight body" is also "rot free" , then it's worth fixing up , by replacing the rappin 6 with a fresh one . No big deal to do , a simple remove/replace of the original . By the time ya chase down all the parts for an 8 conversion , ya might as well try to find a wrecked one with an 8 , so ya have all the needed bits and pieces .

Best suggestion = replace the 6 with one from the boneyard and enjoy it for what it is .

Re: Suggestions! What should I do with this thing? =) (v6 rod knock)
 

I'm gonna jump on the 3.4 swap band wagon here too, lol..... even though I'm in the process of replacing my 3.4 with a 327. If you want a fun lil sixer, get a 3.4 long block, swap the 2.8 stuff onto it and have a good time.

Having said that, what trans is currently in it, auto or manual? Auto to manual swap is a bit involved. What trans does your friend have to sell you and what is it out of? If it's a T5 out of an 82-92 F-body, you're gonna be ok. Do you want to stay with carb, or go to fuel injected?

Get us a few more details and we can feed you more info, good pick up though!!!

BTW, for $5k, you can make one sick azz V6 that would be a beast out there with a WC T5!!!!!!