hey all,
i am new the series, i have an 89 2.8 looking to get a little more out of the car. i was wondering if you people would find it easier to switch to a bigger V6 or totally switch it to somethink like a 305 or 327

Dr. J

 

If you get a different V6 you would probably be better off sticking with a 2.8 3.1 or a 3.4 because they are all 60* engines and are pretty much interchangable. Either do a search or look in the technical articals for the "3.4 swap boogie" by KED85. If you think of going with a non 60* v6 you are probably better off getting a V8 because supposedly it is about the same amount of work as installing a V8.

 

how many miles, what conditions is it in?
if running good, or not, there are many mods you can do.

if crappy & needs a rebuild.....I'll beat Karl to this, hehe slide a 3.4 in it.

just read thru all the posts, do the Now I'll beat TomP, hehe full tune up.


and lastly, Welcome

 

The 3.4l block swap is quick 20-40 hp, and basically the best bang for buck if your old one is getting wore out.

Then major tune up, as said, Tomp posted topic on that.

Then In my siggy, I have some of the very most commen power mods. Brands can vary, but parts are "same".

 

Firstly, welcome to the v6 board. Secondly, and I know that this is going to get me flamed, but, if you are going to drop a new motor in your rde, might as well drop in a small-block. mods are plentiful and relative cheap, and it's not hard to put together a decently fast car. But, if you want to, there are a lot of great 60-degree v6 combos you could put together, which IMHO, gets more points for originality, and really, isn't that what hot-rodding your car is all about?

 

Real snap your neck power cant be made from a small 6 in a full body car, you can get em to sing nicely but no way its going to compare to a V8. I spent 2K on a GMHP 3.4 crate engine so I could spin the tires in my Blazer, spining the tires being the only gain what so ever. Start with the suggested, tune up's can help, a CAI can help, larger injectors, a properly calibrated chip and a free flowing exhaust.

 

thank you everyone for everything,

it will be a while to decide on what do, but when i do you'll be the first to know, does anyone here know of places i may be able to find a 3.4 block in good shape to swap, or should i just go looking around old junk yards

 

if i was to go looking in older cars for a 3.4DOHC what style of car should i look for. or should i just go ahead and ty to order a new or rebuilt one, would any of you have a good site

 

simple, you shouldnt

1. those motors are garbage (not just my opinion, but most every other professionals' opinions that i have spoken to about the DOHC 3.4)

2. it's going to be a very hard swap, only thing you can keep is your transmission

3. Little to No aftermarket for this engine

4. also its a VERY hard engine to work on, with many special tools needed


with that said, drop in a SBC, VERY EASY swap and a HUGE aftermarket, plus, if you choose your small block correctly, powerful from the begining

 

what size of small block would you suggest to get the most bang for the buck

 

obviously the bigger the better, although even my 305 makes me happier than my 6 did

try to get a 350 or a 400, though 327's are great too

305 arent as bad as people say, they can make a great street engine, but for ALL-OUT racing, its not a good design

 

A 350 is the obvious choice budget concerns or not but its not really worth changing the platform unless there is some sort of attachment to this car. The avrage swap including induction/transmission and engine is going to run at least $2500 unless you build an engine for your self. Sell the 6 and buy a V8 car ready to roll.

 

Many have a different oppinion in this. this is a "fuzzy" question. It all depends on the buyer's taste, that being you.

many a 350 can make Hp and decent TRQ.
I have rarely seen a 305 that has been worth anything, meaning that you swap those parts to a 350, and it's a whole new beast. Honestly, my V6 beats alot of the 2nd gen 305's, and the 3rd NON TPI 305, thaqt are not "built".

Now, the true "BEST" Trq'er you can get is this. Get a blown(as in wasted) 350 TPI, then find a GOOD 400 Small main block. You then take the block and mains to a machine shop and have them bore out to accept 350 main bearings.

You then rebuild the engine with the 350 crank, and swap on the TPI setup.

With a few basic mods, desktop says this combo will make upwards of 400 Horse, but well above 600 Lbs of TRQ! THATS what gets your car moving.
In my oppinion, people can keep the 470/400 Lb 350, I will take 400/600 any day!.

But my personal choice is h0pefully going in this summer. 396B/B. It will go in originally all motor and carb'd. After I get done with school, and get somereal cash, it will bepulled and rebuilt with some real parts, and swapped to TPI runnign LOW compression. It will then go through a series of imporvements as I get more cash. 1 then 2 Vortech's, then a front mount intercooler meant for turbo applications.

 

you guys dont know how much you have helped with everything. i was kinda iffy about getting on this but im glad i did. i have a great idea for my 3rd gen, and if i have any other questions ill be happy to ask, and if you have any suggetsions on how to boost performance, or just some little tricks to maximize appearance i will be happy to take them

 

WOW you live in ada OK? I used to go to school in Oklahoma City, I dated two girls from ada (BIG MISTAKE!!!!!!!!).

I would do what I did and will do, if you have steel wheels get rid of them and put on aluminum Z-28 wheels, gutt the air lid and air boxes, pull the A/C unless you HAVE to have A/C (I got used to the OK heat quick) then upgrade the cap/rotor, wires, and plugs. Then when you get bored buy a 3.4, get the high flow heads with 1.8 valves, port the intake (upper and lower), get a crank pulley, get a nice cam, dynomax exhaust, off road y-pipe, a few other small things and more weight reduction along with a custom air intuction system and run 200+rwhp like me LOL.

 

86 Camaro driver. Where did you find 1.8 heads?? Also, how much did they cost you? From what I have read, You cant get bigger port heads on the newer 60deg engines. They are already close enough.

 

Jim Pace Chevy in Ohio www.paceparts.com has a catalog of crate longblocks they sell. Here's the 3.4 I found, it says for a Blazer/S10, but I'd imagine it'd drop into an Fbody easily enough. http://www.paceparts.com/product.asp?0=239&1=240&3=503

But I think they sell mild 350s for cheaper than that. The HO 330hp 350 goes for 2200, IIRC there's 250hp variants for much cheaper.

 

that they do, and the weakest one puts out 260 HP for only $1300

that'd be the wise choice instead of spending $2000 on a 3.4
another $1000 on head work
another $100 on a better cam
and you still have HP to spare

be wise about your desicion, if you are looking to get the most for your money, there is no better way to go than a SBC

if you want to be unique, thats fine, but please remember, being "unique" means being BEAT 99% of the time

 

350+new tranny+new tach+getting around emissions (sooner or later, the e-check ***** will find a way)+new front springs>3.4 + gasket set.

No need to do the math, it's already done for you.

 

so your telling me its better to waste $3000 on a 60 HP gain

$1300 for motor
i know you can find a good running trans for $300
$50 for V8 gauges
$25 for carb on ebay
$50 for intake manifold on ebay
$35 for starter on ebay
$200 for headers
$50 alt
$20 PS pump
$50 water pump
$30 belts
$30 upper lower radiator hoses
$50 good working HEI distrib complete with coil and ICM
$25 motor mounts
$20 air cleaner
$even throw in $300 worth of misc parts

approx $2500

sure its going to be more work to put the V8 in......i think its worth it

the SBC was designed from the begining as a performance mill
the 60* V6 was designed in the smogger era as a ecomony mill
food for thought

(3rd gens are heavy too, they need torque)

i have seen people on here dump over $3000 in their V6's and the best run i've seen was a 14.9, and that was highly modified

now if your going for ecomony, then by all means keep your V6

but if your going for performance............................i think you know the choice

 

you're right. got me. $1400 running for everything, including the car & nused motor. what was I thinking?

If I had the room. would've dropped a real V8 in the bird, read Pontiac 400, but their are also things called emission checks that I might later have had to go thru.

3rdGenSuperman, 6 or 8. You've heard both sides now let your wallet & emissions requirements make your descision.

 

well put