I was given a 1988 Camaro with a 2.8. It has a new hole in the oil pan compliments of one of the rods. My 16 year old son and I are going to restore the car to original condition, interior, paint, suspension ect. I though V-6 power best for him for now. Should I get a 2.8 long block? If I went with a long block more CI would my 2.8 intake brackets, exhaust ect work? Is there one place that is better than another to get the long block? I have been quoted a long block for approx $1,000. Will a factory service manual tell me where all the vacumm lines ect should go? Thanks for any help.

 

You want to find a 3.4L Engine from a '93-'95 Camaro, and drop that in.

Easily done, just swap all your sensors/intake/etc from the 2.8 onto the 3.4.

I can't believe KED85 isn't onto this one yet

 

I was going to actually buy a new long block. So if I buy a new long block for a 93 - 95 Camaro I should be able to bolt my intake, exhaust, ppully brackets ect on and everything should work. Will the distributer and computer work ok and are the engine mounts the same. Thanks for your quick reply as we just got the old engine out and am ready to get a new engine to install.

 

Yes... use a set of 3.4 Injectors, with the 2.8 engine harness, computer, intake, exhaust, etc...

You can get a new longblock from GM for a 3.4... but I'd recommend just getting a used, low mileage one - you'll save a great amount of $$, as well as get the injectors with it!

 

Definately get that GM service manual; sometimes you can find 'em through eBay, but for new, go to http://www.helminc.com . It probably won't have a clear cut vacuum line diagram in it; my '86 GM Service Manual doesn't; the vac diagrams are scattered throughout the manual. (Example, in the EGR section, you see the EGR vac lines. In the fuel vapor canister section, you see the vac lines for that vapor can system.) Best bet for those is on the hood sticker; if you have to, you can go to a junkyard and look for 85-89 Camaros; they'll use the same vac line setup. (85-89 Firebirds hook up the same way, but components are in different spots, so some lines might be longer/shorter/etc.)

Did you guys take any polaroid shots of the way some of those wiring harness are tied down to the car body? If not, bring a polaroid to the junkyard. I totalled my car in '96, and rebuilt it.. had to take the whole engine wiring harness out for the frame swap. I know that half those wires aren't in the factory locations, but I've yet to see a good condition (aka not hacked-up in a junkyard) 85-89 Firebird to get an idea of where it's wires should go.

 

We have taken numerous digital photos which will help. But looking back I already see that the vacuum hoses all look alike. I plan to delete the catalitic converter and use the original intake system with K&N type filters. The intake system on this car has the two square filters in front of the radiator. I just found one of the exhaust manifolds has a chip in it so I probably better change it also. Thanks for your help