Hello,
Recently I have come across a GM (Olds) 3.8L v6 with low miles for free (guy wanted it out of his garage). I want to put the motor into my 1989 Pontiac Firebird with 2.8L v6. The thing is, the motor is a FWD motor and I am not so sure what to do. I do not want to sell or get rid of the motor.
I want to know what will be required to make it fit into the RWD firebird (I know its possible, maybe not practical, but possible, and I am willing to do it) and anything else I need to be aware of. Anyone with any info or with any step-by-step/parts list of what I would need would be greatly appreciated. Thanks!

 

I might be able to handle this question

<------see engine & tranny info below avatar

What yr is the engine? The 3800 Series II is the same block for rwd & fwd cars, the accessories are different. Any late 95~02 F-body is a donor. Motor to mount brackets need to be fabbed, and you'll not have to worry about the speedo or tach. Now I gotta see about finding othe rnotes on this swap.

Oh yeah, get an f-body pcm & tranny, but I have seen this engine w/the 700R-4 tranny still hooked up, but do not know how well it shifts.

edit: ifyou can score one, get a 97+ pcm, as there is tuner software out there that can make some serious powerincreases

 

The enigne is a 3800 series engine out of a 88 olds tornado. The engine is in suprisingly good condition. Less than 9K, no rust, everything still attached, runs well. It was stored in a garage for a long time as the guy was keeping it as a spare for his tornado (it was the original, but he swapped) and then he sold the car and now he just has the motor sitting around. Thats the reason I am like, refusing to get rid of it, it was free and a great engine!Also, I have already gone through 2 motors (not to mention a bunch of money), both of them V8's that wound up having cracked blocks and too much rust and broken parts to be of use. So I decided just to stick with the six (for some reason I just really like the six). I was willing to take on the V8 conversion however, and I am willing to do this, I just want to know what exactly I am looking at (How hard/easy), someone on another message board said all I needed to do was switch the oil pan and accessory bracket, but that sounds a little too easy, but I don't know, they may be right (fingers crossed )
Thank you very much for your help. Its appreciated!

 

I'm not all that knowledgable on the differences between the Series I & II engines. I recomend goin gover to www.clubgp.com and research. I think th emain differences are the intakes & heads, but not sure of what else. What tranny do you have???

 

I recall the first set p of FWD. They "were" same as the RWD in Blazers/F Bodies.
Then came the mid 80's.
As Project mentioned, yes, the different intake/exhaust, etc. set ups.
I recall one guy fabricating his FWD heads/intake for the F Bodies.
I'll bet those first series 3.8 heads/intakes similar.
Those Toronado engine bays were wide & large.
Using what ya got?
Yeah, but at what cost from your efforts?
AND will ya be able to eventually close the hood using this 3.8 mill?
The original V6 intake set up for the F Bodies is rather flat and low. The Original 60* mills sit rather high in the engine bays.
A FWD engine sits low, able to accomdate the extra "Head/intake" height.
All I can suggest is more research, IF ya feel this is the best engine engineering swap route to go.
Or letting the 3.8 go, swapping it for a low mileage late model F Body 3.4 mill.
OR even better thought.
Make a great old T Bucket roadster, use that FREE engine. No worries there!
PS Best thing? What's your current investment so far, some questions. Good deal so far by me.