how can i tell what Engine is in my car? cause i have noticed that since i got it that it had more pep or what ever you call it than it should in stock form. I had just settled on it was just me till i decided to run my as far as i am aware stock 2.8 against a buddys 91 3.1 with minor addons like bigger coil, better wires that type of stuff and he has a 5-speed. What has me wonderin is that when we raced i beat him by a good bit and no auto 2.8 should beat a 3.1 stick right? his driving ability is not in question because all he owns is sticks. The engine came from a donor car and the previouse owner said he built it to be his sons "Fun car" and thats all he would say so what are some ways i could tell what the motor actually is? I still get stomped by V8s.

 

whats the mileage on his motor? if the PO says donor car and "fun car" i would guess he probably put in at least a 3.1, it could be a 3.4 and it probably has at least a cam, maybe custom pistons for a higher cr . . . there should be some numbers stamped on the side of your block that you can identify it with somehow . . . other than that there isnt really much of a way to tell . . . he didtn give you any papers or documentation concerning the work? it seems kinda wierd that he wouldnt tell you the mods done when he was selling it to you . . . most people would like a faster engine. meh, who knows.

 

he spent like $10,000 on restoring the car to perfect condition and had the engine and trans rebuilt for it. well he gave it to the kid and about three days later the kid lost it on the highway and the back end got runover by a semi. he showed us the papers but said he needed them for insurance and stuff. we would have pressed but he was giving us the whole car for like $500 and we gave him that and loaded it up and left. i would have checked but at the time my car had thrown a rod and i didnt know crap all i saw was a running engine. now i wish i had checked to see what all was done.

 

Check on the block, right infront of the lower section of the manifold. Is there a sensor there? Or a "freeze plug"? If so, thats a 3.4 block.

If its a 3.1, no good way to tell it w/o pulling the engine apart.

As for difference.. Yes, driving still plays a factor. Who cares if all they own is sticks, still dont mean he knows the prime shifting points in THAT car. Every car is different.

If his 3.1 has never been rebuilt, and your stock 2.8 has. You could still beat him because of the wear and abuse on his engine.

As well as..
tire inflation/contact patch
bird vs camaro(wind resistance)
stripped model vs fully loaded
And many other factors come into play.

A 3.1 is only 5 more hp, and 20 tq. Not alot, esp when you start factoring in all the above.

 

Hmm.. if i have time i will check the block in the morning thanks for the tip.

 

iono

i can tell you this though

my 3.1 has 150K on it now, and runs decent for the most part. a lil noiser at idle than it should be, but still feels peppy. i have a 5 speed and every option, including AC.

my brothers 2.8 in his firebird (which runs quite a bit quiter, with better gas mileage) has 65K, and an auto trans.

but he's got nothing on me

no matter what he does

standstill

30 roll

60 roll (although its close here, he SLOWLY drops back usually)

anything

i steadily pull on him, no matter what.

my car just feels alot more torquey than his, period.

he might pull a nose off the line if i launch crappy with the clutch (hard to launch crappy in an auto once you know where the car likes it), but i always pull it back and am passing within seconds, before we hit 40 even.

i heard somewhere that the Firebird has a crappier intake than the Camaro in stock form though, is there any truth to this? I've attributed it to that, but he thinks it's because he don't have a stick, and he can't shift when he wants. he feels the auto shifts early and gives him poor shift recovery.

 

The 2.8 Camaro's TPI style intake > Firebird's stock intake

but the TPI style won't fit under the 'bird's hood.