I picked up an 87 camaro to make a daily driver.. my 2002 trans am will be my toy now

anyway the motor has a spun bearing and im wondering what will be the best thing for my money??

On one hand i want to rebuild the motor myself,,
but the trans, radiator, brakes, exhaust, sensors, have all been replaced.. so im also thinking of buying a Remanufactured long block??

Any advice?? places to go?? Jasper wants 1800!! ive seen a few other no name places sell them for 1100..

I dont want anythin hi-performance. all stock to be able to get me from point a-b for along time and still be a good looking t-top camaro: My trans am will lay the smack down when need be

Thanks for any input!!!

 

Stock daily driver? JUNKYARD man, junkyard.

 

http://stores.ebay.com/Atlanta-Perfo..._STOCK-ENGINES

 

www.car-part.com

 

get a 3.4 from a 4thgen. the block is externally identical to the 2.8 block. KED85 (*** bless) wrote a tech article about it, you can find it on the main site.

if you want a new motor you can buy a crate 3.4 for under 2 grand, im not sure on the exact price.

 

LOL!!! No 3.4 conversion!!!! That would be the start of another disease of buying go fast parts..

the store gumby listed has been the best one ive saw yet. 1100 for a 2.8 long block. I was thinking junkyard at first but. When i get it back together.. i just want to have to change oil for atleat a few years!!

 

Hawks Third gen if you want a company to get you one

Id get a junkyard one if I were you, if you keep oil in them, they'll never die

 

Long as you take care of simple things the 2.8 n others run for ever. but the problem with used is you have no idea how the PO took care of it.

kind of a crap shoot but most will run 200K easy, with an easy 500k in them if taken care of well.

But yea that dude is selling them darn cheap on Ebay.

$450 short block
$750 long block

and that is the price for just about every from a 1.8 to a 4.3
no core BS either

Though the only thing that got my thinking which is off topic but I wonder how the 90+ 4.3V6 and 4.3inline 6 compare. Inline motors make for easy mods.

 

why not go for the 3.4? Just swap the parts to the 3.4 as you'd be doing that with the 2.8 blocks right?.....then again I do still have a few questions regarding the 3.4 swap that I'd like to ask....and.............

"LOL!!! No 3.4 conversion!!!! That would be the start of another disease of buying go fast parts.."


I suppose there's always the fact of giving into temptation......or catching some kind of disease

 

Thats exactly right id be convinced to make a 6cyl crack some v8's!!! but honestly i dont see it as just bolting in and running right!! Hell a cam swap in my LS1 took hours of tuning.... No frigin way a diff motor will run like i want it to on a 2.8 computer!!

I found the nearest junk yard motor... 650 bucks for something that could be wore out as well!!! I think ill just save a few paychecks and get the complete longblock!! Id be tickled if i had a car that could go 100,000 miles on simple preventive maintanace..
That would probaly last me a life time. my work is only 8 miles away

Im still to hard headed to drive anything but an f-body!! even if its a beater car.. this is my 6th one in 4 years!! {{Dont worry none were wrecked }}

 

I don't see why putting in a 3.4 would make you want to upgrade anymore then a 2.8/3.1 swap. Doward has a turbo kit out, there are performace parts for those 2 motors. Probably just as many for one of those motors then for a 3.4l. The only difference would be the 3.4 would be newer, a little quicker stock and it should drop right in and use everything you already have in the car....it's a win win situation, and a 3.4l would probably be as much as a 2.8 if not less. If you ended up wanting to speed the 3.4l up you could always do the 3.4 fwd head, pistons, intake, injector swap that's been kicking around these forums. It's supposed to be like $400 in parts and quite the boost in performace....

 

Why the hell turbo a 60* motor over my LS1!!!! I dont think some of you get my jest!!! I want my 2.8 camaro to be reliable!! My camaro will have all stock parts!!!! No KnN filter.. No flowmasters.. Nothing that relates to speed!! Why bother!! Will a full bolt on 2.8 even hang with a stock late model 4th gen??
14.00 or faster!!?? What are some of these 3.4 conversions putting out?? any dynos or 1/4 mile times?? I cant imagine they make more than 200-220 HP...

Some things just wernt meant to be fast!!

Beleive me if i wanted to go fast and swap motors i have a 454 in my garage!! 6 cylinder performance does nothing for me..

 

In actuallity the 3.4 bolts in a runs just fine, in place of the 2.8. Most people experiance an increase in fuel economy and reliability over the 2.8L, because the engine doesn't need to work as hard.

But for a bone stock DD, just grab a junkyard long block, can usually be had for a few hundred dollars, and most include 3 month or sometimes longer warrenties.

And BTW, I have a 3.2L that will lay the smack down on most V8 F-bodies. So far has ran a 13.8 @ 99 and layed down 218 HP and 270 Ft/lbs of torque at the wheels, in both cases, the track and dyno, my injectors were too small, and I had a very hard time getting traction off the line, hell even the shift into 4th my truck would slide sideways. All for way less than most V8 engine builds, let wlone teh installation of the engines.

 

to many folks missing his point. He has a nice V8 fbody and just want to keep the 2.8 stock for a fbody go to work car n puttin around in.

Just cause it cost the same and there isn't any more work involved, him going 3.1 3.4 would be wasted effort, even though there isn't any extra needed. Though the next owner would like it.

 

Just curious how better fuel economy and reliability is a wasted effort?

 

I am not sure how a 3.4 can get better MPG and have better reliability over the 2.8, should be darn equal.

maybe explain it for us all

my 2.8 has only 220,000miles and get 25-28 city.
Though its more like 40-50mph country/city.
Only problems so far was the original T5 went out at 204,000 miles.

But its a wasted effort as he said he doesn't want that, is what I meant. I know where he is coming from and its wasted effort.
And your getting offened for no reason. but just for kicks my 2.8 T5 will roast your 3.2 any day in a street race. nanananananana

1/4 times are for wimps, you run it wide open till the other guy can't keep up or it blows. I wont lift.

 

well, i can understand it being "wasted time" or energy, especially if he was trying to make the sixer into a go fast car, as he'd be putting in serious time and money attempting ot make the car as fast as a stock LS1 f-body....that said....

if you're attempting to get a nice reliable engine that you won't have to do anything to, then the newer the better. hopefully, you can find an engine with low milage, but even then you don't know what condition the engine is in, low milage or not. Now, you can have an engine that'll run good for 250 bux, but you don't know if it'll go out in a year,and you'll be replacing it with anotehr 250 buck engine, but the newest 2.8L engines found in f-bodies were from 1989, and that's definately not yesterday....

if you were looking at a 3.4L engine, you'd have the added reliability of 6 years of production, and, it'll bolt right in (they're the same engine w/ different bore/stroke combinations, look up keds article). Now, i can't vouch for fuel improvements, or reliability, etc, however, in the end, the cars are still 20 years old, and things will break. If it's not the engine, or the tranny, or the suspension, or the rust, it'll be something else, and it'll happen no matter what you do. Preventative maintenance can keep a lot of that down, but, it will still happen eventually. I put a 2.8L jasper engine in my bird, 3 year warrantnty/75,000 mile. The engine has a little more than 50,000 on it now, and is running good. We've had some issues with oil leaks from the get go, oil-press sending unit, intake valey, pan, and the worst was the rear cam cover. She's developed another leak recently, not sure where from (rear of the engine, im hoping for a distrbutor o-ring) but we'll see eventually. The engine was installed my soph/junior year of High School, and i just graduated college this year, so its bout 6 years old. Honestly, i'd recommend them, even w/ my troubles, they always fixed what needed fixin, and tiemly enough. IF i was trying to score reliability out of a junk yard, i wouldn't be looking for a 15 year old 2.8, but a 10 year old 3.4, but that's just me.

 

I can't vouch for F-body guys, though I have seen a few mention improvements in fuel economy, but damn near every S-series 3.4 swapper, lists at least a 3 to 5 MPG improvlemt, provided they did actual testing before hand. Most notice that a longer perisod of time between going to the pumps, driving the same way, to work and back, etc. With more torque available from the longer stroke at the same or lower RPM as compared to a 2.8, it will accelerate the car easier to speed, with less effort, hence the milage improvement. I bet a similar improvment would be noticed by using a 3.1.

I totally understand someone not wanting to do any major work to a DD, been there, done that, now I just go ahead and make those changes, because I know I will anyway, I'm a car guy, I do that.

Who's getting offended? Surely not I, I was stating facts, not bias, since it seems far too many people don't believe that these little engines can be made to haul.

Aight, but I race at the track, not on the street, I'd like to keep my licence, thanks

 

Thanks for the jasper info and others who see my idea in not wasteing time with motor swaps.

ummm... kinda haveing hard time beliveing the 3.2 went 13.8.. without some work.. even if it did that wont crack a stock 98-02 V8 f-body.. unless its a bad 6 speed driver.. and did you say you had injector sizeing problems!! hmmmm thats a hassle i dont want!!

 

Hell 1 extra horsepower in my camaro is to much... just dont care... The previous owner ran it one time and it went 18's.... Newer mustangs and camaros with the 3.8 220Hp run 15's-16's
id have to see slips to belive a 13 And slipping the *** end in 4th gear with 220hp..... no way What are your 60's?? must not be good if your breaking loose every gear.. making the 13 that much more not beliveable!!
Now ive seen a full bolt on supercharged v6 firebird run 13's

 

well, his is turbo'd, thats why the problems with injectors, and the power is at the wheels, not flywheel. he's got as much hp at the wheels as a 3.8 has at the flywheel, and more torque also . . . hence the 13.8.

but i can completely understand your desire to not get into modifying your v6 . . . why bother when you have an ls1?

so i'd say just pick any 87+ RWD 60*v6, find the one with the best mileage and condition and slap it in, regardless of displacement. suppose you decided to rebuild your engine, and then you found out it would have to be bored .020 . . .. that adds hp, but you wouldnt complain about that, right? just take whatever is easiest.

 

www.domesticcrew.com/raven/James

I also never said it was stock...... Which should have been evident by the 3.2L It's a .75 (.030) over 2.8L block stroked with a 3.1 crank, and at the time of the dyno and track, the small port 3100 top end in the above picture, I am in the process of upgrading the top end to one from a 3400, which flows a considerable amount more, with some other custom touches.

BTW, I have dyno sheets, and time slips, that I'll have to scan, if I really need to. I also have a video of the dyno run, but it's not in digital format. My best 60' at the time was a 2.07, because I didn't have any traction aids on. To be honest I was actually disapointed with the 13.8, I wanted to see a mid 13, but due to teh injection and traction issues, it just didn't happen. Leaf spring rear ends like to dance, when using a street tire, I have since made some traction bars and with the other upgrades plan on hitting mid 12s. All for less than about $3000 CDN ($1800 to $2200 USD depending on exchange), including some mild suspension work. Then the real project will begin in a different chassis when I find one in good shape.

But, like I said before dropping a stock 3.4L inplace of the 2.8L there is no tuning needed, the stock 2.8 injection will run it fine.

But as I said and others have said, just grab a good used 2.8L from the wreckers and be done with it.