my son has a 87 firebird,2.8mpfi,thats dead,,he just went out and bought a 2.8 from a 88 cav z24 fwd,,I know the intake will have to be changed, but will a fwd block mount up to a rwd tranny?

 

Good thing its a chevy.. 99.99% of all chevy trannys will bolt right up to 99.99% of chevy blocks..

 

dont think it will work. FWD block wont go in a RWD car.

 

thats not true.. I have a 2.8 from a fiero in my 88 camaro..

 

I have a tranny from a 4.3l astro van in my barn and it does'nt mate up to it. Would the firebird 2.8 have a tranny different from the 4.3 astro?

 

That is a RWD car.

How else would you think people swap in SBC's into them?

 

Dude .. thats a rwd with a transverse mounted V6 2.8 or a 4 banger iron duke.. depanding on what year.. So basicly its a fwd engine stuck in the back..

 

Some of the citations used the iron block/iron head in a fwd, and so did the fiero. They will swap.


But an 88 cavi I am sure of has the fwd heads, thus it wont work. They changed mounting points.


And no, a 4.3l transmission wont bolt up to these, it uses the v8 bolt pattern.

 

isn't the starter in the wrong spot, so the block needs modded / drilled.


RWD cars its on the right, FWD cars its on the left.

 

Correct. I know an 89 corsica 3.1, the starter is on the left hand side of the engine.

 

Its makes sense. Stick it on the left / front for easy access.

I can't picture it right but maybe its possiable that you could mod the trans bell housing to work???

Just hacksaw as little as needed to clear the starter nose.

Or have it done right buy moving the one on the trans you got, or cut one of a donor trans and have a dual sided bell.

Almost should work as there is clearance on the left for the clutch slave on stick cars. So exhaust header n stuff shouldn't be in the way.

 

the starter bosses are on both side.. when the blocks are molded gm dont know whats its going in to.. all U need to do is mark and drill out the starter bosses..

 

Wow, here's another nice confusing thread. If this poor guy ever gets it going from information posted here I'll be amazed.

There's enough right/wrong debate in here that the entire thread is worthless.

 

Here is a fact- That is a vin:W engine and will not work. We have Vin:S blocks with RWD mounts. That motor also has aluminum heads with a reverse direction intake plenum that can not be used and you will not be able to find a intake maniflod?plenum to work on those heads in the proper direction. That motor also has an output of 125hp (some say 130hp, but GM brochure on that car says 125). Your factory engine in your 3rdgen that year pput out 135.

You are just asking for headaches trying to swap that. I would highly suggest just getting the proper Vin:S motor.

 

another thought, depending on how his old engine blew. He will have to buy correct pistons and bring his iron heads over.

Or make it a hybrid with a custom intake

 

Fieros use RWD blocks. Don't ask why. Smile and nod.

 

The Fiero 2.8 is more Fbody/S10 then FWD, but the starter still is mounted on the opposite side of the block. The only other platform I know of that uses the same basic config as the Fiero are the FWD Lumina APV and associated variations.

To use a fbody engine in a Fiero the block has to be drilled and tapped for the starter.

 

to get to the topic, the 2.8L v6 and 4.3L v6 engines use different style transmission bellhousings. The 4.3L v6 uses a standard small block chevy bellhousing, while the 2.8L engine uses a different and "unique" bellhousing, which is shared between the 2.8/3.1/3.4L blocks. For ease of setup (head swaps, intake swaps, etc) see if your son can get credit (or a direct swap) for another 2.8 engine. If he can't come across a 2.8L engine (in RWD format i.e. camaro or firebird) see if he can nab a 3.1L engine from the same vehicles, and if that fails, get yourself a 3.4L engine. The engines all have the same dimensions and will swap just the same. The most important aspect of the swap will be whether or not the engine comes from a rear wheel drive car, that'll save you most of the headaches off the bat. Also, if you went 3.4L swap, it's pretty well documented on these boards from members who've done it, and it'd be easier than ur 2.8/2.8 swap mentioned initially.

2.8 v6 (1985-1989 camaro/firebird) 135 hp
3.1 v6 (1990-1992 camaro/firebird) 140 hp
3.4 v6 (1993-1995 camaro/firebird) 160 hp

Best of luck with your decision, hit us up if you need better information, and hopefully those who know things best will answer before those who don't chime in.