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I have always been partial to the Wbody FWD cars, and I thought I read somewherethat the VANS had a better head on it because the van was so heavy. They put like a 'vortec' head on it to make it look better against the honda's and toyota engines.
Thats why the van motors were rated at quite a bit more HP then the impalas, grand ams, cutlass' etc......
There is no strength problems, my car never overheats, and the aluminum topend actually shaves off a LOT of weight. One of the aluminum heads weighs maybe 20-25 lbs. ONE of the iron heads feels like it weighs around 40-50 lbs. means you are losing 50lbs right there just by switching. After using these heads on my car, I will never put the iron paperweights back on.
Ok I know I'm sort of resurecting this from the dead, but I weighed a bare '97 3100 head and a bare pre-'87 (small valve) iron head last night to find out just how much difference there is and thought this would be as good a place as any to post it. Anyhoo, the iron head tipped the scale at 25.0lbs while the aluminum 3100 was only 12.6lbs. That would be a weight savings of just under 25lbs (or cutting the weight in half) just by changing the cylinder heads, not bad.
This weekend I'm going to dig out both sets of intakes and see what if any weight loss there will be between them. I'm curious how much the total weight change of the swap will be.
Edit: forgot to mention the iron one had already been ported etc. so in stock form it would be slightly heavier, the 3100 is stock.
Last edited by fictmich; Feb 19, 2009 at 10:32 AM.
I got all excited reading this thread, especially the part about a possible workaround allowing use of the distributor, and then I realized how old it is.
I spotted a 3100 at the junkyard yesterday though. I'm tempted to get it and start doing a fab-up on my old 2.8 block.
okay, so my 1988 camaro is a 2.8 mpfi, and its gone to crap, im wanting to do a 3.4 swap using the 3.4 block with the 2.8 equipment, what all would i need to add the 3xxx series alum. heads. would i have to change the plenium as well or would the 2.8 plenium work. is there a list that someone could give me, along with details on what needs to be done for this swap.
Can someone help me with a question? I have a "95 Camaro engine I want to swap into my '87 S10 Blazer. I would like to upgrade the engine/blazer with a set of aluminum heads/intake, harness and ECM from a late model vehicle. I am shopping for a wreck to procure the parts now and I'm not sure what will fit. I find Pontiac G6 GT's, Grand Am's, Torrents, even Montana's (all 2000 to 2008 models) that look like good candidates for the project. Can I use a 3500 set up for this, or should I try to stay with an older 3.4 model?
Thank for any help in advance.
I really need to make up the in depth visual guide I've been meaning to.
On a 3.4 block you can use 3400 or 3500 top end, however the 3500 top end needs to be from an LX9.
There are two different 3500s (actually there are more, but they are just variations of the two main ones of the 60 degree V6 family). the LX9 shares much of the same dimensions, and interchangeability with the 3400 and by extension can be used on a 3.4.
To identify which one is which, it's easy to do by looking at the upper intake manifold.
One has a large notch, the other does not.
LX9, notice very square upper intake, with no notch:
LZ4, notice the large notch:
While these may look very similar, they will not interchange and very different overall.
As far as engine control, Personally I would not try to use the OBD2 PCM. While it has some great features for emissions and fuel economy, it's very expensive to tune and doesn't really allow itself well to stuff like this, though it can be used if you really want to go that route.
The two options I'd consider would be using the 3.1 ECM, the 1227730 ECM and use that to run the hybrid, and use the 1987 to 2004 DIS ignition, which will require a custom 7x trigger wheel and sensor mount. This same ECM was used in FWD cars on the gen 2 60 degree V6, being 2.8L and 3.1, using the DIS ignition. Starting with a FWD BIN file (and MEMCAL) will make it pretty easy to get going and tune.
The other option I'd consider would be an aftermarket ECU, such as a Megasquirt. The MS is very adaptable and easily tuned, with a bit of know-how. It can use off the shelf trigger wheels and run other DIS ignitions than the what the GM ECM can.
That should be enough to get you started. This will be something that you will have to research quite a bit and decide what you're comfortable with.
Heres just a taste of some info on here for hybrids. Have fun
