91 camaro with a 3.1 engine. the motor needs to go. although i want to stay with a V6 power plant. Grand Nationals 3.8 engine was a thought, also GTPs 3.8 engine. i know the front wheel drive GTP will have the wrong style tranny but would the motor work? I am not looking to build tons of power just more than i have and to do something different. what should i look for when i get a motor, will the tranny behind the 3.1 bolt to the 3.8 and on the same motor mounts? or is all this really worth it? versus just building the motor that is in the car already. when all is said and done i am only looking to have about 250 to 300 horses. nothing major just more then i got now. also, i want this to be as simple as possible but i dont think i will be to lucky with that.

 

do a search on 3.4 swap boogie

the 3.4 camaro engine is a direct drop in.

use Car-Part.com--Used Auto Parts Market to find a donor motor in your area

 

Right, but what about the 3.8?

 

its way easier to drop in a 350 or pretty much anything else than a 3800 from a 4th gen. do a search for that, project did one and it took him 2 years just to rip it out and go w/ a 305. you have to use a 4th gen f-body trans, wire harness, ECM, etc etc etc. its not a weekend swap at all. you also need to know how to fabricate.

if you can get ahold of a GN 3.8, have at it. they did come in 3rd gens, so it will go in easier than a 3800. the easiest swap is a 3.4, tons of info on this, do a search and youll find more than you need. start in the tech articles, the one from KED85 is amazing. getting to 250-300hp isnt gonna be easy, even after a 3.4 swap. youre almost gonna have to go FI unless you have a lotta $$ to stick into your engine. ive done the 3.4 swap, about every bolt on, plus some internals and im somewhere in the low 200s for hp.

oh, as far as a 3800 from a GTP, it will not work as the intake faces the wrong way. it would be slammed against the firewall.

 

well first off the 3.8 is a 90 degree motor just like the 305 350 and will need motor mounts welded in. then because of all the computer and the diffrerent harnesses, guages, and everything the wiring will be a nightmare. it wil probably be the same amount of work or more(because noone really does the 3.8 swap so information is a bit limited) work than an LS1 swap. then youll need all the hoses and lines, the tranny, then your gonna want to have posi, and maybe the driveshaft wont work... who knows do a search. its been discussed before.

 

i ripped it out due to wiring issues. it's best to use a dash tha's full vss, so no wiring issues come up. also, get a 97 pcm and program out the passkey crap(97 pcm pin outs are the same as 95.5 & 96 use dhp or hp tuners). only fabbing needed was motor mount brackets to the block.