ok,Im a v8 guy but my wife has a 92 firebird with the 3.1 v6.it only has 90k on it but me being me I was going to put a v8 in it.But I just bought a parts car that came with a bunch of parts.The guy I bought it from was planing to build a 3.4.So I have a 3.4 goodwrench with only 1000 miles on it but unfourtanitlly the kid was great at starting stuff but not so great at finishinh.Its torn apart and has some light rust in the piston bores.Also came with crane cam,lifters,valve springs,locks,retainers,pushrods felpro gaskets and gapless rings for the 3.4 all new in the boxes.So Im thinking of rebuilding my wifes 3.1 not the 3.4.All the parts should work except the rings.The cam is crn-253941.It is for carb or modified computer.Any info on this?Cant I just buy a aftermarket chip and good to go?And how much power can I get from a natural asperated 3.1?Any info is greatlly appreciated

 

If you were closer I'd grab that 3.4 block from you.

Those parts should help wake up the 3.1 quite a bit, the problem is that the heads and intake are the largest limiting factor in the genI 660 design. Porting them will help, the heads anyway, not sure what to do exactly about the intake, without spending some time, whihc it sounds like you don't want to spend a whoe lot of time on this.

With your parts collection that you have, I would start with that 3.4 block, use some 3400 heads and intake, among some other parts, and have a great increase in power, and fun. Through a turbo on it and be grinning from ear to ear.

 

It also came with a set of aluminum heads.The kid I bought it from said the intake and exhaust ports wont line up with the 3.1 manifolds though.Whats the deal with the 3.4?Is it realy any better than the 3.1?You said the heads limit the flow.How does retuning the computer work?I thought I would stick with the 3.1 Im not sure how many mods would be nesicary to swap in the 3.4 but if I were to do that I think I rather put in a tpi v8.

 

the iron heads on the Gen 1 60* V6s(IE RWD) are very restrictive. the alum heads wont work cause they angle up so the air dont have such a sharp bend to navigate and the ports are larger as well. If you got a FWD intake as well as heads you would have to change the ECU as the FWD heads/intake are for a DIS ignition.

the 3.4 is just a 3.1 bored out some and the 3.1 is simply a 2.8 with a stroker crank in it. Oh and the 3.4 had extra block reinforcement from the factory.

EDIT: A 3.4 block is bolt for bolt the same as the 2.8/3.1 just the bore size changes.

 

Thanks for the info.I have had a few 2.8 & 3.1 but I dont know that much about them.I know they are very reliable motors,I sold a 87 a few years ago with I think 224k miles on it and it still ran great despite the fact i ran it out of oil reguarlly due to a hole in the oil pan.So what about the computer thing has anybody done this before?Where would I have it done and how much would it cost.From what crane cams tech said the cam I have is way to lumpy for the stock ecm.

 

dont buy one of the chips from a magazine, youre wasting money. in order to have it done right, you need to find a place near you that does custom chips. but most shops will probably charge $400ish to do it. im working w/ someone right now who is gonna do one for me for half that. i can check w/ him and see if he wants to do more for others, but i thought id wait and see how mine went first. but STAY AWAY from the hypertech, etc ones. your not gonna get much, if anything, out of those. the only way to really gain from chips, is to have it burned to what engine YOU have, not what the general public has.

 

Yeah, I've used the FWD top end in my Jimmy, though I started with a carb, so I had to add the EFI wiring, which I didn't mind, because I prefer EFI anyway.



That was when it was together last, I'm not upgrading to 3400 top end and twin turbo, should be a fun 350+ HP daily driver/ beater, eh?