Hi all. I'm new to this, but I've made a commitment to my son to juice up his humdrum 3.4 camaro. And as he is paying for the parts, we are on a tight budget. All we've got so far are a nice fat set of tires, and a flowmaster with dual pipes. I'd like to get this done with bolt on part if possible, and be able to drive the car on a daily basis or at least have it down no more than a couple of days at a time.

I'd appreciate any help, thanks Dave

 

im assuming this is a 4th gen (93-95), unless you bought a 3rd gen w/ a 3.4 already swapped in. youre asking quite a bit, even if you arent on a tight budget. i have a lighter car than a 3rd gen, and i swapped in a 3.4, along w/ a couple of grand into the drivetrain and im not even at 200hp at the crank yet, close, but not there. unless youre very good w/ custom work and can fab up a turbo setup, i (and most others on here) wish you good luck, lol. in all honesty, unless youre willing to shell out some cash, and be ready for more than a couple days downtime in some cases, its not realistic. im not saying its not possible though, but itll be tough N/A. youre gonna have to get into internals, not just bolt ons.... aluminum head setup (includes pistons), cam, plus all the bolt ons, and you probably still wont be there. FI or nitrous is gonna get you there a lot faster.

a couple of good sites to look at if you car is a 4th gen is:

www.firebirdv6.com

www.fbodyv6.com

good luck to you!!!!!!!!

edit: i just saw your repost of this, yes its a 4th gen, go to those sites, were kind of a different breed here, different PCMs, different intake, different spark delivery, etc

 

I appreciate the quick reply drdave88, as I said though, I'm committed. So I'll do what I can. Tell me what you think about just swapping out for a small block v8? Or just how close can I get with about 1 grand worth of bolt-ons? Nitrous is def out, I trust my son but no sense in giving him a handgrenade. It is a 95 by the way.

 

well its tough to say, since your spark setup is a lot different than mine. youd be buying 3 coil packs, when i buy a cap and rotor. you can get headers for about $225 or so, depending on the company. port and polish the heads you have or swap over to aluminum heads, but that will require some custom fabricating. go to www.firebirdv6.com and see a sticky at the top of the v6 board to see all about that on those cars. youre probably gonna need a cam, anywhere from $100 from summit to hundreds for a custom grind. then all the lil odds and ends, underdrive pulleys, t-stat, lighter components.................

are you talking 225 at the crank or at the wheels? were battling 2 different beasts there.............

 

I'd settle for 225 at the crank. Maybe I should just aim at a 3.8 swap. Would that be pretty much a straight forward swap or will it require any significant mods?

 

from what ive read, a 3.8 swap is just as hard, if not harder than an lt1 swap. if youre going for straight up hp the easy way, go for those other two cylinders.

 

The firebirdv6 site looks like it will be very helpful in pointing me in a suitable direction. Cost will determine what the final direction will be, although my son and I have been discussing a v8 transplant. My main concerns with that are just how involved it will be. this question may be dumb, but things have changed quite
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The firebirdv6 site looks like it will be very helpful in pointing me in a suitable direction. Cost will determine what the final direction will be, although my son and I have been discussing a v8 transplant. My main concerns with that are just how involved it will be. this question may be dumb, but things have changed quite a bit sense my speedy days. If you change the engine configuration on a modern efi motor, do you change the computer also? And I'll try not to bother you anymore tonite as I'll be spending time at the recomended sites getting up to speed. thanks again

 

thats what were all here for is help. yes you will need to get more than just the engine. but if you can find a wrecked car at a U-pull-it, you can get away pretty cheap. youre going to need the engine, trans, PCM and wire harness, probably springs, etc up front for the added weight. again, check on that site to find out what all is involved in swapping in a v8. you may also need a fuel pump, depending on requirements.

if you decide to stay w/ the 3.4 ( i would cause im biased, lol) theres plenty you can do, and even if you dont hit your 225 mark, its still a ton of fun to drive and you will notice a huge increase just by doing a major tune up on it and adding some bolt ons. who knows, you may end up keeping it and being happy w/ what you got till you can afford some real goodies.

oh, it wont totally apply, but its some damn great basic info..... check out the TomP tune up on here

ok i cant pull up the search on here to find it for you right now, so do a search for it, and youll find a repost of it a couple years ago

 

i must also recommend the fv6/cv6 site, as I too am a member/mod over there (cheap plug ) Also check the third gen forum there, as I try to link as much useful info as I cain to this web site, and keep things from just being 4th gen only. i have a few good stickies that they don't have elsewhere on that site

 

OK, I'll check that out. From what I've read so far, I probably will stick with the 3.4 for now. Seems to be quite a bit I can do without breaking the bank starting with a major tuneup. Supercharger sounds danged Intriguing. The car he's driving now is a 95 Talon tsi and he's lamenting loosing that nice turbo whine. We'll see.
Stewy rocks!

 

ok well you want 225 hp, thats easy.... nitrous, nitrous, nitrous, i have a 150 shot on my 2.8hopefully soon another member on here will be making me a driect port fogger nitrous system.

 

Easiest way to 2245 HP on your 3.4 would be a turbo system. You can retain teh stock manifolds and creat a Y-pipe that runs under the K-frame to the front where the turbo would be placed. It's not ideal due to limited roads surfac clearance, but many people have done and have had great results.

But then again, I am a little biased to turbocharging, after I built my trubo 3.2L hybrid Jimmy, I want to turbo everything I own.