ok i have only basic mechanic skills installing external bolt on parts and i dont mind taking it to shop to have stuff done and i got time to finish (until its to my likeing) its a spare/ future comute car 1991 3.1l im not gonna boost it just want any possible n/a hp added to it and whats needed for a hybrid, how would i go about buying the parts and taking it to a performance shop and telling them to install it ???? and no budget limit i want kinda a unique camaro so i figured in california no1 hardly sees hybrid engines and i have alot of ghetto spots for smog inspections meaning all they do is hook up my car tell me if i pass or fail and want me to leave they shop to get started with the next person lol i passed with nos and homemade intake on and no muffler (choped it off to remind me to get new 1 from the crapy sound it put off without it)i planed to have some1 make me custom headers, dual cai to each front corner of the car, and custom taller valve covers and if if i pnp heads/3 or 5angle valve job will i need a bigger cam? im trying to stay away from mods that will kill mpg

 

First step is to find a reputable shop in your area. When you first tell them what you plan on doing many may tell you 60* v6's aren't worth your time or they're weak -blah-blah- but insist on what you want done. Most shops don't have a problem assembling an engine with parts you bring, unless they feel they won't work well with your combination. If they aren't knowledgeable about 60*'s or 3rd gens in general- walk out.

You'll need a 3.4L short block (block and rotating assembly), the top end off a 3x00 (everything from the heads up) and the gaskets, bearings, ect. to do the build.

You may need custom pushrods made but I've heard of some people getting away with 3x00 pushrods on flat tappet lifters, but don't try to use flat tappet pushrods with 3x00 heads. If you feel like spending the extra cash you could have it converted to a roller cam setup instead. Depending on how radical you want to get with this build you may want to go with one of crane's solid cam profiles or maybe a custom cam profile. Solid cams require periodic valvetrain adjustment so be sure you can keep up with it, otherwise go with a hydraulic cam.

You'll probably want to get a megasquirt ecm to get things running. You can ask the shop to tune the ecm for you on the dyno, but it can get very expensive very fast. If you have the skills to tune it yourself you'll save a good chunk of money.

The 3x00 top end you get is up to you. If you don't have a budget restriction go for the 3500 top end, but the later 3400/3100 top end is good as well. If you have them ported insist on flow bench testing.

If you want a powerfull motor mileage is going to suffer, especially if you can't keep your foot off the gas. If you just want a mild cruiser things like custom headers and head porting are overkill. You can get respectable power out of the 3x00 manifolds and heads without porting and save money in the process.

 

thank you for the info
One more thing does any know or had a good experience with a shop that sells new engines i know ill need to transfer over my intake manifold and pullys ect. because all i got to go off of is kragen(i asked some people said dont get it there) Napa auto parts my friends got a engine from there said runs fine and hes on 50,000miles right now
Thanks for the help

im gonna run my next engine 150,000+ miles lol so from my first post i might not go to radical with the build but need any suggestions on any parts that would be good to upgrade to stronger peices for more durability and if i got it right hydraulic cams dont need periodic adjusting???? if not should i upgrade my cam to a hydraulic???sry for the long questions and thank you this site works wonders and members are helpful and knowledgeable

 

I got my new heads from Marshall Engines, they're actually rebuilt, but they look (and smell lol) new and all parts are new in them. I'm satisfied so far, they got my order right and all, but I honestly can't tell you about quality yet, because I haven't finished rebuilding my motor. Basically, I'm just trying to keep this thread from being forgotten for you LOL

 

I've never had a problem with kragen (or checker as they're known out here). If you just want a turn key engine you should go with a hydraulic cam. Adjustment is rarely (if ever) needed with hydraulic cams. The hydraulic cams available right now aren't great in my oppinion, but they'll suit a mild daily driver just fine. I doubt you plan on making power over 6k anyway. Contact some of the cam manufacturers and tell them what your combo is and what kind of power you're looking for. You're really limited to crane or comp since pretty much everything else out there is crap. Infact edelbrock's profile is basically just a copy of their 'performer' sbc profile .

 

Cool because i liked the prices they had for the engine also yes i dont like moding engines to go past the factory rpm limit to me it brings it out of the mild engine section ill probly go with comp cams just get a mild cam and some premo rocker arms dont mind spending the $ for premium parts if it also means stonger and more durable. so i dont make a new thread just continue anything special needed warnings about ruining 1.6 rocker arms besides some people saying tiny bit taller valve covers forged or chromeoly pushrods???? better for the long haul im gonna do

 

1.6 rockers are just as strong as 1.5's, maybe better because of better valvetrain geometry. You don't need special pushrods unless you want them, stock equivalent will work just fine for what you intend. Just how much power do you want to get out of this? It would be a shame to dump money into a basic build.

 

dunno i guess what ever i ended with when im done with the build i know there 140 stock probly 120 to wheels eh i guess i was hoping for like 170 or alittle moremay be closer to 200 but dont want to mess with rpm range or anything big like crank oh and top it off with mega squirt so shop can tune for me or my cousin really to be true i guess not a whole lot more since i wanna keep good mpg and not knock it down to a hotrod 14 freeway mpg

 

If you plan to use stock 3.4 pistons and 3400 heads you're going to get 13/1 cr which is pretty much unusable on pump gas; you'll need to use 3400 pistons instead. With .04" head gaskets and 3400 heads/pistons you'll get 10/1 cr which is safe on pump gas. With a crane 250801 cam (solid profile) you'll get ~220hp. Mileage should stay in the 20's on the highway, city mileage might even improve depending on how you drive it. With the additional torque you'll have you won't need to get into the throttle as much to keep up with traffic.

 

What would 3400 pistons with iron heads be c/r wise?

 

3500 heads and 3.4 pistons give you 11.5:1 using the 3500 gaskets.

The 3.4 block can't be converted to roller lifters.

With 3400 heads and a spring swap, the engine can have useable power up to 6500 or a little more.

Don't need to use MegaSquirt since you have OBD1, you can convert your ECM to DIS (the ECM sends the same signal to the ICM as the distributor ) by re-pinning it. Then you can use Moates or other programmer.

I'm using MS (MagaSquirt) for various reasons, actually, mostly because I'm planning on big boost and they offer a 4BAR map upgrade for it (it will recognize up to 44psi of boost )

 

Someone on 60degreev6.com converted a 2.8 to a roller setup by hacking up some sbc lifters a while back. I assume the same could be done on a 3.4. Crane was also making some roller lifters for 60*'s at one point, not sure if they still are though.

 

just wondering i know there are not alot of hybrid v6's runing around is there anyone who has one that lives in california and pass smog possible i mean what comes out of the pipes i know a place that doesnt bother looking under the hood if they do they dont care
thanks in advance for any reply's

 

So let me get this straight.
A distributer ecm can be made to work with d.i.s.?

Thinking out loud here, let me know if this jives.

All the distributer ecm does is take a distributer reference signal. And then based off parameters. Will send a signal to the hei module to either advance or retard the timing.

The the dis ecm reads a distributor refence signal, but its not a real distributor it is an oil pump drive and cam sensor more or less. Then based off parameters sends the ignition module( located under the coil packs) and signal called ignition control to either advance or retard the timing. The igntion control module recieves a crank sensor signal, and a cam signal so that it can determine which coil pack to fire.

So realy the ecms do the same thing between the two systems. Its the ignition module that really does the work to make it dis. This jive right?

 

You're on track for the most part. The dist. ecms don't use a cam sensor, only sfi ecms do. And most sfi ecms will run without a cam signal, they simply revert to batch firing.

 

The reluctor wheel in the dizzy was moved to the crank, and the HEI was replaced with the ICM (<<<---short version, anyways).