I have a 1987 Base Model Camaro Auto with no engine and a 1989 RS with a 2.8L 5 speed. I was thinking about swapping in the 2.8 and 5 speed, but I wanted to know if the engine would just drop in or if I would need to do some modifications. I'm not sure if there is more information about the cars needed to answer this I'm new to the third gen world. Any help is appreciated.

I noticed the sticky above mentions that the 2.8 and some others are the only direct bolt ins into 3rd gen f bodies, I just wanted to verify that the difference in years caused a problem or anything.

Thanks

 

Youll have to change the body connector pinouts with the 89 harness to match your 87

To get the trans to work a hole needs to be cut, pedals hung and clutch related wiring modified

Physically it should go right in, but for the amount of trouble Id suggest checking out the engine swap forum

 

That all depends on if the empty car has the frame mounts for the V8 or V6, and the front springs as well. If you drop a 6 into a car that has V8 parts, you'll need to swap the mounts and the springs or the front will sit too high. You may also want to swap the auto trans mount to the T5, as it's way cheaper to replace when it does bust, and there is less hassle getting it in and out as opposed to the manual mount. And, you will need to rewire some of the dash to produce the VATS fuel control signal if your car has the key with the chip in it, or the engine won't be running anytime soon.

 

If it's an 89 donor, wouldn't it be a 3.1? Thought they switched for that year to the 3.1...
And yeah...the amount of work really depends on which engine was in, and what is going in, if you're going from a 2.8 to a 2.8, the extra work will be quite nominal. I've never done a trans conversion but I'd imagine its a bit of work.

 

Trans conversion is one hole cut and 6 wires reran

BTW, 90-92 cars were 3.1's. They changed with the ECM going to speed density

 

two holes cut, master cylinder and trans tunnel other than that yeah its pretty easy, i only wired the neutral safety switch from the auto. i bypassed the clutch switch and have yet to put the reverse lights on

 

And the 87 has a cable speedo, so you would have to find a mechanical speedo drive (which I happen to have in my spare parts bin). That's 4 wires to rewire (reverse light switch and clutch start switch, no electric VSS on the 87).

Oh, and if you still have a wiring harness for a V6 on the 87, you don't need to rewire for the VATS fuel control signal. Otherwise...

 

Both are pre-90 camaros, both will have a cable speedo

 

Some Camaros had the electronic speedo in 89 .