Could you put one of these into one of our cars. It is a 60* V6, would it still hook up to the tranny. I was thinking about this today when I was riding around in my gf's dads Catera. They do put out 200hp.

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Red 1986 SC, 2.8L, newly rebuilt 700R4, 3.42 Posi, t-tops, 133K miles and counting, K&N air filters, hopefully more to come!

 

Well, there is one advantage to this idea...at least the Catera is RWD, so the engine faces north/south.

BUT, this is not anywhere close to being an ideal engine for a swap. Why?

1) Availability. When was the last time anyone saw a Catera in a junkyard??

2) Cost. Even if you could find one, this is not a cheap engine. Naturally, an aluminum, 24 valve, DOHC engine ain't cheap.

3) Availability of parts. Remember, a Catera is an Opel. Are there parts looming around your average Auto Zone? Uh uh. You'd have to pay dealer prices, and even worse, dealer IMPORT parts prices.

4) The nature of the engine. This is a high-winding engine. It isn't exactly a torquer, in the sense of a typical muscle car engine. The biggest problem with this engine in the Catera is that the Catera is fairly heavy (200 lbs more than a V6 fbody), and is designed for high-speed, autobahn style operation. There isn't much oomph down low. With the F body weighing 200 lbs less, it would be quicker than the Catera, but it wouldn't be the same as putting in a 3.8.

I know you like the idea because its a 60 degree engine. But in all honesty, it would be cheaper and easier (I think) to throw a 4th gen 3.8 AND 4L60E in it, rather than try to mess around with an expensive import engine you can't get parts for

Just my .02.

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Jason E
'89 Camaro RS 2.8
Hypertech chip/K&N filters/Accel 8.8 wires,coil/RapidFires
Eclipse CD and 100x4 amp/Boston plates and 6x9s
JasonEE98 on AOL IM

 

I was just curious to if you could. I know it would be super expensive. There's no way I could ever afford it. The Catera's are nice cars though. I might even get one in a few years when they come down a little more on price. My gfs dad got his 97 for about 13K w/ under 50K miles on it!


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Red 1986 SC, 2.8L, newly rebuilt 700R4, 3.42 Posi, t-tops, 133K miles and counting, K&N air filters, hopefully more to come!