Hey guys, got a question in regards to the 2.8L V6.. I'm currently fixing up an '87 Firebird and was originally going to swap it out for a 350 but the funds are lacking at the moment and would also like to get the car out on the road for the summer. I just bought it a month ago and she runs but is leaking oil near the gasket. I figured I might as well fix it up and use it and then save up some $$$ to do the swap.. Does anyone know how many horses the stock V6 has and any combinations to get the biggest bang for my buck? I don't have an overly large budget but would like to add some extra horses under the hood and have some fun smoking others.

Any help is greatly appreciated..

 

carb is like 107hp and mpfi is 135hp
any money you put into fixing the 2.8 up is taking away from the money you save for the 350. taking from five7kid unless you really love this car changing it over to a 350 is gonna cost ya an arm and a leg, best bet(and cheapest) is too find a V8 car.

 

Or you can do as I did and swap in a 3.4 V-6.
Very detailed but worth it!
I love the smiles per miles from my swap job. Able to leap tall hills in a single bound.
I spent $800 to get a running 40K 3.4.
Look around, may work out.
2.8's to rebuild won't do much for you.
May BE wisest to sell & get a 3rd Gen V-8.

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Chat Soon,
KED85
Karl
1985 Firebird 2.8 to 3.4 swap project for Smog Happy LA, CA

 

stroke the 2.8, you can find stroker kits online to stroke a 2.8 or 3.1 up to a 3.8. it will look bone stock but haul.

 

Thanks for the replies guys.. I'll definately look into the stroking or swap. I orginally was looking for a v8 3rd gen but the quality of the cars that were available were either rusted out or in horrible shape. The one I picked up wasn't so bad, minor rust here and there no bigger than a spot weld size and 2 major dents. I thought about purchasing one from the states but the costs are too high.. I'm having enough problem as it is finding parts/accessories for it in Toronto and so far all the stuff I want I have to ship it from the US. Sometimes I wish I lived there, seems all the goodies are only in the states.
Ah well...

 

Which gasket is leaking? If you think it's a rear main seal leak, it might just be a distributor seal leak- that's a $1.00 o-ring.

Click on "search" near the top right of this page, and look for "major tuneup" - that's a good starting point. After that, you can do a cat-back exhaust... Dynomax #17493 is a dual-exit cat-back system, and it's the same one that some v8's used, which might be good for a future swap.


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-Tom P (Hot rodded 1986 Firebird 2.8l) from http://www.f-body.net/mailbag/3rd/3rd_mailbag.html message boards
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