I'm slowly trying to learn about motors..Theres a ton of 2.8 MFIs around here in the junk yard I know I could get cheap.. heres what I Was thinking I'd get one and try and fix it up(are they hard to work on) and then try and put it in a car or...making a frame simlair to a go kart..or like a dune buggy ..roll cage etc..my question is is that motor to much for what I'm thinking of..on a frame similar to a go kart would I just end up killing myself ??? it would be just the motor, pedals and steering wheel...and seat belts

this will probably get closed but I tried

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1988 Sport Coupe 305 TBI
K&N
Flowmaster 80


Daily driver:
1988 K1500 5.7 4x4 shortbed flowmaster cat-back gutted cat.
AOL: RyanNH84

 

and transmission lol

 

They call these cars the Short Dirt Track Cars.
Go have fun!
I wanted to use my S-10 Blazer engine in a Vega El Camino I was gonna build one day!! I figured that would be so fun!


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

 

are the 2.8 MFI easy to work on..or would the carb be a better choice for a beginner like myself ???

 

Are they hard to work on? Lets put it this way. _In_ the car the only thing thats hard to get at is the distributor (but it can be done). Out of the car (and on a quality stand) things become -much easier-.

Think of your purposes on this one... The time you are going to spend on tuning a carb, will be time spend on hiding and routing wires and computers. MPFI's make more power than carbs (from factory). If you're going to perfect spark and fuel/mix to perfection for a certain situation, carb is your friend, whereas MPFI you're going to have to learn to burn your own PROMs. Also think that the carbed 2.8 is going on 17-18 years old now... whereas you could get a MPFI 3.1 thats only about 9/10 years old. A MPFI 2.8 is going to be about 12-14 years old (I don't know exactly when each engine type started and stopped, but those approximations are good).

Both have their advantages/disadvantages. Think about what you wanna do. If you have the talent and know-how, you could build a nice ultra-light... (although realistically everyone would laugh at you... they're all running 350's...). If you were to strap it on a frame and make it work (illegally) you could have some nice neck-breaking fun (litterally).

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1985 Camaro SC - 2.8L, auto.

http://www.xenodrgn.f2s.com/Frontright.jpg

 

Dude, if you built a tube chassis and dropped the 2.8 onto it, the thing would kick *** ! Use a 5 speed trans somehow setup to run the shifter towards the driver.. ive figured out how to do this kinda..but not really... it would be VERY cool..

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1989 Firebird. Modded.
My car is currently listed on ebay:
http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/aw-cgi/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=594662251

"I'd rather run last in a full out race, than to NOT have run at all"
#3 Forever

 

Well this would be more of a "nonstreet" car..I'm talking like logging roads..trails etc..its just a thought...If could pick up a motor for cheap I would definitely be interested in doinging it..I know I can get the frame built by my fathers friend..its just the motor part..I'll need to get a litttle more knowledge before I go and do it. This legal to build no..its kinda like a kit car lol?

 

Do yourself a favor. Go buy a S-10 truck. Do what ever you need to it.
Why spend the effort for the education (hey it is fun!) get the job done & RIDE IT!
Chop off the top of a truck for the same effect! AND IT'S SO MUCH CHEAPER.
Like you can't find a truck for under $500? OK engine?
Hell they're over SoCal!
Want the project? Repair the RUST on the truck!! Same skills, different results!

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

 

lol I've already done that project on my truck...next maybe new bed

 

How about a nice 4 post, with curtains!!!!
Sorry!

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

 

Any engine you snag will be easy to work on; they're all the same concept. The only thing might be price; for a 4 cylinder, you don't have to buy 4 extra pistons like you would for a V8. However, I've seen some dirt-cheap rebuild kits for V8's- probably because they're so popular.

However, if you use fuel injection, you'll have more wiring to figure out. If you use carburetion, you'll have a lot of jetting to play with.


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-Tom P (Hot rodded 1986 Firebird 2.8l)

 

well with the TPI setup yes there is ore wires to deal with but you dont have to worry about alot of it getting lost in tight spaces so wiring it will be alot easier. I have seen some dune buggies with TPI set ups and to work on them is cake work, beacuse everything is in the wide open spaces.
With carbs, well tuning for a V6 won't be hard, but still more troublesome then its worth.
As far as ease of working on. Well to simply learn about them the 2.8/3.1 is easy because its a very simple engine.