yep, that's right! It's going to happen

I picked up my engine stand today, and sunday I'm getting the truck that has the 3.4 in it now. (long story, it's a blazer that somebody put a 50K mileage 3.4 into, and the the 4wd transaxle went out, so the truck has say for at least a couple years. He's giving me the whole thing, title and everything)

So when I get the truck the first thing I'm going to do it try to turn the engine over to make sure it hasn't locked up sitting around (doubtful) Not sure if I'll actually try to start it, but I might. I don't know how much gas is in the tank, but it's probably sludge by now. Might drain the tank and put 5 gallons of fresh gas in

After I run some tests to make sure the engine is still in good condition, I'll pull it and put it on a stand. I want to clean it up, paint it, powder coat things like the timing chain cover and manifolds. and put all new sensors, seals, water pump, and a starter on it

When I have the engine where I need it, I'll pull my 2.8, clean the engine bay really good, and paint it with the same base and clear that I painted the outside of the car with last summer 9I still have a full quart of base coat left).

Next step, install the engine, and hope everything goes back together the way it should.

this is my FIRST engine swap. I'm excited about getting the engine and cleaning and dressing it up, and painting my engine bay, but what I'm not excited about is pulling the healthy engine that is already has. This engine starts, runs, and sounds like the day it was new from the factory. Not knowing the full history of the car, I can't swear how many miles it has on it, for all I know it could be a low mileage block. the car has around 190K on it, so it's probably had a replacement engine at some point

It's possible (and this is going to take restraint on my part) that I will get the 3.4 ready, and then leave it on the stand until the 2.8 gives me a reason to make the swap. As much of a waste it would be leave a beautiful engine on the stand, I hate pulling a totally healthy engine out, especially an engine that nobody else would probably be interested in. It's not like people are lining up to buy used 2.8 blocks out there in camaro land. Before I just gave it away, I would probably put it on the stand and clean it up too, and get it ready for another car, in case I ever get a thirdgen for my wife or son.

so here's the gist of what I need from you... Suggestions on how to make this the best looking 3.4 engine ever put into a camaro I already have a 3.1 plenum on the way that I'm going to give a even better polish job than I did my 2.8. I also already have a set of fiero valve covers in a box, ready to be used

Give me ideas for colors of the engine, colors of the bolt on parts, and anything else you can think of.

Also, right now I'm planning on leaving the engine stock, BUT.... if there are any upgrade I would be STUPID not to do while the engine is on the stand, please tell me. yes, I've read the stickies... I'm aware of the cam options and the rocker arm upgrades, and since I've already got the fiero valve covers, they are very tempting. but one thing the stickies did not address (unless I just missed them) is how much of an upgrade those changes give you. I'm not going to spend tons of money on rockers just to see a 3HP boost. I'd rather stay away from changes that would have to have me tune my computer, which I know next to nothing about.


long post... if you're still with me, let me hear what you are thinking...

 

first thought on the engine's look

I'm thinking RED block, red valve covers with polished aluminum highlights

powder coating of the bolt-ons would be cast aluminum, with some black in the pullies and brackets

I've already got red ignition wires and a red distributor cap and coil.

 

this would look pretty sharp for a block...

 

In my experience with engine spray paint, it won't hold up and will wind up looking crappy, as for mods, if you have the tools and knowledge, port the heads, put a 260 grind cam in, and some 1.6 rollers. Should be good for 15-30hp, more if you have other mods to support it(ie. exhaust, intake). Also, just throwing it out there, SS lines will really set the engine bay off, though if you are polishing the plenum it would be a little bit much, could do nylon mesh though.
Lastly, the 3.1 plenum is not a direct swap per say, you might have to figure out something with the vac lines(but I don't think so, unless you use the 3.4 LIM like I did), you will have to clearance it to use a 2.8 TB though.

 

i'm just using the 3.4 block. everything else, including the intake, will be the same as my 2.8. the 3.1 and 2.8 plenum are a direct swap, aren't they?

 

^

 

what does clearance it mean? not familiar with that term

 

Remove extraneous material in order to make something fit.

 

I've got a 3.1 plenum on the way, and an extra 2.8 here. I'll compare them to see what needs to be done. I thought the only difference was the lack of the 2.8 emblem in the middle

 

The tb flange is also larger and gets in the way of the fitting on the 2.8 TB.

 

Interesting... thanks

 

My block is chevy red-orange. I like it. As fat as upgrades. Port the heads. 360 delta cam. Pace setter headers. And maybe rockers. Idk just atleast do headers with a dynomax catback

 

I've heard the 3.4 already has a more aggressive cam over the 2.8. would putting in a 260 require a chip tune?
Can't do headers. the smog pump would have to go, and I need that to pass a visual inspection

rockers are a possibility. I need to learn more about them, and the cost

 

Never heard Of tuning and that sucks about the smog pump: makes mr curious though because mine never had it. The née 2.8 had it bit I removed it. Along with the egr

 

Emissions testing can be pretty strict here, and I'd rather not get into a situation where i'm always looking for somebody to bribe into giving me a sticker

 

i dont think a 260 will require a tune...depends on how strick the emissions are ive never looked into it dont have to

you could run some 1.6 roller rockers for a lil extra

 

I've aged out of the sniffer test, but I still have to pass a visual teat for all components

Could you recommend which roller rockers I should be looking at? I'm a newb at stuff like this

 

well....i can only tell you what i have as i dont know much about any other kinds and they were expensive. i bought the crane gold race rockers. they were like 350.00 bucks lol

i know there are others...you might check the stickies there should be some listed there as well.

 

https://www.thirdgen.org/forums/v6/2...3-1-3-4-a.html my build thread

i think there are engine specs in my turbo build page as well

https://www.thirdgen.org/forums/v6/5...my-3-4-t3.html

 

holy... cow

I'll read the links, but I can tell you if they are all anywhere that close to that price, it's not going to happen. I'm just that much into speed to justify it

thanks though

 

im pretty positive there are way cheaper alternatives lol i didnt hold anything back when i built my engine. the pistons were 660.00

 

http://www.ftpp.net/V6/Internal%20En...e%20Prelim.htm

 

man, have I got a lot to learn. This is like a foreign language to somebody that has just made cupholders and painted cars.

 

haha i know i was the same way, read through my build thread i asked plenty of DUMB questions...so you dont have too

 

reading now! thanks again

I found out today that the engine I'm getting has sat up for the last 10 years. That's not good news. I'm wondering if it's going to be nothing but a free block that I can turn in for a core charge

 

it may be fine... a good clean and rebuild will fix it right up.

from my expereince these engines take a beating and keep on moving. i ran my 3.1 with no oil...for fun, lots of times, and when i tore it down for my swap it didnt even show that i had done that

 

I'm thinking of hooking up a battery when I get the donor car, and trying to turn the engine over a couple of times. I'll disable the fuel pump with the intent of just bumping it to see if it is locked up. Stupid idea?

 

i dont see why that would be a problem

 

thanks, I just didn't want to do anything to make a bad situation worse. Getting the donor car on Sunday, and I'll have to put a temp battery in it before I can bump it

 

well if its locked its not gonna move anyways...could always try by hand first

 

couple updates...

Got the donor truck with the 3.4. nice truck, it's almost a shame to trash it



the plan is sometime this month to remove the front clip, and pull the engine. I'm not going to bother trying to start it, I'm going to put it on the stand and soak the tops of the cylinders with Marvel mystery oil, seafoam, or automatic transmission fluid. After each side has soaked at least a week, I'll turn the engine over and see if it moves

I got my 3.1 plenum, so I'm good for that

I also got a 3.4 plenum with the injectors and everything, so now I have 12 3.4 injectors to choose from when I put the engine together

I'm in no hurry for this swap... my 2.8 runs so great it feels like a brand new car. It's possible I'm going to keepthe TBI setup for the Blazer, and if a 2wd blazer comes available that has a knocking engine, I might just throw this engine in that truck. It just depends where the need is first. Or, I might put the 3.4 in my car and save the good 2.8 for a future project

 

my honest opinion on the 3.4 injectors is dont waste your time. you would be better off contacting southbay and get some bosch injectors. they are super affordable i think i paid 160 for 19lb bosch III's

 

maybe... we'll see where I am when I get to that point in the swap.

what's wrong with stock 3.4 injectors?

 

they tend to be crap and go bad often from what ive read. the flow pattern also isnt as optimal as the bosch.

if you decide to use the 3.4s itd be in your best interest to send them out to southbay they will test them for free and clean them if you wish. i sent my 3.4s out and 4 of the 6 wouldnt pulse.

 

ok. thanks

 

update...

the truck I got was RUSTY, and it ended up being really hard to take apart. In fact, I never did get the 3.4 unbolted from the 4WD transaxle, or to the point of lifting both of them out of the truck. I needed it out of my driveway, so I sold the entire thing as a whole.

Also, my 2.8 runs as good as the day it was new. I have no idea how many miles are on it ir even if it's the original engine, but the thing starts up and runs like a dream, and as long as that's the case, I can't see the logic in pulling it out just to get a small boost in power

so for now, the project is back on hold, but it will happen someday, perhaps with a crate engine

 

mark look into fasteddi's turbo thread he did his on a very tight budget. could be something for u to do in the future and it would cost less then the 3.4 swap and give a much much bigger boost in power

 

i'll check it out... a turbo might be nice...

 

I found a guy locally that had a 3.4 for sale, and I got it from him for $200. It does need assembly, but I can't see any signs that it needs a full rebuild. I think I did pretty good considering I paid less than the core charge would cost if I went about got one of these already rebuilt.

I'm going to put it on a stand and see where I stand. I don't trust myself to rebuild it, so I'll probably get a pro to do it for me. Now I have to decide if I want to do it stock, or pep it up a little

here it is.. game ON!

 

Why are so many people afraid of assembling an engine? It's quite difficult to screw it up, as long as you line up the timing marks, everything else really only has one way to get installed.

 

it's called zero experience and don't know anybody to show me the process. I wouldn't mine trying it, but I just don't have the experience to know what to do.

somewhere around here I have a book on rebuilding a 2.8. I'm guessing it's almost the same process....

 

I didn't have any experience when I rebuilt my first engine.

 

that's lovely. I don't want to go into this process blind. Without help, I'd rather leave it to the professionals, at least to check it out and make sure there's nothing wrong with the parts I just bought

 

its not hard at all man u just need a clean workspace and pay attention to what u are doing

 

well if I can find my book I will give it a try. I'm sure don't want to screw this up with rookie mistakes

 

the only thing u cant do without special tools is rpelace the cam bearings this takes a special tool, which u can buy but i dont recomend cam bearing replacement to a novice, as the cam bearings have to be square in the block otherwise u get the cam digging into the bearing and or it wont go in the block.

most machines shops will install the bearings for u for a few bucks when u have th eblock hottanked and cleaned/freeze plugs installed

other then that u can do everything urself

 

somebody tell me your thoughts on using these Rocker arms
http://www.summitracing.com/parts/CC...4-12/?rtype=10

 

waste of money

for 50 bucks on ebay u can get a full set of sbc 1.6 roller tips, and for another 12 bucks u can pick up a set of new 10mm stud rocker *****

or u can skip the new rockerballs/piviots and just use the ones out of ur factory rockers

 

interesting... what about lifters? use the factory ones? or something different?

 

factory is all ur going to get, but if u buy a cam from delta cams just get the lifters with it cam is 50 bucks or so by itself but cam/new lifter kit is 112 bucks or so