The question that i have is can i swap the 2.8L thats in my 86 firebird for a bigger v6 without having to change out my transmission? the reason i want to stay with the v6 is because of the gas milage lol.

 

Yes you can, look at a 3.1L or a 3.4L out of a F-body. The 3.4L is your best performance gain though.

https://www.thirdgen.org/forums/v6/5...y-2-8-3-a.html
https://www.thirdgen.org/forums/v6/3...-3-4-swap.html

Heres a few threads..some good info in them.

 

cool thanks, i want to build it up so its faster but dont want to put a v8 in it like i had in my 88 trans am.

 

Can i even build up my 2.8? cuz ive been trying to find out if i can or not, i cant find any kind of turbo kits or any performance parts for one.

 

Yes you can build it up. Your not going to find a turbo kit...and even if you do its $$$$. I just made my own up a few months ago. Theres some power to be had, but unless you going to dig into the motor(cam, port the heads..exc) or add a power adder your not going to see much from bolt on stuff.

Theres performance stuff at summit..headers, cams, stuff like that.

Sift through the stickys, on turbos(project89 made up) Or look at my thread "purge/turbo" its not as informitive as daves thread but theres alot of good stuff on there as im still learning, and probly..no I know..I asked alot of "dumb" questions.

 

well the only thing is is that i dont have the know how on how to customize my own stuff to make a make shift turbo kit..at least until i go back to college for auto mechanics so i can learn the stuff that i dont know how to do now.

 

Believe me Im NO mechanic at all. Its just a hobby, and if you have a welder, dedication, a little $, and creativity, it will work easier then you think.

You have to think about the sub assemblys and not the whole project as a whole. You do this sub assembly, then the next, then the next. And before you know it, the project will come together in time.

I totally understand though, as I was thinking about the turbo thing for over a year. I never though I'd be able to do any of this. I had ALOT of help from people on here, but it is possible so just keep that in mind in the future for whatever you decide to do with your car.

 

Best bet still is a 3.4 so you can use your stuff from the 2.8 for the conversion. You pick up plenty oh horsepower and tq frtom this mod. Plus you can even upgrade more from there if you decide to. Check out the 2.8 to 3.4 boogie on this forum. Thats the way I will go sometime in the near future.

 

ya i have thought about getting a 3.4 but i dont know were to find the computer for it and is the wiring harness the same on the 3.4 as the 2.8? but if i got with a 3.4 then im going to use all 3.4 parts and just build it up and leave the 2.8 in it for now cuz there's nothing wrong with the motor thats in it, it was rebuilt about a year ago..

 

You use the 2.8 harness and ECM to run the 3.4.

 

alright cool that saves me some money, thanks