So I have a 92 RS with a 3.1 v6 5 speed manual trans. Well the motor develpoed a rod knock 2 days ago and today the rod snapped so the motor is toast. Would you guys suggest I just swap in a 350 like I planned or put a 3.1 back in it. The shop said it would run me 3500 to put a 3.1 back in it. Also I just got a call from a buddy sayin that I could get a 350 with an auto trans for like $300 if I buy this junker van with a good motor and trans. Suggestions.

 

how does that compare at all?

ask the shop what a 350 would cost too, if you want an even price to compare.

you could get a junk yard 3.1 for $300 or less too.

 

Still need to consider how much it's going to cost to swap si.ce you aren't doing this yourself. Read up on how to do a swap so you can get an idea of what else you need besides just the motor and tranny.

 

I'd be calling a different shop, $3500 seems way too high to replace an engine in one of these cars. You are going to be looking at more money no matter where you go to swap from your current 3.1 to any other engine though. There's more work involved in changing to a different engine, regardless of what engine it is. Your cheapest route (assuming a shop is doing your work) is a direct replacement. If you know someone who can help you, that's a different story.

 

IDK how much my father paid when my original 2.8 in my 87 blew up, but I can guarantee you it wasn't $3500.

$3500 is kind of ridiculous for a direct swap that can easily be completed in an afternoon. Unless they're charging about $300 an hour...

However, you can expect pretty high costs with throwing a V8 in (engine, trans, rewiring if needed, engine mounts, possibly fuel pump or other fuel system mods even IF he doesn't swap the front springs).

 

Well the camaro was the only car I had to drive but I got one of my old hondas back so I'm just gonna beat that back and forth till I can do something with the camaro. I much prefer the carb'd 350 v8's. So I may try to swap it myself and take the time necessaryto insure that I can swap the 350 with an auto trans into it. If it weremt for getting the honda back id have to shop it to keep workin. so I guess at this point its just a question of how difficult it is to swap a 350 into it. If I have to I can take it to my buddy's shop to get the wiring done.

 

just remember when you go to put a 350 in it, there are parts you will have to have from a 3rd gen (i can think of motor mounts and exhaust manifolds right off hand) to get the motor down low enough

 

I'm doing this swap right now (minus the auto trans), there's some additional work involved. You will need a complete engine/trans assembly, chassis side motor mounts for a V8, exhaust, new radiator, front springs, either modify existing wiring or add wiring for starter/alt/dist/anything else you want to keep working, either remove the FI fuel pump from the tank and install a carbed one or install a regulator to lower fuel pressure and I'm sure there's more that I'm not thinking of right now.

Plus, you'll want to do a separate search on swapping from manual to auto trans, there's additional work involved there too.