First off this thread will probably go slowly for a good 6 months or so as money allows upgrades to be done. I've never done an engine overhaul, but I've read about them a great deal as well as watching several interactive videos on how to do it without breaking everything.

My car is a 1984 camaro, pretty sure its just thr base sport coupe, was in a wreck before I purchased it, had a good deal of body cosmetics rebuilt from z-28 parts, and I also have most of the z-28 trim package to put on it. It has the original 2.8l 2bbl carbed engine, hooked to a th700-r4 tranny. Apart from that, im not sure what all was done before I got it, but the first things I did was tear out the a/c and the air system. I've fiddled with the e2se carb on it for some time, and come down to the conclusion that it hates me, most likely because I had to jam a pair of tin snips in the air valves to get it to start when I first purchased it.

I have decided to replace the engine, one bit at a time, and then add on a turbo or supercharger package. As of right now, I have decided to go with a 3.4L engine. I am in the process for saving up for one and looking for one in my price range. The goal is to use a 3.4, with carb, and either super or turbo, whichever would be more effective. I have driven a turbo and a super engine, and noticed the super was quicker in response time than the turbo, and for that reason, i feel a supercharger would be the better fit for my taste. This application won't be until much longer after I have rebuilt the engine, added edelbrock parts etc to it, and had a taste of the finished product of that, to decide whether or not it would even need one for my preference.

I plan to leave the trans alone until I can replace it with a manual trans after I overhaul the engine block itself.

As the parts come in, I will assemble the engine on a stand in my father's garage with him, until the finished product is completely assembled and all it needs done is dropped into the car. This way, I can ensure everything works together, and operates fluidly before i even add it to the vehicle.

As I go, I will post before and after imsges of each section until the finished product shines through. I appreciate this community andnthe help it has given me, and hope this here becomes the best father-son project for my father and I in our memories.



I plan to leave it carbed, using an edelbrock performer series with manual choke.
Edelbrock part #1404.

I plan on using a 2 piece intake from edelbrock as well, the lower base and the adapter to the 4 bbl carb.
Edelbrock part #3785 and 3789.

I have found a junkyard engine from a 94 pontiac firebird, 3.4l, the full engine assembly


So as of 2/16/2015, I have parts for:
Carb
Intake
engine block

What else should I look at, and what are the ups and downs of each part?

 

Please do some thread searching about V6 crankshafts here , cause I'm not too sure ya want to go sinking any money into that particular engine . I recall something about the earlier V6 , specifically the carbed ones , having a really weak crankshaft and that in later years with the MPFI they had beefed up the weak crank to fix the problem . The cranks literally broke when asked much more than stock power out of em .

Hopefully one of the V6 experts will come along and tell you what year the cutoff was for good crank VS bad crank , but I'm almost positive 84 is one of the bad years

 

Eek, that ain't good at all. If that is the case, I may just tske the parts and assemble the engine outside the vehicle with the appropriate better engine instead of using what is in it. Thats a pain! Thanks for letting me know, a snapped crankshaft is exactly what I DON'T need!

 

yea, I've read a few accounts where the 86ish and up were stronger cranks. If you can afford it, find a 3.4, it's the exact same thing, but with a bigger bore, longer stroke, and (I'm told) better internals. And they can be found pretty cheap (at least at u pulls in FL). Put a decent carb and cam on that thing, it should sing for you. The nice thing is that with a carb, you could get as nuts as you want on the cam, and not freakout the ECM.

 

If you plan on staying with the 2.8, first thing to do is to look for an 85+ long block (engine block, rotating assembly, heads) because 85 was the year everything got better for the 2.8... Bigger mains on the crank, bigger cylinder head ports... 87+ got rid of the external balance weight on the flywheel/flexplate.

As others have said, you're best off finding something with a bigger displacement (3.4 might wake up nicely with the Edelbrock intake and some cylinder head port work with headers). Mostly because those engines guarantee the bigger better cranks and better heads... With up to/over 20HP and 20TQ over the 2.8 (not sure the rating of the carb 2.8 but I know it wasn't the 135/160 rating of the MFI, it was lower...).

 

The rating I found for my engine was approx. 107hp, not sure on the torque but I would bet good money it was crap too. Would it be possible to take a 4.3 v6 and cobble it together with a carb? All the ones I have seen by chevy are fuel injected, but I prefer carbs, manual carbs at that. Im of a "the less wires and computers the better" style of thought. I judt like a simple machine. Right now I am looking at either a 4.3 and replacing the trans (if possible) or going with the 3.4 as reccomended. Anyone have any thoughts on the 4.3 idea?

 

A 4.3 swap is more difficult than a V8 swap. The 4.3 is essentially a 90* V8 just missing 2 cylinders, nothing your car has now will work with it.

Your best bet is a 3.4 from a 93-95 Camaro/Firebird.

 

Then it looks like my safest bet will be a 3.4 swap. I was told that a turbo would be a bad idea with a carb, if that is the case, I suppose that instead I should use a supercharger correct? This is going to be a decision made much further down the road than the 3.4 swap, I just want to know what direction to go with that option when I come to it.

 

would it be possible to have a mod change the title of this thread from 2.8 to 3.4 to match my final upgrade decision? thanks in advance!

 

If you want to go FI go with a EFI motor and a turbo. A supercharger on a 60* V6 is a waste of time, it will never make the power a turbo car will.

 

after some other thread searching and reading, I am going to rebuild a 3.4L engine. i have been told i can use the distributor from my 2.8 for the 3.4, so i plan to do that, along with the wires, which were brand new. i may get an aftermarket distributor, but i prefer to keep with the distributor setup for ignition. I will be using a holley carburetor, once i find the appropriate carb, and an intake matched to it. I have a recommended camshaft I plan to investigate as well. As of right now, I am having a large amount of trouble finding any aftermarket cylinder heads to replace the stock ones. Are they even made anymore? if not, i guess i can work with the stock ones, but would prefer to have aftermarket options as well...

 

I've read several posts and threads about the v6, and something started to click in my head.
I have access to the tools needed to machine an engine block, heck, rebuild the entire engine. I read in one place that a 3.1 is a stroked 2.8, and a 3.4 is a bored 3.1, which in my head means that a 3.4 is a 2.8 stroked and bored. Could I skip the part where I purchase a new engine for replacement, and just machine the crap out of my 2.8 and get the same results? this is simply for theoretically speaking, I dont want to spend the money for a new crank/pistons etc, so I will be buying a 3.4 anyway. I'm just very curious now.

 

Yea a 3.4L is basically bored and stroked in math terms. Im not sure of the cylinder wall thickness on a 2.8/3.1L though. You would have to bore that thing out quite a bit.

Best just to start with a 3.4L block if you want a 3.4L.


Your best bet for heads is to get stock ones off a older 2.8L MPFI one or a 3.1L or a 3.4L. There basically all the same. I think somewhere in the mid 80s the heads got larger valves(might wana look it up but IIRC 86 and later are better). If you get a set of heads off a post 85.5 2.8L or 3.1/3.4L, you can go wrong. Port those puppies out if you can. There is no after market heads for these cars. If you want real performance then do a hybrid swap. Essentially putting a FWD 3100 3400 top end on top of your RWD block. This would require a bit of work and time though but its worth the time and money by far. I run a 3.1/3100 hybrid turbo.


Also you can use your distributor(dizzy) on a 3.4L block. The provisions are there on a 3.4L block for a dizzy, there is just a cap on the hole that you would need to dump the dizzy into. Get a delta cam or something.... there good quality for a low price. I run a delta260 grind. Pretty mellow cam but alot better then stock. Deltacam.com

 

Sounds like a good plan then, i greatly appreciate the info, i will probably just clean up and port the heads that come in on the wngine assembly i am getting from the junkyard. I found a well priced running 3.4 from a 94 firebird that i am going to tear down and clean up.

 

https://www.thirdgen.org/forums/v6/6...tml#post365852
https://www.thirdgen.org/forums/v6/3...ml#post2689811
These two articles helped me a ton while I was preparing for the 3.4 swap. Even though you are using a carb, a great deal of this applies to yours.
My opinion, is that for simplicity's sake, do a straightforward swap, using the lower intake manifold/carb stuff that you have, and strap that onto the 3.4. Heads are the same, block bolt patterns are the same, and like I said before, and I might be wrong, but if you put a good cam and carb on that thing, it might scream.
http://www.angelfire.com/biz6/stalkerv6/drive.html