i have finished the swap
these are the things i did
i completely gutted the engine bay of motor and tranny and computer (harness and all)
i trace the wires for the ac and the electric fan and fuel pump and rewired them so i could sill use the relays

- changed motor mounts (parts store)
- new radiator
- i had a donor car so i used the ac brackets
and the p/s pump and brackets
- i had bought a set of headers that the parts guy said fit but when i tried them they wouldnt clear the trans bracket so i used the exhaust man of the donor car(83 firebird)
- the drive shaft and the trans mount worked of the camaro
- hei ignition (old)
- youll need to get ac hoses for a v/8 if your going to fun a/c( which i am since this is wifes car)
- getting the motor in is a pretty easy thing to do it getting all the other s__t to work was the pain the main harness from the fuse box still works everything that a non comp car would have you have top make sure you keep the parts of the old harness that run the fan and fuel pump
- i also put a T on the fuel inlet line and the fuel return line and put a cheap fuel pressure regulator in line to the carb (works great so far)

i am sure that there are other things i have forgotten but these were the main thing took me about 2 wekends to do (solid 4 days work)

all this so my wife could whip mustangs asses when they reved up beside her on her way home from school (she has told me she has whooped a few already)

 

Wow, your wife has her driver's license? You must have been married for a few years, then.

Just kidding. This topic is discussed often almost to the point of killing it - notice there are a couple of other posts just today.

You did the right thing getting a donor car. The real question is really, "Is it worth it?" The answer remains that typically it is not, since factory V8 cars are plentiful. You either need to be: a) ignorant of that fact (my case at the time), or b) really, really attached to the car (like it was your first car 10 years ago, you want to step up but still be able to say 20 years from now "It's my first car.".)

Try doing an emissions-legal swap. Now, there's a real challenge.

------------------
82 Berlinetta, orig V-6 car, now w/86 LG4/TH700R4, 2300 stall TC. Ported World 305 heads, Crane PowerMax 2050 cam. ZZ3/4 intake, oil pump, pan & baffle. Accel HEI SuperCoil & module. Hooker 2055 headers, 3" Catco cat & 3" catback w/dual-opposite Flowmaster 80. 2.93 limited slip. Spohn SFCs waiting to be installed. AMSOIL syn lubes bumper-to-bumper. Daily year-round driver. Best ET, speed TBD...
57 Bel Air, my 1st car. '66 396, 9.7:1 forged TRWs, Weiand Action+, Holley 750VS w/4150 conversion, GK 270 cam, Magnum rockers, Jacobs Omnipack, 1-3/4" Hedders & 3" Warlocks, TH400 w/TCI Sat Night Special conv & Trans-Scat shift kit, MegaShifter, 3.08 8.2" 10-bolt w/Powertrax, AMSOIL syn lubes bumper-to-bumper. Idles smooth @ 700 RPM in D. Best 15.02/95.06 @ 5800' Bandimere (corrected 13.93/102.4 @ sea level).

 

Id finish my swap up in 1 more weekend if I could find a damn flywheel! No local shop has one. The dealer would probably rape me. Its for a 87 LG4 305 T5 tranny. HELP!

Mike

 

Classic Industries had the proper kind. Since they get it from GM, you might as well ask for a kiss from the dealer when you pay for it.

 

I too have just completed the ol' 2.8 to 305 swap, my *** I'm glad its over!!!!

It was a cool project but my impatience & bad temper got the best of me (I now need a drivers side fender, LOL)
The best advice I could ever have gotten on the swap was to get a donor car (although it would've been easier if I had gotten a 5-speed donor) it made life easier & the swap cheaper... I did come in under the $1000 (cdn) budget plus I have many parts that I can sell to recoup the costs.

For me the swap was worth it, I had just spent $2500 in suspension / tires / brakes / exhaust in the last year & quite frankly I'm attached to the car. Would I recomend the swap to others? Yes & no, don't go buy a V6 car with the intent of swapping the motor; after all I only paid $400 for the parts car & nothing major wrong with it

------------------
Black 87 2.8l Camaro
Soon to be 305/5.0

http://photos.yahoo.com/bc/z2point8l?d&.flabel=fld1&.src=ph

Aka Z2point8

 

personally.....i would say getting a v-6 car would be worth the work....for one....you know that the body has not been tweaked from hard launches and such...

 

My car had roof cracks at the top rear of the door windows when it had the V6 in it. The frame was also spread so the camber is maxed out. Happened with the V6.

Nothing SFC's and frame machine won't fix.

 

Howdy, im new here, but just wanted to say doing the 2.8L swap to a 350ci sucked! Would have been a breeze if Chevy left some room for swapping the motor mounts. Had to drop the lower A arms to get access. Built my car mostly for strip, anything SMOG related was yanked/cut/removed and 86'd.

------------------
Howard
B & H Racing
http://home.earthlink.net/~phantomht/

 

my last car was an 82 berlinetta...had about 300k on the body....not at all was there any sort of cracks or stress marks visable when i bought it...but what 102 hp 2bbl v-6 is gonna do that

and...the stock k member is the same for L-4 through v-8....should have been a breeze

 

As far as emmissions go, as far as i know, when you swap an engine, the car changes emmisions catagories (mine went from the passenger car cat. to the hot rod cat) and they ease up un the regs... they'll be testing mine to 80's sports car standards, and be sending me a list sooner or later of what components i can scrap.
My fingers are crossed.

 

You've never changed motor mounts, have you...

 

Northern autoparts (www.northernautoparts.com) sells the flywheel for like 80.00

-- Joe

 

i did the swap on a v6 car cause i bought the car for $300.the car suprises people cause its just a plain coupe, although the idle, roll cage and racing seats kind of give it away.i also like to say that i've done everything on the car myself, with some welding help from my bro.

 

I did it...never going back..

 

do you have to change the fuel pump too if your going from mfi to carb.?

 

not if you put a malory fuel pressure regulator in. The stock pump pressure is way too high. adjust the pressure to 5 to 7 lbs. Be sure your vent line is not plugged. you will have to bypass the relay to the fuel pump and wire it direct to your ignition.

 

how much does a malory fuel pressure regulator go for? and where's a good place to get one?

 

about 80.00......go to http://store.summitracing.com/defaul...rchType%3DBoth


Click to view image

$74.95


Overview
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Material Billet Aluminum
Finish Machined
Diameter 3/8 in. NPT

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

High flow for your fuel system.

Universal, 6061-T6 billet aluminum, 3 port, for competition auto/street and racing applications, fuel pressure regulator

The three-port return-style fuel pressure regulator is designed to regulate fuel pressure between high pressure fuel pumps and carburetors or fuel injection systems. The total adjustable range of the regulator is 3-50 psi using the two springs supplied. The bypass port sends the excess pressure back to the fuel tank. Returning the fuel back to the tank benefits the pump by running cooler, drawing less current, and always having full volume output available at the desired pressure setting. This style of regulator features a fully machined housing from 6061-T6 billet aluminum with three outlet ports and specially designed high-flow fuel passages. A mounting bracket is provided to allow quick and easy mounting.
Good luck




Sold individually.

 

I am currently doing the swap myself. personally i dont think its that bad, but i am a mechanic and am used to working on difficult things. as far as cost goes, IMO its up to the person and how much they can get parts for. i got the car for 300, re did the interior for less than 150 bucks, got all the trans am parts for 250 or so, 3.42 posi rearend for 80(it was in a formula, the find of the century!!)36/24/mm sway bars for 20 bucks for both, WS6 gear box for 25, a 400SBC for 200, a 31 spline 700R4 for doing a tranny swap for a buddy, hooker super comps for 150. the wiring did take a while, i went through the manual and had to figure out what i didnt need. the only thing i left was the harness that goes to the starter/alt/ignition and fan relay. i am running 3/8 fuel line and going to put a mechanical pump on it(its easier and cheaper if the mech pump goes out than the electric intake pump) the motor mounts are gonna be a pain i know that, i have taken the V6 mounts out but havent put the V8's in. yes rebuilding the engine and tranny are gonna cost me, but i would have done that anyways even if I would have gotten a V8 car. but after i get done with the swap, i will know excatly i have in my car, parts and money wise. and i have more time than money, thats another reason i am doing it this way. this is just my .02 SWAP ON!!!!

 

Took me all of 3 days to do my swap from 2.8/5-speed to 305/5-speed, working all by myself. Having a complete car to grab parts out of is a huge advantage.
I was able to use everything from under the hood of my old 84Z on the SC...I even spliced the Z's fuel lines into the SC ones near the tranny crossmember. I also installed the hydraulic clutch mechanism in place of the original pushrod system.
One other advantage I had that most others will not have, is that both of my Camaros originally had no ECM (Canadian vehicles), which greatly simplified the wiring nightmare; I simply had to change the connectors at the distributor, and lengthen the choke wire - everything else worked without modification.
Speaking of modification, the only problem I hadn't anticipated was with the steering pump; the V6 one had one of the lines tacked to the side of the pump right in the way of one of the V8 brackets. I didn't want to pry it off, so I grabbed to unit from the Z and hooked it up. All is good...
Since you have to remove the springs to change the engine mounts anyways, it's a good time to put in some heavier ones to help hold the nose of the car up.

Pete

 

I've seen that many people that attempt the V6 to V8 swap have the problem with the motor mounts,
Well up here in Alberta me and a buddy were trying to do the same swap everything when easy enough except the wiring will be another story, well we took the V6 motor mounts out moved the brake lines out of the way, the I lined up the V8 mounts, then out came the mig welder and I lined them up then welded them up I doubt that the next person that owns my buddy car won't put the V6 back in.

 

on the 2.8/3.1 engine, what fuel line is for the return and which in the send??

they are both right next to each other.........specify driver side or passenger side......i guess

also, what wiring will i need to do????

i asume i can keep the current wiring from the battery to the starter and negative to the engine?

where do i wire the ignition coil to?

is there any tricky wiring for anything else??? (fan, i guess)

if anybody can draw me out a schematic of what my wiring should look like after i put the engine in.......... i'd really appreciate it

 

When wiring up the starter do you have to lengthen the wires? or is everthing on the right side?

 

they will work but they will be tight, I lengthed mine to keep them away from the headers

 

if anybody can draw me out a schematic of what my wiring should look like after i put the engine in.......... i'd really appreciate it [/B][/QUOTE]


dont ask for much do ya ??