HitchDav

I have a 92 base model firebird with a 3.1l V6 in it right now. I am wondering what other V6 engines are easiest to swap into this car. i would like a more powerful engine without having to resort to the gas guzzling V8's. I have the stock automatic tranny and no upgrades that would affect the engine or its attachment. Any ideas here? If all else fails I'll just look for another firebird in the future with a better starting point than this engine.

Awesome-X

A 3.4L V6 from a 93-95 F-body is a direct swap. They're very common as well so there are lots of write ups on this forum.

And gas guzzling?! I get 26mpg highway from my 355.

86ttopbird

The 3.4 from the mid 90's F-bodies directly replaces the 2.8/3.1 engines. As for gas mileage on the V8's, my neighbor has a 95 Z28 with the LT1 and he regularly gets 17 MPG city and like 24 MPG highway. Now that is on an engine that badly needs a tune-up. If you have a well tuned engine and keep your right foot out of the oil pan, the gas mileage is great by V8 standards.

HitchDav

Any suggestions on the easiest V8 swap that would require the least work on suspension and buying new parts? I'm not looking to spend money on too many new parts when I can just get a better V6 than the one I have and buy less parts. Any experience with how the 3.4 feels compared to the 3.1?

Project 3.4 Camaro

First, tell us your power goals, cause more power doesn't necessarily mean you have to get a bigger engine, easiest v8 swap is probably something that came from a 3rd gen, problem is you still have to swap over the transmission and need the higher rate v8 springs. That being said, if your power goals are lower than 500 hp I'd stick with a v6 and or work with the one you have.

HP & TQ ratings on stock engines:
2.8= 135 hp, 165 ft tq
3.1=135 hp, 180 ft tq
3.4=160 hp, 200 ft tq

Enough you would feel it, generally it takes a hp difference of at least 10 to be noticeable.

BakerUSAF 86T/A

i'd really like to know how to get something more than my approximate 10 mpg city in my chevy 350 bored 355. please PM me!!

Project 3.4 Camaro

Buy yourself a machete, get it nice and sharp, lop off your right foot.

On a more serious note, on a smooth running engine, that isn't built to hell, as long as you're not stepping on it a lot you should be getting better mileage, chances are you need a tuneup, and or have a bad sensor, vacuum leak, or low compression.

Alternatively you could buy a prius, personally, I would sooner go the lop my own foot off with a machete method

Awesome-X

The 3.4L is a good 60hp stock over the 2.8L I do believe. You could do a cam swap while you have it out. You'd need the injectors from the 3.4 too I believe. Could be wrong on that one though.

Pillsbry10

iTrader: (1)

im pretty sure those numbers arent right, the 3.1 had 10hp more i blelive than the 2.8 and the 3.4 only has 20 more hp more not 60 than the 3.1...correct me if im wront i cant remember

having a modded 3.4 in my car i can honestly say its not a huge diffrence at all, granted with a proper tune on my injectors id probably notice it a lot more. i did expect way more on the butt dyno considering how much i did to my 3.4...oh well the turbo shall fix that

HitchDav

I'm not looking for a real power house from this swap. I hope to be able to get somewhere close to 300 hp before any turbochargers hit the engine. The 3.4 should be a fine trade, but the real question is would the increase be enough to justify putting in a new engine? In reality i don't really expect my engine to last me more than 2 more years so I'm just asking around to see if I should just replace it with the same engine or work on getting a different one. So the 3.4 really will just bolt in? I would think it would need different mounts at least.

Maverick H1L

iTrader: (8)

2.8, 3.1, 3.4 are all the same externally, unless you're talking an FWD engine. Everything bolts up and goes, with the exception of the 3.4 upper plenum and fuel rail. There are a number of writeups on this. You don't need to do anything to the engine mounts (replacing them with poly ones might be a good idea if you're looking for power, but expect vibrations), front springs, transmission (might want to rebuild it though), or anything.

86ttopbird

If you are talking 300 HP with no turbo, then the easiest swap to get you there is an LT-1. The LSX swaps are rather expensive considering what needs to be purchased to make them work. The LT-1 is very similar to putting in an L98 TPI. You do, however need to change your front springs as the V6 springs will not be able to handle the increased weight of the V8. From what I have researched, its not a terrible swap at all. It just takes time. If you work dilligently, you should be able to get it done in a week providing you have EVERYTHING you need to perform the whole swap.

HitchDav

The LT1 swap is starting to actually sound pretty good for my purposes; the only drawback is that I'm really not looking forward to having to replace the suspension along with the engine. I'd like to keep this car driveable with each mod, so replacing more than one major componenet of the car at one time is not really what i would like to do. Only because my income is pretty low being a college student. I'm just looking for something somewhat easy to do with some more power for when my engine dies in a few years. The LT1 sounds like a great swap for when I have a career.

86ttopbird

Your best bet is to get a donor car. That is a wrecked 93-96 Z28 or firebird with everything already in it. Then all you have to do is swap the drivetrain over to your car. I am not sure if the springs will swap over from the 4th gen to the thirdgen, but I doubt it. If you are not looking for high performance, you could find a TPI 350 V8 car. As the TPI is what our cars were all built for from the factory. Some just got the V6 engine. The LT-1 outperforms the L98(TPI 350) in just about all aspects. With simple cam changes, there are large gains. Put on a good set of heads too and you are really screaming.

Awesome-X

The springs would also swap from the donor car with no problems.

duckmanquacker

4th gen front springs will NOT swap over to the 3rd gen suspension. 2 totally different types, 3rd is Macpherson Struts, 4th is Coilover.