3.8 S/C in 91 FBird?
 

Someone wants to sell me a 3.8 S/C for my 91 Firebird. It currently has a 3.1 v6 w/ TH350 automatic. This engine he wants to sell me has 99k on it and my car has 174k. heres what he said:


$600. That's including a 4t60e trans w/165k (which you couldn't use but could turn around and sell if you wish) and the whole engine harness/ecu.
Everything is still in the car, ('96 SSEi Bonneville) so I would have to know ahead of time if it's sold in order to pull/clean it up.
I only put one mile on the motor and got into an accident after putting it in. From the little driving I got with it, it felt very solid. Can give you compression results if you wish.
Comes with a polished s/c (inlet/outlet) and polished lower intake mani.
Brand new oil and coupler in the nosedrive, stock 3.8'' pulley good for around 7-8 psi.
Any question you have about this, I can answer, have a lot of experience with the 3.8l s/c and n/a.


Do you guys think this would be a worth it/good/easyish swap?

First thing you 'll need to figure out is how to run it! Simple plug and play won't work and I'd imagine you'll have a mile or two of wiring to figure out if you plan to run the ECU from the donor car. Solution...stand alone ($$$$)

Second...if you are running the SC only, will the manifold bolt up to your block? How are you going to drive it (the SC...it's a roots-type right) and is there a belt that fits it? (Custom fab work...$$$$) Do you have AC and if not, can the system run

Fuel is your next issue...larger injectors will be needed and will your engine take the extra power? Will they fit in your fuel rail? What's the solution? Also...will the ECU pull timing and all? Potential to blow this thing up goes way up once you add F/I!

If you plan to pull the motor and run it then you'll have to custom fab the mounts for not only the engine, but the tranny too (maybe...IDK those engines too well). Also...the ECU and wiring will have to be completely redone. Even your dash cluster will be affected buy an ECU swap and may not work right!

IDK much about the 3.1 but I'd think this would not be easy as pull it off and put it on! Heck, I added the GMPP SC (M62) to my ride and it was a day install and still had to get the tuning done! Total cost was about $3K!

Dont' be fooled you can just plug this thing in...in most cases you'll spend more money and time than it's worth.

My 2 cents.

Oh yeah...forgot you'll be relocating the throttle body and you'll need more throttle cable so that's another thought?

IDK...it's not easy I know that!

Not undoable either but it's work and if you are willing to put it in then go for it.

you dont want to do it

Well semi- on topic, how easy would it be to put the same supercharger (although from a 3.8 park avenue) on a camaro that already has the 3.8?

if you can get the pcm and wiring harness, then it wont be that hard of a swap.



its the same motor. only difference is the trans setup whether the vehicle is a fwd or rwd. the motor is the same. and the s/c will bolt up just the same.

i think it would be worth it, its a better motor, and has less miles on it. good luck fixing up tht Fbird! looks like a project lol

Consider a TPI 350 from the same model year or close. Or look for a crashed donor car for your Firebird. Those TPI motors are good. Just a thought.

Those year models are fairly inexpensive, maybe you can catch one before it gets to the crusher.

or swap in an LS motor

Spike, you and i both know that swapping a v8 into a v6 car is way easier said than done. and can cause major headaches...

as for the 3.8 s/c swap, that just requires that all the parts that the S/C needs have to be pulled from the original motor, and hooked up to the new motor. it's fairly simple.

well, that all depends on your budget and how much prep you put into it. if you get a motor and decide to throw it in, then months later get a transmission, then months later decide you should go carbd, then months later realize that the trans x-member is the wrong size,

where as if you get a full motor/wiring harness/pcm and trans it makes things easier. lol

Not if the car came with a V-8 from the factory. All that reallyis needed is V-8 motor mounts bolted in and the front springs swapped. That is assuming the tranny and driveshaft came with the V-8. It all depends on what the project is.

A swap to a carbed motor is no prob but the OP swap will be near impossible. Problem is that is a FWD 3.8. It WILL NOT bolt into your car. Don't waste your money. Its transversely mounted in the Bonneville. IT could be done perhaps with extensive fabrication but not worth it in any form.

but swapping a v-8 into a v-8 car isnt the point of the discussion. lol



that is something I didnt think about. FWD vs RWD. and I dont know off the top of my head about whether GM casts the Longitudinal mounting holes into the block on all of their V-6's.

Unfortunately they don't. Plus the intake is backwards the list goes on and on.