Im thinking about doing a swap from my 2.8 to a 3.4 v6. its an 86. What cars have the 3.4 litre engine, or where's a good place to find one. Im not to picky with a used one since i'll be rebuilding it anyway. What're some things that can be done to this engine to give it a little more bit of a boost? Bored, Stroked? My 5speed should align and work fine with it right? I know i need the ecu and harness. Anything that i should be forewarned before i jump into this? Thanks guys

 

Why??

If your gonna do a swap, why dont you just swap in a small block? I would think rebuilding it would be cheaper than a 3.4 rebuild anyway.

If you insist on swaping in another 6 cylinder I would suggest a 4.3. Little more aftermarket for em I think and almost a whole nother liter of displacement.

 

the 3.4 is a dirrect bolt in for the 2.8, kind of like a 350 to a 305, all you need to do is use your intake/ exhaust, maybe waterpump and timing cover, also mounts, ect.,

 

im pretty sure you dont need the ecu and harness, you use your existing intake/harness settup, and just set it atop the newer 3.4 longblock. its pretty much a long block swap, so its a HELL of a lot easier than swapping in a V8.

i read all the threads on doing it at www.thirdgen.org, but that was a while ago, i figured i wanted a V8 more, so im either going to learn the hard way and do the V6 to LT1 V8 swap, or im going ot buy a V8 car

good luck!

 

A small block v8? I thought they required about a million parts so i threw out the idea but if its not that bad ill consider it. Im not too woried about a little work, got plenty of space and tools. And the 4.3 I'd rather have but again i heard its a waste of time and effort with not much of an improvement...but maybe ill consider that too... What're your thoughts?

 

What about a transmission and ECU? If the engne has alot more power, a new transmission is needed, and if there isn't that much power, then it is a waste of money. What does a 3.4L put out for hp?

I second the small block reccomendation.

 

the 3.4 is not going to put out enough power to make it mandatory to swap transmissions, but it will definately be an improvement over the 2.8. the 3.4s can be found low mileage in junkyards for very cheap at times, depends what you can find. that makes the swap very worth it, and it can reuse the stock transmission.

the 4.3 V6 is a 90 degree block, so you would need to do everything the same as swapping in a V8, so in a sense, its worthless since its the same amount of work as shoving a V8 in there, with less power and displacement, and 2 less cylinders.

swapping a small block? dont be so quick to jump on that, since thats going to be much more than a 3.4 swap. you need the motor, a new transmission, all the accessories, and change everything around for induction settups, if you want emmissions thats gonna be harder than throwing a carb on there. theres also the cooling system, need a bigger radiator. small things like brake lines need modification. need a new tach to make that work too. little by little everything will add up and nickel and dime you to death, unless you buy a V8 parts car, which would simplify it all.

if you want a V8 car, just sell the V6 and buy a V8 car. if you want to upgrade the V6, the 3.4 is a simple way to get readily available and cheap power, if you can get the motor for cheap. youll pass emmissions, no one can tell its bigger than a 2.8, and itll surprise people since all the responses ive heard of on the thirdgen.org message boards are "wow, there's torque!" sort of stuff. arent used to much of that with the 2.8

last time i checked, i think the 3.4 puts out 160hp and 200 or a little more ft lbs of torque. the 2.8 puts doen 125/160 i think. for wat the swap is, just a long block swap, it seems pretty reasonable.

 

I dont think its that much work since alot of people do it. Just motor mounts, and depending ont he induction system you want to go with some wirring. You can go carb and eleminate most of it. Although Im sure Im leaving out a couple things. Tranny might not mount right up.

The 4.3 stock wouldnt be that much improvment, but because of the SS S-10s and the cyclone/typhoon turbo motors there are lots more aftermarket compared to the 3.4 and forced induction parts should be readily availibale for them.

 

3.4 doesn't sound like a bad swap. You'll need one out of a Camaro or Firebird, 93-95. I think they were making 170 HP in those cars. New ones are making 200 HP in front wheel drive apps. Intake and exhaust mods should get you there. Maybe a new chip also.

Transmission would probably hold for awhile. You'd probably want to upgrade to the V8 5spd as you'd be making almost as much power as a TPI car.

And since its the same family engine, very easy install.

Good luck.

 

The 3.4L makes 165hp. The 3.8L makes 200hp i thought.

 

The 3.4L makes 165hp. The 3.8L makes 200hp i thought.

 

I think the mini vans and Grand Ams are making 200hp or at least close to that. And I'm pretty sure a 95 Camaro made 170hp right before the switch to the 3.8 that makes 200hp.

Rob

 

Im doing a v6 to v8 swap in my 87 camaro, you need a new tranny, engine mounts, new gauge cluster if you have a tach, and new power steering pump. Thats not a complete list, and thats assuming you have a complete setup on the v8 block (flywheel, all pullies + brackets).
While switching guagues, I suggest getting a higher mph speedo, a tach, and guauges instead of idiot lights for oil, water, etc. This way you can feel comfertable for a while putting in a new engine without buying autometer guages right off the bat.
I am going carbed so all the FI wiring is getting pulled. Also I am yanking the A/C at the same time because its T-toped and I havnt used the A/C in my 97 T-toped camaro since I bought it.

 

what about those weird digital guages on the berlinetta and some firebirds, would the swap still keep those accurate?

 

If the tach is from a v6, then it wount work with the v8. As for the electric speedo n everything im not sure, do a search and im sure something will come up