Does anyone out there know of any performance mods I can do to give my lowly 2.8 a little zip.I've had the car since new,it has 141,000 miles on it.It runs good but nothing like the newer V6's

 

bore it and stroke it to a 3.4L . might be a lil more work than you want to do or get done though. but its possible

 

CLean it up make sure its running fine, I had an Accel coil, cap and rotor on my 85, but 84 is a little different.

84 is still carbed? I think they have aftermarket intake manifolds you can use, and thereare headers I believe for 3rd gens also.

YOu can swap in a 3.4L pretty easily, its same type of motor as the 2.8L not too hard, that is of course as engine swaps go....

 

I would mod the 99Z some more. No offense but why waste your time on a 2.8l when you have a LS1.

 

Daily driver, keeps miles of Z, winter beater...

trust me a 2.8L could use a little zip...

 

www.geocities.com/overlift

I had my old 86 2.8 running under 16 seconds... I have crane 8.5MM Fire Wires for sale for the 2.8 along with a complete third gen black interior seats.. front, Rear, no rips... I am looking for 20 bucks for the wires. Never used...


First make sure you have an eletrical fan that saves a few HP

MSD Coil 39.99
MSD 6A 169.99

Dynomax Cat back 169.99
Catco High Flow Converter 59.99

B&M Shift Kit 39.99
2800RPM Stall (look into stock s-10 convters they usually work)
4.10 Rear Gears

Port and polish the upper and lower plenum

235 60 R15 tires are also your best bet...

 

4.10s on a 2.8

 

do the math with the 700r4's over drive and 235 60 r 15 tires the rpm's are not bad... The 2.8 loves to rev.. I had one for 10 years...

 

Thanks for some great ideas.I think I'll start with the small stuff first like coil,wires,etc. and then when it's time to rebuild the motor go with some of the more involved ideas,and as an fyi,if I change the motor,even to another V6,other than a 2.8,the trans needs to go too cause it will only match up to a 2.8.What I'd really love to do if i had the money would be to drop a big block in it.Oh well,dream on.

 

any 60 degree v6 will work.. so buy a 3.4 and bolt it right up.. I almost did it before i replaced my timming chain.. That coyles double roller I bought for it was nice... Worth every cent...


Like I said 15.9 to 16.01 were my best times with it... It was a great car until a lady nailed me....

 

hehe thats what my brothers truck has(and its a 95 s-1o,used to be a 2.2 4cyl)

as for your 2.8
84 and under had a small main crankshaft,and are prone to breaking, also carb'd 60* motor have smaller valves than the fulie ones

any ways I'd try to get a new motor with the stronger crank and the better heads,especally a 3.1 or 3.4.sence ya probably don wanna deal witht he hassle of a wireing harnes swap, you canbut the carb'd manifold and carb on there,edelbrock makes a good 4bbl intake manifold for these motors( http://images.cardomain.com/installs...69_17_full.jpg )
i'd get that with a bigger cam and a 390 cfm carb, some headders ( http://www.geocities.com/generationx.../MainPage.html ) and a good exhast system ( ya got some ball you could port the heads,run a 650cfm carb and a big assed cam like mine)

you could also check this link out http://www.fbodyv6.com/modules.php?o...thread&tid=291

 

Thanks for the additional info on the crank and the other web sites.It has also been brought to my attention that the intake manfold gaskets on the 2.8 are prone to failure causing anti-freeze to get into the crankcase,which we all know is very bad news for the main bearings.Did anyone else hear about this or have experience with this problem?

 

In 1980 Chevy introduced a new V6 engine design with 60 degrees (deg.) between the two cylinder banks. This design had two advantages; it produced a true even fire engine using a standard common journal crankshaft and it produced a slightly narrower engine. The 1980 design was also the first Chevy all metric engine design. The new engine has a deck height (centerline of crankshaft to cylinder deck measured along the centerline of the bore) of 224.0 mm (8.819") and a height (centerline of crankshaft to top of engine along the center of the 60 deg. V) of 236.0 mm (9.291"). Cylinders are spaced on 111.8 mm (4.40") centers on each bank and the centers of cylinders on the two banks are offset to accommodate the two connecting rods on each crank journal. The 60 deg. V6 is unique among all Chevy motors since the right hand cylinder bank is offset ahead of the left hand cylinder bank when viewed from the rear of the engine. Cylinders are numbered 1-3-5 and 2-4-6 from the front on the right and left banks respectively.
The 2.8L (173 cid) engine was produced from 1980 to 1989. In 1990 the 3.1L (191 cid) engine was introduced and in 1991 displacement was increased to 3.4L (207 cid). The 60 deg. V6 is used in both transverse (front wheel drive) and longitudinal (rear wheel drive) configurations. The 2.8 liter engine was fires introduced in the 1980 Citation and the rear wheel drive version was optional on the 1982 S10 pickup and Blazer.

85-94 engines have 67.25 mm (2.648") main bearings
In 1982 no.3 main bearing was changed to 63.13 mm and enlarged to 67.25 mm in 1985
Rod journals are 1.998 to 1.999"
DOHC introduced in 1991 for 3.4 L; OHV introduced in 1993
All 60 deg. V6 engines have rod length of 5.70" (same as small block V8’s).
Firing order on all 60 deg. - V6 engines is 1-2-3-4-5-6


That should help.
If you want the bore and stroke I can post them too.

 

Wow!I've been driving this car for over 19 years and had no idea there was so much i could do with it.When I checked in with a couple local speed shops and engine rebuilders I was told there was little if any performance mods I could do with a 2.8 and if I wanted power my only choice was either a worked 4.3 or move up to a V8