alot of aluminum in the motor, scrap it and buy a series 3 3.8 and add a 50 shot. should be able to do some damage with that.

 

If its a 93 it could be a 4 bolt main regardless of what car it came in. These are not 1960's V8 motors with a ton of clearance in them. If there is enough rust inside to cause it to lock up it needs to be rebuilt. The moly based rings should not rust up like the old rings did. Are you sure it was not locked up when it was pulled? I would not worry about changing the oil until you have the motor freed up. It should turn pretty easy without the plug in it.

 

im pretty sure it wasnt locked up. but thats just what the previous owner said. im more going off what my dad says. he is the one thats good with cars and motors. he wants to do a father son project. but we are switching from a v6 to v8 swap to just doing a motor swap in a car with a blown engine. less work

 

Just my opinion:
I am an old timer like your dad, With the 4th gens he is going to have a lot of learning to do. I know I needed a lot and I was a GM master tech in the late 80's. Everything changed with the 4th gen. GM was very proud of the fact you could put almost any GM motor in any GM car. That ended for the Camaro in 93. The 4th gen Camaro was the first Camaro that the engine was designed to fit into the car. The engine comes out the bottom, and none of the parts interchange with any other model. There are a lot of special tools needed to work on them. The older 3rd gens are much like the 1st and 2nd gens. With only the suspension getting a major redesign and that is easy to figure out. You may want to let your dad know. If he is ready to start all over and likes a challange then the 4th gen will give it to him. But if he just wants to wrench and not spend hours and hours researching stuff he should find a nice 3rd gen.

 

so you keepin the 99 and puttin a series 3 in? should make life alot easier. i thought it was easier to remove from bottom. ive done quite a few from top with alot more room that were harder. but then they were in a field under a tree. lol.

 

im keeping the 99 stock and just doing a daily driver with it. nothing is wrong with the motor. just the fuel gauge doesnt work and it has high miles but is still clean. we are just gonna get a 128 with a blown motor put the lt1 in it and i will eventually do like a street strip build in the future.

 

the firebird camaro and trans am parts are all interchangeable right?

 

Yes

But you will want to limit your years from 93 - 97 as they were the only years with the LT1 engine.

Massey

 

It all comes back to research. If we are talking Lt1's then we are talking Z28's and Trans am's, Camaro's and firebirds are V6's and most non-body and interior parts will not interchange. But it can go deeper, Let say you buy a 96 LT1 car and you want to use the Opti that came with 96. (The 96 opti is less problematic.) There is a convertion process. (more research) Now you want to use your 93 transmission. That wont work because the 96 PCM controls the shift point and your 93 use old school hydralics. Ok you find a Transmission out of a 94 Oh wait that will not work the 94 was an OBD1 and not a OBD2 computer system. Many of the guys on this site know this stuff like the back of their hand and do not think its a big deal learning it, but there will be a huge learning curve for a newbe. It can be very frustrating to an old timer who just want to know if the small block takes the short pump or the long pump and will the headers clear, No? hand me the hammer!

I love 4th gens, I own 2, they handle so much better then the older gens, but if I was building a Stip car I would not start with a 4th gen LT1. Maybe a LS1 if I had deep enough pockets but for a budget build I would go 3rd gen. You can find generic GM parts at any swap meet. I can have the motors out by myself in about an hour.


Of course I know nothing about you or your dad, I love a challange and maybe he does also. Just let him know what he is in for. If he want a fun project that reminds him of his youth the 4th gen might not be the right choice. With a 4th gen almost everything has a computer attacted to it.

I wish you good luck

 

Here is a quick little primer about the 4th gen cars

93 Unique car end to end LT1 engine, TH700R4 Trans, unique computer.
94 Similar to but not exactly like the 95s. LT1 engine, 4L60E trans, unique computer. last year of OBDI
95 LT1 engine, 4L60E trans, unique computer OBD1.5
96-97 Identical cars, LT1 engine, 4L60E trans, OBD 2 computer
98-00 Identical cars, LS1 engine, 4L60E trans, OBD2 computer, EGR valve equipped
01-02 Identical cars, LS1 engine, 4L60E trans, OBD2 computer, no egr

SS and Firehawk had the EXACT same engine as T/A and Z28s do. The software in the computer is different and adds an extra 15 HP. Police editions also got the same computer profile for the extra power.

Not sure when but some time in 95 or 96 the Opti was redesigned to improve reliability and for the OBD2 system.

97 the interior was updated, new heater unit, new BCM, instruments now rely on the PCM for inputs and not directly from the sensors. Nose and tail are still the same as they were from 93.

98 Body got and update to "fit" the LS1 engine which needed 1/2 more clearance for the air cleaner and intake/throttle body. Tail lights also changed to a tricolor design.

I know there is alot more to the cars than what I put here. That is why I said a quick primer and not an in-depth tech review. hope this helps

Massey