I have a 1988 Camaro RS with a 2.8 V6 and an automatic. Ive been kicking around the idea to put a V8 in it. Can anyone tell me what all is involved besides the motor and tranny. What all electrical needs to be done?? Getting tired of the car being such a dog. Any advice would be appreciated

 

Well alot will depend on how you plan on using the car. If you plan on it being your primary daily driver, then concentrating on reliability should be your first priority. Do you want to go fuel injected or carb? Smallblock or big? Also, what kind of budget will this swap have? There's more than a couple of way's to go, so what did you have in mind? Some more details would help narrow the subject a little.

 

This car doesnt get used a lot. Its basically just a summer car. Im still in school so id like it to be a reasonable budget. And im not sure yet if i should go with fuel injection or carb. Any advice on that?

 

id want it to be a small block as well.

 

Ok, well before we get into carb or injected, there are some issues that need to be dealt with no matter which way you go. First the motor mounts for the V6 need to be relocated to the proper position for a V8. The mounts are the same type for the V6 as for the V8 and can be reused, but need to be moved forward on the k-member. The mount holes are already existing as the k-member for the V6 and V8 are the same, but the V6 is shorter(two less cylinders)than the V8. There are a couple of ways to do this, let me know if this is something you can do, so we can move on or touch on how to do this.

 

Ok, moving on, if you plan on using your existing tranny, no problem so long as you keep the power say less than 350hp more than that will put a stock 700r4 to the test. Even at that power level, you may have issues with a tired, high mileage,tranny,so keep that in mind. But the only changes would be to the kickdown cable at the throttle end, as for they are different(a tpi is different from a tbi and both differs from a carb car) depending on the engine you go with. But it will bolt up, the bellhousing pattern is the same on your V6 as the V8(assuming its not a newer LS type eng.)

 

Oh, the overdrive and the lock-up converter is computer controlled in that tranny, so if you go non-computer eng, you may have to convert to the non-control type, but they make a kit for that.

 

Now, lets say you have an V8 from another 3rd gen car, the fuel lines are basically the same but the intank fuel pumps are not, just use the appropriate pump for that paticular eng. If you go carb'd, then just remove the intank pump and convert the assembly to a pick-up only,and just use an external pump, sound"s worse than it is, really. Remember electronic fuel injection operates at much higher pressure than carb'd(5-8psi for most carburetors and 35-45psi+ for injected).

 

Now ignition, if there's wiring to be done it'll be here. The swap that I did was an 89RS that had messed up wiring from the get-go, so I'm not sure what connector will already work but, its not to hard to find a 'keyed-on hot wire' to splice into. Hopefully you get the whole wiring harness/computer that goes with the engine, makes this easier, of course if carb'd then ignition is straight forward.

 

The 700R4 will handle a lot more than 350HP, IF you have it rebuilt and use a good clutch pack, torque converter and shift kit. It will easily handle over 500HP if built right.
The electric fuel pump can also be used with a carburetor, but it needs to have a regulator installed ahead of the carb to reduce the pressure to a workable level.
Budgets don't really equal good engine swaps. Any engine swap with carb or injection will be a little spendy, even after you buy a decent engine. A good stocker crate V8 will be under $2,000, but not a lot under. Then you'll need all the accessories to make it work in your car. Things like exhaust manifolds and exhaust system, water pump, all the bracketry, etc. You can easily spend $3,000 or more by the time you've finished the swap, much more if you go for more HP and a tranny rebuild.