i am looking at buying a 98 camaro with the 3800 series 3.8 v6 motor with a blown headgasket. i have heard that these motors are basically a 350 with 2 cyl chopped off. i have done headgaskets on a few 350s and normally its a very simple job. looking at this car it seems like working space is VERY tight with the motor still in the car. is there anything that i should know before i buy it and start the job? places where you cant fit a wrench would be nice to know lol. also does anyone know of a diy for these cars for the headgasket?

moving on. i want to to a buildup on the motor to get as much power out of it as i can. i dont want to boost it, i want to go all motor and i want to stay v6, done plenty of v8 motors. i dont know much about these but im sure they can be built for 300-350 hp fairly easily rite? while i am doing the headgasket i will rebuild the heads and have the valves enlarged and if i have to i will have them machined to accept bigger springs. how much can the stock bottom end take? if the bottom end will hold up i will just mill a few mm off the heads to increase comp. if it wont hold up i will pull the motor and replace the crank and rods and pistons. anyone know of any good combos for these motors, crank, rods , pistons, valves, rockers, pushrods, and cam? yes i know its a good amount of work but i can get the car for 500 so i figure why not. its a 98 if that matters.

 

This is not a 350 less 2 cylinders, it is entirely a different engine based on the Buick V6. You are thinking about the Chevy 4.3 V6 which is based on the Chevy small block V8.

 

ok thank you for that, i was wondering how you go from 5.7 to 3.8 just by taking off 2 cyl. thinking back it was the 4.3 that i read about. so knowing that, is the 3.8 capable of making good power or should i just do the hg and sell it and make a few bucks? the rest of the car is in nice shape and its not even an internal hg leak, its leaking coolant to the outside. it passed a comp test and when i had the plugs out they didnt look like they had been overheated so the heads might not even need much work to put it back together correctly, i will still have them checked tho. i still want to do a v6 build but if this motor cant make the power i want i will find one that can.

 

You will start to run into issues at 300HP. If your motor is at or near 100K I would not increase the power at all until you rebuild the bottom end. I think your going to be dissapointed in this 3.8, yes you can make it got fast but it will cost twice what it would cost you if you had a LS1 motor and you will never get the torque out of it. Parts are not common and they are pricey. Your drive line will start to fall apart around 280HP. While the automatic transmissions are the same type as in the V8's the clutch packs are not the same. They can be upgraded. I know you want to be different but if you want to go fast, fix the headgasket and trade it for a LS1 that needs work You can hit 400hp for reasonable money. Just my warnings


Here are some other site to check out. Research is good

http://forum.camarov6.com/index.php


http://www.3800pro.com/

 

It is probably the intake gaskets. Still a big job. Symptoms, water in the oil, water in the cylinder, mostly #1. Only real power upgrade without a total rebuild is exhaust.

 

those are all like all grand prixs though will there mods fit are engines to?

 

If you are reffering to my posting of 3800pro. Yes the Camaro's have the 3.8 K motor it is the same motor that are in most GM 3800 FWD cars up to 2004 I think. The intake is different but they are the same long block.

 

i know they have the same engine i just didnt know how much compatibilty because i saw some mods on there that i wanted to try out but i had never heard of them and they were with the intake so......

 

As long as the mod is for the naturally aspirated 3.8 it will work on the camaro, provided its not the upper intake manifold either. That, and exhaust parts wont work, otherwise, everything inside the engine is the same.