Recommended motor to swap with?
#1
04-27-2022, 03:49 PM
Recommended motor to swap with?
So I have a 97 v6 camaro that blew a head gasket, or multiple, and has some other major problems. I was thinking it would be easier to swap the motor rather than fixing everything wrong with the current one, being that it has nearly 200k miles meaning that more problems will occur soon. Am I right about this and if so, what should I swap it for. Is it possible to do a v8 or would that be more money than it's worth?
#2
04-27-2022, 07:43 PM
V8 swap is possible but a whole lot of headaches involved and more money than it's worth.
I'd suggest getting a remanufactured engine same as you have and using yours for a core charge or getting the one you have rebuilt.
If that's not something you can afford you may have to gamble on a used motor.
I'd suggest getting a remanufactured engine same as you have and using yours for a core charge or getting the one you have rebuilt.
If that's not something you can afford you may have to gamble on a used motor.
#3
04-28-2022, 09:47 AM
you CAN do the v8 swap, depending on your budget it can be easy or hard.
You'll need a k-member out of a v8 car or buy a tubular aftermarket unit and use that. From there, its engine, trans and wiring harness and you're ready togo
You'll need a k-member out of a v8 car or buy a tubular aftermarket unit and use that. From there, its engine, trans and wiring harness and you're ready togo
#5
04-28-2022, 08:40 PM
It's not that easy. The new engine would need the same sensors as the old engine. You would probably have to fabricate brackets/mounts. Then surly a new/fabricated driveshaft cause your new set up might be longer or shorter. It depends on your wallet. Cheapest would be to pull your motor and have it rebuild or trade it in on a rebuilt one.
good luck.
good luck.
#6
04-29-2022, 06:53 AM
If your plan was to stay v6, from what I understand, the newer 3.8s (00-02) would be the one to get, unfortunately, I'm not very familiar with the v6 stuff, so I'd have to do some research myself on what, if anything is needed for the swap
#7
04-29-2022, 07:42 AM
Cheeks you are a racer that is good with these cars but you way over simplified the process. You left out the PCM and its reprogramming. the Dash cluster the radiator and every bracket. If you don't know much about wiring and are on a budget and do not want to buy custom wiring harnesses you are pretty much stuck with a 96 or 97 LT1 out of a camaro. In fact you going to need so many parts your best bet is buy wrecked V8 car and swap everything over.
The 4th gen is the first camaro that was design to be engine specific. Between the physical space limitation and they very specific computer network that makes up your car swapping to anything other then the original motor requires planning. It is possible, there are many examples on this site of completed swaps. But there are probably 10 times as many thread of people who started the a swap and never finished it.
This is the sticky thread talking about V8 swaps, it starts as a joke and some of the early info was not accurate, but there is good info in there. We did have one post of a guy that listed everything you needed including custom wiring harnesses but for some reason he deleted the whole thing.
https://camaroforums.com/forum/93-02...wap-how-32391/
The path of least resistance is to just replace your engine with a newer lower miles engine. The 3800 was a new design in 1995. It was a very reliable motor. GM upgraded it to a series III but it is pretty much the same Long block . Below is a detailed thread about converting a FWD 3800 to a camaro. Because the 3800 is such a solid design the junk yards are full of these motors and low mileage are pretty cheap. You also have everything you need for the swap under your hood.
https://camaroforums.com/forum/93-02...nt-info-57568/
Back in 2009 when I swapped mine I was lucky enough to find 02 camaro with 48K on the motor for $650 I went with that because the yard gave me everything. I used everything because it was 6 years newer and low miles. You can see the build in my 96 thread linked below in my sig. If you don't over rev the motor keep an eye on the coolant and keep it flushed every few years the motor can last 250,000 miles.
If you can afford it this is the time to install headers. They will add HP and MPG and nicer sound. The are a pain to install with the motor in and 10 minutes worth of work with the motor out. Also make sure you have solid ground where you are pulling the motor, its much easier to lift the car body up and pull the motor from the bottom.
The 4th gen is the first camaro that was design to be engine specific. Between the physical space limitation and they very specific computer network that makes up your car swapping to anything other then the original motor requires planning. It is possible, there are many examples on this site of completed swaps. But there are probably 10 times as many thread of people who started the a swap and never finished it.
This is the sticky thread talking about V8 swaps, it starts as a joke and some of the early info was not accurate, but there is good info in there. We did have one post of a guy that listed everything you needed including custom wiring harnesses but for some reason he deleted the whole thing.
https://camaroforums.com/forum/93-02...wap-how-32391/
The path of least resistance is to just replace your engine with a newer lower miles engine. The 3800 was a new design in 1995. It was a very reliable motor. GM upgraded it to a series III but it is pretty much the same Long block . Below is a detailed thread about converting a FWD 3800 to a camaro. Because the 3800 is such a solid design the junk yards are full of these motors and low mileage are pretty cheap. You also have everything you need for the swap under your hood.
https://camaroforums.com/forum/93-02...nt-info-57568/
Back in 2009 when I swapped mine I was lucky enough to find 02 camaro with 48K on the motor for $650 I went with that because the yard gave me everything. I used everything because it was 6 years newer and low miles. You can see the build in my 96 thread linked below in my sig. If you don't over rev the motor keep an eye on the coolant and keep it flushed every few years the motor can last 250,000 miles.
If you can afford it this is the time to install headers. They will add HP and MPG and nicer sound. The are a pain to install with the motor in and 10 minutes worth of work with the motor out. Also make sure you have solid ground where you are pulling the motor, its much easier to lift the car body up and pull the motor from the bottom.
Last edited by Gorn; 04-29-2022 at 07:54 AM.
#8
05-02-2022, 03:53 PM
Cheeks you are a racer that is good with these cars but you way over simplified the process. You left out the PCM and its reprogramming. the Dash cluster the radiator and every bracket. If you don't know much about wiring and are on a budget and do not want to buy custom wiring harnesses you are pretty much stuck with a 96 or 97 LT1 out of a camaro. In fact you going to need so many parts your best bet is buy wrecked V8 car and swap everything over.
The 4th gen is the first camaro that was design to be engine specific. Between the physical space limitation and they very specific computer network that makes up your car swapping to anything other then the original motor requires planning. It is possible, there are many examples on this site of completed swaps. But there are probably 10 times as many thread of people who started the a swap and never finished it.
This is the sticky thread talking about V8 swaps, it starts as a joke and some of the early info was not accurate, but there is good info in there. We did have one post of a guy that listed everything you needed including custom wiring harnesses but for some reason he deleted the whole thing.
https://camaroforums.com/forum/93-02...wap-how-32391/
The path of least resistance is to just replace your engine with a newer lower miles engine. The 3800 was a new design in 1995. It was a very reliable motor. GM upgraded it to a series III but it is pretty much the same Long block . Below is a detailed thread about converting a FWD 3800 to a camaro. Because the 3800 is such a solid design the junk yards are full of these motors and low mileage are pretty cheap. You also have everything you need for the swap under your hood.
https://camaroforums.com/forum/93-02...nt-info-57568/
Back in 2009 when I swapped mine I was lucky enough to find 02 camaro with 48K on the motor for $650 I went with that because the yard gave me everything. I used everything because it was 6 years newer and low miles. You can see the build in my 96 thread linked below in my sig. If you don't over rev the motor keep an eye on the coolant and keep it flushed every few years the motor can last 250,000 miles.
If you can afford it this is the time to install headers. They will add HP and MPG and nicer sound. The are a pain to install with the motor in and 10 minutes worth of work with the motor out. Also make sure you have solid ground where you are pulling the motor, its much easier to lift the car body up and pull the motor from the bottom.
The 4th gen is the first camaro that was design to be engine specific. Between the physical space limitation and they very specific computer network that makes up your car swapping to anything other then the original motor requires planning. It is possible, there are many examples on this site of completed swaps. But there are probably 10 times as many thread of people who started the a swap and never finished it.
This is the sticky thread talking about V8 swaps, it starts as a joke and some of the early info was not accurate, but there is good info in there. We did have one post of a guy that listed everything you needed including custom wiring harnesses but for some reason he deleted the whole thing.
https://camaroforums.com/forum/93-02...wap-how-32391/
The path of least resistance is to just replace your engine with a newer lower miles engine. The 3800 was a new design in 1995. It was a very reliable motor. GM upgraded it to a series III but it is pretty much the same Long block . Below is a detailed thread about converting a FWD 3800 to a camaro. Because the 3800 is such a solid design the junk yards are full of these motors and low mileage are pretty cheap. You also have everything you need for the swap under your hood.
https://camaroforums.com/forum/93-02...nt-info-57568/
Back in 2009 when I swapped mine I was lucky enough to find 02 camaro with 48K on the motor for $650 I went with that because the yard gave me everything. I used everything because it was 6 years newer and low miles. You can see the build in my 96 thread linked below in my sig. If you don't over rev the motor keep an eye on the coolant and keep it flushed every few years the motor can last 250,000 miles.
If you can afford it this is the time to install headers. They will add HP and MPG and nicer sound. The are a pain to install with the motor in and 10 minutes worth of work with the motor out. Also make sure you have solid ground where you are pulling the motor, its much easier to lift the car body up and pull the motor from the bottom.
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