I think the lower intakes are the same but you want to go ahead and replace the lower intake gasket anyway. Its a known problem that was even part of a class action law suit. I am regretting not doing the head gaskets on mine.

 

I already removed the lower intake I wanted to see how the inside of the engine looked. So far so good. My son thought he was helping me clean the engine and took some kitty litter that was under the engine and put it inside to clean the oil out of there too. Thankfully he was not tall enough to get any inside the engine.

Massey

 

LOL how old is he. I have to sneak into the garage these days if I want to get anything done. If my two year old sees me he wants in.

 

Tommy is 4 and a really good kid most of the time. Yes he likes to be out with me when I do anything with Sarah. He is kinda upset seeing her all torn apart I guess it can be overwhelming for a little guy.

Well the intakes are off the old engine and it is ugly inside. I dont know how the oil could stay gold color with all the sludge in the engine but it was. I was not the fist to have the intake off the engine you can tell it has been done before and the new gasket was Felpro not GM. I have everything that I can move to the new engine moved but I still have to clean up the intake and get that ready to go back on the engine. The intake will prolly be painted black when I am done and I am going to draw file the 3800 back to bright metal. So far so good on the swap I am hoping to have the intakes done tomorrow after work.

The FWD lower intake was not the same as the Camaro lower intake. The Camaro has an extention in the front for the water jacket and throttle body and 6 large oval ports the FWD intake has no extention and 6 square ports.

Well that is all for now.

Massey

 

Glad you are making progress. Good that Tommy is interested in what you are doing. I remember the little boy across the street coming over to see what I was doing. I was under the car with the floor jack resting on the engine cradle. Jack stands under the sides and all the sudden I see the car moving. Little rascal had started jacking up the car while he was talking to me. LOL.

 

i was told here before that the blocks were different and that the fwd motors didnt have the casting for the motor mounts on sides? or was i just misinformed?

also, i know with just the 98-01 3.8s for the camaro/firebird all have different specs and parts between the years. different exhaust manifolds, different plug wires, different torque specs, etc. just make sure you pay attention to the minor details like that

 

You where miss informed. I wont mention forum names but there are other Fbody V6 forum out there and over there it is common knowledge that the 3800's are interchangable. If I remember right MusicMan's current 3800 started life as a FWD motor. I think he got it for $200 cause it was out of a burnt car.

The only reason I did not go with a FWD motor is because the local yard (Joe's) had a 02 3800 from a Camaro with only 48K for 650. I could have gotten a low miles FWD one for about $500 but the Camaro came with all the bolt on parts. It was worth the $150 to get all the other stuff that came with it.

The information about the FWD and RWD engine being different come from the 2.8. It has a different block. I think because of that everyone assumes all FWD and RWD motors are different.

You probably missed it but I posted a link to a GM motor you would get if you took your car to a dealer for a new engine. Note the list of cars it will fit.
http://paceperformance.com/index.asp...&ProdID=282722

 

There are 3800 engines that are RWD and FWD specific.

The early 231cid engine used the BOPC tranny mount and this was used for only RWD engines. The 231 was exclusively RWD until the mid 80's when they built a FWD version of the engine that used the 60° bellhousing. The FWD engine went through some major changes durring that time as well. The blanace shaft was added in there sometime too. The heads and intake from a 87 engine will NOT work on a 86 or 88-94 engine. The pre 86 engines have compatable heads, 87 is unique, 88-94 same heads. The first FWD blocks were slightly longer than the 87-94 block, 87 has different water passages than the newer engines and didnt cool as well. In 95 the Series II engine came out and the FWD and RWD engine used the same block and in most cases the same heads. (sc engines were another story) The series III engine was built as a FWD engine only and is completely different inside and out, shorter deck, different heads, pistons redesigned for the lower deck etc... I dont think the Series III engine has the ability to accept the engine mounts that the series II engines could.

So yes some FWD engines cannot be used in a RWD application and some can depends on the year and series of the engine. Also the 87+ engines do not have a provision for a distributor, 86 engines have the provision in the RWD and FWD even tho all 86+ FWD 3.8L engines were distributorless.

Also did you know that the 5.3L engine comes in a FWD version and a truck version? The FWD engine is about 1" shorter and not as tall so it could fit into the Monte Carlo SS, They both use the same tranny mount and engine mounts but put them side by side and you can see the difference.

Massey

 

sweet, then i can go with my original idea for an l67 in my geo project idea. i dont care if i have to cut out the firewall for my intake, it was going to get a snorkel anyways