Hey everyone, im new on this forum but im trying to get my mero going. I have a 97 camaro rs. Long story short, a busted radiator tank ended up with a spun rod bearing. My cars been parked for a couple of months now and I wanna get it running soon, so I was wondering, can I swap my 3800 engine for a frontwheel drive 3800. I just wanna know causr where I stay at, theres not much camaro or firebirds at the local junkyard, but I do see alot of bonneville, grand am gt, and other cars that are frontwheel drive 3800 v6. So can i put their engines in my mero or will it not bolt up the same as a rear wheel drive engine. Im aware that parts from my engine would have to be swap for the frontwheel drive parts. Any help would be highly apreciated. Thank you.

 

https://camaroforums.com/forum/93-02-v6-tech-14/3800-series-ii-iii-engine-replacement-info-57568/

 

LOL the sticky was made Yesterday, perfect timing.

 

Thanks for the helpful info, it is funny how my timing was timed perfectly.....lol, I just was wondering since they re both the same except for the bigger intake valves, should i just find and put in a series III
For my camaro, or just keep it the same

 

Thanks for the helpful info, it is funny how my timing was timed perfectly.....lol, I just was wondering since they re both the same except for the bigger intake valves, should i just find and put in a series III
For my camaro, or just keep it the same

 

It’s going to be up to you based on what you want from the car. Without other upgrades I don’t think you’re going to feel the different series II/III. If you’re going to add a Cam and a set of headers and a tune then I think it may be worth it. I have read a lot of detailed posts from people who have done the FWD Series II swap so I would call that well charted waters. I have only seen a few people do the Series III swap, all have been successful but lets call that less charted waters. I would go with a low miles Series II vs a high miles Series III either way

 

There is no real gains in the series III engine over the Series II engine when used in our cars. The gains were in a newer fuel management system and intake, which you cant use in the Camaro/Firebirds. I am not saying it would not be a bonus if you were building the engine with a larger cam and headers and what have you, just not anything you are going to notice stock. Find the engine that will best fit your wallet with the fewest miles and you should be good.

Massey

 

Oh and I updated the sticky thread with a list of the years and models you can get the engines out of. There could be a few more models that I have not listed, but that should give you a good run on what is out there.

Massey

 

Ok, thank you guys for all your help. I,ll just put in the stock series II engine. I was just wondering if swapping over to a series III would be like changing a z28 engine to a vette ls3 power difference, figerally speaking of course. I wanna do more swap upgrades for my mero, but that will be anutha time. But thank you guys for all your help, will post pix of my baby later to show my progress.

 

if you wanna upgrade the new engine do it before you put it in the car that way you dont have to pull it twice