A front drive motor would not fit a rear drive car without some fabrication, as there are no provisions for engine mounts on the side of these blocks. Many internal parts will work, but due to the retarded oiling system roller lifters won't work in the rear drive block.

 

Yeah I'm aware of the different layouts. But he did mention that theydo have crate motors for RWD unless he didn't know what he was talking about. He also did mention that there would be a few things that wouldn't work. You can also have ur entire engine shipped to them and they will be able to take care of everything and then have it shipped back. Shipping is a bit pricey I would imagine but I'm just going based off what the Service Rep was telling me.

 

Z28Pete I contacted ZZPerformance to see if they offer a crate motor for the Camaro and this is what he told me about the FWD/RWD crate engines and blocks in an email that I have,

"All of the blocks are exactly the same, so our crate engine will work perfectly in a RWD Camaro.

Thank you for your business,

Turbo Tim
ZZPerormance Parts Rep

 

Here is another email I had gotten from them.

Unless your engine is bad though, I wouldn't replace it. *My '00 Grand Prix GT made 478whp on the stock bottomend and did not fail. *And it is the same engine that is in your FBody. *And the funny thing is, is that I used the RWD Fbody intake manifold to base the turbo kit off of."

Thank you for your business,
Turbo Tim

 

I think Pete was talking about the 3.4. It is well documented that 3.8 is the same FWD and RWD. Its just my opinion but 478whp witha stock bottom end is very risky. Just cause it held together in one car does not mean you would be that luckly. I defect in a rod or the crank would turn the motor to scrap in less then a second. Heck back in my racing day we used to shot peen the rods to make sure there was no surface defects that may start a crack then magna flux to be sure ther where no cracks. There is also a system called "marpause" or something like that, it check the magnetic field of the rod and crank to look for defects. I am thinking the stock GM parts didn't go thru any of that Our race engine only output about 550 HP.

 

Right, i know about shot peen and flux. I do that to all my engine builds boosted and n/a alike. ever heard of marpause.... something new? Hmm ill ask the guy behind the parts counter at my dealership. He built GM race engines for 40 years lol. And he has a very extensive knowledge about all V6s and how to build them. Maybe he knows what you are talking about. But back to the point of this post is how many ppl actually know about this company that you can get 3800 stuff for? First time I heard about it on here. Its strange, the first time i was introduced to ZZPerformance was from a friend who has NOTHING but Ford Thunderbird Super Coupes lol. Yes its a 3800 but its FORD, not GM so how he knows... who knows lol. Maybe now people will look into this company to get stuff from. I sure will!

Also whats extrude honing? A turbo builder here in Florida said it was a good idea to get the exhaust housing of the turbo extrude honed if its a used turbo?

If anyone is looking for a good clutch system to the V6s, SPEC clutch has stages specifically for our cars and also offer a light weight flywheel to boot.

 

I think Mar pause was the name of the machine we used. I am also pretty sure I am buchering the spelling. I think it falls under
MPI or Magnetic partical inspection.

Extrude honing is the bead style hones on long flexable extention. They first go thru the header runners then thru the Exhaust with the size correct hone. This removes all the burs and weld slag from the inside of the exhaust.

 

Yes, there are tube k-members out there, the only company that makes them is PA Racing, and if it's a street car, get the street race version with extra bracing, other wise it will fail and you'll have a nice mess.

Yes, a gn 3.8 and 4.3 will "fit", both swaps have been done before. However, there is a lot of custom fabrication involved throughout the car. Not really worth it in the end after all the money and time investment, plenty can be done with the little 3.8.

A fwd 3.8 is easily made to fit an f-body, just strip the engine down to a long block, and put everything off your old engine on the new one, oil pan and valve covers included.

Regarding the strength of the engine, they are almost bullet proof, if done right. Nobody knows really how much power the bottom end will handle, the limits have never been exceeded. The problem lays within the tune, a slight bit of KR and the pistons chip easily.

Little late on this thread, ah well.

 

I think you'll find some better information on www.fullthrottlev6.com or www.camarov6.com

The 3.8L will handle very good power in stock form. I've done 4 turbo kits now.
The first one went from 15.6's in stock trim.
Turbo kit only. No engine/trans/rear end work went 12.6@107mph.
That's on 13-14psi on 93oct. and regular radial tires (2.0 60') leaving with no boost.

I'd suggest hopping over to the other sites to learn more since your not getting help here. Music man I beleive is over on the other sites as he know's what's up

Boost does not hurt a engine.. detonation does. So trying to say you want XXX boost is not realistic. Your limiting factors will be quality of fuel (Octane) Quantity of Fuel (injectors/pump) And your ability to tune.
There's many ways to tune.. some go with more timing/less boost some like more boost less timing..
All the power's in the tune. Don't skimp there. It WILL make or break it.

Talk to people who have done this before.... not people saying it won't work.. It does. You don't need a built engine.
Send me a e-mail I'll be glad to help as I won't be coming back here.. I happend to do a google seach this morning for a guy looking for a K-member and this popped up..
~Scott * UR50SLO@aol.com

 

I keep hearing these motors will hold unlimited hp and someone points to an example of some car that is running 8 seconds with a bone stock bottom. What about all the cars with bone stock cars with fail cranks? I have a stock 3.8 with 132K K in my garage with no sludge and no signs of oil starvation with a spun main bearing and spun rod. All the bearings on the early side of engine look fine and ready for another 100 K. The previous owner says it happened in one night of hard driving. Sure sounds like a failed bottom end to me and thats at 200 HP. How can you be so sure every single one of these motors can handle 800 HP. Based on 800HP I could go put a 250 shot of Nos on my car and blow away LS1 and if I do it right the only risk being the head gaskets.