My name is Will and I own a 97 Camaro 3.8 30th anniversary edition. When I bought it I was told it needed a timing chain and when I drained the oil I had more antifreeze then oil in the pan. I tore the front of the engine apart and it looked like the block had cracked right by the timing chain. The car has 237300 miles on it. The transmission has been rebuilt once I know for sure as it has the GM Goodwrench rebuild sticker on it. The metal magnet in the transmission pan was full of metal shavings. A little nervous but we will see. I would like to mention I am not a mechanic. I know the basics but full on I just don't have it. I decided that sense I was so poor and I would never have the money to pay for an engine swap I would try it myself. Found me another 3.8 liter out of a flipped 96 Camaro with 96156 miles on it for $450. Bought that engine about a year ago and been working on the car every sense. Good news is I have then engine back in the car and it starts and runs. Bad news is my check engine light is flashing. None of my vacuum lines are hooked up yet and I have a ground wire I'm not sure where it goes but I need to get it going last week. Looking for some friendly advice and maybe even things to expect to go wrong while finishing or parts expected to go bad from sitting. Thanks guys.

 

welcome to the forum sounds like you did a lot ,bring this over to 93 to 03 general section,an get more answers ,your light is probley on an flashing until you get the lines hooked up coreectly ,but go there an starts another thread

 

Thank you for the heads up. I am still trying to figure how to navigate through this website. I believe I got it reposted under the 93-02 forums but not 100% certain. This is my first engine swap alone and I must say, it has been as much challenging as it has been fun lol. I don't regret taking on the project but if given a choice I believe I would have practiced on something a little tedious. I paid $400 for the car and it hasn't been maintained at all. The left rear sway bar bushing was completely missing. They stuffed wood blocks between the coil springs in the front to hold the car up I assume. The window switches were missing. The left front blinker was missing the cover. The left rear blinker was broke out. Had a broken window in the driver door. No door lock key. The front clip looks horrible, both blinkers are partially pushed up into the bumper. Needless to say, this car is a project that I'm trying to make a daily driver. Have a feeling I'm going to have more in it then I will ever get back lol. I am glad I found this forum tho. I know nothing about these car or what I can expect. I know the transmission was rebuilt at one point but not sure how long ago. The magnet had A LOT of shavings and the fact I am putting new fluid in it scares the hell out of me. I did of course replace the front and rear seals. Pan gasket and filter. Anything beyond that is simply out of my pay grade. Lol. I will do my best to keep up and of course ask questions as things come up. The best advice is from someone who has already experienced it. Have a great day guys.

 

yes it sounds like a great learning experience for sure ,an you would not be the first guy to put more in a car then its worth ,take my 95 406 spent a lot more then I wanted to ,good for you though,thats the thing we live an learn from these things too ,that's a first with wood between the springs ,probley drove on a lot of dirt roads ,soundslike you did goodwith the used engine though

 

This site is a bit different to navigate through than others. We'll get there.