3.4 to 4.3 swap

[Blue94V6]

I have a friend that has a 98 Chevy S10 SS. It's got a 4.3l V6 with 54,000 miles on it. Anyways, he's going to get a really awesome deal on an LT1 crate motor with 0 miles on it. Afterwards though he'll still have his 4.3l, so he offered to sell it to me. I know that engine swaps can get pretty costly, but we've got a shop to do the work in and we're getting the work done for free (we're buying all the parts of course). I've been thinking about everything that would have to be done, and I'm trying to start planning even though we probably wouldn't be doing it until July. I was just wondering if anybody had any suggestions? comments? or if anyone had ever done this kind of swap before.

Blue 1994 Camaro 3.4l
Eibach pro-kit
KYB Gas-A-Just shocks
K&N Filtercharger (air box silencer mod)

Future: 4.3 swap (hopefully), dual exhaust, bigger sway bars

[Jason]

you are better off getting an LT1 also. Itll be alot easier than putting in a 4.3 if you ask me. The 4.3 is gonna need some custom work to get it to mount in there. The LT1 would be easier because you can buy all the crossmembers and and engine cradle and suff and just drop it in.

[pvtschultz]

The 4.3 is a 5.7 with the front two cylinders removed, EVERY thing else is the same. There should be no reason why a 4.3 won't bolt up to anything that bolts up to a 350. I don't know how the bolt patterns are on the 3.8, but my guess is that it is the same as the LT1. That is my thoughts. As for the computer and intake plumbing, that is out of my league.

[Cale]

You're gonna need to figure out the motor mounts. Get the mounts off his truck and see if they bolt up. If that doesn't work, get mounts for a 5.7 Camaro and see if that works. If not, you're gonna need to figure something out.

You will also need a new oil pan (I would strongly think so anyway). That 4.3L has a truck pan and should be a lot deeper than a car pan. You may have to get the pan welded on for proper clearance.

You might run into problems with the intake. That throttle body sticks straight up. You might have clearance issues.

You will need to get a plan on the wiring issue. I recommend you talk with Bill Mach of Mach performance to help you with computer issues (you may have cut some wires-disable some gadgets, and you may need a PCM reprogramming as to not frick anything up). http://www.machperformance.com

I can't think of anything else.

You're gonna want to check into the fuel delivery issue. You may need a new fuel pump.

[wolf]

the 4.3L specs are:
180hp,245lb. ft.
its not as strong as the f-bodys 3.8(200hp) and its slihgtly stronger than the 3.4(160hp).
the swap mighnt not be worth the cost.

[94-3.4]

I got a 3.8 complete ready for a swap if you are interested drop me a line.

[BadassSleeper]

i wouldn't even bother trying to swap in a 4.3L. from what i can tell, there are not to many after-market mods for these engines. it will save you time and money, just to save up for an LT1, which by the way, i think is a great motor, and swapping that. you'll have much better TQ and HP numbers to start off with, and there are many after-market parts for these motors. well, these are my two cents.

[94CaliCamaro]

Save your money for the LT1!

[Rob94]

Blue94v6, it says in your sig you have an eibach pro kit, what exactly is that? Is it a heads and manifold kit or something like that?

[Shadly]

<blockquote>quote:</font><hr>Originally posted by Rob94:
Blue94v6, it says in your sig you have an eibach pro kit, what exactly is that? Is it a heads and manifold kit or something like that?<hr></blockquote>Springs, dude! Eibach, not edelbrock. [img]tongue.gif[/img]

[Cale]

<blockquote>quote:</font><hr>Originally posted by BadassSleeper:
i wouldn't even bother trying to swap in a 4.3L. from what i can tell, there are not to many after-market mods for these engines. it will save you time and money, just to save up for an LT1, which by the way, i think is a great motor, and swapping that. you'll have much better TQ and HP numbers to start off with, and there are many after-market parts for these motors. well, these are my two cents.<hr></blockquote>

Well you apparently don't know anything about the 4.3L then.

Your best source of info when it comes to building the motor from the inside out, Bill Mach is the 4.3L God. The motor has a lot of potential!

[Camaro Bob]

The main problem I see is the tranny. The 4.3 liter has the same tranny as the LT1, the V6 tranny won't fit it, just like in an LT1 swap. Also, the crosmemebers for the 5.7 liter would work for the 4.3. The 5.7 and the 4.3 bolt in the same. The 3.8 and 3.4 bolt in the same, but the 5.7 won't bolt into the 3.8's brackets without new crosmemebers and such. The 3.8 and 3.4 sit WAY back in the engine compartment. The 350 and 4.3 sit further forward. The swap is totally possible, and would provide more power, but if you are going to all the trouble of preping the install for the tranny and the mounts, you should just get a used 5.7 liter. It's up to you, just my thoughts. [img]graemlins/burnout.gif[/img]

[Blue94V6]

I wouldn't have even thought about doing it, but I can get the engine for REALLY cheap, it's low milage, and from what I can tell there are some pretty good mods for it, including a spercharger kit, something which is not currently made for my 3.4l. I could get and LT1, but insurance would go up, fuel economy would go down, and it would almost definitely be more expensive than an LT1 or an LS1. Keep in mind that while I want this car to be fast, it is my everyday driver, and I put ALOT of miles on it. I've put 7k miles on it since I bought it in November, and I travel roughly 100 miles a day, every day. This is just an opportunity that presented itself, and I had never heard of it being done, so I thought I would just go ahead and look into it.

[wolf]

Being unique is always fun but you have to remeber stuff made for that engine is made for the bigger engine bay of the truck, you may have to fabricate some stuff,especally the super charger [img]smile.gif[/img]

[Blue94V6]

I'm already planning on having to do some custom stuff to the engine for everything to work, but that's part of the fun of doing mods, right?
Part of the reason I posted about the swap was to get advice about it, and get a general idea of what had to be done. I'm planning on putting a tremendous amount of planning into this project, so I'm trying to start thinking about everything that needs to be done.