Car's gettin' old.......

[Renzo]

So me and my gurl been talkin, and she is pressuring me into gettin' a new engine. [img]graemlins/rock.gif[/img] I'm not taking that as a bad thing 'cause hey, its a new engine, so that means I can put mods in there like i've always wanted. My car has 142K now and it's gettin' old. I'm starting to save up money now and then by Christmas i'll hopefully save up enough money. I just need a lot of advice on how much money i should save up, what are my options (i know i can do a v8 swap) and where to go get one. Please help.

[StudlyCamaro]

do some searches then come back with a more refined question, for all we know you want to replace the motor with a new crate V6 motor , a quad4 or a carbed 502 running methanol for fuel...

[wasjo6431]

lol CARBED 502 come on lol. if ic oulda afforded it. ive blown about 11-12 on my swap so far. and ive still got a few bugs im working out. with my carbed Chevy Gen 1 350 Carbed with a th350 in my 93 3.4 v6 fbody i blew the trans previously
and hte engine had a lifter knock. so i just tore em apart and parted it out and now it runs drives(dont have brakes cam is robbing vacuum from me like crazy) so im putting a canister on it tomoro night. if u want info on going to carb swap im the guy to go to.

[Renzo]

I did a search and found www.tacreationsusa.com and I found some V8s for what seems to be a good price. I guess in the long run I would rather go with a V8 than a 3.4 or a 3.8. I was reading some of the other posts and it seems like a 3.4 to 3.8 swap (like I had originally planned) is pretty much pointless. So now I'm going with a V8. They sell complete kits with the transmission and everything. How much do I expect in labor for this kind of work?

[wasjo6431]

ROFl do u really wanna know?
most shops are scared to do it.
if u konw someone tha twill do it on the side hire em.
only cost me 1600 total to have everything done pretty much cuz im to buzy to do it myself.
but had i gone to as hop i woulda paid around 5-7 grand for the less work. and had to buy all the parts up front and have them waiting for them and have money up front = no go.

it will take you roughly 2-3 weeks to do the swap. depeding on how much u work on it urself. its really not hard at all going from a 3.4 to a lt1. its basically just drop the front suspension with kmember and engine and harness and trans.
put the new on
bolt it up
line it all up
wire it
and ur good to go. with me it was more of a pain in the a$$ as i went carbed 350.

[Th3 RiCk]

Save the $2000 that you would be spending on an LT1 and buy a used 3.8L and 4L60E for $500 bucks. Rebuild it with upgraded internals and have the transmission rebuilt stronger too. Then buy HPTuners for $500. Total it would cost no more $3,500 for a strong 3.8L and tranny. Hell, I think there is a guy with headers, p/p heads & intake manifolds, and a custome tune making 260hp (Might be more) on stock internals.

This way, your insurance rates will only raise by pennies compared to a v8 swap.

[wasjo6431]

i pay v6 rates for 500hp engine in my car...

[Th3 RiCk]

Until you wreck it, then welcome to years of insane insurance rates and that's if you can find a carrier that will even insure you.

[wasjo6431]

y u say that? (cars ben totaled once.) city declared it a total after their gate did 3600 in damages to my vehicle they paid me and let me keep hte vehicle free.

also two i plan on getting the engine size/type change at sec of state shortly here and have my insurance change. as of right now i pay 500 a month on my truck and car before i was paying 700 a month just on my truck.

2 i wont wreck it. and the insurance wont give a damn cuz its PLPD with Comprehensive if its stolen is the only time they will care which i hope to god never happens. only way its going is if they push it away.