Whats the biggest engine I can fit in the sucker?

[Jammin MattDog]

Whats the biggest engine I can fit into my GA without having to modify the entire engine bay to make it fit, I have a 1995 GT and about 3600 to spend ( maybe )

[Rayz]

without big time fabraction, buy a supercharger

[KhellendrosXS]

I see that you are 16. Unless you have spent a lot of time around cars your 3600 is not even going to scratch the surface of what you would need to do an engine swap.

Remember that if you change the motor you will have to buy a tranny...if you buy a tranny you will need to modify the way it puts the speed to the wheels. You are talking biiiiig money here.

You would be better off to buy an Eaton (or other roots type) supercharger on ebay, get a custom tune job and go from there.

Also, being as young as that and assuming that this is your first car dont waste your money! This is not the kind of car you should be modding up because if you spend all your money on it and screw it all up then its on you. Save up for something nice in a few years.

[Yoshi253]

Originally posted by Jammin MattDog
Whats the biggest engine I can fit into my GA without having to modify the entire engine bay to make it fit, I have a 1995 GT and about 3600 to spend ( maybe )

I'm with everyone else who says buy a supercharger... Boost could be your best friend, and you could almost double your HP (Not many engine swaps can double it...). It would also be quite a bit easier.

[RocketFast321]

buy a new 3400 and drop it in.

[Big Joe]

Originally posted by RocketFast321
buy a new 3400 and drop it in.

Thats about the ony thing he's gonna be able to do for 3600 or less. And thats if he does the work himself.

[Matt95GT]

My vote...
3400 swap (see www.3400swap.com for guide) or leave it alone and stick to bolt-ons. Other swaps aren't feasible for many reasons.

[Yoshi253]

The 3400 would work... But it won't add as much HP as a supercharger... If you are set on a swap, do the 3400... But if you just want more power, give it boost.

[coupe]

$3600 sure would be a nice down payment on a newer car.

[bballr4567]

Originally posted by coupe
$3600 sure would be a nice down payment on a newer car. Yup. You can find some 01-02 GTs for around 7-8k that are in good condition.

[DSMMAN]

X2

[Jammin MattDog]

we're good friends with the local shop owner, Jon; so as far as installing it he can do it easily and not charge us an arm and a leg; as far as a swap I wasnt looking at new motors, used, specialy since its a 95, putting in a new motor would be a waste of time because eventually the car itself will slowly need more and more parts as they do as they get more miles and get older so why have an engine that might last another 100k miles than the car. (well If you do the right maintence when its needed the drivetrain and chassis will last but eventualy just in time it becomes a waste of cash) What I really want to do since my uncle is giving me the corvette after college is get a 240sx and build it up from the ground with a SR20 motor conversion. If a supercharger is the way to go on this car can someone point me in the right direction on which one is the best bang for the buck, also too used is always awsome although with any kind of forced air induction they seem to be hard to come by used. Was looking at droping in a 3400 however looking at specs and whatnot for the amount of money it takes to swap it in, It would probably be better to just invest aftermarket parts for my current V6. Right now it misses a bit so we think it either needs plugs and wires or valves but we'll see what Jon says on that. Waiting for fed-ex to drop of my radiator as we speak.

[Matt95GT]

I disagree with the supercharger idea. First of all, there is not a direct-fit SC kit for a 3100 GA. Second, there's no easy tuning option for the 95's... we don't have nice products like HP tuners, etc. Third, the 3400 swap is much cheaper (really just cost of used engine and a few misc parts, and some beer for your garage buddies that help) and will yield about the same gains in the 95 chassis.

All of that said, if you are bent on going boost, with all of the work to get a SC to work, you could just as easily run a turbo.

Originally posted by coupe
$3600 sure would be a nice down payment on a newer car.

Spending the cash vs using it for a new car can be said for nearly every topic in this forum. There's too many responses like that lately... and it's not very constructive. And haven't you personally spent more than that on upgrades? Why did you save that for your next downpayment

Sure, he may or may not do (most never do), but I personally think an older car like this is perfect for these type of DIY garage projects. The 3400 swap is ideal... no it won't be a drag car by any means, but it'll be quick, fun, and no new car payment.


Originally posted by bballr4567
Yup. You can find some 01-02 GTs for around 7-8k that are in good condition.

And with a 3400 swap, he'll be easily faster than a 99+ GT for a fraction of the cost and lower insurance to boot.

[RocketFast321]

oh another good thing about the 3400 is, you can go to 60degreev6.com and find a lot of gofast parts :)

[Colin]

Originally posted by Matt95GT
And with a 3400 swap, he'll be easily faster than a 99+ GT for a fraction of the cost and lower insurance to boot. Yep , it's a lighter car , and with a 5 speed swap it would really move .... ;)

[iceman]

sr32deTTTs

[bballr4567]

Originally posted by Matt95GT
And with a 3400 swap, he'll be easily faster than a 99+ GT for a fraction of the cost and lower insurance to boot. I agree with that for the most part except the insurance. He is 16 and well pretty much any insurance is going to be expensive as hell as we have all found out in that one insurance thread.

If it was me and if we knew the condition of the car I would either do the swap or buy a newer one and mod it. There are a lot of factors really.

It would be cool to see a 3400 in the car but in the end its his money.

[Jammin MattDog]

http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/2003-CHEVY-GM-3400-V-6-ENGINE-IMPALA-MONTE-CARLO-33K_W0QQitemZ110073740233QQihZ001QQcategoryZ33615Q QrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem

Who says that should cost more than 3600 bucks?

My radiator came in today, like 2 hours ago via ups, we gotta bring it down to the shop tomorrow so he can install it, do the brakes and whatevers wrong thats causing it to miss. if the engine work is going to cost me a good amount why not just try to find a 3400 motor in a junkyard. Granted it wont be too easy, especialy since most accidents are mainly headon damage, but I'm sure If I do a little digging I can find myself a decent 3400 for a more than reasonable amount

[Jammin MattDog]

oh btw does anyone have power / torque specs for the 2 motors for comparison

[Nacho]

3400 (http://www.gaownersclub.com/forum/showthread.php?threadid=1972)

as for the 3100 i believe it had 155hp @5200rpm and 185ftlbs @4000rpm

[coupe]

Originally posted by Matt95GT
Spending the cash vs using it for a new car can be said for nearly every topic in this forum. There's too many responses like that lately... and it's not very constructive. And haven't you personally spent more than that on upgrades? Why did you save that for your next downpayment

I didnt say new, i said newer.
You cant compare the 2 of us. I bought my car when i was 20 and my GA was just barely 3 years old. I was also already in college and *well off* financialy. I also havent done nor plan to heavily modify it.
He is 16 years old, in highschool, probably works a minimum wage job (if he even has one) and wants to heavily modify a car that is older than he is and not to mention that $3600 is most likely all he has.

In this case i think im being more constructive by suggesting he spends that money on a newer car that would be more reliable or maybe put it towards college.


Originally posted by Matt95GT
Sure, he may or may not do (most never do), but I personally think an older car like this is perfect for these type of DIY garage projects. The 3400 swap is ideal... no it won't be a drag car by any means, but it'll be quick, fun, and no new car payment.

I agree, its a great car to heavily modify, but for a person who is older and more financialy stable.

[Jammin MattDog]

Well originaly I've been saving most of the time to buy myself either my uncle's vette or buying a run down 240sx and doing a SR20 motor conversion and building a crazy car out of it in time. The grand am was given to me free, wasnt going to spend all 3600 on it in the first place, I'm just curious what I could do to the car if it happens to stay in my hands for a lenghty period of time

[TA^Guy]

Originally posted by Yoshi253
The 3400 would work... But it won't add as much HP as a supercharger... If you are set on a swap, do the 3400... But if you just want more power, give it boost.
Do you always build backwards?

Sure he may get more power from a Supercharger but consider a few things here.

The car is over 10 yearsold, my guess is the motor has well over 100,000 miles. Who knows how it was maintained in that time. Piston rings most likely aren't in their best condition, nor are valve seals or valve springs or seats for that matter.

Added a supercharger to a bone stock, nonpreformance motor with over 100,000 miles most likely won't last in the long run.

If you really plan on building a fast car start with a solid foundation. Rebuild your motor or swap in a new(er) or rebuilt 3400. It may not be all that much faster but you'll have a solid foundation for future modifications.

[Jammin MattDog]

turns out the motor isnt looking good...looks like a 3400 swap is cheaper than fixing it....yum horsepower. Just got a cold air for the 3100 though, will it still fit on the 3400? or should I resell it before I try to install?

[Jammin MattDog]

I think the world is forgetting I'm not buying a new motor here. Used / refab is what I'm going to get, why buy an engine that will definatly outlast the rest of the car. As far as supercharging etc, I'm only curious for down the road if the car lasts me. And hey, if I was that obsessed with my GA I'd find some magical way to fit an RB26DETT in it, lol

[Bart001]

k sorry I skipped most of the messages, so I dont know where the convo has gone... but.....
For 3600 bucks american, you can do a KILLER 3400 engine...
And you should be able to peak at 200hp and 225ft.lbs
Here's what ya do... Make up a list and plan of what you are going to do....Then start buying parts that you'll need..Look into a camshaft, pistons, rings,all the new updated gaskets, What you can do, that I didnt do cause I kept my rebuild under 2000 bucks.... is find Titanium Valves on ebay, and then get the machine shop to, knock out the valve guides, and put in 7mm guide in, gernally the size of all TI Valves..
Pull the engine, take the entire thing apart and pull stuff in bags labeled and stuff... Trust me on that one.....lol
Then, I dunno your experience or tool situation... but I would start of Porting the heads.... This should take a week to do a good job... take your time, and be careful.... Dont take material out of the ceiling of the intake runner, just shape it, and take material from the floor.......Then inlarge the intake port opening for the TI valves, larger port hole... try and port the upper and lower manifolds....buy a throttlebody
Now... what you wanna do, is new over sized pistons, I went 30 over, but find out if its safe to go bigger even, 40 or 50 over, then get a crank grind and go like 20 over main bearings...
Mill the heads about 17thou.. they say you can up to 20thou, but i'd go 17thou to be safe.... New Cam bearings, Everything Cleaned etc. ValveSeals.. get it all done...
Headers would be nice too.......
ALL the machine work should cost about 1700 bucks
cam-250
pistons-220
gaskets, bearings, rings-300
throttlebody-300
headers-500maybe...
Grandtotal.....3300, approx...I would get larger injectors too, get an extra couple lbs...

That should get you a niiiice 3400...
ALSO, if you get deals on stuff, or save somehow...
Find someone around you that can do ceramic coatings, then get a package done, piston tops, valves, runners, combustion chambers, maybe like 400 bucks... I would think that should be good for 10hp

[urweak]

Originally posted by iceman
sr32deTTTs

3.2L triple turbo FTW :lol:

[pokesmot]

Originally posted by coupe
I agree, its a great car to heavily modify, but for a person who is older and more financialy stable.


I agree. I bought my car for $800 and have since sunk thousands into parts.

aside form a CAI and STB, there are no performance mod's or even work done on the body of my car.

If I were to do it all I again I would probably want to buy a car thats worth fixing!

Don't get me wrong, fixing my car has been fun, and I've learned alot from it; but at the same time if my car gets totalled for whatever reason, everything I spent on my car will be lost, and chances are ill only get ~$1000 (probably less) in insurance for it.


The total amount of money I spent on this car makes it just as reliable (if not more) than it would buying a newer car for the same price. The only difference... is value :(

doesnt matter how much I put into this car its never likely going to be worth what I put into it.