3800 swap

[dhen]

Hi,

I've been wanting to do an L67 Fiero swap for years. I came across this ad:

http://sanantonio.craigslist.org/cto/4142122283.html

It's been up for a while. It's the less desirable gen 1 l67. I think the guy just wants to get rid of it. Would this be worth it to buy, or should I keep looking for a better body? (I don't like what he did to the hood.)

I have a L36 (gen ii, naturally aspirated) 3800 core. I was thinking I could use the pistons out of the gen 1 and then turbo it. Does this sound like a good idea?

Thanks

[jelly2m81]

IDk, 600 sounds cheap but it looks like someones failed project IE: like you stated "It's the less desirable gen 1" the owner probaby got started and thought " I coulda had better if I started with better stuff...."

I'd say with that car your gonna pretty much do the entire swap anyway seeing about all that's happened is the drivetrain is partially installed, all the involved work is yet to be done, may as well do that for the drivetrain you want.

As far as the body goes, it's just a 86 4 cyl chassis with an SE / GT front and rear fascia, the hood can easily be replaced, my biggest beef would be that the fucktard was lazy and didn't relocate the alternator and cut the trunk lid to clear it.

Ya it's someones elses headache, is that worth 600 bux to you?

I have an L36 in one of mine, I'm planning on boosting it using the stock bottom end, I certainly wouldn't use used pistons from one engine into a used block of an other, thats asking for issues down the road.

[dhen]

All very good points. I think I'll pass. I have a couple of other leads on Fieros in the area.

The L36 I have got water into the oil. The seller was honest about that and said it was missing really badly when it was parked but that he thought a new intake gasket would solve the problem. I need to crack it open to see. But anyway.

Throwing boost at an L36? Can it handle it? I thought the pistons were not very strong.

Thanks. I think you saved me a headache.

[jelly2m81]

Throwing boost at an L36? Can it handle it? I thought the pistons were not very strong.

The L36 feels strong but I'd be happy with a little more go, I wouldn't be after big HP, boosting it to about ~ 250-270 WHP would probably be sufficent for me. If it blows up I already have my swap and harness build to accept a L67 so it would just be a matter of swapping the engine out and then go from there on mods.

[The Dark Side of Will]

Inheriting someone else's partially completed project is always a headache. Good choice.

[Shaun41178(2)]

Listen to the others and don't do it.

Also an l36 if tuned properly can handle 500 hp but don't go swapping pistons or whatever your crazy plan was

[Emc209i]

Throwing boost at an L36? Can it handle it? I thought the pistons were not very strong.

They aren't - well relatively speaking they are, but they're not nearly as strong as the supercharged parts. If you're using the M90 supercharger, knock yourself out, it will be really hard to break the L36, plus you'll get better fuel economy, won't need as small of a pulley (which reduces intake charge heat), and you'll save a few coins not having to buy the more expensive engine. Turbo, no way, you really need the supercharged block. The m90 being such an inefficient supercharger is the reason most people scrape by with the N/A block. I think a reliable ceiling for the L36 is around 400 crank hp. The power ceiling with the supercharger is around 400 wheel hp, so if you go all out and install the most expensive cams, heads, etc, you may break a piston and/or rod.

Reliability and durability are equally as important to me as power. So, I personally would use the supercharged engine if I did the swap again. But then again it would just be a reliable weekend toy, not a daily driver or quarter mile car, where the qualities of having the NA block would shine.

The car you linked is really only half of a completed swap - and that half doesn't look too impressive. Its kind of scary how bad the fuel rail looks. If you've been wanting to do the swap for years, you should definitely do it the right way.

Oh.. and welcome to RealFieroTech! Feel free to run anything about building the motor by us, or check out the GlubGP forum if you haven't already. There's a huge resource of information worth reading there.

[dhen]

Thanks everyone. As luck would have it I went out to look at an 85 Fiero. It was rust free and the interior was in good shape, which is good because I love working on mechanical stuff and hate doing interior. I actually prefer the older body style. The only downside is that it's an automatic, but I'm in no rush since this is a hobby and plan on doing an engine swap anyways.

The guy seemed pretty cool and if all goes well I'll pay him in two weeks and pick it up then. I have to clear some space in my garage first.

About myself, this will be my first GM car. I've had a couple of British cars - MGs and a Jag. The Jag I had had a Chevy V8 in it, which is what got me into GMs. Loved the car when it worked but had to sell it because it often didn't. LOL I have good memories of Fieros since a good friend of mine back in the '80s had one.

Mainly, I'm attracted to the quirkiness of these cars. I love how they're mid-engine and easy to do swaps on. You certainly don't see them often.

[The Dark Side of Will]

About myself, this will be my first GM car. I've had a couple of British cars - MGs and a Jag. The Jag I had had a Chevy V8 in it, which is what got me into GMs. Loved the car when it worked but had to sell it because it often didn't. LOL

In the late '80's my dad made a living for a couple of years putting Chevies into Jaguars. I grew up driving them.

[Aaron]

Sounds like you made a good choice, swapping to a manual in the Fiero isn't very difficult either.

I bought a Fiero with a completed 3.4 DOHC swap, but it wasn't running. Even though it was a completed swap I had to redo everything to get it to an acceptable quality level. I don't think I've ever looked at a previous owner's work and thought "He did that right."

[Emc209i]

Swapping to to a stick is easy! The hardest part is swapping the pedals or switching the transmission cooler lines with the clutch hydraulic line, depending on what kind of garage you've got.

[The Dark Side of Will]

The first time I swapped a clutch line, I didn't realize that the front bucket was removable.... oye

[Emc209i]

The first time I swapped a clutch line, I didn't realize that the front bucket was removable.... oye

How'd you get it out then? Cut up the bucket?