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Good small engine/auto trans swap option?

K85 Octane

K85 Octane

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Hey folks,
Looking to replace the I6 in the Nova (Plank) with something economical and different. I think finding programmers that reach past LS swaps might be tough.

I always had in my head a 2.3ecoboost and auto from a Mustang. I still think a swap like that would be awesome, fuel efficient and different. I measured the engine and it would be an undertaking. Not much room for intercoolers on that car never mind the height of the engine is above the hood. Again, maybe something for later.

I was looking at the Colorado I4 engines also, mostly because they have rear wheel drive transmissions. Tacoma’s would work also but salvaged Tacos are still expensive. Are there any other good (sensibly priced) donor vehicles out there that I’m missing? CC, FI, and some kind of aftermarket support would be nice. Trying NOT to go LS this time. Keep it fun, reliable and efficient. A baby Dmax or Cummins even crossed my mind, very fast but did cross it.

:D
 
4.3 and 4L60? might not be all that different but can probably find an S series donor pretty easily
 
I’ve been looking at the Ford EcoBoost swaps, and it looks like quite a few folks have done this. More power than an LS and better mpg, and its a cool swap that not everyone is doing.
 
Any chance one of the baby diesels of the last few years would fit? Assuming cost isn't a huge factor?

I'm kind of enamored with the little diesels. Just interesting. They make a good amount of power and are fairly economical. I'd love to throw one in the K5 but I could never justify one to myself for my purposes at this stage.

Hell, maybe even one of the VW ones? 1.6 might be a bit small, perhaps there is a larger variant?
 
Ecotec 4 bangers have tons of aftermarket support.
Lots of them being used in the dune buggy scene.
Subaru? Big 3 liter boxer turbo charged. You'll need a 9" rear axle
 
The 4banger diesel from the Colorado is actually pretty large as it takes up just as much space as a 3.6 dohc that is standard in that truck.

I like the ecotec idea and I’m sure some got rider has figured out mounting one north-south. ***edit, I forgot about the Pontiac solstice and Saturn sky versions with the boosted ecotec. Perfect since they were rwd.

Though an idea to annoy the traditional folks would be to stuff a drivetrain from a Honda S2000 into it. Add a little turbski and I bet the wagon scoots.
 
K85 Octane said:
Hey folks,
Looking to replace the I6 in the Nova (Plank) with something economical and different. I think finding programmers that reach past LS swaps might be tough.

I always had in my head a 2.3ecoboost and auto from a Mustang. I still think a swap like that would be awesome, fuel efficient and different. I measured the engine and it would be an undertaking. Not much room for intercoolers on that car never mind the height of the engine is above the hood. Again, maybe something for later.

I was looking at the Colorado I4 engines also, mostly because they have rear wheel drive transmissions. Tacoma’s would work also but salvaged Tacos are still expensive. Are there any other good (sensibly priced) donor vehicles out there that I’m missing? CC, FI, and some kind of aftermarket support would be nice. Trying NOT to go LS this time. Keep it fun, reliable and efficient. A baby Dmax or Cummins even crossed my mind, very fast but did cross it.

:D
Click to expand...
How about the Buick 3.8 v6, with fuel injection?
That's what I am thinking of putting in the cj5 I am picking up.
It did pretty good in the firebird and camaro as well as the Bonneville ssi in Supercharged form
 
I’m watching the cost of the Solstice and Sky cars now, see what salvaged units cost. The Honda S2000 cross my mind also but I’m sure those are still going for stupid money. The Solstice and Sky seems fairly cheap. Another car I saw today, with lots of aftermarket support, would be the BRZ or FRS. Haven’t checked into the market for them yet.

What kind of tuning support (or even replacement parts) would there be for a Pontiac and Saturn?

Also I don’t see myself doing the diesel. Would be a cool swap but kinda outside my comfort zone, plus rattly for an old car.
 
tRustyK5 said:
What is wrong with the 6 cylinder in it now?
Click to expand...
It’s staying for now. Any swap would be down the road.
But yes… it’s slow, needs more gears, kinda a bitch to start some times, choke is wrong, leaks something fierce and so on. I will put the new PS pump on and engine gaskets, stop the bleeding. Those are already paid for. Id like to move away from the regulated Alt, I’ve got this weird feeling the old one is causing my battery drain also. It also leaks from that weird steering ram contraption between the knuckles. What a clusterfuck that is and not something I’m interested in sealing you. $$$
 
yeah power steering on Chevy II's was an after thought. Just like the 66-68 mustangs. The whole front suspension, and steering are very similar to a Mustang and Falcons and Maverick.
What is need is a Mustang II type cross member with double parallel wish bone control, complete with rack and pinion.
That carburetor like to come loose between the throttle base and the bowl. The only way to fix is to remove the carb, loctite ea screw, and put it back on.
If you decide to go after the ps ram get a rebuilt. Keep your old one, at least till you know the rebuilt is good. Check the rubber bushing mounting the ram to the frame, they where out and add 1/2" of play. You can some times use old shock bushing to refresh those. It worked on my E200.
 
In addition to Kappa (Solstice/Sky), you can find rear drive setups in the Sigma II (CTS) and Alpha (ATS, Camaro, CTS, CT4), which include the "High Feature" V6s and turbo 4's (135HP/L) and there are a lot of these cars out there. ZZP could probably set the tune to delete all the other things in the car the PCM would be looking for.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/GM_High_Feature_engine#LGX
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/GM_Ecotec_engine#LTG
https://zzperformance.com/collections/ats

GM_LTG_curves.thumb.JPG.cacc253c810a7f5337831967523ef6bc.JPG
 
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