What's new
CK5
Register an account today to become a member! Once signed in, you'll be able to participate on this site by adding your own topics and posts, as well as connect with other members.

Transverse mount supercharged 3800 into a RWD with a manual?

pvfjr

pvfjr

1/2 ton status
Joined
Feb 10, 2004
Posts
2,425
Reaction score
1
Location
Oakridge, OR
Can it be done? Am I crazy?

Ok so here's the idea. I want to take a series II 3800 with a super charger out of a buick regal, park avenue ultra, grand prix SSEI, etc. They're all front wheel drive, that I know of. I'd like to put it into a 2wd pickup. So, I know motor mounts are gonna be an issue. Also, I'd have to yank all the wiring, the fuel system, computers, sensors, etc out of the car and fit them into the truck somehow. I think I can figure all that out, as long as I find the right donor. My question is, what about finding a nice little 5-speed to put behind it?

I think I heard that this motor has the same 60* V6 family bellhousing pattern, same as the 2.8/3.1/3.4 before it. Is that correct? Now I've heard that the main difference between the FWD and RWD 2.8's is that the starters mount on opposite sides. I've also heard that Isuzu RWD 3.1's have the starter on the same side as the FWD chevies. So, could I mount this FWD 3800 in a RWD position and throw an Isuzu 5-speed behind it? If so, what flywheel/clutch kit would I use?

Any concerns about the project? Obstacles I may have overlooked?
 
wouldthis be the same motor as the V6 cameros and firebirds used? If so, would it be possible to start with the RWD bottom end and bolt the buick supercharger and intake to it?

Just throwing fuel to the fire.... I'd try to see if it was possible to mount a NV 3550 behind it with an adapter or possible a jeep trans out of a cherokee that bolts up to the 2.8
 
resurrected_jimmy said:
wouldthis be the same motor as the V6 cameros and firebirds used? If so, would it be possible to start with the RWD bottom end and bolt the buick supercharger and intake to it?

Just throwing fuel to the fire.... I'd try to see if it was possible to mount a NV 3550 behind it with an adapter or possible a jeep trans out of a cherokee that bolts up to the 2.8
Click to expand...
I thought about that, until I found out that the naturally aspirated motors have a higher compression ratio. That's a whole 'nother can of worms, I'm guessing it would blow up.:eek1:

Wouldn't the jeep bell have the starter on the wrong side too though? And what would I find a NV3550 in? How does it differ from the 3500?
 
I would *think* the best route would be to get one of these out of a Camaro, and use whatever trans they had behind it. Higher compression...did they do it with the pistons, heads, or both? Either way I'd imagine if you stuck to similar year donors, the parts could be swapped around. Pistons or heads, or both.

2WD truck, nice motor, I'd want to stay away from truck transmissions. Mini truck transmissions might shift a bit easier and better ratios, but might not hold up.

I'd be worried whether the transmission could hold up to the trucks weight. I suppose the Camaro's were hitting close to 4000lbs, that might be close with a 2wd truck?

I had a friend that worked on mating a T56 to a gen1 small block, and he had a NIGHTMARE trying to figure out the clutch, throwout bearings, the flywheel, and all the related measurements. If there is an established swap for the smaller bellhousing pattern, I'd follow that. letting someone else figure out these problems will save you a lot of time and money.
 
I was running through stuff off the top of my head.... IIRC the 3550's are the 5 speed in 1/2 ton 88-present chevy's, my roommate had a 305 powered Z-71 with a 3550 trans. I couldn't tell you what the difference is between this and a 3500

I don't remember which side the jeep 2.8 had the starter.

If you get really serious about this swap, I would look into using a camaro RWD block and bolting the buick goodies to it. You'd have to find some detailed specs to figure where the higher compression comes from. Is it in the pistons or heads or a combination of the two. I doubt the General would have made it so easy as to just put the buick heads on to drop the CR but its worth investigating. I'm bored, I'll look into 2.8's used in jeep Cherokees and trans options and see what I come up with. I really like the supercharged 3.8 motor so I'm interested in seeing if this could be pulled off.

edit: Dorian beat me to some of the same thoughts.

I'll have to look at which transmissions jeep used behind the 2.8 If its not the horrid Peugeot trans it might be worth looking into. Possibly a T-5 or AX15
 
The 3.8 fwd motor and the 3.8 rwd motor are not the same blocks, not by a far cry.
Yes you can do this, it would be a tad tricky, but I have several friends who have Series III supercharged 3.8's in their Fiero's and those are rwd.
I would look for a complete engine trans, cradle the whole 9 yards and start from there.
It shouldn't be too hard to mod the cradle for different arms and such, heck with a little work you can use corvair hubs, and toss on some vette brakes for a nice upgrade.
 
Putting transverse mounted engines into RWD vehicles is generally a bad idea. There are a few considerations. First and foremost is that they change many things on the cooling system to make them work with the sideways mounting. I put a four cylinder 2.2 into an S-10, just a rebuild, and it immediately started overheating. Worked on it for days before I found out the company that had rebuilt it had sent me a front wheel drive engine. Do a google search, there is a site that specializes in the 60 degree V6 from the general. It is where I got a lot of information for converting my wife's Beretta 3.1 into the newer Lumina. They have a ton of information, and can explain what would be required to make this work. Sorry I don't have the link here at work, and no interweb at home currently.
 
So is the block similar in regards to pistons and head mounting? Even if the block angle is different, I would *think* if I were GM making different variations with the same displacement, that I'd keep things like the head bolt pattern and bore diameter the same, while changing the "easy" stuff, like intake and cooling flow direction, etc.

Of course, it usually doesn't work like that, for some reason or another there is always at least one difference that is harder to work around.
 
It would not be a trivial job, by any means, but it would be cool if you figured it out.

You can do some crazy stuff to those engines - they are good powerplants. An earlier version is what the turbo Grand Nationals had...
 
I saw a website about a guy who did this to his Camaro. I believe it was a 3.8L V6 to begin with. He swapped the crank, pistons, cam, lifters, etc. from the SC engine into the rear drive block. I have no idea if it mostly drops in or if a lot of machining is involved.
 
As far as the engine internals they are pretty well identical, IIRC. It is some cooling passages in the heads, and some other minor things that caused the problems I saw. There was one passage that allowed coolant flow on the four cylinder rear wheel drive, that was closed in the front wheel drive application. But internally the pistons, valves, and everything else was the same.
 
I think every car I've worked on with one of those superchargers had bad bearings in it... probably from people trying to race stock supercharged pos cars like they're special
 
I can add some input here. I had a 1985 buick regal with the 3.8 v6 had an engine failure that made the block usless. EVERY 3.8 FWD I looked at didnt even have holes for the motor mount on the side closest to the transaxle. Although I didnt look at every car that had a fwd 3.8 from the factory. As far as the coolant issues, Im not positive as I never looked into it myself but I was told its simular to a SBC400, they had steam holes in the block that have to have matching holes in the heads. But as I said this was explained to me by another person. All said and done I didnt put another v6 in it. It ended up with about 600hp 403 and a B.O.P. th400 4500rpm stall and a spool in the rear end. Witch made a totaly stock appearing brown regal a hell of alot of fun, suprizing people. That is, until winter set in, then it was a little scary.

In my oppinion it would be easier to find a 4.3 to throw in there. Theres LOTS of aftermarket for them now including turbos. But then again, me personaly Id build a SBC with too much hp to be economical.

Balzer
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

Latest Posts

Top Bottom