86/87 3.8 VS Series 2 questions

[UR50SLO]

I'm building a turbo kit for a customer on his 98 Camaro. It's got a series 2
3.8L in it.
We pulled the oil pan to put the drain line in and found all the main caps were steel and the center 2 had outer bolts that held them in place! NICE!!!

There may be a thread on this already but I was wondering what all the differences between the series 2 and the GN engines are?

Could a series 2 be fitted with GN heads/intake?

There's alot of benifits to going with a series 2 engine it looks like from seeing the internals of these motors... steel mains,factory roller cam to start with.

What all would be involved in using this engine instead of the GN's in a RWD platform?

Thanks, Scott~

 

[FJM568]

Not to hijack this thread, but what bellhousing bolt pattern does that rwd 3800 have on it??? (is it the same as the 4.3L Chevy rwd motor???)

Thanks...

 

[UR50SLO]

I just got done doing that 3.8L Turbo conversion on the Camaro... It turned out great... What a great setup!
HP Tuners is a nice program... Took some figuring out but it's great.

Anyhow.. I think the 3.8L RWD blocks are different from the FWD blocks. (from what I've heard) The 4L60E has a interchanable bell housing that you can change out for different bolt patterns. (Just had the 4L60E out of the 98 GMC Jimmy) took off the bell housing and there's not much left of the trans... it's funny looking. Lol...
Anyhow... I wouldn't hesitate to build up one of these engines for our GNs. It'd look different but it'd sure be a cheap way to go since these engines are all over the place and cheap.
~Scott

 

[FJM568]

Well, basically, what I'm getting at, is, would the "rwd" 3800 bolt in place of a 4.3L. Thinking of maybe swapping it into an S-10. Would it bolt up to a 4.3L manual trans bellhousing???

 

[UR50SLO]

Alll you'd have to do is get a bell housing off the 3.8L firebird/Camaro and bolt it to your 4.3L 4L60E. For Autos.
Get the bellhousing off a Camaro/FB manual or entire transmission. Not sure if the bell housings are removable on those.. I'd bet they would be.

You'd need the entire ECM system as well.

Hope that helps,
Scott~

 

[Brad Zeidler]

What year 4.3? The 3800 uses the 60 degree V6 bellhousing. I believe the input shaft on the 5 speed for the S10 is the 26 or 28 spline (whatever the V8's use). The older 2.8,3.1,3.4 V6 T-5s have a 14 spline shaft. Also the bellhousings on the trucks mount the trans straight up and the Fbodies have a 17 degree slant. Yes the newer 4L60E has a removable bellhousing but they are auto trans specific. The manual bellhousing you would have to look for would be from a 94-95 4cylinder(2.2 liter) bellhousing,it's the same 60 degree V6 style and trans is mounted in the straight up position. The 5 speed behind the 95-02 3800 fbody is a hybrid sort of utilizing a longer input shaft(and corresponding bellhousing that's deeper) with a FORD transmission face to bellhousing mounting flange.

 

[UR50SLO]

I had just removed the bell housing off a 98 4L60E to send it off for rebuild. I was thinking the bolt pattern on the transmission side would be the same while the engine side would change depending on the engine. Find a bellhousing with the right pattern for the 3.8L and you'd be set.
Good info you put on what fits different vehicles... What effect if any would a 17deg slant have?
You can get a clutch made with any spline.. not a big issue there. I'd worry more about duribilty of a non world-class T-5. THey are all weak unless built up. The newer 6spds would be a better choice from what I've read anyway. A buddy of mine had his built up and so far is holding low 10's on a bottle fed LT1.
I broke 4 or 5 world class T-5's in my camaro. Since then I've had automatics. Not near as much fun but they hold up.
Good info Brad!

 

[stang_thumper]

i am also intrested in useing a 97 and up series II engine in a RWD g body, i want to use a water/air intercooler set up with 2 stock buick turbos.and an elbow inplace of the supercharger. is there any problems with motor mounts ???i assume sence they go in 4th gen camaros it shouldnt be that big of a deal. what will you need to do here, and i assume it will bolt right to the rwd 200 R4. has anyone done this, please help ???

 

[UR50SLO]

The supercharger housing actually is a good plenum. (just remove the charger part and make a block off plate where the drive was)
If your going to do a water/air IC plan on it being a strip car only. It'd be a pain to fill with ice evey time you drive. A good air/air is better for a street car every time... Way too many nice affordable one's for G-bodys.

Hopefully someone makes a trans adaptor for the bolt pattern.
Good luck and keep us informed on what you find!!!!!
~Scott

 

[FJM568]

What year 4.3? The 3800 uses the 60 degree V6 bellhousing. I believe the input shaft on the 5 speed for the S10 is the 26 or 28 spline (whatever the V8's use). The older 2.8,3.1,3.4 V6 T-5s have a 14 spline shaft. Also the bellhousings on the trucks mount the trans straight up and the Fbodies have a 17 degree slant. Yes the newer 4L60E has a removable bellhousing but they are auto trans specific. The manual bellhousing you would have to look for would be from a 94-95 4cylinder(2.2 liter) bellhousing,it's the same 60 degree V6 style and trans is mounted in the straight up position. The 5 speed behind the 95-02 3800 fbody is a hybrid sort of utilizing a longer input shaft(and corresponding bellhousing that's deeper) with a FORD transmission face to bellhousing mounting flange.

It would be going in my 2000 S-10 4x4...4.3L with 5 spd manual...Was wondering if the 3800 rwd would bolt up to my existing 4.3L manual trans bellhousing, or would I need the bellhousing that fits the 3800??? If I would have to use the 3800 manual trans bellhousing, would my 5 spd tranny then bolt to it???

Thanks for any info...

 

[Brad Zeidler]

It'll bolt up if you get a bellhousing from a 94-5 S10 with the 2.2 4cylinder. Should be plenty of those basic 2wheel drive trucks in the salvage yards to get one from.