GN drivetrain in Fbody

[blackv6]

I own a v6 camaro and I was wondering how hard it would be to put a GN drivetrain in it. I think the turbo 3.8 is a great engine my buddy owns an 87 GN. I like the way it has easy modding and the engine responds so well to engine mods. Its a manual and I know I would have to change to auto. Thanks for the replys.

 

[Dan Thompson]

How about selling your car and getting an 89 TTA?

 

[blackv6]

Thats funny because thats actucally what I plan on doing later I just dont have the money, plus I cant sell my car I got for graduation. I figure since my parents dont know anything about cars they wont notice the turbo shield.

 

[86regal]

hell yeah!!

 

[WH1 85]

Forget About It

First off I am assuming that you have a fourth gen camaro. If that is the case forget about it. With all the money you'll spend you could have bought a TTA. Nothing will bolt up, and you will destroy that manual trans, and your rearend.

If you are talking about a third gen then it is much easier to do. But it won't be cheap. I have an 87' firebird and a spare 3.8 turbo engine. i was gonna put them together, but after pricing everything I have decided aginst it.

Motor mounts, exhuast,trans,rearend,sensors,wiring,drive shaft,converting to an auto,axles add all that up and see what you come up with. Then measure how wide a buick 3.8 is, and then measure how much room you have btween your strut towers.

And remember you still need an engine. Price that. $$$$$$

 

[Grumpy]

come on its no problem!!!! my daughters friends uncles brother did one for $1000...!!!!

do a search an youll see it aint cheap

 

[GNVAIR]

It seems to me that a lot of young kids come on here thinking that dropping a turbo Buick engine into anything is just like dropping a 350 Chevy into a 72 Nova. I think a lot of them look at Joe Shmoe who spent $2500 and got an engine with a harness and did a swap on a blah blah. $2500 is just getting started. For it to work properly there are electronics, fuel system, engine mounting, transmissions, rear ends, exhaust, etc, etc
It gets really expensive real quick.......even for us older working stiffs with 9-5 jobs.
I laugh since GM Hi Tech ran that article on Steve Kaminski's swap on that 93 Firebird, it seems all the kids with the 3rd and 4th gen F bodies want to do a similar swap. It aint cheap. If I remember correctly, Steve was getting approx $5k in labor alone to do such a swap....when he was in better health.
Bottom line is speed costs. How much money do you have?
People say they want to be different. Different costs a lot too........How much money do you have?
If "cant afford" is in your vocabulary, then this isnt the swap for you. If you dont understand "blms, O2's, KR, IAC counts, etc"
Again, this isnt the swap for you.
I am not trying to convince people not to do the swap, since it works great when you know what you are doing and where everything goes. I just want people to know that you could end up with a car that doesnt run and a lot of wasted money.By the time you get done, you will have spent the same amount or more than it would have cost to buy a real Turbo Regal or a real TTA and you will still have a car that isnt worth as much since it wasnt originally a turbo car.

 

[Roc87]

It can be done!

Its not like any small block swap, and it'll try your patience and wallet. Had I not found a wrecked '86 T-type for a STEAL, I wouldn't have tried to piece everything together. I sold my '89 L98 vette engine and trans I had in the camaro for $2800, I still had to spend some money out of pocket for odds and ends, not including purchase of the wrecked T.

 

[blackv6]

Well Ill probably just buy a supercharger I knew it wasnt going to be cheap. I know a V8 swap wont be any easier. Ill just wait and get a turbo trans am or a nice 87 GN. Thanks for the replys unfortunatley I have the know how just not the money to do it. My buddy has 3 GNS weve done transmissions rebuilds, taken out engines, installed just about every bolt on. Hes on the this board hes JDsfastGN. Well thanks again I hope to be on the board one day with a real GN or TTA.

 

[WH1 85]

Forget the supercharger. With what you'll spend on it you would be 1/3 of the way to a nice TR.

Or 1/10 of the of the way to your 89 TTA

 

[turbosam6]

I talked to a couple guys at the midwest challenge this weekend who built a 3rd gen camaro/3.8 swap. They said it was easy, and not too expensive. Call Scott Klepinger at 219-266-7697. I asked a ton of questions, and they said most of the stuff drops in, just welded new mounts. Motor looked very much at home in there, made me want one!