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3.8 supercharged in S-10?

21K views 13 replies 9 participants last post by  Rhotpursuit 
#1 ·
has this been done? those engines are decent priced and that would make the s10 haul, especially if you put a smaller pulley or something on the supercharger. I think I have heard of someone putting a 3.1 in the s-10 and that sounded cool too. I had a cavalier with a 3.1 in it and it was a quick little car.
 
#2 · (Edited)
TIME & MONEY = YES

Things you will need, welder, motor with matching trans, all matching wiring harness from the engine to the trans. matching or universal guages, new or modified & balanced drive shaft.

Additional issues to worry about : speedo error caused by improper gearing, motor clearance, transmission clearance.

& if the 3.8L or 3.1L is front wheel drive = not possible (unless you are going to dedicate your life to it)
Any more ???
 
#4 ·
a few people on here have swapped rwd 3.8s, they hav the same bellhousing pattern as the sbc/4.3.

ive also seen a couple on here where they got a fwd 3.8, and turned it longways, and it was rwd. the fwd 3.8 has the same bolt pattern as the 2.2. all that needed done was moter mounts and wiring.

its not as impossible as you think it is to put a fwd engine in a rwd truck

swapping in a rwd 3.8 shouldnt be as hard as a fwd though




did some quck searching on here, theres prolly a lot more threads out there on this

http://www.s10forum.com/forum/f106/has-anyone-swapped-a-3800-buick-v6-304352/

http://www.s10forum.com/forum/f135/buick-3-8-in-a-s10-221593/

http://www.s10forum.com/forum/f106/buick-231-swap-178861/

http://www.s10forum.com/forum/f107/3-8-swap-287754/




http://www.gmv6.org/gallery/S10_3800_Swap/

http://www.sportmachines.com/magrack/truck_sport_utility_2-93_1.html

and theres a forum too

http://www.turbobuick.com/forums/hybrids/206694-my-money-pit.html
 
#5 · (Edited)
Additional issues to worry about : speedo error caused by improper gearing, motor clearance, transmission clearance.

& if the 3.8L or 3.1L is front wheel drive = not possible (unless you are going to dedicate your life to it)
Any more ???
I honestly shouldn't be hard at all.
You could even buy a 3.8/ 5spd from a 4th gen camaro and top swap it ( high compression FTW.)
The FWD block is identical to the RWD block
That would take care of any issues as far as fit goes (minus the supercharger and possibly the Xmember under the engine)

The rest can all be done with tuning. The speedo and gauges will work just fine, as long as it's all GM

The wiring should not be difficult if you can solder and have some wiring diagrams and common sense handy.

And a great website to visit would be http://forums.motorswap.org/
There is a guy who did this swap on a 80's cutlass.
 
#6 · (Edited)
This is what i plan on doing once I find a s10. There is a local that makes whipple kits for the 3.8l that im going to toss on it with a cam and headers and have some fun with the v8 trucks.




Id go with a fwd motor(engine code L67 97-03 L32 04+) and boost it with the lower compression. I know alot of people say go with higher compression youll have to use less boost, but I had a convo and a guy told and showed me that the amount of boost you can run will make more power than what the higher compression will add. If you do go with the fwd motor you will most likely have to clearance the firewall if you plan on keeping the stock m90 blower or you can have the motor set farther forward and have an elbow made to relocate the throttle body off to the side.

I cant wait to find a truck but need to get rid of my 85 monte first. This will be one wicked little truck *rubs hands and smiles manically* muahahaha.

Here is the link to the Cutlass, the guy is really nice and has been helpful when i asked about doing the Monte swap. I have more pics of his car if anybody wants them.

http://hometown.aol.com/powertrip186/index.html
 
#8 ·
Yup that would be him. I see it like this, if he can go 12.6@108 in a 3400lb fwd lumina with a stock l67 and whipple with headers than imagine what it'll do in a 2900lb rwd vehicle with with a cam and maybe some headwork if i dont run out of money. Any numbers or times on your car?

The 3800sc seems to be gaining popularity in the swap world.
 
#9 ·
Yup that would be him. I see it like this, if he can go 12.6@108 in a 3400lb fwd lumina with a stock l67 and whipple with headers than imagine what it'll do in a 2900lb rwd vehicle with with a cam and maybe some headwork if i dont run out of money. Any numbers or times on your car?

The 3800sc seems to be gaining popularity in the swap world.
my best time so far is a 13.6@101mph. VS cam, 3.4 pulley, 2.5'' exhaust and a tune basically.
My best 8th mile is 8.81@83mph with the same mods plus ported blower/intake, a 3'' downpipe and a badly slipping transmission.
 
#11 ·
Good times, my gtp's best was a 14.05@99.56 with slp headers, 3.4 pulley, pcm and intake, i was so hoping for 13s before i got rid of it.

I think turbos will make the best numbers but these motors make some good low end torque numbers and with a whipple I think the combo will still be good for everyday truck duties if needed.
 
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