GM 3800 V6 swap

The 3800 and the 4.3 are both 90* v6s. Both have balance shafts from the early 90s and up. Both are splitpin even fire cranks. I had a 2000 blazer with a 4.3 in it that was smooth as glass however my 89 Astro cargo van was rough as hell, the balance shaft made a HUGE difference. I have a pontiac grand prix that just hit 180k miles with ZERO work done to it and the 3800 series 3 is still going strong and uses absolutly no oil! Very smooth motor. i put 150k on the blazer and i was well over 350k original miles on the astro van.

The 4.3 uses the SBC bellhousing and the 3800 uses the GM corp. 60* v6 bellhousing. There was a guy on 924.org with a 4.3 in his 944 and i believe the cpi intake sat pretty high but you can convert it to a marine intake with true multiport injection!

I am a huge fan of the 3800sc, they have tons of aftermarket and run forever. Cant wait to see some swap pics!!

You won't have to wait to long, We are pulling in a car today to get it cleaned and prepped for the swap. We should have the motor set by late in the week. I have been inundated by request for this swap kit.
Who knew that many people wanted a reliable 944!

Anyone consider the LLT direct injection V6 out of the CTS and base '10 Camaro? 300hp and 275lbf on 87 octane.

Plenty of power, lightweight, takes up no room... just need to wait for teenagers to start wrecking their new Camaros...

The 4.3 uses the SBC bellhousing and the 3800 uses the GM corp. 60* v6 bellhousing. ... I am a huge fan of the 3800sc, they have tons of aftermarket and run forever. Cant wait to see some swap pics!!

Admin wrote:You won't have to wait to long, We are pulling in a car today to get it cleaned and prepped for the swap. We should have the motor set by late in the week. I have been inundated by request for this swap kit.
Who knew that many people wanted a reliable 944!

I'm really interested in a follow-up to this!

Couple quick questions re the 3800/4.3 V6 swap:

1. Can you use the OEM 944 brake booster and/or OEM V6 brake booster, or do you have to spend big bucks on a hydroboost or electric boost like you do with a LSx swap?

2. Do you have to drop the crossmember and deal with bump steer like you do with a LSx swap?

3. Here in CA we'd need to use the OEM exhaust manifold, would the 944 steering column have to be modded to snake around that manifold like it does with the LSx swap?

4. What is the 3800 and/or 4.3 weight compared to the 944 Turbo engine?

Andy

A little update on the 3800 swap progress.

Getting there. We have a 2007 FWD Grand Prix motor (Gen III) we are for the development. Working through the analysis of the fitment, issues and resolutions.

A couple of items I can comment on.
1) will need custom oil pan.
2) stock manifolds interfere with the steering column and may not leave room for a "Snake" adaption. Still not done evaluating alternatives yet, but not high priority.
3) Do not believe we will have to shim the cross member, not 100% done yet.
4) no on the brake booster, Hydro or manual, no room.
5) weight - 3800 fully dressed about dead even with 944.

We are working on getting it right so be patient.

Count me in on the 3.8 swap! This sounds perfect!!! Keep the updates coming!!!

ok folks, a quick update on the V6 swap progress. Trying to make some progress. So what I have are some pics of the development of the engine configuration to fit under the hood and the final configuration being test fitted.



Next steps is to paint the engine bay to pretty it up, assemble the engine components that have been painted, Powder coated and get it ready to have the Clutch, flywheel and bearing assemblies installed and then into the engine bay. Will post more soon.

Thats a damn good fit! Looks like 225/275 hp/tq from the SC engine? I know theyre are quick... I used to drive a bonneville ssei for a little while.

Good Job!

And that is with no X-member drop? Looks like headers and brake MC's will be easier to deal with too.
I bet that Alt bracket can be slotted to get it another 1/2" drop as well......
....Nice job.

what are you going to do with all the extra space lol

The extra space is for the twin turbo setup!

Admin wrote:The extra space is for the twin turbo setup!

holy balls yes lol

Admin wrote:The extra space is for the twin turbo setup!

It's funny, for my second car my dad and I went and looked at like an early 90s Camaro RS V-6. When I popped the hood and saw the space between the radiator and the engine I just looked and him and said, "You could put two huge turbos in there."

progress?

Here is an update on the V6 3800 project. Keep in mind this is the first version of the install, or prototype 1. Our goal is to make it work as a base stock engine and get a base line on the performance of it and then upgrade to a Twin Turbo configuration. It is all a matter of time, people and money.

Accomplishments.
1) cleaned and painted the engine bay
2) cleaned, painted and powder coated the engine and components.
3) New custom oil pan designed, built and fitted to car
4) all new engine components, PS Pump, Alternator, AC
5) New steering rack installed (rebuilt)
6) replaced door motors and actuators
7) test fitting motor for fitment
ok here are some pics.

Looks like factory

looks good, nice and clean

what bellhouse is that?

any chance of mounting the alt down low?

Bellhousing is stock
Yes we could, want to not do any fab work for now, looking to use off the shelf parts as much as possible, plus have to consider the Turbo exhaust flows.

hows the steering shaft clearance?

steering shaft clearance is pretty nice. I will post a pic soon.

That is awesome! crap loads of room and now im curious of how many horseys with twin turbo or supercharger it would have. Looks great!

Not apples to apples but the Buick 3.8L supercharged Riviera makes 245 crank HP. I had a twin turbo 300ZX, 3.0L V6 twin cam motor that made about 400 crank HP with a conservative tune.

Man if this all goes well it may be the way to go with a twin turbo that is but then again the V8 supercharged is sweet as well.

The V6 should offer a different driving experience, turbo, SC or stock. than the V8, which is sweet too. I have the LS1 in my black car and will have the V6 also. I am looking forward to comparison drives. What I see as the benefit to the V6 is it fills in a hole in the 944 upgrade options. The S2 finished out around 220hp with the 3.0. The V8's start at 300 and go up and have big Torque. The V8 can be to much car for many people, the V6 can start where the 944 finished and fill in and even overlap the V8 in HP. However the driving should be different, the Turbos will need to spool so the actual driving may be more of the traditional 944 feel to the car. Just guessing at this point. Anyway it goes, the V6 should be a blast to drive with the TT.

The bigger question is what to make the exhaust sound like. Can't have the F#@t can effect.

Vorsche944 wrote:The bigger question is what to make the exhaust sound like. Can't have the F#@t can effect.

just find infiniti G35/350Z muffler system and let your 944 howl :p

V6's can sound pretty sweet, i think if headers are available and you run duals you could get the right noise. a gm 4300 opened up sounds like a baby 6v92 which is one of the coolest sounds ever. i bet the 3800 can be made similar.

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