blackgloves

Out of curiosity, do you prefer a V6 optioned Fbody over the V8? It never dawned on me that some might have a V6 preference.

I've never considered it up until late. I'll always prefer V8 cars but saw a YouTube video that made me like the idea of potentially owning one. On Vice Grip Garage (yt channel) he takes on a V6 3rd gen Camaro for a project. If I ran across the right car, I would buy a V6 Camaro. It would have to he in fairly good shape and cheap however.

Seems like they would make for a fun, cruiser/beater car.

KITT87

I have an 87 v6 bird. I don’t know much about cars and only do the simplest jobs myself but it’s been a lot of fun after I replaced routine parts on a used car this old (battery, plugs, ignition coil, etc.) It’s definitely not fast but it corners well enough and will spin the tires with a little encouragement.

RubberDucky

iTrader: (4)

My car was a 2.8 when I got it. It's not fun, it's not exciting. Quite honestly, it's sketchy as hell trying to merge on an interstate with that slow of a car. Mine had a cam, roller rockers, and some exhaust work. However, it was great on gas and really cheap and simple to fix. But in the end, putting an LS in was the best thing I've ever done to my car.

blackgloves

you had an aftermarket cam, roller rockers, and exhaust on a V6 3rd gen Camaro?

RubberDucky

iTrader: (4)

In my 2.8 yeah. I've got pretty much that minus the rockers in my LS too.

Whitebird75

Mine is more of a cruiser. I haven't experienced any issues merging into traffic with the car, but it is on the weaker side of power. The insurance cost, decent fuel economy, and low entry price was the appeal for me. I've just finished up rebuilding the engine, front suspension, and finishing up the engine bay details.

For what it is, the V6 can be fun to play around with. Even though there isn't much aftermarket components, there are still upgrade paths available, if a person is willing to use junkyard parts. For heads and intakes, later FWD 3100 & 3400 heads and intakes fit the RWD blocks, assuming a person wants to switch over to a coil near plug setup. Add a cam and lifter set (around $350), build a turbo kit with an Ebay turbo, and you have yourself a poor mans TTA/ GNX. Will it be faster than a turbo 4.8 LS? No, not in the slightest. Does it cost as much as an LS swap? No because the stock transmission and rear end will stay in the car, along with the front accessories, radiator, fans, engine mounts, ect. If you really want to go nuts with it, buy a 3.4 from a 1994/1995 V6 F-body and rebuild it with the parts listed above while still driving the 2.8. A complete drop out 3.4 is around $400 in the southeast, as compared to $1000+ for a gen three 4.8 long block.

Does the V6 have downside? Of course! and it wouldn't be right to look at the positives without the negatives. The biggest negative is the lost happiness people have when they ask about what engine the car has. They tend to go from excited to disappointed. The second downside is the lack of V8 rumble. Trust me, no one is going to be impressed by the sound of a muffler deleted V6, so keep the stock style exhaust on it. The third downside is the stock power these cars have, and that's due to the era these cars were built in. The sad truth is that 305 powered cars (and to an extent the L98 cars) suffer from the same issue. Today's commuter cars have more horsepower than 1980's sports cars.

In closing, there is a place in the F-body realm, and the collector car market overall, for Third-Gen V6 cars, but the expectations and wants from the owner are different than those of an IROC, Z/28, Formula 350, Trans Am owner. They are secretary cars, like that of the straight 6 first gen Mustangs. They make decent highway cruisers with decent gas mileage, soft suspension, and wide sidewall tires. There are ways to extract more power (H/C/I, Turbo, Ect.), but they are reliable, cheap to run, and can be maintained at home with still a decent parts availability with parts shared with the V8 brothers and other 60* V6 cars. Honestly, V6 F-Bodies are not a bad way into a Third-Gen for someone who doesn't want a V8 car.

KITT87

I’ve never had problems merging either but I won’t act like I haven’t lost a good deal of races. The stock 2.8 is definitely not fast. Mine has a catback exhaust on it (forget the brand) and sounds like a V8 to the point that most people just assume that’s what it is. By fun, I mean fun to toss around. The car corners well (especially when you start upgrading the suspension) and it’s a lot of fun to throw around despite the lack of power.

blackgloves

I've never even heard of someone doing a cam/rocker/exhaust upgrade to a V6 third gen. Sounds freaking cool to be honest. Then as it was just mentioned, adding a turbo to it and you have a nice little car!

A build budget would be far less, as stated. Yall have me convinced to do this type of project at some point. Sounds like a really fun way to save a third gen

blackgloves

I found myself a roller for $700. It's a Z28 car though that doesn't matter. I'm gonna try to save this car and turn it into a fun project. If I buy it, I'll be looking to score a very cheap V6 that can be built for twin turbos (heads, cam etc)

blackgloves

Any suggestions on which cheap V6 I should use for a starting point? It will need aftermarket internals, Heads, cam, and a "ebay turbo"

Whitebird75

The best starting point is a 3.4 block from a 1994 or 1995 V6 F-body. They have a longer stroke than a 2.8 and larger bore than a 3.1. The internals should be fine, as the factory rods are forged and the pistons will need to be swapped if doing a "hybrid" build (A.K.A. adding FWD heads to a RWD block). Also, the rods are the same length as gen 1 SBC, but are just a little more narrow. 1999+ 3400 FWD heads and intake are a good starting point. It would be best to pick up a complete 3400 engine and a complete 3.4 engine. From there, it's best to search the V6 forum for more specifics on a hybrid V6 build.

blackgloves

L36?

Whitebird75

No, the L36 is a Buick based architecture that dates back to the odd-fire Buick design of the early 1960's. I am discussing the 60* V6 that GM ran in the F-body, S10, Fierro through the 1990's and FWD cars up until 2007. Some enthusiasts do not know that the 1994 & 1995 4th gen F-Bodies had a bigger bore version of the 3.1 engine in the 1990-1992 third gens. 1995 was the last year of a RWD engine block design and the following generations were FWD.

blackgloves

I'm looking into the 4.3L too

blackgloves

by FWD heads, do you mean the Over Head Cam heads? Are they Double Over Head Cams? (4 valves per cylinder) or Single Over Head Cams? (2 valves per cylinder)

Shadow9x99

The V6 cars are excellent learning platforms too. More room to work, parts are cheaper, etc. You can have just as much fun with a V6 car as you can with a V8.

My '91 Firebird had a 3.1L V6 that I ended up ruining due to a variety of mistakes trying to build it up. Swapped it with a 3.4L block, applied everything I learned, and it's now got headers, a cam, DIY ported heads, and is happily supercharged making as much power as most stock V8's of the era.

Whitebird75

Not the OHC cylinder heads, but the pushrod heads.


The 4.3 has a different accessory drive. it would be easier to go from a SBC to a 4.3 than a 60* V6 to a 4.3.

1989karr

The V-6 is a bit better on gas, there is more room to work... (i can change all plugs from the top... change out more parts like the cap easily etc..) and they handle better than V8 cars snce the engine is further back in the engine bay.... ovearll... I liek the V-6... to bad they didn;t have like 180 - 200 hp though.