I have a 03 cavalier... is a 3800 s/c engine swap possible? 5 speed? and any cost of this known?
I know theres a guy in halifax who has that exzact engine in his 95-99 i hear its pretty sick but definetely possible
it will fit, same engine bay size (as far as i know) as the older cavaliers, just differant front end parts, youll need to make custom mounts and sub frames and youll need the 3.8 s/c tranny and ecu and all that junk thats in their engine bay, theres only a handful of people whos done it on here, raven being one of them off hand has done it with a 5 speed, the 3.8 s/c dont come with manuals so deffinatly some work being done to get it to 5 speed. not as easy as swapping lets say a 2.2 ecotec into a 2200 sohc engine bay.
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i know this was covered like 2 days ago in either this forum, or the boost forum... i'll make it easy for you, look up posts by Raven, he's the only guy thats done it successfully that I know of.
Arrival Blue 04 LS Sport
Eco
Turbo
Megasquirt
'Nuff said
or just add a turbo or super charger to you current engine. be cheaper and probaly more power too
Im a Xbox 360 fanboy...and damn proud of it!!
i hear the 240hp 3.8 charged swap puts down around low 13's out the gate
, hmmmm
3800 would last longer. Built tougher. Iron block. Better pistons. Could mod the crap out of it.
--------------
Yea, ummmm. I used to have a J-body...
I found it easiest just to buy a car with the 3800 s/c in it. No work, no worries about getting it work, as it already does. Not only do you get the engine, but you get a much nicer car overall for driving in pretty much every aspect. As the 3800 s/c tends to come in better cars then Cav's and Fire's.
That's just what I did though. Good luck with whatever you decide.
**there is only one true love in my life... and my girlfriend has learned to live with it**
Just watch for usual GM type probs. LOL. The 3800's EGR stove pipe like to melt the plastic plenums. And be ware of the intake gaskets leaking internally, and wiping out your rod bearings
Lots of power tho
Just do a search or check out my cardmain page. I have posted so much info on this swap in the past. And about how much...who knows. It will really depend on how good a deal you can get on all the parts that you will need. I can sell you the sub-frame, mounts, and custom harness that you will need but after that you will have to gather the parts yourself and have everything installed. It is by no means a cheap or easy swap, do your research before you start this swap.
Gutty96 wrote:I found it easiest just to buy a car with the 3800 s/c in it. No work, no worries about getting it work, as it already does. Not only do you get the engine, but you get a much nicer car overall for driving in pretty much every aspect. As the 3800 s/c tends to come in better cars then Cav's and Fire's.
That's just what I did though. Good luck with whatever you decide.
Not saying that the GTP is not a nice car cause they are awesome, but it's so much fun to beat up on vette's with just a cavalier.
Quoth the Raven 'Nevermore
raven@accesswave.ca
Raven Autosports
55 McQuade Lake Cres,
Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada
(902) 850-3330
10.82@132
raven wrote:Not saying that the GTP is not a nice car cause they are awesome, but it's so much fun to beat up on vette's with just a cavalier.
God I miss that........ soon enough....... soon enough......
SPD RCR Z -
'02 Z24 420whp
SLO GOAT -
'04 GTO 305whp
W41 BOI -
'78 Buick Opel Isuzu W41 Swap
i would rather get a ecotec and a turbo it would be easier and probably more powereful and easier.
Quote:
Not saying that the GTP is not a nice car cause they are awesome, but it's so much fun to beat up on vette's with just a cavalier.
not to mention the gtp is a 3600 pound porker.... the 1000 lbs difference in weight could equal a second or more in the 1/4 with no power mods at all.
Arrival Blue 04 LS Sport
Eco
Turbo
Megasquirt
'Nuff said
Scarab (Jersey Jay 1.8T) wrote:Quote:
Not saying that the GTP is not a nice car cause they are awesome, but it's so much fun to beat up on vette's with just a cavalier.
not to mention the gtp is a 3600 pound porker.... the 1000 lbs difference in weight could equal a second or more in the 1/4 with no power mods at all.
Ya, but I don't race, and never will. So I will take the comfort and ride quality over a slightly faster 1/4 time that I will never know anyway.
Plus, if I need to pass someone, the GTP does just fine. It may be big, but it gets up and going quick enough for me.
**there is only one true love in my life... and my girlfriend has learned to live with it**
Gutty96 wrote:Scarab (Jersey Jay 1.8T) wrote:Quote:
Not saying that the GTP is not a nice car cause they are awesome, but it's so much fun to beat up on vette's with just a cavalier.
not to mention the gtp is a 3600 pound porker.... the 1000 lbs difference in weight could equal a second or more in the 1/4 with no power mods at all.
Ya, but I don't race, and never will. So I will take the comfort and ride quality over a slightly faster 1/4 time that I will never know anyway.
Plus, if I need to pass someone, the GTP does just fine. It may be big, but it gets up and going quick enough for me.
Oh, i understand that completely.... however, anyone swapping one into a cavalier had better damn well have racing in mind, because to do all that work for "passing power" would be pretty damn retarded.... And a second is not "slightly faster" in the 1/4.
Arrival Blue 04 LS Sport
Eco
Turbo
Megasquirt
'Nuff said
I think the GTP is about 3400. Maybe the Monte is with it's aluminum subframe. It's pretty light for a car that size.
I ran a bolt-on modded S/C monte yesterday. The car was remarkably fast. On a cool spring weekend, he ran 12.6 on slicks.
I have made my opinion on the swap so many times. If you have an eco, just put a turbo or GM charger kit in the thing. The eco has the capability and the aftermarklet support to do all you could want and more.
Even if your mind was set on a swap, which does have a decent amount of cool factor, why not just buy a slightly older J for a steal and gut it.. Used J's, especially with the 2200 can be had for sooo cheap these days.
I hate to say it, but...
If you have to ask how much it would cost, you probably don't have access to the appropriate tools or have the necessary skill set to complete such a complex change.
Like I have said before. I think there are more derelict 3800 j-body projects than there are completed. Nothing is more expensive than a half done swap. You would be suprized ghow cheap an empty car shell sells for.
Craig Lewis wrote:I hate to say it, but...
If you have to ask how much it would cost, you probably don't have access to the appropriate tools or have the necessary skill set to complete such a complex change.
Like I have said before. I think there are more derelict 3800 j-body projects than there are completed. Nothing is more expensive than a half done swap. You would be suprized ghow cheap an empty car shell sells for.
I agree with you 110%. The number one question I am asked is how much will it cost and I have to say I hate it everytime I hear it. But what can you do, those are the ones who do get in over there heads and never finnish. Also if I had to do it all over again I would of just bought an empty shell and started from there. When I did mine I had a blown 2.4l, sure I could of rebuilt it strong and thrown a big turbo on it and been like 100's of others who have done the samething. I wanted to be unique and original, I saw tthe swap done with an automatic tranny and it ran 14 flat in the 1/4 completely stock. Found out that we could make a 5-speed work and there was no looking back. But I also had great resources and great friends (Everyone at Double Z) to make it happen. If I had to do it all over again I would start with an empty shell for sure and I would recomend that to anyone who wants to do it now as well. Like I tell everyone who contacts me about this swap. Do your research, price everything up and make sure you can afford it and most important if you can't install it yourself make damn sure who ever is doing it knows what they are doing.
Quoth the Raven 'Nevermore
raven@accesswave.ca
Raven Autosports
55 McQuade Lake Cres,
Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada
(902) 850-3330
10.82@132
i cannot believe you would do all that work for high 13's. i think making a 4 banger capable of low thirteens would be more unique then just dropping in a big engine. It doesnt seem as special when u beat a mustang knowing u got a supercharged v-6 under the hood instead of a little 4 cylinder.
GHJorge564 wrote:i cannot believe you would do all that work for high 13's. i think making a 4 banger capable of low thirteens would be more unique then just dropping in a big engine. It doesnt seem as special when u beat a mustang knowing u got a supercharged v-6 under the hood instead of a little 4 cylinder.
man i wish the .org had the same emoticons as vortex... because i'd be using the one that bangs his head on a wall right now...
first off, i can't remember what Raven's trap speeds were, but I'm fairly confident they were already high enough for 12's... his problem was breaking mounts, a botched engine rebuild, and traction from what i can remember. Beyond that, once the initial trouble of the 3800 install is out of the way, its very easy, and pretty cheap, to get a lot more power out of it. Yeah, in the end, a built eco with a turbo can probably do more, for less, but there's something to be said about cool factor and being one of very few (if not the only one) to do it.
Arrival Blue 04 LS Sport
Eco
Turbo
Megasquirt
'Nuff said
Sorry, this just bugs the crap out of me -
BOOSTED wrote:it will fit, same engine bay size (as far as i know) as the older cavaliers, just differant front end parts, youll need to make custom mounts and sub frames and youll need the 3.8 s/c tranny and ecu and all that junk thats in their engine bay, theres only a handful of people whos done it on here, raven being one of them off hand has done it with a 5 speed, the 3.8 s/c dont come with manuals so deffinatly some work being done to get it to 5 speed. not as easy as swapping lets say a 2.2 ecotec into a 2200 sohc engine bay .
It IS NOT a SOHC, O H V!!!
