Anybody know where performance parts for a '85 Monte Carlo with a 4.3L V6 can be found??? A buddy of mine has one that he might want to sell for cheap and I was wondering if there was anything I could do to it to make it half-way quick without doing a V8 swap?


if it ain't broke...MAKE IT GO FASTER

It would be cheaper to swap in a v8. You can get a complete 350 for 100 bucks at a junk yard, tear it apart and rebuild it with higher comp pistons and some 2.02/1.6 heads, add a cheap cam, intake, and carb, and be in the 11's no problem if you add a shift kit, gears, 90/10's and trick springs in the front. You could probably do it for less then 1500 bucks if you knew what you were doing. Your never going to get to those speeds with the v6 for that kind of money.

sort of on topic : Is a 350 a direct drop in on the 4.3 Monte Carlos?

The tranny mount is the same if you use a th350trans. Driveshaft length will also be the same if you use a th350 (you will still probably want to upgrade to something stronger though). You will need new engine mounts. You can get them new from GM or at a junkyard. If you want to keep the power steering, use the brackets for a 350 and the pump that's already in your car.

The 4.3 and the V8 Monte Carlos have the same bell housing pattern so the trannies will fit. However you will need the motor mounts for a V8 (can be bought at Advance and Autozone) and you may want to upgrade your radiator as well as the front coil springs.

Also I believe the V6 trannies used fewer clutch packs than the V8 models did so while it would work you may want to upgrade just for good measure.


The clan of Chevrolets:
'95 Cavalier
'97 S-10
'69 Nova
'71 Chevelle

Well I have the 350 engine and tranny with motor mounts and everything. So the mounts will have to be welded in?

sorry about all the ?'s but I haven't really gotten around to working on it.

The mounts should bolt in since those cars were avalible with V8's. However I'm not sure which holes in the frame are for a small block Chevy.

I believe the Montes were even avaliable with the Olds 307 V8 as well as the Buick V6's. Not 100% sure. GM did alot of mis-matching engines from different divisions in those days. Some of the Buicks had Olds and Chevy engines in them, then Some Oldsmobiles would have Buick and Pontiac engines in them, then some Pontiacs would have Buick, Olds and Chevy engines in them.....I know they've used the Buick engine in Chevys a few times.

Whatever you do don't weld in your motor mounts. That's the hill jack way of doing it. I had an S-10 once where someone put a 350 into it, and that's how they did it....they welded the clamshells to the frame, instead of buying the 2.8 to V8 adapter mounts which is the only proper way of doing it.

Never could keep that thing from breaking the welds for the motor mounts.


The clan of Chevrolets:
'95 Cavalier
'97 S-10
'69 Nova
'71 Chevelle

thanks man appreciate it

I would suggest building up the 4.3L, those things are a 350 with 2 cylinders chopped off. With the right cam, intake, pistons, carb and exhaust that thing will move pretty damn well. Plus you have sumthing unique, and you will hang with most of the guys with 305's and 350's.

Parts arent too hard to come by either. Your local parts store should be able to help ya.

Tha Dawg wrote:The 4.3 and the V8 Monte Carlos have the same bell housing pattern so the trannies will fit. However you will need the motor mounts for a V8 (can be bought at Advance and Autozone) and you may want to upgrade your radiator as well as the front coil springs.

Also I believe the V6 trannies used fewer clutch packs than the V8 models did so while it would work you may want to upgrade just for good measure.

i have done this swap a few times you will need clam shell motor mounts and the plates that bolt to the cross member. the trans in that car is junk so a good th350 with a shift kit will do well. and the drive shaft will need to be shortened like 1.5". and you will need a radiator. the last car i did i put a 70 454 chevelle rad in it. i had to make a bit of room in the core support because the monti core support is a bit too narrow. but it is not to hard. look in the junk yards for the same year cutlass 442 rear end it is a posi with 373 gears


see ya!

Edelbrock has a few performance upgrades for 4.3's of that vintage.

Ok, gotta chime in here. I've done a few of these swaps and as long as you know what your in for they are easy. Your gonna need the mounts, now if I remember corectly there should be about 8 holes drilled in the frames cross member the Chevy mounts bolt to the holes that are the most forward. You should be able to re-use the power steering and acessorie drive stuff but it may need to be slighlty moded to fit the bolt holes in the head, little difference there not much tho.

GOTTA RUN I HAVE A CUSTOMER.





Semper Fi SAINT. May you rest in peace.

Sorry about that. Anyway your gonna need a new radiator or its gonna run hot. springs are a toss up, If your planing on no A/C and aluminum intake and headers then you've just shaved off enough pounds to use the same ones. Otherwise you'll need them too.

Now 350 or not these things are HEAVY ! Like around 4000lb heavy and a 350 will not
put you in the 11's by itself . Maybe blown or turboed will but that cost bucks ! If you going the junkyard route its gonna need to be rebuilt anyway so try this combo out.
First find a block that has 010 cast on it, that is a 4 bolt main 350 and a great place to start building. They are getting rarer so you may have to hunt. Now after you get that engine your gonna get a 400's crank, rods, balencer, and flex plate. Get the 400's crank cut to fit the 350 main journals and presto ! You now have a 383 stroker motor ! of course thats with .030 pistons that is. Now a 383 is a rock solid engine that can make 400+ horses very easily. As for heads you can TRY and find a set of 2.02 double humps but you'll pay out the ass for them. Rather find a nice set of 305 heads. They have a 58 cc combustion chamber size as opposed to the 350's 65 cc's or bigger, that drop in cc will raise the compression from say 10 to 1 to 10.5 to 1 and you can allways put in bigger valves but you can't add to the chamber to make it smaller.
As for cam specs I'm assuming you'll be driveing it on a daily basis so we won't go too big. I'd say 480 lift with 225 duration @ .050 and a 112 to 114 degree of lobe seperation.

This engine WILL give you at least 400 horses reliably and last you for quite a while.
1/4 mile sould be in the low 13's high 12's all day every day.

Good luck with it if you get it.




Semper Fi SAINT. May you rest in peace.

Nab some Syclone/Typhoon turbo parts.

Jackalope, just because the block says 010 on it doesn't mean it's a 4 bolt. Also, those things wouldn't weigh 4000#'s with 500#'s in the trunk and that's with the v8. You can easily get 400hp out of a budget 350 and that will be enough to push it into the 11's. 383's aren't bad but you can get just as much with a 350 and spend a lot less. You sound like you read a lot of magazines. Take that anyway you would like.

ChrisIDV wrote:Jackalope, just because the block says 010 on it doesn't mean it's a 4 bolt. Also, those things wouldn't weigh 4000#'s with 500#'s in the trunk and that's with the v8. You can easily get 400hp out of a budget 350 and that will be enough to push it into the 11's. 383's aren't bad but you can get just as much with a 350 and spend a lot less. You sound like you read a lot of magazines. Take that anyway you would like.

Um, NO ! lol I actualy have built several of these cars and done several of the swaps pulling out Olds engines and installing Chevy ones thats how I know which bolt holes to use. Also if the blocks casting # is 010 then yes it does mean its a 4 bolt main engine. 010 is the casting # for the 4 bolt engines, always has been, It will be on both sides of the block and on the front of it too. If you doubt me look it up and see for yourself. And yes you can get 400 horses out of a 350 easy but it won't put a Monte Carlo in the 11's sorry. Monte's back them weighed in around 3700 - 3900 lbs. So like I said close to 4000 lbs. As for the 383 I refered to its what I would do cause they make more torque then the 350 can with the same stuff done to them thats all.

Look I'm not trying to argue here but I've done this before and on this type car and know what I'm talking about believe me or not whatever. But lets just put it this way I've owned several 11 second and a few 10 second street cars and a mild 350 isn't gonna put you there. Sure you can spray it but I prefer to make reliable consistant horsepower
that doesn't need to be re-filled. BTW, my last car that ran low 11's had a dyno proven
horspower figure of over 500 at the rear wheels with torque in the 550 range.




Semper Fi SAINT. May you rest in peace.

That's funny because I have 2 engines sitting in my workshop right now and they are both 010 blocks. One is a 4 bolt and the other is a 2 bolt. Maybe I have something special, or maybe you have no idea wtf you're talking about.

Here's all of the blocks with the casting number 010 on it.

Casting #...CID...Year...Caps....Vehicle
3970010....302.....69.......4..........Z-28 Camaro
3970010....327.....69.......2..........Trucks and industrial
3970010....350...69-80...2 or 4

That's taken from Mortec, and the one below is taken from Chevy Mania

Casting #....CID..........Year.....HP............Vehicle..........Caps
3970010.....302/350..69-79..145-370...car & Truck...2 & 4-Bolt Most common

Does it say 010 on the front too ? Bet it don't . and those numbers your trying to argue with are only on the side please note I did say it has to be on the front as well. When Chevy casts the engines they ALL came from the same molds so of corse they will all have the same numbers on them. The ones you NEED to look for are on the front along with the oil tap that will probly have a small pipe plug in it. OR along with the 010
it MAY have provisions for a dip stick on either side of the block, these are factory replacement engines or crate engines sold thru GM parts. Now its great that you actualy have these engines in your posestion so you can go verify the 010 on the front along with oil tap and plug. Now since this info is coming DIRECTLY from the GM service web site for dealers I do believe that you are saying GM doesn't know WTF they are talking about. But seeing how THEY made the engines themselves I'm more inclined to believe what they would say as opposed to someone elses web site. ALSO
when you order a 350 4 bolt engine from JASPER engines and transmissions they
use the 010 cast into the front of the engine to idenify it as a true 4 bolt engine. Now
Maybe I am wrong I'm not perfect, but I'm going off information from BOTH GM and JASPER ( I used to drive a delivery truck for Jasper and this is how I know what they go by ) Now I guess its possible for Jasper to make a mistake but for both GM and Jasper ? I doubt it. Anyway go look on the front of your 350 for the 010 it should be
right one the front about mid way the height of the block about a 1/4 to a 1/2 inch tall numbers.

I'll wait.




Semper Fi SAINT. May you rest in peace.

How much do you want to bet? Will you believe me if I show you pics. I don't care who you used to drive for or how many engines you have swapped into Oldsmobiles, you have no idea what you're talking about.

So then the way used to identify these engines by both Jasper and GM is wrong but your way is correct ? Mmm Hmm, I see. So the fact that Jasper bets $350.00 per core that the way to ID them is from the 010 cast on the sides and front of the engine
is wrong ? And GM ? They are wrong as well ? Well I'm not sure who to tell you to contact at GM but call 1-800-827-7455 this is Jaspers # let them know that the way they identify engines is incorrect. I'm sure they will be very surprised to learn that they have been mis-led by GM for all these years, They may even offer you a reward for pointing out the error of there ways.

I'll try to find someone for you to contact at GM so you can inform them as to the information they give out is wrong and you have the correct answer because you found it on another web site and have a picture. GM will no doubt be greatfull as well since the have been in error since the 1960's

Look man I'm only provideing information that GM and another HUGE remanufacturing company says is correct. If you know differently then please contact them and tell them so they can correct the error that you have discovered but till then I go by the way to ID
350 4bolts as instructed BY GM without needing to pull the pan and thats look for 010
on the sides and the front of the engine along with the little oil tap.






Semper Fi SAINT. May you rest in peace.

I guess they are wrong since it says 010 on the front and sides of both of my blocks.

Then you deffinently NEED to call Jasper as this is how they distinguish the 350 4bolt cores when they pick them up. They're running the risk of loseing $350.00 worth of core charge every time they pick up an engine. Thats nuts !!!! I bet they'll be happy to hear from you on this as God knows how many times they've been screwed out of a
4 bolt core.

I asked my service manager who in GM you could talk to and tell but he says GM's right.
PFT !! What else would he say right ? I'll keep trying to find ut for you who you need to get in touch with at GM.





Semper Fi SAINT. May you rest in peace.

How are you going to argue with me when I have 2 motors in front of me that both say 010 on them and one is a 2 bolt and the other is a 4?

How are you gonna argue with me when I have the company that MADE the things saying differently ? And another company that re-builds them saying differently ?
And all sorts of GM and Jasper publications that say differently as well ?

Look I don't know what you have in front of you, I'm not calling you a lyer at all so don't think that, but something isn't adding up. GM says all there 350 4 bolts have a casting # of 010 on them located on both sides AND on the front of the engine that can be used to positivly idenify the engine correctly. Jasper has a big thick book that contains
ALL the casting number of all the engines made ( excluding ultra rare stuff ) And the book says an 010 is a 4 bolt main engine. What do you have in front of you ? I'm not sure but I would like to find out . If you would like me to try and track down info on this
engine just give me all the numbers and where they are located on the engine and I'll try to help out as much as I can.

I'm not a dick really I'm not. And if you have a odd ball engine I'm interested in what youactualy do have. If you want me to check I have no problem with it.





Semper Fi SAINT. May you rest in peace.