does anyone know if there was ever an s10/blazer/jimmy etc that had the 3.8 liter in it? ive got a project idea in mind, and it would be great if i could find a rwd gm vehicle with the 3.8 liter so i can use the rear axle and tranny. my plan is to cut up my geo tracker, stuff the 3.8 liter into it, supercharge it, and make it a corvette and fox body mustang killer. if there arent any 3.8 liter rwd gm's, is there a tranny that will bolt up so i can use the 3.8 from fwd cars?

 

The problem with using a FWD 3800 is the motor mounts... Or lack of side motor mount provisions.

The late 90's camaro is the only RWD GM that I can think of that came with the 3800. You should be able to use a RWD block, and build it up with internals from a supercharged L67 3800 S2 (rods/pistons/crank), use the L67 heads/intake/supercharger... The difficult part is going to be controlling the motor. The PCMs are integrated engine/transmission control units. I can only guess that the transmission control would be different between the rwd 4L60E and the FWD 4T65E-HD behind the series 2 L67.

If you want to know more about this, there are many good websites:
L67Swap.com
3800Pro.com
to name two...

Good luck and sounds like a damn good project. I know that one of the members on BonnevilleClub.com took a S2 3800 L67 motor/trans and installed it into an '89 or '90 Bonneville SSE with completely integrated electronics and very impressive performance.

BTW, my other vehicle is a '01 Bonneville SSEi with the supercharged 3800.

 

thanks for the help. im hoping to find a car that is mainly intact so i can rob it of the computer controls. what would it need with the computer if i were using a manual transmission (i dot like auto's)? im going to look up on painless wiring if they have a wiring kit for these engines

 

ouch, all that in a tracker..... with that narrow and short of a wheelbase, would it be controllable with all that power?

 

i dont know if it will be controlable, but im thinking of making a wheelie bar if i supercharge it.

i also found the donor vehicle i will need. late model (98-02) base model camaro. im sure i can get a wrecked one for around $1k. then ill have the engine, engine management and computer, tranny, axle, and whatever else i might need

 

Depending on how skilled you are, and how much "hacking" you wanna do to that tracker, I suggest a 5.7 V8, it would go really fast, and be very much unexpected on the street. That's probably the best way, and man, that would be tough as hell. Otherwise, why not get a 4.0L V8 from a Toyota SC400, as those are already quick, and would be a great small motor that'd probably fit more easily in that Tracker.

 

What about a grand national. That was a RWD 3800 then with the turbo.
But like was said earlier. Its all about the dollar$.
John G.

 

guy on s10forum with a turbo 3.1 that he stroked to 3.4L runs 13.1 in the 1/4.

 

a v8 would be too long to fit in the compartmant without cutting out the firewall, which is the main strong point in this vehicle. a gnx engine would cost too much, a lot of people around them still use them

 

Simply not true. People drop v8's into s-series vehicles all the time. And all without massaging the firewall. I am actually researching the electrical/controls aspect of putting a SCFI 350 into my Bravada. Making the motor fit is the least of my worries.