Engine swap: 4.3 V6 in a GT

[choirkid122]

I am 17 and i am just starting to learn about cars and fell in love with the gt's as soon as i saw them. I am capable of getting a 71 opel gt and a 96 blazer 4.3 engine and tranny. i was wondering how difficult or even if it would be possible to put the engine and tranny in the car. any tips or advice or anything would be amazing. thanks

[namba209]

Originally Posted by choirkid122 I am 17 and i am just starting to learn about cars and fell in love with the gt's as soon as i saw them. I am capable of getting a 71 opel gt and a 96 blazer 4.3 engine and tranny. i was wondering how difficult or even if it would be possible to put the engine and tranny in the car. any tips or advice or anything would be amazing. thanks

That's not an easy, cheap or quick project, and needs to be thought out very carefully. The 4.3 is a 90 degree engine and is really wide. It will take a fair amount of sheetmetal work to get one in the small confines of the GT engine bay. I've got a 60 degree 3.4L V-6 in mine, which is a bunch narrower than the 4.3. To get an idea of what it took, there are two sources on this site. The first is my Willit? Update thread in the Engine Swap Forum (it is a very long thread) and the actual steps of doing the swap are in the Performance Articles of this site. Understand the weak link of an engine swap is what's behind the tranny. The drive line will not take too much HP and will self-destruct under severe banzai starts. Best bet is get your GT up and running with what you've got and enjoy it while you contemplate an engine swap.

[Gumby]

Originally Posted by choirkid122 I am 17 and i am just starting to learn about cars and fell in love with the gt's as soon as i saw them. I am capable of getting a 71 opel gt and a 96 blazer 4.3 engine and tranny. i was wondering how difficult or even if it would be possible to put the engine and tranny in the car. any tips or advice or anything would be amazing. thanks

I guess the biggest question is how much money are you looking to spend?

My advice is to stick with a cih engine unless you are a skilled fabricator. There is a lot more to an engine swap of this nature than just getting the engine to fit.

Also consider that 200hp is not out of the question with a 2.2 or 2.4 CIH engine and a little forced induction. 10lbs/hp is not a bad place to be.

[Phoenix]

That is one strong engine. I wouldn't want to try to do it myself but I did see a GT for sale with one in it a while back. They couldn't close the hood. It'd be much easier to put it in a Manta or Ascona, but why not find a GT that someone has already put another engine into. There are swaps on craigslist and ebay ALL the time.

Some interesting swaps on craigslist

[Dennis Texas]

Originally Posted by namba209 That's not an easy, cheap or quick project, and needs to be thought out very carefully. The 4.3 is a 90 degree engine and is really wide. It will take a fair amount of sheetmetal work to get one in the small confines of the GT engine bay. I've got a 60 degree 3.4L V-6 in mine, which is a bunch narrower than the 4.3. To get an idea of what it took, there are two sources on this site. The first is my Willit? Update thread in the Engine Swap Forum (it is a very long thread) and the actual steps of doing the swap are in the Performance Articles of this site. Understand the weak link of an engine swap is what's behind the tranny. The drive line will not take too much HP and will self-destruct under severe banzai starts. Best bet is get your GT up and running with what you've got and enjoy it while you contemplate an engine swap.

Exactly, consider those words carefully don't ruin a perfectly good body on a hunch. I've also seen the Ford 2.8 engine, rotary powered , and high torque rubber band with a wind up key LOL J/K. On top of those issue already mentioned you will need to be able to stop it and handle it, add more for brakes, tires, rims and suspension work.