all this v8 talk and no one even mentions the gm ls aluminum v8 series

[stangslayer]

why is this. every body talks about putting a 350 in their gt, only to get shot down by eveybody else on the board. then someone says hey, you should put in a buick aluminum v8. this motor is anchient, and scarce, at least around here anyway. WHY not install a gm ls1 out of a camaro or corvette. this engine is aluminum block and heads, cant weigh much more than the cast iron stock opel engine. there is a whole line of these engines out there, the ls1,ls2, ls3, ls4, ls6, ls7 and the lsx block. in stock form these engines make from 300 to 505hp depending on model. there fuel injected too. hell the corvette with the ls7 gets 28mpg and will top out at 198mph

the only problem would be the manual trans. the gm t56 would have the shifter location too far back. a t5 wont hold up even if it were a world class model. maybe you could get a tremec 5 speed to fit, they have like 8 or 9 optional tailshaft shifter locations.

has anyone done anything like this?
yes i know it take money and skill but alot of us here have that.
im doing this. i am saving for the ls7 corvette crate motor 505 hp and 495 lb ft, red line 7000 rpm price 13,000 out of jegs

what do you guys think?

[GTJIM]

Good Luck!

The Opel motor weighs around 300 lbs - the alloy chevy V8 close to 450 lbs. That's a 50 % increase in engine weight ..... all over the front wheels in a chassis that already is nose heavy and under-steers!
Also the Opel sheet metal is THIN and construction very light so that the extra weight, size and engine torque requires extensive cutting and welding plus more weight of metal to take the additional forces ... making the car even more nose heavy.

Leaving you with a wee car that 'dashes' away from the lights ... but has a much harder time of going around corners fast.

Ever wonder why Corvettes weigh 3500 to 3800 lbs ??

BTW: The alloy block Buick motor was used right up to 2005 ... in Range Rovers. Up to 4.6 litres and only weighs 325 lbs plus it is a much narrower motor than the Chevy too.

[oldopelguy]

That and the Buick engine really isn't that scarce. I've been trying to sell a used one with a matching 2WD auto trans for $300 for almost 3 months without any luck. You can't touch an LS motor for 4 times as much.

Sadly, most Opel owners are too frugal to spend real money on a project.

[markandson]

Here is your answer, owned by one of our group.

[cadence]

what about the 1uzfe(2uz, 3uz) toyota/lexus engine series, its smaller than a buick, more plentiful and more stout. Not to mention toyota reliability. They are available in front sump, mid sump, and rear sump configurations. Also they are cheap, less than $1k for a running engine.
if i ever did a v8 swap i would probably choose this one. 260hp/260tq stock for the 4.0

1UZFE Engine Dimensions
Toyota UZ engine - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

[opelnut10]

There are a lot of engines in the world that given enough time and money can be fitted into an Opel GT, but a small block Chevrolet swap is a MAJOR undertaking and most of the pipe dreamers that make the decision to chop up their car and do this swap leave them by the wayside to get covered with dust in some dark corner or rotting into the ground out in the elements. In my lifetime the one's that I have seen (street driven, fully operational equipt V8 Opel Gt's) I can count on one hand (and I only have five fingers on each) while I have more than likely seen 5000 people that thinks it is a better mouse trap. The CIH engine can be taken to 150-160 HP and be very drivable and it can be made to top out at 135-140 MPH there is a lot of experience and knowledge on this forum and if it was easy to make it drive and handle and stop like it should with a V8 I'm sure there would be more than there are. I like opels for their styling,handling and engineering if I was ever to venture away from the Opel engine the only swap I would undertake is a Mazda round motor(IMHO). I once knew a drag racer that ran two cars, an English Ford Sedan-Delivery and a Mazda RX3 both equipt with 440 Mopar big blocks, his feeling on the subject was "give me a cutting torch and a sledge hammer and I can put anything in anything"

[stangslayer]

ok
i undestand that the alloy v8 will be heavier and that there would be major structural mods . alot of the increase weight could be ofset by the larger rear axle (ford 9") and rear suspension components. also the roll cage ( i only plan on an 8 pt) and placing the battery and dry sump oil tank in the rear. lookin to remove the entire front assembly at the fire wall and repacing the stock "frame " so to speak with 2 x3 0.090 box tubing. the front suspension will be a mustang II set up.

also you can get a used ls1 compete engine and trans ebay or junkyard for about 4000 with computer and harness

[stangslayer]

gtjim
where did you come up with the weight of 450 lbs for the alloy v8?

[baz]

iddy biddy V8's

before i got out of opels i was ready to do a V12 swop

i have used lotus 4pot, ford 4pot , bmw 6pot and jaguar 6pot engines in my old gt and the work to put any V in is huge (apart from a eurpoean ford V4 but none but the insane would use one of them )
to put an 8 or more in it is easier and cheaper to get a car that runs it and rebody it from the floor pan up as i would have done so all the drive train is done for you (i was looking at 35feet of welding or a day to join the floor of a jag XJS to the body of a gt and have a working chassis ) making it a swop by shoehorning an engine in and then working from there is the hard and expensive way to do it

the buick /rover V8 is a tad wide for the gt too (90 deg Vee jag 12 is a 60)and you need to remove the engine or make holes in the inner fenders to change plugs or best is to make new inner fenders (who need foot room if you use the auto box you only have to get one foot in there anyway )

for engine weights you can google it there are lots of lists of many engine and gear box weights

[automata3.0turbo]

Why does it have to be a V8? Plenty of people have modified small engines like Honda B-16's and such to gain enormous amounts of power and torque from a little light weight 4 banger. I believe someone here is currently working on a swap with a Nissan SR20DET, and thats a pretty robust engine for it's size.

[69whitegt]

I was talking to a father and son at Carlisel last year. They had a Opel, I forget what model it was, I'm stupid outside the GT but anyway they put in a 4.3 FI chevy vortec in their wagon. Looked sweet and they produce great tq. numbers stock. I have that same engine in my 99 Blazer and it is a sweet running engine. They will run forever.

[automata3.0turbo]

Has anyone heard of someone putting a rotary in a GT?

[namba209 (R.I.P.)]

Yeah Charlie, at least a couple of folks have done it. azopelnut (Paul Heebink) has one.

[blancojp]

Gentlemen:
There are do's and don'ts in any car however it all depends on who is doing the work.

I know I have said it many times here in this forum, it all boils down to having a plan and getting the know how to perform it. A 90 degree engine fits perfectly in a GT without major cutting and welding. A preferable choice would be to install a 60 degree V-6 which is mostly a 60Hr project at most.

We used to sell kits for the Opel and MG's to install the 2.8L V-6. We discontinued the Opel kit but continue to sell the MG kit. If you plan it right and have the exact knowledge of what need to be done, the end result is you will drive your car.

So if you still believe major cutting is involve when it comes to a 90 degree unit, come on down and see my car.

[GTJIM]

gtjim
where did you come up with the weight of 450 lbs for the alloy v8?

That is what the Holden Monaro 5.7L 'Chevy' alloy motor shipped to the Jet Boat shop next to me weighed ...... just over 500lbs with pallet and box (which weighed 50 lbs ...) - had injection system, exhaust manifolds, alternator and water pump on it.

BTW: The Lexus V8 is a very wide motor once it gets its cam belt covers on - near 30 inches!
I have both a 4.4L Rover V8 and a '89 Lexus V8 on the floor in my workshop ... beside a GT body shell. To get either into the car, far enough back to give favourable weight distribution, involves considerable "hacking".
Have settled upon a 2.2L CIH motor myself ... it bolts in! :O

[jeff denton]

Where there's a will there's a way. A little talent and money can help, too.
But 'slayer is right, and I keep calling these wild ideas "Opel Onanism". They end up being a messy blob for someone to mop up. Luckily they aren't usually real, it's just hot air.
We all know why it isn't encouraged! When a good car is butchered people get p'd. Like the pristine Kadett I needed parts off of...
But there are some great examples of it being done successfully.
There's a couple Olds 215s in my backyard, too. Doesn't everyone have some? I grabbed 'em when I was into MGB/GTs.
I like the kind of thinking that has the replacement engine weighing in at close to the original. And not an awful lot more horsepower. Otherwise you have to do a heck of a lot more work than just fit an engine. There's always a street/drag GT for sale somewhere.

[azopelnut]

Yeah Charlie, at least a couple of folks have done it. azopelnut (Paul Heebink) has one.

So does Frankdatank....his is a 13B and mine is a wee 12A

[Gordy]

I just got my 1.9 freshly bored to 2.0 with OGTS pistons, 1.84/1.50 sbc valves with a Cam Techinques cam, Bob Legere ported intake and new 38 Weber and OGTS Getrag, ready to go back together. Had to dish cut the pistons but found a real good machine shop in Rockford, IL. that was not afraid to tackle the work and was, I felt, very fair on price. He builds a lot of Hemi and early hemi race engines, and he really enjoyed doing the Opel work. May not beat that 350 sbc in a straight line but will kill it on the curves (where the real joy of driving ANY model Opel comes into play anyway!) Hope to have this all together by spring and will keep you posted on how it goes. Will post pics on my albumn of the head work and the piston work.

[dkrizon]

I am the owner of the wagon at carlisle with the 4.3 v6. It is plenty of motor for my wagon. Its around 210 foot pounds of torque and 250 horse power. I also have a 100 shot of nitrous on it. The tranny is a 350 turbo and i just put a ford 9 inch under the rear. The only body mod i made was weld steel plate to the front of th unibody. It does not twist at all. I can almost pull front tires off the ground haha. This is what you should put into your gt you can find then at a junk yard for $700 bucks. Yeah its not 505 hp but you will never get that car to hook up on the track its useless power. Look into a 4.3 way less work and money still enough power.

[greensmurf20]

i agree, it would be just as hard to put a tire big enough under most opels to use all the power of most LS series engines, as it would be to put the motor there to begin with. the LS1 is the weakest LS series motor, rated at 300 HP or so, but in real world, is a decent amount above that....more along the lines of 350 or a hair more.