Ok so my 88GT has bad rings slipping clutch and an alternator that refused to come out.  I had been putting off swapping in my spare 2.8 for months.   Then Dawg needed the 3.4 pulled from his Fiero so he could send it out to get it rebuilt.

        We struck a deal that we would help each other out.   We would yard his motor out and get it off to the shop, then pull the 88 motor from my car and swap in my spare, then once his motor is back from the rebuild we would install it back into his car.

This is day one.  May 25th 2012

His 87 GT.

My spare motor from storage.

Borrowed engine hoist and spare 88 Exhaust

My Yellow 88GT

My 4.9 and Fiero Chicks 85

His car up in the air.

Clynt's engine hoist.  (Thank You Clynt)

Up in the Air, nose almost touching.

Engine Out.

Custom 3.4 Engraved intake

Lebaron Brakes with Caddy Calipers

What the F muffler resonator thing that will be thrown away, previous owner installed it.

Better shot of my V8

We hope to get it all done in 3 days, minus the install of his motor as it will take a few extra days for that to come back.

I'll try to update this thread every night, as we get more done.  

It was an amazing day for it, and we will be at it again Saturday and Sunday, you should drop by and hang out for bit, we can all catch up.  Colby and Gary came by for a bit tonight, it was nice catching up.  I have a fresh bottle of Everclear and fresh bottle of Cuervo Gold we could open up.  Just need good mixers. Need something really sweet for the Everclear stuff.  (man that crap is nasty tasting)

Well we will be out working at 10am and don't know what time I will stop. So feel free to drop by any time.

Will do photo's later, but we loaded his engine onto the trailer, after getting everything removed off of the cradle. (F&UCKING Inspection Plate)  He took the motor to crackers, got it onto an engine stand, partially dismantled.  Then got back here, we put the cradle / trans / suspension back into his car, got the wheels back on the car so it can be rolled.  I got a battery back into my 88 fired it up and moved it into the staging area, then we realized that it was 4:30 and he was behind schedule to leave.  So he just left, I am taking a break, then I'll get back at my 88 and see how far I can get before he comes over tomorrow morning. 

 

        I had intended to install my spare motor "As Is" without cracking anything open, except for double checking the ported exhaust manifolds.  However Damian has convinced me that taking such a gamble would be a really bad idea.  So once we get the 88 motor out, we are going to do a minor tear down on the spare motor, replace a few seals and inspect the main and rod bearings.  Swap in my high volume oil pump and make sure the motor won't leak any oil. 

     I am also going to try and find the leak in the A/C system on the 88 so I can go back to having a working A/C in the car.  Will be really nice for this summer.   Unfortunately this means that their will be no way for me to have the car ready for the Arlington run.  So I will be in the GTP with Lisa and Arianna taking amazing video and photos on the drive. 

Looks like a cooler day...man you have been busy:)

Very Cool Pics John.  I'll have more in about an hour or so to post.

 

We got the motor out of the 88, then Damian ran to the locker and grabbed the engine stand, we put the spare motor on the stand to check it over, and everything looks great inside, still doing inspections.

Well it looks like my 3.4 is in near perfect condition in many ways. So
where was the nasty noise coming from? The top compression ring of
most of the pistons were all split. Some in three pieces.

Not many miles on this engine. I'm going to put in a performance
camshaft and do all the standard "Dawg" modifications to help it breath
better.

This thing will scream! And be reliable.

Dawg

I have some 60+ photo's to post, but here is just one quick teaser shot.  The A/C bracket needs to come off and get the same polish that I did to the Alternator bracket.  Aside from that, what do you think so far.

 

I polished up all the brackets today, ran all the wiring and hooked up the sensors, installed the adjustable fuel pressure regulator. (Something I think all V6 Fiero's should have especially ones that get driven hard)  I did a ton of little things today and clear coated a lot of the polished pieces so they should stay shiny for a long time.

    I used my needle point greaser and greased the hell out of the throwout bearing so even being used, it should outlast the clutch.

        As for install, if everything goes as planned, I'll be installing it this week. 

     On a side note, I have actually found a source for Good Year Gator back belts.  Yippee, I am so happy to be able to buy them again, I'll have one at the next meeting to show people why they are so good.  Instead of just having straight ribs, they have teeth kinda like an aggressive car tire.  So as it wraps around a pulley, the teeth open and close and bite into the pulley.  I have never had a gator back belt slip or squeal or any other issue even on a rainy day with an engine that has a front main seal leaking oil.   Lordco stopped carrying them a long time ago, Napa never had them, turns out that Alder Auto parts can get them.   I have a new old stock Fiero V6 stock length belt here that I can't use, because I run the under drive kit on my car, so I'll be either selling it to someone or donating it to the club for the raffle.    P.S. Gary, I have decided to get rid of all 3 of my tool boxes.  When I am done with both of these engine swaps, am going to sort out the tools and give you first option on buying one before I repost on Craigslist. 

Yep you can't beat a gatorback on a Fiero.