Another 3800sc swap?....Yup
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Topic: Another 3800sc swap?....Yup
Posted By: Freak
Subject: Another 3800sc swap?....Yup
Date Posted: 06 April 2013 at 9:34am
Was planning on starting this thread when I got back from the shop last night, but by the time I got home my brain was just mush
 . Now I know that 3800sc builds have been done plenty of times, however I'm 36 and this is the car that I have wanted for as long as I can remember. So for me it's something special to share  . I remember like it was yesterday.....1993 and I just got my Drivers License. Drivin around all proud of my own first car, an 84 Chevette 2 door hatchback. Heading East on 88th ave one clear evening just cruisin home from a friends place, all of the sudden this sexy lookin thing goes whippin past me. All I could really make out of it was a hot lookin profile as it flew by me, and a 2M4 just above the tail lights on the right as it took off (had no clue what the 2M4 stood for at that time). I pulled over and got out of my car, looked at my car, then down the (now empty) road and back at my car and thought to myself "What the @#$% was that......?". So I did a little searching and found it, the Pontiac Fiero. Mid engine? All wheel disks and independent suspension? I MUST HAVE ONE! Unfortunately the years go by, and money and availability just don't come together, until just last year. I manage to get my hands on a running 87 Fiero 2M4. Onto Google I go to soak up as much info, specs and common issues as I can about her. That's when I come across West Coast Fieros, and they are right nearby in Surrey. Let's check out some of their ri.......HOLY CRAP!!!!! Ive heard of the V8's going in with some pretty extensive modifying, but a 3.8L with a supercharger with minimal modifying? I MUST HAVE ONE! Another year goes by where money and availability just won't come together..Until now! Hurray for Tax returns  .My car: 1987 Pontiac Fiero Base model 2M4 2.5l Iron Duke 5spd manual $1200 Donor car: 1995 Oldsmobile Ninety-Eight Regency Elite 3800sc Series 1 4spd auto $500 Putting them together: Priceless?....We'll see To be continued........ ------------- 87 Fiero (notchy)3800sc ....in progress |
Replies:
Posted By: Freak
Date Posted: 06 April 2013 at 11:28am
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So, now that I've had a chance to shake out the cobwebs and have a coffee and smoke... Day 1 is pretty straight forward, out with the old:  the Duke was old, tired and just plain done. It's had a good life tho. With that out of the way, have a chance to see what kind of condition the rest of the engine compartment is in:  everything was lookin pretty good, no rust holes, just a lot of dirt and grime. Not looking forward to sorting out that mess of wiring. Gettin to work on that cradle: old exhaust mounts  not gonna need those. I cut out the old motor bracket while I was at it, gonna do a custom mounting to eliminate the upper dogbone. Got the flywheel back from the machining shop, from a Camaro 3800 cut down to .84 and rebalanced to match the original flexplate. Bolted up to the new engine, mount clutch and into place it goes.  with that bolted up, blocked it into place and check clearances. Plenty of clearance for the oil filter  Not too bad for one days progress, considering I'm doing this single-handed. And day 1 had one more bonus in store in the form of a VATS-free memcal  Big thanks to Harrison (aka D_Sensitized) for that one. Will be on the road with that one while I get my original reprogrammed by Sinister once I've decided on all the details for it, EGR, Boost bypass, Rev limiter and stuff.. ------------- 87 Fiero (notchy)3800sc ....in progress |
Posted By: Freak
Date Posted: 06 April 2013 at 11:57am
Day 2 was a whole lot of figuring out exactly how I wanted to place the mounts for the most strength.  With the A/C and power steering deleted I used the bolt holes from those brackets to plate from.  Firewall side is nice and close to the cradles framerail, makes that one pretty simple. The other one is gonna have a bit more gap to cover. Mocked up all the pieces I would need to cut with cardboard. Being a carpenter by trade, templates are my friend. To the Metal store I go, two plates of 1/4" - $40 ------------- 87 Fiero (notchy)3800sc ....in progress |
Posted By: Freak
Date Posted: 06 April 2013 at 12:20pm
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Day 3: Got everything cut and welded for the mounts. They fit in with no problems at all and moved right onto lowering the car down onto the cradle   went in nice and snug, a little shimmy here and there to line up the cradle mounting points. Gotta clean up those brake disks, will do a brake upgrade later on down the road. Keeping the alternator in the stock location, just don't like the idea of it being in the spray zone on rainy days. This is BC after all, and rain we get plenty of. I don't mind modding the deck lid to clear in order to keep the alternator safe  .   The ignition coil pack will be relocated to the engine side of the trunk wall.------------- 87 Fiero (notchy)3800sc ....in progress |
Posted By: Freak
Date Posted: 06 April 2013 at 12:56pm
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Forgot to bring the camera along for Day 4, but day 4 didn't really have much in store. Just a bunch of plumbing work for the most part. Got the fuel pump from the donor car installed, simple plug and play install for that one. Routed the new fuel lines and the coolant hoses. Day 5 is a whole lot of wiring.  Got a majority of it sorted and soldered. Will post more wiring pics Tuesday when I get the rest of it finished ------------- 87 Fiero (notchy)3800sc ....in progress |
Posted By: D_sensitized
Date Posted: 06 April 2013 at 9:32pm
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Looks great so far.
The rev limiter on that memcal is maxed out at 6400 while in drive btw. Neutral/park I think is left at 3k. ------------- -Harrison 88GT 3800 SC1 F23 5-speed Chilliwack |
Posted By: Freak
Date Posted: 15 April 2013 at 10:20pm
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Thanks Harrison, good info to know Haven't had a chance to update this thread for a bit. Family stuff had to take priority, however the wiring got done and she started up on the first try  . Built the exhaust today, sounds superb. Need to get an alternator now, the one that it came with has a nasty knocking sound during idle. So if anyone out there maybe has one.........Will get some pics and a video of it running on here as soon as I can, just been far to busy lately....Stupid "responsibilities"  , always getting in the way......------------- 87 Fiero (notchy)3800sc ....in progress |
Posted By: D_sensitized
Date Posted: 17 May 2013 at 10:03pm
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How is this coming?
I believe I have seen it a couple of times now after work on McCallum. Sounds like it is going well. ------------- -Harrison 88GT 3800 SC1 F23 5-speed Chilliwack |