New- Doing a 2.8L Fiero engine

[arlfiero]

Hello- to all. I am embarking on a rebuild of a 2.8L Fiero engine and would look forward to any advice. Things to look out for? Things I should do to improve the performance while it's apart? -and so on. Any help would be greatly appreciated.

[TiredGXP]

A bit more info would be useful.

What are your objectives? You can spend a lot on a 2.8 and not really improve the performance that much.

How much work are you able to perform yourself?

If you want to keep things looking stock, the heads benefit from mild porting - especially in the bowls and exhaust ports.

Stock exhaust manifolds have some nasty restrictions that need to be ground out. Or replaced with headers.

The stock intake manifolds benefit from port matching and general clean-up, but the restrictions in the intake neck and the 135* turn at the middle intake really limit the potential for airflow gains.

With a cam and the work above, you might get 155-160 hp at the crank. At this point, a lot of people will advise you to ditch the 2.8 "boat anchor" and swap in a newer engine (3100/3400/3500 or a 3.4 crate engine) that comes with at least that much power in stock trim. The cost is not much different than having to pay for parts and machining to fully recondition the 2.8 block/heads/crank.

The 3.4 crate engine requires redrilling and tapping to relocate the starter, but all the Fiero accessories/manifolds bolt onto the engine. It is probably the easiest swap and looks stock, with the benefit of a stronger block, better crank oiling and more torque than the 2.8.

Check out http://www.fiero.nl/
There's tons of info there on 2.8 rebuilds, engine swaps...