Swapping entire engine bay to another car

[forkvoid]

I'm not even sure what terms to use to do a search on this subject, as it's so broad...

I've got an old '87 Chevette CS that I'm overhauling like the gurus of old did with their 350s in the Vegas, except I'd like to swap everything from a late-model domestic into it. For example, a late-model v6 Camaro 3.8L(3800 Series II engine), the five speed T5 transmission, all the wiring, the fuel injection, sensors, etc. Basically, a Camaro in a Chevette body(weight reduced by half because the Chevette is so small). Of course, that's just an example... it could be any v6 swapping in. So my question to you folks is this: is it even possible to accomplish a full switch? Engine and transmissions are no problem, but most people do a carb setup when they do this stuff. So keeping the EFI would be no problem either... but to get the full potential out of the car, I'd like to keep the computer so I can tune it that way(and an OBDII-controlled engine would make for some interesting times).

Input, please?

[sharkey]

in a proiject like this id lean towards an aftermarket computer, like a megasquirt. its a full stand alone that allows you to fully tune everything with a laptop. it is about 20 wires to hook up, compatable with a wideband o2sensor, and would greatly simplify the wiring, as making an entire obd2 system work can be troublesome and expensive. a megasquirt can be had for under $400 fully assembled, or around $250 if you build it yourself.

id look at using a 3400 from a fwd. you would need the clutch, flywheel, bellhousing and trans from an 80-95 camaro 2.8, 3.1 or 3.4l. the starter would need to be relocated to the other side of the block unless you got an early 80s camaro bellhousing with the starter on the drivers side (others can fill in the years, i dont know what years exactly). obviosly, you will need custom motor mounts, and custom headers. the advantage of the 3400 is its already 20hp more than a camaro 3.4l, and its a bunch lighter than the 3.4l and the 3800.

[Guest]

While I do agree that the 3400 is a much better option, power wise, there are some issues here. There is not enough material on the block to drill for the RWD starter, unfortunatly. I had thought there was, but after examining it closly earlier this week, it's just not doable in that sense.

retaining the FWD starter location is a good option and a tranny from a 1996 (IIRC) to 2002 2.2L S-series, since it used the same bellhousing pattern and starter location as the FWD 660s.

I am looking into another option, or rather may be looking into another option that will take more fab work, but might work out better in the end, especialling in my chassis, a 1985 GMC Jimmy. Using the driver side starter might make it near impossible to get the exhaust past that area.

[forkvoid]

Wow, that MegaSquirt is really interesting! I definitely think I will use it; so much versatility!

On the topic of engines and transmissions in general, I was searching and doing a lot of reading throughout here, and will attempt to summarize and please correct me if I'm wrong.

A FWD drive engine can be bolted up to a RWD vehicle with normal fabrication work. The transmission bellhousing is where the starter sits and FWD engines have the hold on the opposite side that RWD does. I assume the hole from the bellhousing goes into the engine block, and that's why this matters? Or is it a standard clearance issue, arising from using a FWD engine in a RWD frame? I know there's a ton of different bellhousings on the T5, and I seem to see people recommending a mid-90s Camaro bellhousing with the Chevy input shaft and Ford bolt pattern, so that the starter will mount properly without a whole lot of effort?

The Gen3 3400 engine has aluminum heads with higher flow. Is the block still iron or is it also aluminum?

I'd say after figuring out the engine and transmission details, everything else is going to seem like a breeze! What transmission bellhousing with what engine seems to be the biggest issue I see in my searching here.

[bszopi]

The 3400 is an iron block.

I'll let others answer the bellhousing question, as I have no experience in that arena.