3.4l rwd in a fwd car

[sharkey]

im looking at doing an engine swap. due to constaints of my ecm (my car is an 86 z24 cavalier with gen 1 ironhead motor and distributor) im not doing a 3400 swap like most people have suggested.

i need some info about doing this. i know fiero guys do this, and really my 2.8l is not much different than a fiero. i know you need to drill the starter holes on the left side of the block. what i need to know is what else i would need to do. are the engine mount holes in the same spot as a fwd block??? is the fwd timing cover/water pump/ accessories all compatable with the 3.4l rwd motor???

im real interested in the 3.4l rwd engine. i think it would be a good starting point for my engine buildup.

[geoffinbc]

Nope its not gonna work. Get a 3400 block to start with. You do not need to use a full 3400 engine. But get the block. The you can do anything to it, that you wanted to do with the 3.4L. Plus you will have the benefit of a full roller valvetrain setup.

[donk_316]

The 3.4 will bolt right up after the starter is relocated. Then shove in a H272 cam and an Edelbrock intake, Holley 390cfm carb and kill all the 3400s on your block.

As far as the mounts are concerned. No problems bolting into a fiero so im ASSUMING yours will bolt up also.

If you need good heads for that 3.4L I am getting rid of my Fiero heads that have been ported.

[geoffinbc]

No A RWD block will not mount into a FWD car. At least not without a whole lot of effort. That why I suggested a 3400 block.

[sharkey]

ok so whats the story here??? if a 3.4l will bolt into a fiero without problems, why wouldnt it bolt into a cavy??? they use the same mount bolts on the block.

any my motor is fuel injected, and im keeping that.

[geoffinbc]

No they dont. FWD and RWD blocks have diferent mounting bosses.

A Fiero is not anything like a FWD car. That is why it is possible to mount either engine in a Fiero.

[donk_316]

Yeah im curious too. A 3.4L went into a fiero with a simple starter relocation. Why wont it work in a Cavalier?

They are both transaxle cars.

[sharkey]

No they dont. FWD and RWD blocks have diferent mounting bosses.

A Fiero is not anything like a FWD car. That is why it is possible to mount either engine in a Fiero.

well, please enlighten me on how a fiero engine mounts.

[TurboGTU]

Everything will work. You'll have to use all the belt acceseries and watter pump, along with the timming cover. Of course the drilling and tapping of the holes like you mentioned. Another thing is the fuel injectors...get them from the doener car. I think they were 21lbs and yours are prob 16lbs. Then get the chip programed to run the engine right. If your going to use the 3.4s intake manafold...then you'll have to bolt the intake backwards ...I mean the TB facing the flywheel side. Then every else should work.

[sharkey]

turbogtu: so the mount bosses are in the same spots??? so theoreticaly i should be able to bolt my motor mount bracket right to the block like it would on my 2.8l fwd??? i just want ot be 100% on fitment issues before i go buy a motor. things like injectors and intakes dont concern me at the moment, i can figure that out later. however, i do have plans to use a fiero upper plenum, but if i for some reason cant, ill reuse my current intake.

[Wolf]

I thinck my z24's 2.8 has the rwd motor mount bosses, and uses them for the ingnition module and coil packs
I'll double check tomarrow

[donk_316]

If you want some ported fiero intake pieces let me know. I have all 3 extra.

[sharkey]

ok thanx, ill let ya know. i likely wont be needing them till winter, as im going to build this motor up over the summer and pull the car off the road in winter to clean up the engine bay, build headers, and install the new beast.

[RacerX11]

No they dont. FWD and RWD blocks have diferent mounting bosses.

A Fiero is not anything like a FWD car. That is why it is possible to mount either engine in a Fiero.

The Fiero engine mounts are almost identical to the Citation mounts, which happens to be a FWD car. Don't give people advice when you don't know what you are talking about. The FWD and RWD blocks are different, but the RWD uses the mounting bosses on the side of the block for motor mounts, while SOME of the FWD use the two holes on the front of the block near the timing cover for the front engine mount. The rest of the mounting is handled by the transmision mounts.

Marty

[geoffinbc]

We are talking J-bodies here are we not?. From the one I worked on I do not think a RWD block world work.