hello and my first question of many to come!!!

[Addicted_2_Boost]

hello to everybody here in 60 degree land, I come from camarov6.com in search of some advice on my 3.4 camaro... I am planning a 3x00 top end swap and a sinlgle hair dryer this winter, I just pulled the top end off of a late 90's malibu 3100 SFI including the roller lifters, first question would it be beneficial to pull the cam as well, will it be a direct swap and will it give power gains over the stock 3.4 cam, and to conclude what kind of power gains could I expect from the 3100 top end swap, any feedback is helpful, thanx

[ForcedFirebird]

With the 3.4, you could have used 3500 heads. You will have to use the FWD pistons if you plan on avoiding high compression. I'm in the process of putting a turbo on my 3rd gen, and just got a 3400 top end myself for my next engine .

[Addicted_2_Boost]

yea i know that the 3500 heads & lower intake and 3400 upper intake are the best way to go but i am planning on turboing the car in the winter and i have the entire top end off of the 3100 malibu so if that will get me some good gains i am going to go with them since they were free, i know ill need to change pistons but i am getting coated aftermarkets to handle the boost and lastly should i go back and pull the cam as well or not worth it?

[ForcedFirebird]

If you got '99 heads, they should be the same as mine, which have the larger ports (got mine from a '99 3400).

As far as the cam, I say go for it. I have a 260 cam in my garage I need to install still .

[94Camaro]

you cant use the cam out of the 1996 3100...or any year after it for that matter.

the cam in the 3x00 motors are roller lifter cams and you cant use those in a RWD block.

[ForcedFirebird]

you cant use the cam out of the 1996 3100...or any year after it for that matter.

the cam in the 3x00 motors are roller lifter cams and you cant use those in a RWD block.

Haha, I thought he meant to replace his iron head cam while he had the top end off, lol.
Sorry, but 94Camaro is right.

EDIT: I got a cam and lifters from Delta Camshafts for $100 delivered for my 3.1...

[ezrollin]

I've read that little is to be gained from a cam swap unless your running 15 lbs. of boost or more. I don't recall the 3.4 cam specs but you may get some performance from 1.6 rockers.

[Addicted_2_Boost]

hey sorry havent posted back in a while, okay i need to find out what year the malibu is that i took the top end off of cause the regi was scraped off, is there any easy way to tell by casting numbers or such or is the VIN the only way? i am planning on running 15 pounds since i am going to build the motor up so is there anyplace that sells aftermarket bottom end parts like crank, rods etc... or will the stock bottom end take that much, ive read that they are the rotating assembly minus the pistons are forged but im not sure if that is true

[Addicted_2_Boost]

also why cant the FWD cam be used becuase there isnt provisions for the lifter girdle or are the cam journals a different size than the RWD block?

[94Camaro]

there isnt enough free flowing oil on one side of the block. you will burn the lifters out around 4500 miles after installing them. Crane tried several times to make this happen with no avail.

there are retrofits that have been done - curtis (turboz24? i think) did a solid roller cam, but do you really wanna have to do adjustments on that thing? lol

hydraulic is just fine.

i got a comp cams matched to my head flow #'s and it took me from 170 rwhp -> 184 rwhp with a tuning issue (computer needs a tune badly now).

saying you dont get a whole lot from a cam isnt true. but you do need to tune the ecm to see the most out of the cam.

the crank in a 60* motor is not forged. only the connecting rods are forged, and from what i understand thats only the 3.1/3.4 (i think?) and the TDC 3400 (Twin Dual Cam - DOHC 3.4)

[94Camaro]

edit: n/m...

[Addicted_2_Boost]

never even thought about a lubrication issue but it was just an option i was considering, like i said i am planning on running 15 PSI so will the stock bottom end support that? if not does anybody know where i can get a crank that will... i will just get an aftermarket cam to match the top end that i end up using... i had a wild idea of possibly using the malibu OBD 2 ECM and harness to run my car which would give me the ability to run HP Tuners for my tuning needs does anybody thinks thats even plausible, i dont mind doing the work i will prob start another thread on that though

[ForcedFirebird]

hey sorry havent posted back in a while, okay i need to find out what year the malibu is that i took the top end off of cause the regi was scraped off, is there any easy way to tell by casting numbers or such or is the VIN the only way? i am planning on running 15 pounds since i am going to build the motor up so is there anyplace that sells aftermarket bottom end parts like crank, rods etc... or will the stock bottom end take that much, ive read that they are the rotating assembly minus the pistons are forged but im not sure if that is true

Mine are 170 castings, I can't remember the other good ones off the top of my head, but I think they are 487. They both got larger valves and ports.

[Addicted_2_Boost]

94camaro what did you mean by edit n/m just wondering, ok well ill have to check the casting numbers but if it is the large port heads what can i expect to see power wise, if they are the small ports would it still be worth doing the swap, i couldnt pass the parts up for free but im not gonna waste the time to swap if i wont see anything from the small ports...

[Addicted_2_Boost]

sorry bout asking so many questions but im used to gen 1 small blocks and i want to go against the norm of just swapping in an Lt1 so any help woulbe awsome!!!