Q's on a 97 malibu

[hp500stingray]

hello guys, i am a newb to this and i own a 97 malibu LS FWD. It's a 3.1 V6. I don't know anything about my engine or tranny, but i would like to modify them. Any info you guys could give me would be great. I would like to acheive a turbo setup. Can i bore the engine over .010? should i go with forged crank and pistons or is that overkill? Where could i get a nice set of pistons, a cam, ported intake, exhaust, tuner, etc? What should i do to modify the suspension to handle the mods? anything you can give me would be great. Thanks in advance.

[RedBird]

well, for the cam, valvetrain parts, ported heads and intakes, you can go to the WOT-tech store, the link is just up there ^ those are all large-port parts, you have a small port, but an upgrade to large port heads and intakes should gain you like 20hp alone, put porting on top of that and it just gets better. better still, buy a 3400 from a junk yard, and build it up, then swap it in. it's a nearly direct swap for your 3100.

you'll need to either learn to tune or find someone near you that can tune, you can add parts and the computer will learn, but you'll never get the full potential without tuning.

you can bore it but you shouldn't unless absolutely necessary. stock crank and conecting rods are strong enough for just about anything you throw at them. stock pistons do ok, there are forged options but look to pay 600-900 for a set of them, since they are all custom made.

[hp500stingray]

thank you so much!!! i have been looking everywhere for help and until i found this website i was stuck and about to give up and just buy a normal sports car which i dont want to do(firebird, camaro, etc).
Do the 3.1 and 3.4 engines have interchangeable parts? i think i might switch to a 3.4 like you said. I think there are more options if i do that.....if there is anything else you guys can tell me that would be great. Thanks in advance

[RedBird]

well, right now, you have the small-port 3100. all 3400's have the large ports, and 2000+ 3100's do, also. the bottom ends are the same, except the 3400 has a larger bore to increase the displacement.

If your 3100 is in great shape, then there are only 2 reasons to swap to a 3400; increased displacement, and the ability to use 3500 parts. the direcetion you want to go depends entirely on how much money you want to spend, though. What are you looking to spend on your upgrades? there's many routes you can go since GM brought the 3500 around.

[hp500stingray]

im hoping for 400hp with a S/C or turbo setup around 10 psi and a 100 nitrous wet shot. Moneywise i can start with 4 grand.... i hope my project will only take a year and it is fine if it takes a little bit longer cuz my malibu only has 70,000 miles on it. i think i will start by getting a 3400 and go from there. I also want to have a tranny built and upgrade my suspension to handle the performance. The only problem is i have no clue how to go about getting the required performance parts or where to get them. A write up would be nice. The rest will be cake (in my opinion)

[RedBird]

well, if you want big numbers then i suggest a 3500 top end, at the very least. a full 3500 would be even better, but you'd need the external crank trigger from the store at least. well worth the couple extra hundred bucks, IMHO.

either case, you wanna use the 3500 top end at least, it's worth at least 30hp over the 3400 stuff. Ben's 3500 top swap package is about 1400 i think, and he does great work. if you need persuasion, just look up SuperDave's car and vids. 13 flat N/A 3500. the closest 3400 is only around a 13.7 or so.

[hp500stingray]

would a 3500 setup work in the malibu tho? does anyone know of this for sure? cuz the bigger the better, for me anyway but only if it fits or i will just use the 3400 bottom end and do a 3500 top end swap. Last question and most important: can a malibus tranny mate to a pontiac 3.4-3.5 v6 or no? this is key.....

[RedBird]

yes and yes. the 3500 is just a newer, slightly upgraded version of the 3400. with the way your mounts are, it should bolt right up, and if not, then only with very very minor modifications. The transmission will bolt right up as well. as far as i know, ALL GM 60*v6 motors share the same bellhousing pattern, from the early 80's all the way up through the VVT 3500/3900 today. they also share the same pattern with the 3800's and the 2.2 OHV motors, at least(not that that makes any difference in this disscusion.) There really aren't many brand-specific motors any more, most go across the board. i think the 3x00 was used in all GM platforms except maybe saturn....

[hp500stingray]

ok sweet. One last question.... wat if i were to go freakin big and just swap a l67 3800 Series 3 and tranny in? Would it bolt in like the others you mentioned or would i have to do heavy modding to get it to fit? and would the tranny hook up to the axle or would it be too big or not fit right?

[RedBird]

i couldn't tell you. the 3800 is a 90*v6 and that's outside my realm of useful knowledge......

[hp500stingray]

then 3400 it is.....hehe...

[IsaacHayes]

It's easier to just build up the 60*, your car was built around than try to custom fab something else in there. There are people that have done the l67 swap and said it was not worth the time and effort. You can spend less effort and time and build up a 3400/3500 and turbo that and make plenty of power to blow apart your trans.

[91LQ1Lumina]

would a 3500 setup work in the malibu tho? does anyone know of this for sure? cuz the bigger the better, for me anyway but only if it fits or i will just use the 3400 bottom end and do a 3500 top end swap. Last question and most important: can a malibus tranny mate to a pontiac 3.4-3.5 v6 or no? this is key.....

Try checking this thread out, it has all the info you need for a full 3500 swap.

http://60degreev6.com/forum/f96/span-style-color-span-style-color-0000ff-3500-t36647