1st gen S10 3.4 swap buildup

[stroberts22]

I'm been slowly gathering parts preparing to rebuild a 3.4 engine I got from a 95 Camaro. My Comp Cam K kit came in today (part#K16-232-4). I expect the roller tip rockers and push rods to be in pretty soon also. I been looking up internal parts trying to get some quality parts without spending a arm and leg. Here's a few of the parts I'm looking at.

http://www.summitracing.com/parts/slp-h684cp50mmhttp://www.summitracing.com/parts/slp-e-928k50mmhttp://www.summitracing.com/parts/mel-m134http://www.summitracing.com/parts/kgb-mb4080sihttp://www.summitracing.com/parts/kgb-cr605sihttp://www.summitracing.com/parts/kgb-cs428bbhttp://www.summitracing.com/parts/fel-hs8699pt6http://www.summitracing.com/parts/fel-9071pt

The piston says it's a dome with 4 valve reliefs. I just can't put recessed domes in my engine. Will it be too high compression for pump gas driven on the street? Could some of you engine builders look at my wish list and double check my parts are correct? I'm new to v6 performance and need some ideas of what you all have found that works on these engines. It's going to be my daily driver.

[geoffinbc]

Those are DOHC pistons. Technically you can use them. They will bump up compression a bit though. Not sure on the exact number. If your machining the heads and block then it may be too much. Check the compression ratio calculator on the site. With iron heads and open chambers its safe to go to 10:1 but you wont want to go any higher or you will be on premium gas. The rest of the parts look like a good choice. Stock pistons are 9.5:1 compression. Not to bad for a street engine with a mild cam.

Check rockauto.com for prices because they sell a lot of the stuff you have listed.

[Guest]

Stock 3.4 compression ratio is 8.5:1 - 9.0:1 depending on the source. The 3400 has 9.5:1 stock compression ratio.

Why can't you put recessed pistons in your engine? That's what it would have come with from GM.

Everything looks good at a glance, but what are your ultimate goals for this engine? I don't recall exactly what the DOHC pistons bump compression to, but it may be more than you want, as suggested, go through some of the compression calculators and see what comes up. Raising compression ratio alone won;t gain much a power increase, and you may find that the increase in compression ratio may not get what you want. There may be better ways to get you what you want, such as using gen3 top end (aka "hybrid 660"), or using a small turbo on an otherwise pretty much stock 3.4.

[stroberts22]

Thanks for the info. I plugged these values into summit's compression ratio calculator. 92.5mm bore, 84mm stroke, 55cc cylinder head volume (just a guess, what size are the chambers on a 95 Camaro 3.4) -.040 inch for the dome, deck clearance .005 inch, gasket thickness .041 inch and 6 cylinders. With these values it came up with 10.07:1. On the recessed pistons I figured the more compression the better with in reason. This engine is going to be my daily driver work truck. I want it to make efficient power and be reliable. Not going to be a race engine by no means but I want it to run good. I got it tore down over the weekend and ready to go to the machine shop Monday.

[45es]

Use the CR calculator here on this site. It will help you eliminate some of the guesswork.

http://60degreev6.com/content.php/101-CR-Calc

[robertisaar]

some of the stock 3.4 iron head values seem off to me...

https://www.gmheritagecenter.com/docs/gm-heritage-archive/vehicle-information-kits/Camaro/1994-Chevrolet-Camaro.pdf

page 29 has most of the specs needed for the CR calc.

[stroberts22]

Thanks for the links. 51.35cc combustion chamber makes a big difference compared to my 55cc guess. I got 10.54:1 using the specs in the link. Thinking recessed will be the way to go. Here's 2 links to recessed pistons. What piston would be better? Different size rings and one has a skirt coating.

http://www.summitracing.com/parts/sl...50mm/overview/http://www.summitracing.com/parts/sl...50mm/overview/

[34blazer]

Look for: "TDC pistons in a 3.4"

It has been done AFAIK

http://60degreev6.com/forum/showthread.php/44815-3-4-tdc-pistons-in-rwd-3-4

[Ed_Mc.]

Check out this build which used iron heads and the DOHC pistons:

http://www.fierosound.com/34engine/3400details.htm

[stroberts22]

The article said that the compression ratio would only be 9.7 with these pistons. Is this correct?

[stroberts22]

Another question on getting the squish set on the pistons. Is it better to zero deck a block or correct it using custom gasket? Both will cost about the same by the time the machine work is paid for.

[stroberts22]

Ordered all my parts and got them to the machine shop. Just went with stock pistons. He's going to clean, bore to 92.75mm, install cam bearings, install freeze plugs and zero deck the block. He's also going to regrind my crank for .25mm bearings, press the new pistons on the rods and balance the rotating assembly. On the heads he's going to do a valve job and reassemble the heads using all the comp cam parts that came with the k kit. He said he will be done by Friday so I will have something to take a picture of besides boxes. Been cleaning all the sludge out of the oil pan and timing cover. I don't think they ever changed the oil in the old 2.8 that was in the s10. I also been cleaning up all the hardware that I'm going to reuse. Transmission should be done next week so if everything goes good I could be driving it soon.

[geoffinbc]

When your machinist is doing the heads give him a set of Small Block Viton valve stem seals. Have them installed on the intake and exhaust valves. This will eliminate blue smoke on start up and oil consumption

[stroberts22]

Short block is put together no problems. Went to put the cam in and the cam has no threads to bolt the timing sprocket on. I can't get anything done.

[stroberts22]

Got the can problem solved now I got a rocker arm problem. I got the comp cam roller tip rockers and the studs on the 95 camaro 3.4 must be bigger because the rocker ball and poly locks are to small. Going to try to use the 2.8 studs.