I have a 96 3.1 out of a grand am, I know it won't fit a fiero but was wondering if I should keep the intake Manifolds, heads and everything above the block incase I run across a rear wheel drive 3.1. Heads were redone, lower end went south. Mike

Why won't it fit a Fiero?

It's the same as the 94 Cutlass engine in my 87. And it is a great little engine too!

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Fiero-Performance.com

quote Originally posted by Kekipi: I have a 96 3.1 out of a grand am, I know it won't fit a fiero but was wondering if I should keep the intake Manifolds, heads and everything above the block incase I run across a rear wheel drive 3.1. Heads were redone, lower end went south. Mike

There is no point in saving that stuff waiting for a RWD 3.1. The main difference between the RWD and FWD blocks are the drilled holes for the starter. You'll have more work putting a 3.1 with a RWD block into your Fiero as you'll have putting the entire 3.1 from the Grand Am into your Fiero. The intake and heads are what cause the extra work of putting a Grand Am 3.1 into a Fiero.

Steve, as far as I know the starter problem is only for the Camaro (and others) 3.4. The more correct name for this engine is 3100... And it is a pretty direct swap to the rear of a Fiero. From what Rick told me, he reversed the fuel rails so they stuck out the other end of the engine and were in the right place for the Fiero fuel lines, he used the stock 2.8 exhaust with the 3100 heat shields... and in this case, he used the entire Oldsmobile wiring and ECM. There are only a couple of other very minor mods to put this engine in a Fiero. I'm sure Rick will see this thread and chime in here on all he did.

He did say that he didn't think that was a swap he would repeat if you are looking for power output. You only gain about 30hp with this engine but I was looking for dependability for Rie and this is a perfect swap for that. Much more drivable than a 2.8.

Seemed to fit fine in mine(95)
3100

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Steve

Ottawa Fiero
84 3100 5 Speed
85 Stock SE

[This message has been edited by sentinel_76ca (edited 05-05-2004).]

You could paint it too. This one is not mine but it is a great looking engine.

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Rickady88GT QuadCam 3.5 V6

My 86 SE has a 2.5 and I have this 3.1 that needs lower bearings, I need to mate it to my 5-speed. Or get a 4-speed auto? I guess my flywheel will fit? I know I need a computer, harness, Mounts, shifter handle if I go automatic. Can someone tell Me how easy or expencive this project will be. Thanks for the pictures Sentinel and others. Mike

wow, u guys are good...

Rickady88GT is the guy to talk to. He did my car (but it was his car at the time). He had both a 5-speed manual and a 4-speed auto in it at different times. It is a great little engine...

I know this is going to sound kind of stupid but you said 3.1V6 but also 96 Grand Am? Just to make it a little easier you should call it a 3100SFI that way we know exactly what you have and not confuse it with a Camaro or a Mini Van V6 they are a little diferent.
No you cant use your 86 flywheel because it is externaly balanced. You can get an 88 or newer 60deg V6 flywheel like out of the 88 Fiero V6's. They are neutrally balanced. In 88 GM started useing internaly balanced engines, so your 86 flywheel will SHAKE and vibrate that 3100 real good.
As far as money and eas goes it can be hard and $$$$ or easy and cheap.....well maybe not the cheapest but OK.
I put a 5 speed on Songmans 87 Notchback GT (87 Formula) for a wile before I sold it to him and I loved it. But the 4 speed auto does a great job too.
You should find out a little more about how you want to do it. Send me an E-Mail and I will tell you a little more about how I did mine and give you some options to think about. Keep in mind I did not do this swap for power I just needed the tranny for an 89 Corvette L98 swap and the engine was a bonus so I put the engine in for a temp wile I got the V8 ready to drop in. I wound up selling the V8 and got my Short Star and an 88 so I started another swap. The 3100SFI got great MPG and ran for years without ANY problems. It is a good swap. It just aint the most powerfull.

But you could bolt a turbo to it, and use a "27" ecm.

That would help the power, but obviously hurt the reliability, if it's tuned wrong.

quote Originally posted by Songman: Steve, as far as I know the starter problem is only for the Camaro (and others) 3.4. The more correct name for this engine is 3100... And it is a pretty direct swap to the rear of a Fiero. From what Rick told me, he reversed the fuel rails so they stuck out the other end of the engine and were in the right place for the Fiero fuel lines, he used the stock 2.8 exhaust with the 3100 heat shields... and in this case, he used the entire Oldsmobile wiring and ECM. There are only a couple of other very minor mods to put this engine in a Fiero. I'm sure Rick will see this thread and chime in here on all he did. He did say that he didn't think that was a swap he would repeat if you are looking for power output. You only gain about 30hp with this engine but I was looking for dependability for Rie and this is a perfect swap for that. Much more drivable than a 2.8.

Thanks for the info, but I'm doing a 3400 SFI swap so I'm pretty familiar with the mechanics of it. The 3.1 from the Camaro will probably have the same problem as the 3.4, that was the starter problem that I was referring too.

Kekipi, what year is the 3.1 from? If it is ODB II you are going to have a hard time getting the ECM to run with a manual transmission. The ODB II compares the RPM with the vehicle speed to make sure the automatic transmission is in the correct gear. If it finds they don't match (which they won't unless you get a 4 speed manual with exactly the same gear ratios as the AT) you'll get an SES trouble code. Reprogramming ODB II is expensive. What you can do is find a 3.1 ECM that is ODB I but still supports the SFI. I think a 94 or 95 Corsica/Beretta was ODB I and SFI. Then you can program a PROM chip to ignore all the AT stuff.

Edit. I don't know if all of the 3100 ECMs are like this, but the 3100 ECM from a 97 Oldsmobile Achieva used a type of Passkey that couldn't be defeated with the signal generator that the 3800 folks use. This ECM recieved a coded signal from the BCM (Body Control Module) when the Passkey was correct.

[This message has been edited by Steve Normington (edited 05-06-2004).]

quote Originally posted by Steve Normington: Kekipi, what year is the 3.1 from? If it is ODB II you are going to have a hard time getting the ECM to run with a manual transmission. The ODB II compares the RPM with the vehicle speed to make sure the automatic transmission is in the correct gear. If it finds they don't match (which they won't unless you get a 4 speed manual with exactly the same gear ratios as the AT) you'll get an SES trouble code. Reprogramming ODB II is expensive. What you can do is find a 3.1 ECM that is ODB I but still supports the SFI. I think a 94 or 95 Corsica/Beretta was ODB I and SFI. Then you can program a PROM chip to ignore all the AT stuff.

BINGO, I'm still using the ODBII from the Grand Am, and wanted to tackle that problem next, well off to the junkyard......

Thanks, I love getting answers when you least expect it

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Steve

Ottawa Fiero
84 3100 5 Speed
85 Stock SE

Does the intake have better flow characteristics than the stock 2.8s?

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VOTE FOR THE FIERO!

Black '87 GT Auto - Daily Driver & Autocrosser
Eibach springs, Koni shocks, Kosei K1s, Kumho Ecsta V700s, poly bushings, rear swaybar, MSD ignition, shift-kit, custom intake scoop

[This message has been edited by Spyhunter (edited 05-06-2004).]

quote Originally posted by Spyhunter: Does the intake have better flow characteristics than the stock 2.8s?

Yes, but it is the heads that really make the difference. IMS, the heads alone account for about 20 hp.

Has anyone done a comparison between using the Fiero exhaust and the OEM exhaust? I'm concerned that I'm losing power by using the O shaped exhaust with the D shaped ports.

As I recall
Valve Sizes
Fiero(2.8's) 1.72" intake
3100SFI 1.76" intake

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Steve

Ottawa Fiero
84 3100 5 Speed
85 Stock SE

Actually Sentinel as the guy who built your 3100 SFI car I can tell you it does not have the OBD II it has the 95 ECM which I believe is called by at least some people OBD 1.5 and the chip can be removed for programming. The Beretta came in 94 and 95 with that ECM and the 5 speed standard tranny so have it programmed to that ECM's specs.
Finding one of those ECM's in wreckers is rare as not many Berettas were built with standards and V6's. All other cars using 3100 SFI had auto tranny's.

I just figured out this week that they were not the Grand Am's, the Skylarks has the port which I'll be able to open, but I'll have alot of reading to do before meddling with it. Actually the guy who moved in next door has a Std Beretta sitting there rotting, so maybe I'll make a midnight run and swap ECM's