I've got a 3800SC that I rebuilt along with a rebuilt 4t65e w/ harness & exhaust that I've Mounted to a spare 1986 Cradle/ Axles, every time I drive my '85 4 cyl/auto Fiero (the prospective receiver of this swap), I ask my self WHY am I doing this to a low miles perfectly running car ? I can get a Non running, but complete '88 4 cyl /5 speed for $500. How hard would it be to put what I've got into the '88 ?? Thanks
this is a difficult swap !! just been done often ,,we have a few members in central florida fiero involved in this swap right now .. go to central florida fiero forum & read pappy,s swap he is in his third year..especially read his axle adaption even the chevy 3.4 V6 is not an easy swap reading pappy,s swap will move you far ahead & he will be glad to help you there are 20 pages with pretty photos of course use the pennock search feature for 3800 swap info never,never think any swap is easy !!
I've got a 3800SC that I rebuilt along with a rebuilt 4t65e w/ harness & exhaust that I've Mounted to a spare 1986 Cradle/ Axles, every time I drive my '85 4 cyl/auto Fiero (the prospective receiver of this swap), I ask my self WHY am I doing this to a low miles perfectly running car ? I can get a Non running, but complete '88 4 cyl /5 speed for $500. How hard would it be to put what I've got into the '88 ?? Thanks
Lou - grab that 88 and swap it into that car - then you will have two great Fiero's!
this is a difficult swap !! just been done often ,,we have a few members in central florida fiero involved in this swap right now .. go to central florida fiero forum & read pappy,s swap he is in his third year..especially read his axle adaption even the chevy 3.4 V6 is not an easy swap reading pappy,s swap will move you far ahead & he will be glad to help you there are 20 pages with pretty photos of course use the pennock search feature for 3800 swap info never,never think any swap is easy !!
Overall I would call the swap fairly "easy", if I had the time and all the materials at once I could have did my swap in less than a week... But lack of time and money meant it took 6 months collecting parts, then about 2 weeks of actual down time (due to work / no time). What determines how hard it is would depend on your skill level at fab work and how much you decide you want to fab/build yourself vs buying from vendor.
If you can find a good condition 88 then I would go that route, I dont think it would be radically different. And I had the same thoughts about pulling a perfectly STRONG running 2.8 out of mine.
------------------ 86 Fiero GT 4spd - L67 swap: VS cam, GenV 98 GTP - Some mods
I thought the point was he was already planning a swap into a pre-88 car, assuming he knew the difficulty level of that project, and was wondering the difference between that and putting it in an 88. *shrug*
BINGO ! I Already"Re Built" both the 3800SC and 4t65e-hd, already "built' the harness, and exhaust, it's already mounted on 1986 Cradle. What I Am Asking is: How much trouble would it be to put the engine/trans with mounts onto the '88 cradle ? difference in mounts, having to "cut" the cradle, ( Never having seen an '88 cradle) I'm just considering it because I can get the '88 cheap, and I really Don't want to "UNDO" a really great running car (1985 4cyl auto)that I am already driving.
The motor mount on the cradle side is different (not a big deal) The heater hoses are most likely diffrent ($20-30 at the hardware store You would need to swap in a Auto shifter if you stayed with the 4t65 (I assume you will)
