Help with engine identification (Page 1/2)
atv_123 JUN 18, 09:39 AM
Hello all. First time Fiero owner and poster here so I hope I am putting this in the right place. I read all the rules and what not... but I am not perfect.

Anyways, I recently bought an 85 Fiero off of a guy who knew next to nothing about it other than it was a standard. I wanted a Fiero that was a 5spd, it ran well, and the price was right, so one thing lead to another and I bought it. Turns out, the guy before him was REALLY into modifying the car. Now, I had thought about doing some mods myself, but he didn't leave me much room for improvement!

You name it, its been changed. Hood scoop, rebuilt headlight motors, upgraded radio, all poly suspension bushings, uprated brakes, uprated shocks and struts, rear sway bar, uprated cradle mounts, full new exhaust system, 5spd swap, no slip pulley mod, and a V6 engine swap. There are probably some more that I haven't even found yet honestly...

The car also came with every document and receipt from its entire life... well... almost every one. The engine seems to be missing from the document list along with its upgrades... and I have no idea how to tell what it is.

I have been scouring the forums for the past month trying to identify this thing as I know a bunch of different swaps are possible and nothing seemed beyond this guy. I have looked all over the engine trying my best to find the engine block codes to no avail... every spot that is suggested by some online person or diagram I have found has left me empty handed.

I know the engine is either a 2.8L, 3.1L, or a 3.4L. I know this only because the swap has reused the stock Fiero intake system which I believe only fits 60* v6 engines. I can also tell that this engine must be one of the newer models (or has been upgraded I guess) as the heads are aluminum rather than iron... but other than those two details... I don't know how else to identify the engines from each other.

The only clues I have are that this guy also printed out every tutorial he ever used to swap things (a lot of which came directly from this forum). Judging by the dates of the tutorials that were printed out, it looks like he started this swap around 2011... not that that is very significant information... but I have very little so anything is something. He has printed tutorials for a 2.8L engine swap, but he also printed the tutorial for relocating the starter on a 3.4L.

The previous owner told me that the owner before him told him that the engine was swapped and was cammed... that tells me nothing and heaven only knows how I would figure out what cam is in it...

The only thing I can tell while driving it is that the car PULLS HARD. When you push the loud pedal down, this thing hoists its nose and hauls... you know what. I mean... it's no super car or anything, but it feels much faster than the quoted 130hp out of a 2.8L.

Anyways... do any of you have any good ideas on how to identify the engine thats in it? I originally bought the car to do an engine swap on anyways be it a V8 or a 3800SC sometime in the future so whoever ends up wanting the engine, I would want them to actually know what they are getting (or if I decide to stick with this engine, I would like to know what parts to look up)

[This message has been edited by atv_123 (edited 06-18-2019).]

Gall757 JUN 18, 10:42 AM
Welcome to the Forum! You have a 60 degree V6 that may not be stock displacement any more. Who knows what pistons your PO used!
randy86 JUN 18, 12:13 PM
You need to get the numbers off the block, get under the car with a flashlight and get the numbers. Then search the casting number, there is a date stamp also to tell you when the block was made.

See this site - 60 degree engines
pmbrunelle JUN 18, 12:59 PM

quote
Originally posted by atv_123:
I know the engine is either a 2.8L, 3.1L, or a 3.4L. I know this only because the swap has reused the stock Fiero intake system which I believe only fits 60* v6 engines. I can also tell that this engine must be one of the newer models (or has been upgraded I guess) as the heads are aluminum rather than iron... but other than those two details... I don't know how else to identify the engines from each other.



This statement is incongruent.

The Fiero intake system fits the iron heads, not the aluminium heads.

Take some pics, we may be able to identify what you have.

Use Pennock''s Image Poster at the bottom of the page (look for rectangular icon) to add pics to your posts.
atv_123 JUN 18, 01:18 PM

quote
Originally posted by randy86:

You need to get the numbers off the block, get under the car with a flashlight and get the numbers. Then search the casting number, there is a date stamp also to tell you when the block was made.

See this site - 60 degree engines



Yeah... I found that site a while ago... but I was unable to locate the numbers. I found a GM badge on the side of the engine along with a big F that must have been 3 inches tall... but I couldn't seem to locate the engine codes... My guess is that is "should" be above that GM badge right? That was the only place I could really imagine it being at with that sites description.

I have seen many "supposed" locations for the engine codes brought up. The one that site mentions on the right side/ front under the head, one behind the distributor supposedly (dunno how on earth your supposed to see that), one above the starter, one in front of the thermostat housing (again... no idea how I am supposed to see it)... but so far I haven't been able to find it.


quote
Originally posted by pmbrunelle:


This statement is incongruent.

The Fiero intake system fits the iron heads, not the aluminium heads.

Take some pics, we may be able to identify what you have.

Use Pennock''s Image Poster at the bottom of the page (look for rectangular icon) to add pics to your posts.



Oh really?! I just thought it would fit both. I may have incorrectly assessed what material it was then. The reason I thought it was Aluminum was from the color of the metal that I could actually see. It had a nice bright shine to it which I would normally associate with aluminum. Guess I should have hit it with a magnet to really make sure.

When I get home I can try my best to snap some pictures (if it isn't raining out... again). If that doesn't work out though I do have a bunch on my phone (I was using it as my eyes because I can't get my head up in there to see what is going on) but the quality is pretty rough (thus why I will try to get better ones)

[This message has been edited by atv_123 (edited 06-18-2019).]

Patrick JUN 18, 02:30 PM

quote
Originally posted by atv_123:

When I get home I can try my best to snap some pictures...



As previously mentioned, use Pennock's Image Poster (PIP) if you're running a Windows PC to host and post images.
Max width - 1024 pixels. Max file size - 300 kb.

And yeah, put a magnet on those heads!

[This message has been edited by Patrick (edited 06-18-2019).]

fierofool JUN 18, 03:02 PM
If you found a big "F" just above the starter and on the opposite side near the rear freeze plug with ribbing running outward, then you have a 3.4 pushrod engine from a 93-95 Camaro or Firebird.
atv_123 JUN 18, 06:04 PM
Alright... this took me a while as my computer really didn't want to cut down the images for some reason.

I also slapped a magnet onto the heads... they may look aluminum to me, but they are definitely iron heads, so you are definitely correct... I am sure your not surprised by that.





Now these images are of the rear of the engine (the side facing the rear of the car) as I can't even get my phone up in to take pictures on the front side of the engine... there is a lot of stuff packed up in there.







[This message has been edited by atv_123 (edited 06-18-2019).]

Raydar JUN 18, 06:15 PM
Yup. Most definitely a 3.4. Camarobird motor. A very popular swap for the Fiero. Many people say that it's the engine that should have come in the Fiero, from the factory.
Depending upon what has been done, you're probably looking at ~165-200 HP. (Stock 3.4 is ~160. Ported heads and intake, a big cam, and tuned headers will get you closer to 200.)

Have any pics of the car? Someone here will probably recognize it, and maybe even identify the build. There might even be a thread on here that documents the whole thing.

Oh... Welcome to our obsession!

Edit - Based upon the orientation of the shift cables, you have the Isuzu tranny. I had one in my 3.4 car for a while.
It's a nice shifting trans, but you don't want to shock load it. (IOW, no "clutch dumps" or speed shifting.) 2nd gear is usually the "weak spot".

If you want to "beat on it", I might suggest a Getrag swap, or even better, an F23. But if you drive it sanely, the Isuzu will do fine.

------------------
Raydar
88 Formula IMSA Fastback. 4.9, NVG T550

Praise the Lowered!

[This message has been edited by Raydar (edited 06-18-2019).]

Patrick JUN 18, 06:37 PM

quote
Originally posted by atv_123:





You definitely want to either replace the factory heat shields that are missing on the exhaust crossover pipe... or heat wrap that pipe. Your ICM will thank you.