I was reading some owners profile on the internet and found a guy who claimed to have done a Quad 4 conversion (see his quote at the bottom). I am interested in this as I can buy one that make out about 180hp for a real good price. Any experiences? What is involved in such a swap (computers, wiring, tranny etc...). What do you think?

"1988 Fiero 2M4 Quad 4 - non kit conversion - all fab'd in house- HO cams - fab'd intake system - using stock cat. conv exhaust and HO manifold from Hacker Bros, NY (ex GM sponsored Cutlass/Acheiva-IMSA) Can help anyone who needs help with this conversion, it can be done w/o a $2000US kit. Total cost of my conv was 1500$CDN including motor."

I'm going to catch a bunch of flack for this probably, but in my opinion, the Quad 4 is a piece of junk. The valve train is super expensive to work on and unreliable, plus it doesn't have much low end torque. It is a high reving engine, that's why the HP rating is high and should only be used with a manual tranny.

I have to agree with batboy
Quad 4 is nothing but junk
a good 2.5 L done up is all you need

Thanks for the support there Trixi (that's a cool name), but he probably wouldn't be asking about a swap if he didn't want more power. I feel there much better options or swaps than the "Dog 4" in that case. Lots of old topics about engine hotrodding and performance swaps here on the ol' Forum if you scan back through last summer.

I must respectfully disagree with you (which is what makes this Forum so cool). I have ridden in an 88 Coupe that had an HO Quad 4 swap and it was plenty quick, especially above 4000 rpm! Plus you save about 100 lbs vs the Iron Duke, plus there's plenty of room to work on everything (except the belt-driven accessories).

But you don't want to match the Quad 4 up with an auto trans - it makes lots of hp but hardly any torque. Plus the early Quad 4's had a problem with head gaskets blowing.

Thanks,

I have an auto...so I guess I'll reconsider... You guys are great...

Is there a better choice, that's also fairly easy to do?

I have heard that swapping the Buick 3800 with its original 4-sp auto trans into an automatic Fiero is a comparatively easy swap - much easier than swapping the 3800 into a stickshift Fiero.

Let's not brush off this Quad 4 swap question so fast!

I was searching the archives for answers but most of the "4 cylinder engine swap" threads deal with I4 to V6 swaps.

The new Cavalier/Sunfire Quad 4 (2.4L???) puts out 150 horsepower and averages 30+ MPG. How difficult would it be to swap out my 1987's Iron Duke for this powerplant?

Also, does someone have a checklist for an engine swap? Something that spells out EVERY step required to perform a successful engine swap - with ballpark $$$ figures?

I'm asking because my 87's 2.5L is approaching 120K miles - without a rebuild. Sooner or later it's gonna need one and I'm wondering what the Q4 swap would cost in comparison to a 2.5L rebuild (I may have a chance to get my hands on one real cheap - that's why I chose the Quad 4 over a V6 option).

Almost everyone I've know with the old Quad 4's had nothing but trouble. A few years ago, a coworker had one that kept blowing head gaskets in his Cutlass even while it was still under warranty. The newer 2.4 four cam four cylinders (don't remember what they're called now, but they changed the name because of the negative image of the older Quad 4 engines) are much better than the previous 2.3L. They still lack a bit in low end torque, but might be marginal with an auto tranny. This would be a better swap because they are more reliable. Valve train parts still cost a mint though. It's still a high reving engine which makes most it's power at high RPM.

I bet a good running 2.5 iron duke will whip it off the line at a stop light on the street. If you are road racing, well that's a different story. Honestly though, for a street driven engine, how often are you running at redline? The more you run a engine at high RPM, the quicker you'll wear it out. I keep telling people, forget about horsepower for a high performance street engine and go after maximum low and mid range torque. Let the other guy try to play catch up with you after you blow him away off the line. Torque is what slams you back in the seat and puts a smile on your face.

You might consider a swap to a 3800 series II supercharged engine out of a late model Bonneville or the like. This engine puts out good HP and good torque. It will bolt up to the stock 5 speed Getrag tranny or if you prefer and automatic you can swap the tranny at the same time.

There is alot of information out there for all kinds of engine swaps. West Coast Fiero has some good information on engine swaps as well as a list of what it takes. His website is at :
http://home.earthlink.net/~chriswest/

I think that I have read that the Quad 4 will not bolt up to the Fiero transmission and if you want a standard shift to get the one that came with the Q4. Haven't seen too many standard shift Q4's. A Q4 wouldn't be on my list of engines for a swap.

Scott, I've wondered about the 2.4 swap myself. From all I've heard and read, GM fixed the reliability and vibration problems of the original 2.3 Q4 when they went to the 2.4. You lose some HP (150 v. 180) but gain considerable torque (155 v. around 125). It's no match for the 3800, but might be easier to live with in a daily driver.

I think the basic geometry of both engines is the same, but the 2.4 is an OBD-II engine, meaning it has a much more sophisticated engine-management system than stock Fiero powerplants. It might be tough to get the OBD-II ECM and sensors all in place and happily working together.

here is some good info on the quad 4 and other hi-po V6 swaps: http://www.americancustomeng.com/Quad-4.htm

For what it is worth......I have a 96 Grand Am SE with the 2.4L Q4 and it is an automatic. The car has 123,000+ miles and is running great. I had to replace the water pump about a month ago(that was a real pain in the @$$!) but other than that it has been fine. I even beat my Father-in-Law in his 96 Explorer from the stop light, and he has a V-6!

88GT did you say that the 3800 mounts up to the stock trany? so i tack it that all I would need to fabricate are the motor mounts.
The reason i am asking is i have a friend with a bonivile he wrapped around a tree. only thing still good is the engine he started it up and it runs fine.

The 3800 will bolt up but that's the easy part. You have to use the computer from the 3800 and there are no stick shift computers so some faking has to be done, also the speedo unit in the tranny has to be changed and a whole bunch of sensor wiring changes. I know for a fact that when finished they go like H------.

I was told that it would bolt up directly to the tranny. As with any engine swap there is always more to do, but I think it would be more than worth it. With the 3800 Series II SC motor you can nearly double the horsepower. Not to shabby.

James