Me and my friend were sitting around talking about cars and possible engine swap candidates and we came to the conclusion that we liked the forced induction idea the best. While theres the more conventional approach in the Fiero (i.e the 3800 SC V6) he started talking about the two vehicles that GMC made in the early 90s that actually had a good forced induction system. The 4.3 ltr Turbo V6 in the Syclone/Typhoon is rated around 280 hp and 330 lb/ft torque. It is made by GMC so it should fit. How hard would this conversion be. Id rather do this then the Toyota 3SGTE but I want forced induction and the factory NA blocks just dont take well to it. Any thoughts?

Jeremy
AIM triksterut
YIM triksterut
triksterut@aol.com

You'd need a tranny adapter and custom mounts. Would be nearly as much trouble as a SBC V-8. I don't think those engines are easily available, anyway.
3800 needs mounts, but the trans will bolt right up.

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Raydar - aka Steve

Black 88 Formula.
Red 88 Duke coupe. "The Project"
88 Formula parts car. "The Donor"

At the Michigan Fiero Club show I attended this summer I saw a N/A 4.3L engine in a Fiero. Didnt get a chance to talk to the guy about it, like about how its mounted or the tranny issue. Good looking install though.

One thing to think about. The 4.3 is a longitudinally mounted engine. I'm not sure about this but the throttle body would probably be located on the passenger side if mounted in a Fiero. May not make any difference though.

I just saw a picture of a 3800sc and noticed that the throttle body is on the back side of the SC. The 4.3 is probably the same.

[This message has been edited by Carrolles (edited 09-20-2001).]

I recall seeing Zumalt at the national show in Indy back in '94. He had a 4.3L mounted on a frame with the tranny hooked up, but I never saw one in a car. I'd imagine that the tranny would bolt directly up, because the S-10 (Typhoon/Syclone/Jimmy/Blazer/etc) platform used both the 2.8 and 4.3 in the same year... just a guess though.

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Medium Metallic Green 87 GT
3.1L High Output
4 Spd OD Tranny
Open (read: Loud) Exhaust
and More!
-Rob Bartlett

4.3's use the SBC transmission bolt pattern.
you have to mangle (I mean make) a set of engine mounts for it. Most of the turbo system intake and exhaust piping, and the turbod placement would have to be redone to fit in a Fiero.
If you want to do it, go for it.

Are you talking about the 4.3l Vortec engine like this?

Im not sure. It is the turbocharged engine found in a typhoon/syclone. Im not sure if its a vortec or not. I dont know what it looks like.

I have that same engine in my 94 ZR2 (190hp & 253 ft. lbs). That thing will haul some serious a$$ - for a truck.

The sy/ty motor isn't the same as a vortec. The vortec is a different style of intake/injection. It uses a central port injector with six hoses running to poppet valves for each cylinder.

I don't think the vortec was a standard deal until about 94-ish, where as the sy/ty turbo motor was out before that.

The 4.3, as said above, shares the same dimensions for the transmission as a small block. Same clutch, flywheel/flexplate, bolt pattern, etc.

The 4.3 is actually just a 350 with two cylinders lopped off. It's predecessor is a 3.8, which I believe is a similar child of the 305. The 4.3 shares tons of parts with the 350 (rods, pistons, accessories, valvetrain, etc.) so you can get most all of the performance parts you'd ever need for it.

I'd imagine you could use all the existing parts from a v8 swap kit, like Archie's, and just modify/make your own engine mounts. You could use the v8 set as a model, and make your own set just like them with only the position in the cradle adjusted. This would also eliminate and fender-cutting necessary.

The turbo routing could be a bit of a hassle, but if you were willing to re-create all the stuff with custom bends and location of the turbo and such, it'd be quite possible I'd imagine.

Those motors have a ton of stuff you can do to them too. You can check out syty.org to find out more about that. The ECM has been hacked, so custom tuning is possible, and there's tons of performance parts for small blocks and turbos out there

Just my two cents...

Bryce
88 GT

I just had to move to Cedar (was in Draper not so long ago) I'd love to help with an engine swap. Would like to do one myself one day.

SCCA: What prompted you to come back? Havent seen you here in foreeeever. Sold your Fiero off?

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^{Never pull your pants down in Cosco, the dang monkeys will getcha
AIM: KSSouter}

quote Originally posted by Sootah: 3 whole active Utah members. Impressive, eh?

All in one thread no less.

Still have my Fiero. I have been hanging around, but not too much to say these days I guess...

The origins of the 3.8 have been discussed here before so I won't go into the details (you can find them in the archives) other than to mention it predates the 305 by about 9 years, and the 3.8's predecessor goes back yet another 6 years.

When GM bought the design back from AMC in the mid-1970's it made some changes to make it easier to build the 3.8 on the same manufacturing lines as the 350.

The 305 shares the same 3.48" stroke of the 350 (and the 262/4.3L) but it has a 3.736" bore vs the 4.3L & 350's 4.00". The 3.8 has a 3.400" stroke and 3.800" bore.

quote Originally posted by Nashco: The 4.3 is actually just a 350 with two cylinders lopped off. It's predecessor is a 3.8, which I believe is a similar child of the 305