Any of you guys that have done an LT3 swap, I could use some help. I would like to know what problems you faced and the solutions when you did the swap. I am planning on swapping an LT3 from an 87 grand am to an 84 2m4 with the hydraglide (?) automatic trans. Do I need to use the auto trans from the LT3 or can I use the one from the 2m4? What other stuff do I need to do the swap? Are the mounts the same?

Any info you can share is greatly appreciated, Thanks in advance.

lt3?

havent ever heard of that engine...could you give details on it?

LT3 is the 2.0 OHC turbo Sunbird/Grand am engine in the late 80s. About 165HP with tiny factory T2 turbo, non-intercooled.

It has a crazy history. It started as an Opel design (search for 2.0i, not to be confused with that they call the CIH), was made in Brazil for J-bodies in NA and turbo form (1.8 and 2.0).

It also saw use in the late-80's-early-90s Pontiac Tempest(1.6 and 2.0).

GM later turned the design completely over to Daewoo who has been building it into this century. The engine in the Chevy Aveo (a Daewoo product) is a downsized (1.6L) DOHC descendant of the turbo 2.0 Pontiac. Somewhere on the web there is a swap thread showing the swap of the Turbo Pontiac engine into an Aveo.

Better still, this engine was farmed out to Suzuki, so the Suzuki (Reno, I believe) has a descendant of this engine as well.

Crazier still, is that the Opel/Saab Ecotec V6 (2.5 liters in Saabs and 3.0 liters in the Cateras and Saturn L300s) shares the bell-housing pattern and is occasionally swapped into tiny, originally four cylinder cars in Europe.

I suppose if you desired it strongly enough, you could swap a 3.0 DOHC V6 into an Aveo or Sunbird 1.8/2.0 OHC.

[This message has been edited by KurtAKX (edited 05-07-2008).]

quote Originally posted by Xerces_Blackthorne: Any of you guys that have done an LT3 swap, I could use some help. I would like to know what problems you faced and the solutions when you did the swap. I am planning on swapping an LT3 from an 87 grand am to an 84 2m4 with the hydraglide (?) automatic trans. Do I need to use the auto trans from the LT3 or can I use the one from the 2m4? What other stuff do I need to do the swap? Are the mounts the same? Any info you can share is greatly appreciated, Thanks in advance.

Not sure about the mounts, but the bell housing of the LT3 is the same as our transmissions. You probably will want to get a 5-speed, though. The transmissions used are the same, so the tranny mounts should also be the exact same.

Bump for an awesome engine.

Bump because I've always wanted one of those engines I know someone's done this swap before, I stumbled upon it a coupla months ago when I first joined the forum...wish now that I'd saved it. If you can get the engine/trans and you want to roll with a stock auto, I think all you should have to do is fab the basic usual stuff (motor mounts, cooling hoses, filler neck, fuel lines), though if you go with a manual (which, FAIK, most LT3's came with), you might not even need a retune--if anything, Sinister Performance could tune out the lock-up signal. With that engine being something that came with the late-80s N-bodies, mounts shouldn't be too hard to find, IMHO.