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contact us via email: bg.gtv6@verizon.net phone: 805.910.6230
We recommend engines from the General Motors “high value” sixty-degree V6 family. The GM V6 was first introduced in 1980 on the front wheel drive Chevrolet Citation with a displacement of 2.8 liter (173 CI) The first rear wheel application was on the 1982 S-10 Chevrolet truck. A special version of the 2.8 was developed for the X11 Citation, producing 155 hp. This car was faster than the 1955 Chevrolet 283 CI. That was the purpose of the X11 project. This car also won several SCCA events and a class championship.
This engine has gone through the GM evolution process: 2.8 liter from 1980-89, 3.1 from 1990-94, and 3.4 from 1991-94 (on some Camaros and Firebirds). The V6 also comes in aluminum block that can be purchased from a GM dealer. High performance parts are available for the V6 from GM, Edelbrock, Crane Cams, McLeod, Comp Cams, and others.
The V6 has been and is used in competition with great success in road racing, MTEG stadium truck racing and off-road racing such as Baja.
See price list plus S&H. The kit comes with headers, gaskets, bolts, motor mounts, motor mount brackets, transmission cross member and instructions.
The kits are almost always shipped as soon as we receive a money order, a cashier’s check or notification from PayPal that a credit card payment has been made. Backorders may require two weeks if the kit is not in stock. Within the continental United States, shipping of the kit takes a week or less via UPS.
We’ve shipped our kits to customers from all over the United States, including both Hawaii and Alaska. We’ve also shipped to Puerto Rico, Barbados, Canada, the United Kingdom, France, Germany, Norway, Australia, New Zealand, the Polynesian Islands, and to South Africa!
No modifications are necessary on the Rubber Bumper car.
On the Chrome Bumper car, the area next to the steering column has to be dressed 0.25″ to clear the header flange. On the firewall, two dents the size of a ball pen hammer are necessary to clear the top two bolts of the bell housing.
The V6 engine can be found in 1985 to 1994 Camaro and Firebird cars with a T5 5-speed transmission. The V6 can also be found on the S-10 truck series or the Jeep Cherokee. New engines can be purchased through GM or rebuilt engines from many suppliers.
Horsepower is not as important as the torque that the V6 develops. Horsepower is for magazines. The V6 2.8 is capable of producing 160hp with 9:1 compression and a cam of split duration of 260 intake and 270 exhaust, an Edelbrock manifold, a Holley 390cfm carburetor, and a good exhaust system with 1.5″ primaries with a 2″ collector. The torque is about 170 lb-ft and more with higher compression pistons and more aggressive camshaft. All of this depends on how is assembled and tuned. A 3.4L crate engine from GM with 4V carb and headers can produce 220hp and 210 ft-lbs of torque.
The clutch used for the swap is the one that fits the T5. This is the same clutch that the Camaro or Firebird uses.
Due to space constraints, a regular type slave cylinder is not used. A hydraulic clutch bearing is used. This bearing acts as the slave cylinder making the installation a lot simpler.
The stock radiator is good enough for the V6. Some modifications have to be done for the radiator to work properly. The inlet and outlet on the radiator have to be modified to the same size as the V6 uses. Another alternative is to use the V8 MGB radiator.
No, only if you are not happy with it. The driveshaft will have to be modified to mate to the T5 transmission.
The cost depends on the cost of the engine and transmission. With a new engine from GM it could cost up to $7000.00. With a used engine about $3500.00 and your time. Some swaps have been done for less. I bought an engine with 40k miles for $100 and a transmission for $75.00, a used manifold and carb at the swap meet for $150.00, plus clutch, hydraulic bearing, Crane camshaft, new water pump and other miscellaneous parts for a total of $1500.00 plus the kit.
The best way is to swap the speedometer for one with modern electronic internals. The tach should also be changed to match the V6 ignition pulses. The stock water temp gauge is reusable, as is the rest of the instrumentation. If you decide to buy aftermarket gauges, a “TPI” have excellent features such as built-in oil change reminders, calibration for different axle ratio hours traveled, speed warning, max speed settings and more. TPI gauges are also usually priced the same or lower than other brands.
Our headers are not CARB (California Air Research Board) certified. It would require lots of $ to buy the CARB number.
Yes, everything fits under the hood. The carburetor requires the use of an air cleaner adapter such as the one used on the Jeep Cherokee V8. It uses a cone air filter or Garrett modified manifold top. This allows the use of a regular air cleaner.
The way to measure the needed length if from the tail shaft seal face to the differential mounting face.
We like the V6 transmission, but some like the taller ratio of the V8 with the 3.90 ratio of the stock differential. The best combination if taller gearing is desired is the 8″ Ford or GM differential with 3.55 or 3.42 gears. But the stock 3.90 with the V6 T5 is a good combination.
We mount the alternator on the driver side for simplicity. The V6 engine has staggered heads and the driver side has room for the alternator mounting and aligns with the pulley set.
The settings depend on the driver’s style of driving. Camber setting is best on 0 or 1/2 degree negative for the street and 0 toe to 1/8″ toe in.