Chevrolet Camaro 1967-2002 - V6 -> V8

Search function wasn't working for me so couldn't find any info...

I have a 1996 Camaro 3.8 A4...

Have been thinking about supercharger a new 3.8 and doing a 3.8 > 3.8 swap...

This would run me $8000, but it's something that I would really like to do.

However, thinking about a LS1 swap...

LS1
I'd want to upgrade the trans to a M6 (would I need a new driveshaft?)
New PCM
New Suspension
Motor Mounts?

1. what else am I leaving out?
2. what is the price range for a LS1 swap?
3. difficulty wise how challenging is this swap? (I have a full-car lift and lots of tools in a heated pole-barn :) )
4. How much easier would a LT1 swap be?

you would have to change up the fuel system with an ls1 swap. one of the tanks has an in-tank pump or something like that, but there is more information in the conversions forum.

For $8K you can get yourself LS1 car.

For $8K you can get yourself LS1 car.yep... i love 6 banger f-body owners, they have to much pride to admit they should have just bought a v8 and would rather speed up thiers v6 than buy a v8 car...

you would have to change up the fuel system with an ls1 swap. one of the tanks has an in-tank pump or something like that, but there is more information in the conversions forum.

thanks...I'll go search that section

For $8K you can get yourself LS1 car.

That is an option...I like the preLS1 body style better...but if I sell my car, and spend 8K more I could get the car I wanted...

yep... i love 6 banger f-body owners, they have to much pride to admit they should have just bought a v8 and would rather speed up thiers v6 than buy a v8 car...

Paid 2,700 for the car so no regrets...and it's everything I want minus the power :(

I think I would get more self-satisfaction making a 300hp V6 over buying a 300hp car...idk...it's a personal opinion

Don't waste a dime on that V6. LS1s are underrated at 300 hp (actually 345 hp stock) and with a simple cam/header swap they are putting down over 400 hp. Sell the V6, step up to the V8. On the used market, these f-bodies are pretty cheap now.

that would be too easy lol

idk...more I think about it, I'd just buy a V8 car...I'm really attached to mine tho, and geo > catfish

I'm with you man, if I had the time and drive again I would for sure be doing an LS1 swap. Hell I had the motor and everything ready to put in. Just didn't go through with it because the car is my daily driver and I didn't want to have little things stop me from getting finished.

So far in the project I had spent a little over $3,650. Complete LS1 with harness + T56, LS6 intake with ported stock TB and stock manifolds. I only needed to work out the fueling system. I realized I should've bought a complete wrecked car so I could just swap all the lines and what not over and have everything I would need for the swap right there in the wrecked car, ie brakes, fuel system, upgrades and whatnot...etc...so I started the hunt. After another month of sitting around trying to find a deal I came across one, but it was scouped up from underneath me and my determination and drive were detroyed.

So I ended up selling everything, actually making a profit, and now I'm in the process of hunting for a car. Down the road when I'm not balls deep in college and work I'll build a car...but for now, this is definately a better route for me.

Goodluck on your decision though bud, and nice Camaro!

I change my mind everyday lol...I don't have the money right now (also a college student)...

Buying a 98+ LS1 will prob be the best/cheapest route (Assuming I can get at least $4,000 for my car)

Insurance gave me $6k last year when my '96 got totalled. If yours is in good shape $4k shouldn't be too big a deal. I used to think about modding my 3.8 to the extreme but in the end, if you want V8 power, why not just get a car that was built from the factory for a V8? Buy a Z, smile the rest of the way.

the reality of your idea is neither cash efficient nor smart. you actually want to dump 8 grand into a v6 so it can possibly have the same power as a z28? the reason people dont do that too often is because its more pain than its worth. maybe if you had the parts just laying around, but you dont. use the money to buy an ls1. that 6 cylinder would be maxxed out with anything over 300 hp, and if you were going to blow it you would most definetly want forged internals to be sure it can handle the boost pressure you would have to push to make 300 hp.
Go LS1. no worries. no disappointments.

it can get 300rwhp on stock internals, I'd upgrade cam, and valvetrain and P&P heads and intake...

I, and everyone knows that it is not the smartest use of money and labor...that's not the point, I just don't know what I want yet :)

Unique and pretty original...or just another average LS1 (no offense in any way)

I've been daydreaming all day about what I plan on doing to my LS1 tho :)

what do stock LS1's dyno?

300hp was underrated right, more like 330hp

6-speeds put down 295-320 rwhp, autos about 20 rwhp less.

eh things are lookin grim for my 6er...I don't really want to do a swap...I'm afraid I'd cobble it up, don't really want to do my 1st engine swap on this car...

I'll keep my eye open for Z's

I just picked up an '01 Z28 (M6) 40k miles and basic bolt-ons for $9200, Don't waste your $$$ on a swap.

wow...that's alot less than I was thinking they were going for...

I'm real picky when I spend the big bucks...so it will take awhile to find one I can dish out and buy

wow...that's alot less than I was thinking they were going for...

I'm real picky when I spend the big bucks...so it will take awhile to find one I can dish out and buy

Just shop around and be patient, I found mine 1400 miles away. But I was looking for the right car at the right price.

did some planning and 3.8 to LT1 is probably my most practical option...

where can I get information on this swap?

seriously doing all this to yur little 6 cylinder, you can take the money and spend it on a 2000 or 1999 ls1 camaro that already has some mods on it. To me, tuning out a 6 cylinder camaro is pointless. Chevy didnt make the 6 cylinders for power, they made them for a cheap, realible, and good mpg car, but still have the look of a fast muscle car.

I have a V6 Camaro and am happy with the performance of it as a daily-driver. Not sure doing a swap would be practical if you depended on it for such commuting.

A cool thing to do, IMHO, would be to buy the Z/28 and have a bodyshop paint that godawful black roof panel the color of the rest of the body. For one, it'll look better (GM screwed up there). And another, it will look like a V6 and fool tons of people if you take the Z badging off.

Whatever you do, don't mod the V6. DON'T put a turbo on it especially? It's soo much more trouble than it's worth.

werent u selling ur car like a month ago? u change ur mind everyday and how come u havent brought this up on the other forum?

This, cammed 6 banger, (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ve_GKF_65_E) vs. This, cammed V8. (http://video.ls1tech.com/video/014a75cc-260a-4614-ab97-98cb015ae89c.htm) Not a hard choice, no reason to spend any money on a V6.

I have had a v6. I thought of doing to it what you are doing now. but I realized that the power potential is so much greater. You can can still have the pride of building a crazy awesome engine. You will have pride when you build your 6-cylinder to 300hp. But you can really have pride and talk some smack when your build V8 has 550.

(I am slowly planning my build. I have driven multiple high Hp car. I would recommend that you sell the V6. 550hp is just manly, and after 8 grand do you really want to still be barely able to keep up with the 8's... Just imagine what will happen once you later put 8 grand into that LS1?... There will be no comparison to the glorious might that shall arise adorn your street.

V6s are cool first cars to have. I enjoyed mine for 9y then got a LS1. I wouldn't waste my money on swapping. Get the newer body style. It's way better.

im in the middle of the swap now but i have ( my wife ) has a 99 v6 putting an 01 ls1 in it

doing a few other things 2 the car so it taking a some time

I would never waste $8k on a V6, once you're said and done you have the power of a stock LS1 car, and those are slow now! Even if you go turbo and push 400RWHP it will have no guts in the power band, run slower than a 400RWHP cam only LS1 car (that probably cost the owner maybe $1000-2000 total opposed to your 10k), and it will still sound like a ricer, AND everyone has at least 400 RWHP now, any kind of 12's is slow now. Spend your $8k on a nice LS1 car, and the $4k from your car in mods and run 11's then sound sick doing it. I think once you get a 98+ Camaro you will think again about the front end. It looks alot more refined and no so 15 years ago, than the 93 style.

why does everybody hate on the v6's has eveybody forgotten about those nice little black 6 banger buicks that stock for stock smoked vette's the years they were made, not to say i dont like v8's, i own one, ive been in numerous 8 second 1200 HP v8s so 11's feel slow now, many people may not think it is impressive to have a v6 in the 12's but its not a path usually followed, anybody can stab a cam in an LS1 and do 11's, and at the local hangouts everybody has a 98+ F-body, which is fine cause i still love em but i like being unique even if its going "slow", i also wouldnt agree to putting 8k into a v6 car to do 12's im looking at 3 tops to do that with my 3.4 using an amologation of 60 degree v6 gm parts and a hairdryer but who knows i might kick myself in the nuts when i get around to starting again who knows but for now just give the guy advice on his swap and leave the minus 2's alone :)

There is a yellow turbo'd V6 on camaroV6 (this was a long time ago) that could run 12s...on low boost. On high it would run close to 11/10s and that was with a built T-5. V6 owners should get respect as they are pretty peppy cars, but i love the sound of a V-8

oh yea you cant beat the sound of a american v8 believe me it it sex for my ears, yea that guy ran an 11.78 with a soft launch since the 10 bolt probably couldnt take alot of abusive launches under that much power but anyways somebody said that our v6 cars sound like ricers heres for the haters... cammed 3.8 (http://www.fquick.com/videos/cammed_v6_with_tsp_rumbler/1572) now granted they all dont sound like this but they all have potential, and ill end with saying at least us v6'ers are still driving an f body and not a honda with a fart can

Get yourself a nice LS1 M6 car ..... when all's said and done, you'll be glad you did.

again if you want to be the norm and be like eveybody else then yea get an LS1 car but if you want to surprise a few people keep the v6 alive, or just build up a 2nd gen camaro or firebrd for a couple grand alot cooler in my book and they have alot more character

If you are willing to spend 8k on a v6 swap then just spend 2k more and buy an ls1 car. After you sell your car you could actually end up spending less when its all said and done.

or ...... http://www.ls1tech.com/forums/showthread.php?t=720033 .... then again you could just keep your v6 and be "different" ;) .... ls1's are getting cheaper man ...

i dont understand why everybody knocks on our cars yes i know its not a v8 so its not a musclecar but still i man isnt hot rodding supposed to be about what YOU want to do and if you want to go "slow" with a v6 why cant anybody just live with that and not keep telling us to buy an LS1 car, I have my 76 which will be getting GEN 7 and either procharged or turboed after I get out of college so I have a car that will be in the 10's i just want something to bomb around in and keep the little turboed 4 cylinders at bay, oh yea and I got my 94 for 100 bucks so its gonna be a while before i spend more than 6K on it :judge: