could swear i read a thread on the v6 forum where it was pointed out that most if not all the "big name" guys running an FI 3800 all had their car break eventually.

 

I see 6 or 8 guys DD them around houston all the time, cars ive ridin in and worked on, dont drive the crap out of it all the time and they keep on chugging. almost makes me envious

No, i have better things to do with my time than search the internet just to prove a point, and most of the guys that make it that far stop DD them just to keep from putting the miles on the setups, but still drive them to and from work a day or two a week. Just like most of us, plus, if youve ever drivin anything with real power then you know you leave it home in the rain, rush hour, time the bars close, anytime you dont want to loose your investment to some jackass on his cell phone.

the 3800 crowd tends to stay cam only, the guys that make the jump almost always buy aftermarket heads, bolt em down and go, no machining required. The other thing is hes looking for someone familiar with the heads, it takes a practiced hand to port heads well and that makes it very tough when youve only done one or two pairs. looking for someone with the specific knowlegde...

a basement 10 in a FWD car with a stock bottom end v6? id call that pretty extraordinary, especially since he was forced to run wrinkle wall slicks to keep from wasting the pass on wheel spin in a full suspension car

dude reading is not your thing is it? HIS, not THE, HIS most aggressive builds ever, and yes we are fully aware of the fastest passes. Not a single non-sponsored non-vendor DIY car has pulled a single digit pass that weve been able to find proof of (grand prix, not just 3.8 platforms) most either build it up and sell it, or dont want to lean on the boost. And since its a very few guys that have bothered trying at all, were thinkin its just lack of effort and desire


OP, you could jsut find the supercharger and related plenums and pulleys and bolt that on, last time I checked LKQ had the blower for $400, pulley it for $80 more and port it and you outta be doing good

 

You can't just bolt up a m90 supercharger from a GTP. They have different heads and wont just bolt on unless you swap everything above the heads. Way more money then $480. And really at that point just swap in a L67 and modify the supercharger to fit.

You obviously can't read, there are 2, 3800 motors which one are you talking about, the OP has a firebird which is the L36, you seem to be talking about the L67, they are different, please stop giving bad advice as you have no idea what you are talking about.

 

I realize all that, boost is tunable remember? pulley sizes change very easily. all the parts to swap the s/c on are very cheap and very easy to find, plus the s/c does not necessarily need to be bolted to the top of the motor, check out Pocket's car, although Im sure thats way more than the OP is wanting to get into. as for the the 2 motors, yes I know the difference. but just like every other motor on the planet, it will take FI too, although care needs to be taken with how much. weve made our arguments, the OP can make his choices.

 

If your buddy is serious, he's gonna have to pony up some cash. He very well might be happier with saving the money and buying a V8 car. It takes a strange bird to stick with their V6. I'm one of them, and it can be frustrating at times. I wanted to throw in the towel a few times on the build and just go grab an LSx setup instead. Just about everybody here in Lubbock runs an LSx powered car or a V8 mustang, so spare parts wouldn't be hard to come by.

There are not really any aftermarket heads available except for ZZP's Aluminum heads which (bare and unported) cost almost the same as theirs and other companies stage 3 ported, big valve race heads.

Go with a good camshaft with a good lobe design. John at 60°Inclusive has access to some great cam profiles and can match a cam to your heads if he ports them for you. Great guy to deal with, did some quality work on my heads and intake.

If you want a basic off the shelf grind, Abbott has one of the best NA cams.

Need bigger valve springs, 105# minimum but probably more along the lines of a 130# set, new timing chain, etc.

Companies that I just think of right off the top of my head that offer ported heads for the L36/L67.
60°Inclusive
ZZP
Intense
Abbott
Super Six Motorsports

Your friend have headers yet? He won't see the full benefit of the build unless he's running headers. Is this an automatic or 5 speed manual? He'll need access to somebody that can tune the car PROPERLY!

Here's a look at my heads that were worked on by John.


Before they went out to him: