hi. im thinkin of swapping a 3.1 motor out of a beretta (early 90’s) i believe into my 1997 cavalier… the cavi has the stock 2.2 w/ an auto transmission.the beretta is also an automatic.now im just curious if this is worth all of the work and how much i will have to put into this task. i know ill need different motor mounts. will i have to make my own or is there somewhere that sells them?Will the transmission bolt up/withstand a 3.1?etc… i tried lookin for info on this but can’t find anything. i know its been done since ive seen videos of it. if someone has any experience/knowledge that would help me out with this i would greatly appreciate it
Thanks
-Kevin
it should swap in fine. People have swapped in every form of 60 degree motor into a jbody, and even the 90 degree 3800.
check out www.j-body.org theres probably a bunch of threads with info on this swap.
but me personally, i would go with a 3400 swap over the 3.1/3100 swap (that is of course is you want to swap in a v6) if you want to just swap in any engine i would do an 2.2L ecotec, 2.4L twin cam swap or even a 2.3L quad 4 HO.
http://www.j-body.org/forums/read.php?f=30&i=14405&t=14405&p=1
it would be better to do a 3400, you’re gonna have to switch to OBDII but no big deal…
www.bstuff.com might give you some better ideas as well, but I wouldn’t mess with a 3.1 MPFI when you can do a 3400 just as easily.
If it is a 1997 Cavalier, it is already OBD II. 1995 was the last year they had OBD I in the Cavalier and even then, it was only in certain models.
The 3400 and 3800 SC are the 2 most common v6 swaps for a Cavalier. grandamld9’s links are probably the best place to look. Go on there and search around–a few people have done step by step write ups on how to do the swap.
i guess i should mention, that if you go with a 2.4L twin cam or 2.2L ecotec. GM makes a supercharger kit for both motors. The one for the 2.4 is around $1,700 and the 2.2 kit is alittle bit more around something like $2,200-$2,500
the 2.4L has to be 2000+ for the charger to work, just so you know.
ok thanks guys for the info…ill take it all into consideration.still dunno if i wanna swap the cavi or sell it and buy a newer car
If I were you I’d make it a 3.1 with 3.4 heads and slap a turbo kit on it thats the most popular i’ve seen 12’s with people doing the swap. But also take into account you may need to change up things such as guage cluster and wiring harness and a few other things like the K member and small things like that but more then doable.Also OBDII started in 1996 in those cars.
I think I read it wrong, and thought about how he said 3.1 and assumed 3.1 MPFI and how that would be OBDI because any OBDII cars would be a 3100 SFI
not if you swap for a 00+ LD9. But yes, for a 96-99 motor you do.
I think you just restated what I said–unless I misunderstand ur post. The 2.4 and LD9 are the same thing.
yea my post doesnt make sense. I think what i ment to say is, the motor doesnt have to be a 00+ it can be a 96-98 motor, but then you have to add some more money to the setup to get things right (00+ starter, different injecters, HP tuners or other tuning stuff, ect.)
right…but for the extra cash it would cost to convert, you could most likely get a 2000+ LD9 for less.
Well if you go with a 00+ motor you have to tune it some how, and if your running the 97 ecm then youll have to buy hptuners anyways since you can use the GM flash, not to mention you have to convert to the right injectors and make the knock sensor fit on the 00+ motor. But if you want to use the 00+ ecm for the GM reflash you have to buy a new ECM and BCM plus a new cluster and so on and find a vin for a 00+ car to even get the reflash. So ether way, your going to spend more then just what the charger cost.
Check this post out–complete with vids. It’s just sick! This has been done before and is good enough for low 13s / high 12s.
http://www.j-body.org/forums/read.php?f=46&i=268240&t=268240
thats what i was talkin about.
Theres that other guy on LBO i think his SN is raven. He was one of the first, if not the first to do the 3800 swap.