I have an 83 Malibu Wagon that is gonna be my first car. Right now it has a slow 3.8L V6 that I'm going to swap with a 4.3L Vortec V6 from a 94 S10 Blazer. Any suggestions to make that a hot rod engine?? (don't say turbo's or supercharger) or would i just be better off puting a 5.0 Vortec or 5.3L Vortec in it some exhaust and headers let me know thanks
Welcome to the forum. No matter which of your options you choose, you will need the entire wire harness and all the computers to make it work if you intend to keep them FI motors. The 4.3 will be a major upgrade to the sad excuse of a motor the 3.8 is. But for what you will get for mileage, you will be better off dropping in a V8 then naturally asperated V6. The Vortec 5.0 305 puts out 230hp 290tq , the 350 is 290hp 330tq, the 4.3 is 155-200hp and 245-260tq depending on the year and code the engine is.
Well, well a subject near and dear to my heart. Question is how far do you wanna go? There is an Edelbrock TBI intake and headers that you can use. There is a 4 barrel intake that came stock on some Astro vans. there are also alot of aftermarket stuff out there for them. I also ran a Pete Jackson gear drive(noisey of course). I bought these heads and Intake at a swap meet one year for $900. They are aluminum GM performance heads and intake that were ported. Polished and flow bench tested as a unit by Katech. Sadly I sold them quite awhile ago.
Most people were not aware of this, but Chevy also made a 3.8 V6 displacement was 229. The only 3.8 motors that were worth a darn were the turbo motors or the FWD 3800 series. Yes you could build up a Buick 3.8, but why bother? For the cost of it vs performance its just not worth it and they only weigh 25lbs less then a SBC, just drop in a V8 and gain mileage, power and durability. The Vortec 4300 is a much better platform then any previous GM RWD V6.
How about an older model 350? The performance stuff available is mind-blowing! They are easy to work on, but unfortunately, not all that economical when carbureted. A 305 would be a good choice, as well. The 305 in my '91 CC gets almost 28 MPG on the road, with an OD tranny. It was mentioned about a 4 V intake for a V6. I remember working on an Olds Cutlass a while back with a V6 and 4V. Seems like it was a late 70s or early 80s model.
Here's a PIC of the '83 Malibu Estate I had for about a month, bought it in Florida and brought it up here to make some $$$! It already had a 305 V8 in it, 43,000 miles! Damn, I wished I'd kept it & was a pretty wagon too! Clark
Clark, I would have had a hard time parting with that sweet looking Malibu wagon. Sure don't remember seeing many that decked out. David
David, It was hard letting it go but I did double my money on it too! I paid like $3500 for it and sold it for $6000! It was all decked out with all the options too & can't think of anything it didn't have! Clark
Clark, You EVER find another in FLA...Just call me!!! I'll save you the trouble and give you a finders fee to boot. All long distance...dontchaknow. Seriously...Call me... That was sweet!!! Bruce
