Gentlemen, Seeking your advice and guidance…. I have an opportunity to get a really good deal on a donor car for my 54 3100. The donor is a 2000 Firebird. I am interested mostly in the drive train which is 3.8L V6 and a 5 speed manual transmission. Not sure the gear ratio on the rear end. Would this be a good drive train for my truck? Is this a difficult swap to do? Are there aftermarket parts available to put a V6 and the 5 speed in the ole 54? As always, any information is appreciated. Thanks!
You can put whatever you want in your truck because it is YOUR truck. There are plenty of aftermarket cross members available for both the transmission and the motor mounts, but they apply to V8's mostly. You will have to check them out to see if they will fit your engine and transmission mounts. It shouldn't be too hard to do and I bet the truck would just love the updated drive train. Think hard about updating the front brake system at least if not putting in some kind of IFS. The increase in power and speed over the stock driveline will make braking very sketchy if using the stock brakes. Our host makes a disc brake conversion kit to use with the original front axle. I believe your firebird has rear disc brakes, so front disc conversion would be a natural. Measure the width of the donor rear end to make sure it is close enough to use. a little smaller is okay because you can always fit spacers. Bigger may be a problem with fender clearance. smaller can be a problem with clearance to the bed sides so measure it up. Andy
Can we assume? Can we assume your truck is without its original motivator? If not, these old blocks have a lot of life in them. If you just want to update, ditto Andy. (And if you can weld, ANYTHING is possible!)
I HATE These Topics ! Because I really like the InLine engines & stock(ish) trucks . However , the Chevy V-6 is basically a Small Block V-8 with two cylinders chopped off so the V-8 crossmember kits should work just fine . It's really easy to ruin the truck doing this if you don't know what yyou're doing and pretty simple to install an old GMC " Long Motor " even if you're not overly mechanical . Unless you're rich enough to handle the high fuel bills from spinning the tires all the time , it may be easier and cheaper to simply hop up your old 235 or add a 261... DO NOT underestimate the need for improved brakes ! .
