Is a 3.4L engine worth it?

[blindeyed]

Hey everyone. Just wondering what some of your thoughts are on the early 4th generation L32 3.4 Liter engine is. The one that used to be standard in the V6's before they changed it to the L36 3.8 Liter engine in '96'. The reason why I'm asking is because.. well, my car has this engine. And personally, I think it stinks. I mean, I've tried to cream the well known "rice" out on the road, and well.. I'm getting beat. It's rather pathetic actually. Neons, Eclipses, Civic's, you name it.. If its a 4 cylinder, then it's probably beaten me. The reason why I bought the car was to help prevent things like that from happening. Actually, I almost beat a Neon, but he slowly kept up with me and then just flew on by. Do you know how embarassing it is to be beaten by a Civic while driving what most people consider to be a "Muscle Car." Don't get me wrong, I love muscle cars and yes I know.. a V6 really isn't much of a muscle car. But when you think of think of "Firebird" the first thing people most often think of is "muscle." I love my car more than anything, it's been a perfect daily driver car that gets me from point A to point B with no problems at all. In fact, I never have had a problem with it. But I'm beginning to wonder if it has the potential that I'm looking in a car like this. Because at this point, I'm deeply considering selling the car. I finally saved up enough money for new headers, cat converter, and dual exhaust.. you know, the works. And now I'm beginning to wonder if this would actually be a good investment? I already considered a V8 swap, but the insurance alone would go even more sky high and it would probably be cheaper to buy a used trans am/formula that already has a V8 than for paying for the engine and the swap. Does anyone have any advice or opinions that could possibly help me out? Such as whether or not if this engine is worth doing any performance modifications to. Keep in mind im a college student on a low budget, so nothing outrageously expensive is really possible at this time.

Here's a pic of my engine in case your curious what it looks like.

[FormulaLT1]

When your comparing your car to the other cars. You have to look at all the stats. 1. Gearing .2. Power (both Horsepower/torque and what RPM's they take place) 3. Weight (this is the biggest drawback for you). Your car would react alot better if you changed the gears and increased both the abaility to take in air and push out exhaust. The problem is with your engine your not really dealing with a performance machine. Your dealing with the base model. It was designed to be a daily driver to provide good-excellent gas mileage and not really aimed at all out power. For what your going for you would be better off just trading your vehicle in and getting a V8 or even the 3.8 was a big improvement over the 3.4 but you will still find yourself wanting more. So I suggest a LS1 or LT1 if your going for 4TH Gen. Also if you swapped engines your insurance company would still go by your vin number and think you had a V6 so unless you told them your insurance wouldn't go up but I still suggest trading in cause it will end up costing less and save you headaches.

[Twizted_3KGT]

Well in my opinion, no one thinks of a V6 Firebird as muscle and everyone knows they are slow as molasses. You'd be better off buying an older Firebird/Trans Am with a 350 in it, then your insurance wouldn't be high and you could beat as much as the 2000 and older Mustang GT's. And needless to say all the little 4 bangers that you should be beating now. A V8 swap would most likely be a waste of time considering you could sell your car and buy a V8. And as far as modding your current engine, it would be a waste of money and time, since you would still be getting beat by most 4 bangers (you might get that Neon), and everyone would make fun of your loud and slow V6 that you tried to make fast. But good luck in whatever you choose, that's just my opinion.

[KaotiKCamaro5]

get a v8.. thats where im headed.. i also have a 3.4, although i have no problem wasting on ricers... but i guess its because i have more done than you do.. but a v8 is definately the right direction, and dont even consider a swap. in the 4th gens it is more of a headache than its worth, because you would have to change out a lot more things as well, not only the engine.

[blindeyed]

Yeah I appreciate your opinions. It's nice to know there's a place where people won't beat around the bush with you and will get straight to the point. When I bought the car I had abcolutely no knowledge of Firebirds or Camaro's what so ever. I saw the car, thought it looked good. The guy said it had a strong V6. So I was sold. Now that I've researched and learned all about the F-Body's, I feel like an idiot for ever buying the car. yeah it's great and reliable, but it's definately lacking the power I so badly crave. I've already had an offer for $4000 for my car from one of my friends. I only paid $3250 but since then it's gotten new brakes, rotors, oil flush, and everything else you'd have done in a tune up.. so I'm really thinking of considering the offer.

[82KnightRider]

sell it while you can and get some real muscle,like any 98+ trans am ws6

[blindeyed]

heh, I would if I could afford that. But I doubt I'll be finding any of those for under 4k. I was just now looking on Autotrader.com and found this really nice Camaro for sale. Its a '86' Z28 5.0 V8 4BBL, T-Tops, Power windows and locks for only $1,650. Only downside is that it's an automatic. let me know what ya'll think.

http://images.autotrader.com/images/..._A.562x421.jpg.

[82KnightRider]

there you go .........a third gen,just stay away from the lg4 engines cuz they dont peel out that great.lg4 were installed from 82-87 in f-bodys,dont get me wrong though,82-87 had other choice engines.go with a 5.7

[jason-1995fbody]

hey kaotikcamaro5 where did you get the 3.4 turbo and how much and did it make enough power to make it worth wile

[Twizted_3KGT]

Don't go for the 5.0, definitely get the 5.7L 350...and get fuel injected not carburated, less headaches. If you want i'll sell you my '88 Formula 350 for $2000, it's sitting the winter out and then I plan to sell it in spring time, but I could sell it now if you wanted it. I don't know about the 5.0's but with the 350 having automatic doesn't matter, I hate automatic but I love my Formula 350, doesn't need stick.

[blindeyed]

Originally Posted by Twizted_3KGT

Don't go for the 5.0, definitely get the 5.7L 350...and get fuel injected not carburated, less headaches. If you want i'll sell you my '88 Formula 350 for $2000, it's sitting the winter out and then I plan to sell it in spring time, but I could sell it now if you wanted it. I don't know about the 5.0's but with the 350 having automatic doesn't matter, I hate automatic but I love my Formula 350, doesn't need stick.

Exactly what kind of headaches are we talkin about here with a carburated engine? I'm not too familiar with them, so that's why I ask. That sounds like a pretty good deal though for your car. Problem is, is that I live in Florida, and your profile says that you live in New York. I've never bought a car on the opposte side of the country before, so do you know an estimate on how much it would cost to ship it that far? And can you give me a little more detail about your car, such as the mileage, any problems, etc. and preferably a picture or two?

[blindeyed]

Originally Posted by jason-1995fbody

hey kaotikcamaro5 where did you get the 3.4 turbo and how much and did it make enough power to make it worth wile

Just so you know, that's a supercharger, not a turbo in that pic. But I'm curious as to what difference it made as well. I haven't seen one on a 3.4L before.

[Twizted_3KGT]

Originally Posted by blindxeyed

Exactly what kind of headaches are we talkin about here with a carburated engine? I'm not too familiar with them, so that's why I ask. That sounds like a pretty good deal though for your car. Problem is, is that I live in Florida, and your profile says that you live in New York. I've never bought a car on the opposte side of the country before, so do you know an estimate on how much it would cost to ship it that far? And can you give me a little more detail about your car, such as the mileage, any problems, etc. and preferably a picture or two?

Headaches as far as maintenance and gas mileage, fuel injection is controlled by computer so it doesn't ever run rich or lean, and doesn't require any maintenance. What am I missing guys, big advantages of fuel injection over carb.?

I've never shipped a car so I have no clue how much it would be but I could find out if you really wanted to buy it.

The car has 125k on it, most everything is new from hoses to manifold gaskets and everything inbetween. It's light/baby blue with gray trim, royal blue/black interior. Hidden push button igntion is the only modification i've made on it. Runs mint, body is good. No problems, and if you think we could work something out i'll see if I can get some pictures taken (I don't have a digital camera).

[silver87ta]

I totally have to agree with Twizted. I've been a "stick-man" since I started driving, and this is my second automatic. But seriously, the 350 doesn't give a $hit if it doesn't have a stick, it still hauls ass through the gears. And check Ebay too, thats where I find my baby, got her for $1600 and only had to drive an hour to Philly to pick her up.

[KaotiKCamaro5]

the supercharger in the pic wasnt on my car.. i put it in my profile for a couple days as a joke (kindof an inside joke).. that kit for the 3.4 runs about 3500 bucks and is supposed to give a guaranteed 80hp increase on stock applications.. which still makes it slower than a Z28/Trans Am... therefore if you want my opinion, its easier and cheaper to just sell and buy a Z28 or Trans Am.. after months of research in that matter, i found its the only logical way to go, you'll find that too im sure.