a kid who knows nothing

alright...i am new to this site. I just recently got my first car.

an 87' Firebird V6 5 speed. is a V8 better...should i put one in if i get a new engine, cuz it has alot of miles????

I think its 3.8L fuel injection...maybe...not sure.

dont know HP.

Whats the difference between big block and small block, whats better? ...and how to tell if i have one?

It runs good. Nothing really wrong with it. ALOT of miles but thats about it.

Ne thing cheap, cheap...to make it that much better...or faster.

Please help!

im sure there are alot of people on this site that can give you much better advice, but its an 87 and you probably wont keep that car for very long. I'd keep the V6 and take care of it its a nice car... i had an 89. If the engine fails while you still own it then you go ahead and swap the engine.Dont worry too much about miles i had a 95 mustang with over 200k miles and it is the best mustang of that year i have ever seen.

Well, should you decide to keep the car, a V-8 is the way to go. Nothing wrong with a V-6 or even a 4 cylinder, but it's the power to weight ratio that really counts in the end. The power to weight ratio, is how much horsepower your engine makes, ratioed against the weight of the car. For example if you have a car that weighs 3,000 pounds, and your engine makes 200 horsepower, your power to weight ratio would be: 15 pounds to 1 horsepower. Now that you know that, you know why a six cylinder is a bit inadequate for a heavier car like a firebird. That being said you can pick up a 305 from a junk yard for like a couple of hundred dollars, complete carb to pan, and a 700 r4 for a couple of hundred more for a nice one, and then the nickel and dime stuff. But you said cheap, so look for a nice air cleaner set up, and some exhaust for your V-6 if you wanna stay with that. It would be best to just pep up the V-6 and stick it out, until you can get some cash and do a nice engine and trans swap. You may end up regretting it if you just stick a junker 305 in there now, when you could hold out a but longer and do a 350 or big block. BTW big block is just as indicated, essentially a bigger block, only everything else is bigger to. In the case of a heavy car like a firebird bigger is better as far as motor goes.
hope this helped knock some of it down for you.
Jake

I agree with keeping the V6 for now. If the engine dies, deal with it then. Personally, if that day comes, I would stick with the small block just because of the cost involved in a big block build project. If you wait and save long enough, you can get the wiring harness, computer and everything needed to make the V8 a 350 TPI fuel injected conversion for not that much more effort than a carb.'d V8...cost wouldn't be too bad either if you do most of the work yourself. However, I would also recommend that unless you really like this particular '87 V6, and it is near perfect except for miles or something, that you just wait and save for a Trans-Am or Formula that already has the V8 and just rebuild that if it needs it. Cost and time would be far less that way as well. Just get your fun and moneys worth out what you have now and upgrade later. Just a couple things to think about...

alot about building power is spending money too. i mean finding engines and builting them will cost you some high dollars(depending on what you get). ive always thought that reliability comes first before i build power. cuz there is no point in adding the power if you go and break something... or say you rebuild the motor, your car might be down for half a week to a couple months if you discover warped heads, or a cracked head while you hunt for replacement. also think of the fall in milage you'll hit. a friend of mine had a 305 in his......... 85 (?) camaro, he could pass alot of things in that car but gas stations werent one of them. if you think the car will be a long term investment then by all means go for something mean, but if it will be your grocery getter, then ild just try to smooth out what you can with what you got. new intake, headers, cat back, bigger carb, cam, crank. granted its nothing too powerful like a v8. but you still might be able to get a well rounded car out of it. but thats all my opinion, you dont gotta go my way. i just think in the "im bloody poor" state of mind.

i think you should keep the V6, save upsome money and pop for a V8. learn to drive a f-body on the V6 cuz its pretty frikkin hard with the long front end.

and for 87 v6 i think it was the 2.8 if not it will be the 3.1

Well, swapping a V6 engine with a V* is not cheep in any way at all. so.. if your lookin to swap, and you are on a budget, your kinda outta luck. that isnt cheep, esspecially since you know nothing, your gonna have to get somone to do it for you, and your going to have to pay for labor.

As for Small block VS. Big Blocks, a v8 isnt nessicarily a big block. the classic 305 and 350 are small's. anything bigger is abig block (correct me if im wrong please)

Small blocks, believe it or not, are more powerfull ( i read an article in Car Craft, where they Dynoed 2 engines a Small Block Mouse, versus a Big Block Ratt and the mouse came out on top.) This is because the smaller ports on a small block create a sort of vortech thing and suck in air due to pressure.

and to the man who sugested to get a 700r4, his car is stick, so an auto tranny wouldnt work.

for now i would go for a cold air intake, like all your ricer buddies do, and give it a tune up (New Cap and Rotor set for your Distributor, the thing where all your spark plug wires go to, new spark plug wires, new spark plugs, change all your fluids, including oil, transmission fluid, coolant, and all that fun stuff)

ALWAYS make sure that you get your stuff done right. if you dont know what you are doing DO NOT DO IT. you could seriously hurt your car.

umm.. yeah, any other questions or corrections, lemme know

"and to the man who sugested to get a 700r4, his car is stick, so an auto tranny wouldnt work. "

But if you put an automatic tranny in it then its no longer a manual...

As for Small block VS. Big Blocks, a v8 isnt nessicarily a big block. the classic 305 and 350 are small's. anything bigger is a big block (correct me if im wrong please)

chevy also makes a small block 400, anything bigger then that is a big block.

87 v-6 is 2.8 mpfi

and to the man who sugested to get a 700r4, his car is stick, so an auto tranny wouldnt work.


ya about that, um, the v6 trans wouldn't hold up to a v8, the v8 trans barely held up to a v8 as far as stick shift's go. A 700r4 would go in that car just fine, adapted drive shaft, and relocate cross member maybe, but other than that, eazy peezy.
Jake

As for Small block VS. Big Blocks, a v8 isnt nessicarily a big block. the classic 305 and 350 are small's. anything bigger is abig block (correct me if im wrong please)

Well, cubic inch actually doesnt mean much anymore in the world of smallblock chevys. I've seen a 402ci SBC, and I've seen a 396ci BBC.

The difference between a BBC and a SBC isn't just the cubic inches of the motor, its the actuall size of the motor as well as the design. A BBC is actually bigger then a SBC.

If you really want to learn a lot about cars and get heavily into it, then find a SBC with 4 bolt mains to do a full rebuild on. There are so many aftermarket parts available for SBC's that they are becoming pretty inexpensive. You could take it to a machine shop, have it dipped, magnafluxed, and bored for probably around $500 will vary though. Then you'd need new pistons and gaskets and lots of miscellaneous parts. You could probably get it all together for around 1000 - 2000 dollars with performance parts. This way you would have pretty much a brand new performance motor without the 3500 dollar price tag.

But switching to Auto takes the fun out of it!:grinyes: as for the comments on the small and big blocks, thanks i apprechiate the input! anywho, good point on the 6 banger trans.

cubic inches has nothing to do with being a small or big block. the size of the block designates it being a small or big block. chevy has small and big blocks. pontiac blocks only had one size, therefore there is no small or big block pontiac, cause there is no difference to the block size.

i think you need to give us a little more feedback, ask lots of questions, tell us your plans. like what condition is the body in?... if you plan to keep it, look at the car as a whole, then break down what needs done. i wouldnt specify powertrain unless i was confident in the body, steering and suspension, BRAKES< always a good to keep in mind, < im just saying it might not be bright to drop in a motor if when you do that something else goes too. only reason im saying this is cuz im discovering these problems with my cougar. and now ive put motor on hold while i work on all the bloody rust on EVERYTHING.