Has anyone ever modified one of these?

[marik bathory]

Originally Posted by 'RayMan

Thanks for the idea. i've got l48 from a 75 vette thats been bored,stroked, and ported i think i just might stuff it in my 97 transport.

sounds like a great deal of fun, but you're going to run into a few different problems. the L48 being a SBC does not bolt up to the stock tranny, leaving you with two options, an adaptor plate and flywheel, or a RWD setup.

lets take this one step at a time. we'll do RWD first, since it will be "easiest" it's simply a matter of finding the proper length and sized drivetrain and making it fit. probably by swapping the whole frame or using a tube frame. the end result is awesome, but it's a major undertaking that alters the structure of the van.

on to FWD, (the way i'd do it) you're going (or may... to my knowledge nobody has ever done this) to run into the following problems. as our fellow members pointed out. V-8's weight more than v-6's. you will need to compensate for the added front end weight with stiffer springs and stronger shocks.

secondly the SBC is larger than the V-6's and even the 4.9 v-8 i plan on using. you may have room in the van, i don't know. but the fiero guys who do this very swap are forced to notch their framerails and cut a hole in the wheelwell for water pump pully clearence. others run remote electric water pumps.

transmission will prove a little tough here. regardless of which transmission you have you'll want to replace it. the TH-125 (3-speed) isn't exactly worthless. a scrap-processing center will give you about $6.13 for it. the 4t60 has to variations. one electronic (which is the stock one) and one hydrolicly shifted. the hydrolic one is the one you'll need, since you're going with a double pumper ans hei you won't need a computer, trying to run just a tranny off one will be a real pain. the other option is a separate tranny computer that will allow you to manually shift the electric transmission. i know of a kit that does just that for about $300.

but you've got to bolt the tranny up and this will be your cash hog. unless you want to make the adapter plate and flywheel yourself, there is only one man who makes them ( www.v8archie.com ) while he does great work and is an awesome guy, he's the only game in town and he knows it. his prices reflect that.

send a e-mail his way and tell him what you want to do and he'll probably send you an assload of information free-of-chrge because he's a good guy. he may also work with you on parts so you won't have to buy the whole kit and end up throwing away the fiero specific parts.

also check out the fiero board ( www.fiero.nl ) it's not exactly the same swap but there are hundreds of SBC v-8 swaps there and alot of knowledgable people.

just for ha-ha's here's a couple of the engine swaps i've done so far
'85 fiero 4.9 automatic/mpfi
http://groups.msn.com/AkimotosV8Fier...ffscadero.msnw
'87 fiero 4.9 dual exhaust/carb
http://groups.msn.com/AkimotosV8Fier...nw?albumlist=2
check out the a-frame hoist on page 5...


well, i went on for a long time there...well i'm not trying to talk you out of this rayman, just the oposite. i think it'll be cool as all get-out, but i do want to make you aware of what it's gonna take before you dive into it. good luck and if theres anything i can do to help, you know where to find me.

['RayMan]

i'm not sure if i'm going to do this swap or not, i just thought,"hey, thats a good idea." my original plan was just to do a rebuild on the 3.4(of course i would modify a bit, bore, stroke, etc.) I'm actually looking for a 69 SS chevelle to put the L48 in. If you know where i can find a good deal on one let me know