modding a 94 sc 2

[exzou]

im about to purchase a 94 sc2 and know almost nothing about modding cars, i was told i could put a 250? small block v8 in, is this practicle, possable and what would i need to doo so. i mostly am interested in websites i can go to to get parts and what seems to work best for other people, im shooting for about 200 - 250 hp if possable BEFORE a turbo, any help would be greatly appreciated

[silverado122775]

The frame would need to be able to support the extra weight of a v8. you will also have to cut the wheel wells for the extra room. Is the engine a sohc or dohc. if it is a dohc there are tons of mods that can be done the car that will give you your 250hp range. if it is a sohc, then well... your screwed like I am. My advise would not to replace it with a v8. unless you have some serious dough. You would have to replace the fuel pump and wiring as well.

[exzou]

i do have dohc. i also need to replace the driver and possably the passanger seat, would a scrap yard or saturn be my best bet.
im tempted to make this a long project and i have one of two goals in mind.
1. completly over haul this thing. when i pull up to some one i want them to think i put a saturn logo on some sort of racing gods car.
2. sink around 2k into it and get the best results possable.

i was also thinking of doin bolt ons to start followed by later doin an engine and tranny swap but im not sure if that would be a waste of money or not and i DO want to eventualy turbo this, just not anytime soon

[sickcallawayc12]

Why do it to a Saturn? It will cost a lot more than 2k. You'd have to get a beefier tranny also and make that fit somehow.

[exzou]

wat i meant was do as much as i can for 2k but im leaning towards a full overhaul, and im doing it because it IS a saturn

[sickcallawayc12]

I'd say go to turbosaturns.net cuz that is the place to go for any serious modification to a saturn, but it can't be accessed for some reason.

[exzou]

well ive talked to some people i know and they recomended a v6 with stage 2 turbo and a new tranny, i need to know how many cubic inches are under my hood so i know what will fit and how do i determine if a transmission will fit my car?

[sierrap615]

it won't work, not for 2K, it might for 3 or 5 times that and alot of labor and custom work.

the S-series does not share a common set-up with any other platform in any way. no engine other then the 1.9 is designed to fit in there, and the tranmission is also designed only to mate to the 1.9. regardless of what will phisicly fit you would need to do the mounts, driveline, wiring, and possiblely suspention from sratch. most V8 engines mean converting from FWD to RWD, something that takes a lot of skill to do. i have seen engine swaps done before to S-series, I4, V6, and V8. some fairly well done, and other that make frankenstein look like a beutity queen. The well done V8 had to of been years in the making.

that said, your engine is rated at 124 HP, a full set of bolt ons will gain about 20-25. but with a turbo about haft of those bolt-ons won't even fit. a well blueprinted engine for a N/A setup may gain you another 20-25 HP in theory, but for a turbo set-up the engine would be built differently. so in the interest of cost, if you are going to turbo, stick with what you goal is.

[sierrap615]

Originally Posted by sickcallawayc12

I'd say go to turbosaturns.net cuz that is the place to go for any serious modification to a saturn, but it can't be accessed for some reason.

turbosaturns.net is gone

[exzou]

so i dont even have the ability to put a v6 in there withought massive rebuilding? if so, what parts would you recomend for doin this and the 2k limit is gone

[daveshapellSVT]

did you mean 350? lol... Dude, seriously you need to learn something about cars. Only way your gonna have a V8 ina S series saturn is to basically remove the body shell and drop it on a small frame with a V8 built into it. we are talking massive overhaul here. It really wouldn't even be a saturn.

If you really like your car and are stuck on keeping it and attempting to make it fast, then your dohc engine isn't a bad start. however you will not make 250hp naturally espirated. Your friend will be forced induction in the form of a Turbo kit. weather it be custom or in the form of a kit. Right off the bat you need a much stronger clutch cause the stock one can barley handle 124hp. You'll deffinately need some sort of muffler shop build you an exhaust system from the turbo back cause theres no way your gonna spool that turbo with that tiny exhaust. after you get the turbo kit and install it, you'll need a method to TUNE your ignition,fuel, and air. You do not have many options. From what i've read theres the Megasquirt dealy witch involves adding two more injectors. Don't know much about it i just know most use it. Judging by the whole V8 idea, and your honest statement that you don't know much about cars, i'm kinda skeptical that you'll be capable of carrying out moddifying your saturn unless you start learning quick and saving more then 2k.

[exzou]

all right, now im getting some where, were would i go to learn about this and to purchase it, i live in a smallish city so im worried that i wont be able to have much custom built and im not liking the idea of driving to seattle (the nearest big city) on a regular basis t oget this built/installed/made for me, adn im not looking to do all this right away, im new, im learning, and over the next few years ill have well over 2k for this, it was just a figure i threw out to see what i could do for STARTERS

[exzou]

and another thing, most parts are listed as being for the sc1, is there a difference in body style that wouldnt let me,.. oh,.. i dunno, put lambo doors on my car?

[daveshapellSVT]

the difference in sc1 and sc2 is the sc1 is the sohc engine and the sc2 is the dohc. you have an sc2. Sohc means the engine is a single camshaft setup. Dohc means that the motor has two cams.

SC1,Sl1 have 100hp

SC2,Sl2 have 124hp<--- much better engine and transmission

If you are planning on modding your car i'd first look at howmany miles it has on it, and if it's running properly. if it's straight then i'd start off with some small simple mods. I'd get an aftermarket clutch installed by a local auto shop. check out SPS.com they make parts for saturns and they do sell clutches. after that i'd maybe get a catback exhaust. then i'd start saving up for a turbo kit. There is a site that makes them but i forget the address. just go on google and do a search for saturn turbo kits.

[sickcallawayc12]

Aw man, another good Saturn down the tubes.

SC1 has less power, less features, and possibly non body colored bumpers. You can do a lambo conversion on just about any car, really.

As for learning see if there is a community college in your area that has an automotive class. That will give you a start. Really to get good knowledge, however, you should go to tech school, especially for a project this massive. Then again my college counselor says if you wanna learn something, read a book about it. Once you think you are ready to tackle it on, you will need to do a lot of planning and research on what could possibly work, and what you will need to make it work.

Do you really wanna do a big swap like this though? I understand your goal but there are easier cars out there to make sleepers out of. Plus, even putting a turbo on the Saturn powerplant isn't easy or all that cheap nor is it all fun and games. In addition, you're gonna ruin a perfectly good Saturn with all the modifications you're gonna have to do. I would just make a really good NA powerplant out of the stock one. That will give you some practice and help you learn a lot about engines as the Saturn vehicle is one of the easiest to work on. Swapping in a V6 let alone a V8 in a Saturn will require some hands-on experience also. Its not some first timer/newbie project.