zerophlux Posted February 28, 2005 Report Share Posted February 28, 2005 I have recently purchased a 1992 Lumina. It's a sedan with a 3.1L V6 and 3-speed automatic transmission. It has 144,00 miles on it, and it seems to have been well taken care of before I purchased it. It appears to have a brand new alternator, water pump (hopefully they did the timing belt too, I will be checking soon), and the interior is in pristine shape. Because of it's condition, I'm looking at having the engine rebuilt. When I do this, I want to do some upgrades at the same time. So here is my question: What should I do? Supercharge? Turbo? Aside from these two options, I'm looking at cams, maybe some DOHC heads from a Z34, forged pistons/rods, high-performance bearings and whatnots. Basically I want to get close to 300hp. More is better, but thats my goal with this car. Please help guide me. Thanks Skylor Williams Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sl3196 Posted February 28, 2005 Report Share Posted February 28, 2005 (hopefully they did the timing belt too, I will be checking soon) You don't have a timing belt. I would either turbo it or look into an engine swap. (L67 would be my choice. ) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
maybe2fast Posted February 28, 2005 Report Share Posted February 28, 2005 good luck, I envy your determination. swap to L67. or if you are stickin with the 3.1 get rid of that 3 speed! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bartonmd Posted February 28, 2005 Report Share Posted February 28, 2005 An L67 with minor mods is probaby less work than actually rebuilding and turboing what you've got, especially since you'd need another tranny anyway... Mike Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Robby1870 Posted February 28, 2005 Report Share Posted February 28, 2005 you cant put DOHC heads on a 3.1L block, so throw that out the window. And, yes, that belt is the serpentine belt, it just runs the accessories. You have a timing chain, which you cant see, because a 3.1L is a pushrod. You arent going to get 300HP n/a from a 3.1L, unless you're on nitro or something. You could probably get 250 starting from a 3400 block and going with a reground cam. If you want to keep the stock 3.1L turbo it. 89-90 Grand Prixs had a turbo 3.1L in them. There's guys making over 300HP with them. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DiscoStudd Posted February 28, 2005 Report Share Posted February 28, 2005 And FYI, you won't be able to swap the DOHC 3.4 heads onto your 3.1 block. Swapping in the L67 will be expensive, not only for the price of the powertrain, but also for the new PCM you'll have to buy and the custom axles that need to be made, plus the wiring harness that needs to be custom fabbed. If you don't have a $5000 budget for mods (likely what you'll end up spending to get the L67 swap finished,) you could swap in a complete 3400 (pushrod) motor and run it off of your 3.1's ECM. You can find low-mileage 3400's cheap (usually less than $500) and they'll bolt up to your stock tranny. Granted you won't have the kind of brute horsepower the L67 will give you, but you'll see a pretty healthy gain over your stock 3.1. Here are some sites to check out: http://www.l67swap.com http://www.3400swap.com http://www.60degreev6.com Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JoroCorona Posted February 28, 2005 Report Share Posted February 28, 2005 I agree with Disco. A stock 3400 will bolt directly into your car and there is even a minor aftermarket for it. Get some hi compression pistons, shot peened rods, maybe a lightened crank and that thing would be pushing 230-240 hp with some wicked kick from one side of the power band to the other. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
EurosportZ34 Posted March 1, 2005 Report Share Posted March 1, 2005 it would be easier to swap something that was an option on your car....i'd honestly go with either a 3.4L DOHC or a 3.1L Turbo V6, if you can find one. and of course you'd have to swap out your old transmission because i don't think that lil' 3-speed will hold up much against the higher powered engines that you'd be swapping in. you'd be able to get alot of HP outta these engines, and go for a 5-speed tranny with either for a couple extra horses. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mfewtrail Posted March 1, 2005 Report Share Posted March 1, 2005 Supercharge the 3.1, afterall, how many supercharged 3.1 Luminas are out there? Probably none. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zerophlux Posted March 1, 2005 Author Report Share Posted March 1, 2005 Wow, thanks for all the input. I'm really looking at supercharging the 3.1 or a 3.4. Where would I find the superchargers for these motors? Should I find a motor in a junkyard and build on it, or rebuild it? From what I have heard these V6's can handle a lot, so I would think that I could build on a good motor with say around 70-100k miles on it and it would still last a while. Please advise. Thanks, Skylor Williams Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Robby1870 Posted March 1, 2005 Report Share Posted March 1, 2005 You might as well build one from the ground up. That way, you can get the cam/springs/rockers, compression, etc that you want. Plus, if you've never built a motor before you'll learn something Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
digitaloutsider Posted March 1, 2005 Report Share Posted March 1, 2005 It's been discussed that all that's required to supercharge the 3.1 is cutting a hole in the plenum and bolting it to it. On the other hand, you'll have a hole in your hood, and the piece of shit 125c will never hold up to the power. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dbtk2 Posted March 1, 2005 Report Share Posted March 1, 2005 I would tell you to swap in an LG5, but then there would be another LG5 lumina out there and I can't let that happen. So, Supercharge it. But before you do that I would recommend getting a different tranny. Shawn Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ShockTherapy Posted March 1, 2005 Report Share Posted March 1, 2005 first off, just start with the basics before you go off the deep end and sink 3K+ into this car... exhaust, chip, UDP, intake, things of that nature first... if you're going to build up an engine start with a 3400, P&P everything you can, reground cam, 5-angle valve-job, see if you can find a turbo setup off of a TGP, that'd be a good starting point right there. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mihela816 Posted March 1, 2005 Report Share Posted March 1, 2005 Stop knockin the three speed so much guys! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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