engine help

You can upgrade to a v8 at this point if you want to go that route. It is a pretty simple install with all the correct parts.


You can get a drop in engine from a salvage yard for 600 bucks or so.

Depends on what your plans are?

Yeah it's not as simple as 'dropping' a v8 and a manual in. You'll need the wiring harness, computer, upgraded suspension and a ton of other parts. Depending on how long you want the vehicle down and how much you want to spend, it would probably be best to try to fix what is wrong now, and start collecting the parts to do a v8 swap. Research all that you will need. It would be better to have all the parts at the time of the swap as opposed to trying to piece it together as a work in progress. As for replacing the lower end of your current motor, all the things you listed is what you'll need. If you have the coin, rebuild or buy some heads, put in a cam, stall converter, rear gears and you'll like the results.

If it were me:

4.3 stroker crate motor from SuperSix. 300+ HP out of the box NA, and the internals are already forged for when you're ready to spank it with nitrous or forced induction.

It's $6700, but you'd be spending $2000 or so to drop some worn-out junkyard engine in the car, assuming someone else did the install.
If you want to use your existing block, you could have a machine shop check it out and prep it for a better rotating assembly and heads, if you want to do it yourself.