3800/sunfire engine swap
 

I dave decided to swap the 3800 from the 1996 olds into the 2002 sunfire.
The body on the olds is almost gone and the sunfire is in decent shape but it is having electrical problems. I have done a bunch of reading on the subject and have found out the motor will bolt up to the 4t40 tranny but I want to know if the flexplate/TC will work too.

How much of the electrical stuff has to go into the sunfire?

I am planning on using this as a daily driver to get to work/town.

Pretty sure the sunfire never came with a V6, not going to be an easy swap.

I talked to a tech school instructor today about the swap. He said it should be a lot easier than I expect. The PCM goes with the motor, of course. He said it is pretty much plug and play with a few wiring splices. He said he did an exhaust on a 3800 sunfire swap a few days ago and it was FAST. He told me to make sure I was holding on tight if I was going to hit the gas.:eek:

I have started tearing stuff out of the engine bay and will try to pull the motor this week. The tranny needs a new seal on the right side and will get new fluid. The 3800 will be getting new gaskets while it is hanging out...:p There is no power steering or AC on the 3800, so it will be easier to get it into the engine bay.

I am going to try to reuse as much of the donor exhaust as I can, since the sunfire pipes are small and I want this thing to be able to breathe.

Could be about 800 lbs lighter, plus a small frontal area advantage- nice performance boost, probably moreso than fe but still all in the right direction. :thumbup: Too bad it's not getting a 5-speed behind it.

I thought about the 5 speed, but I don't have one on hand. I have to use what I have. I want to see if the 4t60 from the olds will fit without major changes, but I think it is bigger.