1987 fwd 3.8 turbo or 1999 3800 supercharged to go into my 76 chevy 4x4

F

frank_ster

Member
Joined
Feb 16, 2013
i have both engines available and wondering witch to put into my 1976 chevy 4x4 1/2 ton..
it will be mated to the 4 speed manual and transfer case. with 3.42 gear ratio and 33 inch tires.
which would you use and why ?

some things about the 87 .
-longer beefier rods
-grand national parts fit
-no balance shaft


3800 series II
-newer designe
-supercharged for low end torque
 
I went threw the same choices when i built my jeep.... being a die hard buick fan i went with the buick. my 1st combo in 2009 being close to yours in weight, 95 Yj on 35s tied to ford dana 60s with a 85 3.8 pushing threw a SM420 with a dana 300 flip ............... I was sorely dissapointed...

fast forward to present day.... im yanking the buick out for a small block chevy, ford T-18 trans and a NP205.

buick just couldnt move the thing without alot of throttle..... since most off road for me is crawling the buick just didnt work out to well for me trying to make power off idle.

plus all my friends carry SBC stuff on the trail, so it was extra packing to support the buick in case of a failure.
 
yea but this will be a daily driver comuting truck pulling trailer i want better economy ..
bascally i want to copy a ecoboost f150 and since my truck is only 4000 lbs not 6000 lbs! it should be pretty darn good.

it has a 330-350 hp 355 cid small block in it now ..but pig on gas .. i could go efi on it also but might as well deal with the pumping losses ahead of time.

the 3800 s/c would be a pretty neat little combo i would think.
 
okays, I can see that... and i bet it would be half decent for mostly on the street duty....... but i reckon a OD automatic trans might make gas number increase or even a later OD manual since that SM465 you have weighs a bunch and you probably have little need for first gear unless your planning on some stump pulling.

oh also, can I PM you about the Subie swap? my outback tossed a rod last week.
 
well the rpms will be about 1900 for 60 mph i fgure with the 3.42 ratio.

sure pm me all you like about the subie swap
 
Sweet... PM sent...

As for the ratio.... it might be doggy on 33s.... 3.55s are the high limit for a jeep with an I6 with 33s..... and it lacks alot on hills.... you will weigh alot more then that too, just something to consider... though mathmatically it fits... in operation it may tell a different story - atleast thats what i have found so far...

dont know if im offering much help... more just the experiances i have had so far.
 
how about 31's ? and its supercharged .. and i could always put a smaller pulley on the supercharger drive. its actually already a 3.4"
 
We've got 1 member that's put a super charged 3.8 in a Camaro and it seems to run great. For what you're trying to do the super charger is the way to go since it give you the power from the bottom to the top. If you go turbo you'll need to use an auto so it'll build boost easier.

BTW Aj, the SM465 is a 4 speed with a non syncro granny.;) If you had 1 with a transfer case in low they're great crawlers but there's no overdrive.:D
 
yea but the final drive with the tire size and size of engine it should be pretty darn perfect..

yea that granny tranny. in the 1/4 mile i take off in 2nd and sift to 3rd and thats it .. ran 15.5@ 96 mph with the 350 in it now.
 
The 3800 Series II SC is a far superior engine than what is in the 86/87 GN it was just wrong wheel drive. It is already a roller motor can't go wrong with that. Want more info on the SC 3800 try out www.regalgs.org
 
the 87 3.8 fwd is a roller cam motor also. and it has less junk.. longer rods and cheaper:p and i sold the l67
 
^ no it has the gm metric that can bolt to a gm metric 700 r 4 or what ever. and they ave adapter paltes to bolt it to a regular gm bellhousing. and i'm a machinist
 
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