Hypothetically, if you were starting with a 3.1L engine from a 1992 Lumina... what would you do to extract the most power with the least money spent?
Hypothetically, if you were starting with a 3.1L engine from a 1992 Lumina... what would you do to extract the most power with the least money spent?
Add one or two turbos, MegaSquirt, blend and serve over an intercooler made from broken Lumina transmissions....
Personally, I would burn the POS and take the insurance money and buy a Yugo and have some fun going slow in a POS :)
Nitrous. After the boat anchor blows, replace it with a better engine.
I would write something useful but the very idea of a 1992 Lumina puts barf in my mouth.
I'm no expert but the 3.1 at 140 hp is nothing great. There are plenty of better engines.
The 185-200 hp 3.4/3.5 from the vans are better but still it is not a great engine. It's good qualities are a small dimensional package and it's a torquey engine for it's displacement. The bad qualities are the intake maniflld gaskets tend to leak and they run out of stream at 5500 rpm. It might be a good engine to put in a 2000 lb car with a small engine bay but that is about it.
Back in the early 90's I had a Beretta with that engine. I added Comp Cams 1.6 ratio roller tip rockers designed for the cast iron head engine to the intake valves by using the studs from the cast iron head engine (be very careful to inspect the clearance with the pushrod guide plates or you will bend the pushrods. BTDT). Added a good 20 hp and cost me less than $100.
http://www.compcams.com/information/Products/RockerArms/MagnumRoller.asp
Oh and paint it black with Goodwrench and the number 3 on it. That is bound to make it faster....
The car has been long gone forever. The engine is the only part that is being used in a shell that has a current weight less than 1600lb.
140hp is the base, and I understand that. I have access to various 3.1/3100/3400 engines for parts but for what this... ahem... vehicle... will be used for I prefer to not spend any money.
somewhere out there, i saw a pic of a 3.1 that had a supercharger from a 3.8 bolted to the top of it. they just cut a hole in the plenum, drilled and tapped some mounting holes, and put it on. they used a longer serpentine belt to run it. it looked pretty awesome.
There is actually a lot than can be done with the GM 60° engines. Reading this thread should give you plenty of ideas http://forum.camarov6.com/showthread.php?t=64963
novaderrik wrote: somewhere out there, i saw a pic of a 3.1 that had a supercharger from a 3.8 bolted to the top of it. they just cut a hole in the plenum, drilled and tapped some mounting holes, and put it on. they used a longer serpentine belt to run it. it looked pretty awesome.
Ghettoretta?
http://www.angelfire.com/super/ghettoretta/m90/sc.htm
The car is gone, but its memory lives on. I've convinced him to buy a Fiero recently...we'll see what crazy shenanigans he comes up with on this one.
Bryce
Upgrade to SFI injection from a 95 or newer "3100" engine gets you to 155hp. Adding heads and cam from a 3400 may push 180. Time for a trip to pick-n-pull.....
I wonder what a .60 trim T04 will do to it?
nothing good. Than again I'm no fan of turd-bo's.
Go to the experts some guys get some pretty good numbers out of em..
http://60degreev6.com/ http://www.v6z24.com/ http://www.v6z24.com/registry/mars_man/ 12.10@119MPH
Someone needs to drive a proper turbo car again ;) Not a VW or Audi!
The turbo fell into my lap for next to nothing, it's not a Chinese copy and it is worth more than the rest of the car.
I figure between looking for a 3400 top end swap and the turbo with a proper set of injectors and an Angusquirt there may be enough power to warm up the Falkens.
Honestly.. with the newer top end and some porting and a cam, its not a bad power-maker at all.
Problem is, getting to a newer top end with porting and a cam is WAAAY beyond what most actual 3.1-car owners will ever get to.
I guess it is a good thing that I am not a 3.1-car owner then? 
(cause technically I only own an engine... I kill me)
I will start knocking down doors with my salvage yard buddies. If I find a 3400 core my only real concern looks like choosing proper pushrods and making sure the compression ratio stays sane when adding the boost/juice.
probably worth getting a new cam instead of the used one. They have a rep for breaking.
John Brown wrote: I guess it is a good thing that I am not a 3.1-car owner then?
Read the link I posted. 3500's have the best heads. Pushrods will depend on what exactly you have now. Why not just get a whole 3.5 long block? They can be had for $400 complete http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=390111666376&viewitem=&sspagename=STRK:MEWAX:IT#ht_2803wt_939
mdenz3 wrote:John Brown wrote: I guess it is a good thing that I am not a 3.1-car owner then?Read the link I posted. 3500's have the best heads. Pushrods will depend on what exactly you have now. Why not just get a whole 3.5 long block? They can be had for $400 complete http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=390111666376&viewitem=&sspagename=STRK:MEWAX:IT#ht_2803wt_939
That 3.5L looks an awful lot like a 4.6L Ford ;)
I have a free 3.1L, shaking down my buddies at the salvage yard will get me an equally priced core engine that may or may not be a high mileage runner... A cam swap using the core engines later roller setup as well as heads, etc. will cost me gaskets and a chain, right? Adding Super Coupe 36lb injectors and the turbo will make it a little less... umm... reliable but if it is good for six months I would be pretty happy.
All the ideas are helpful, I have not pulled the trigger on anything other than the turbo, and I would have less into it than gaskets and timing set for the 3.1L as well.
If you can swap the top end, you can get a lot more power. However, in most cases it's actually easier and/or cheaper to get a complete 3400/3500 instead of bothering with the 3100 bottom end. If you've got free-ish 3400 top end parts, that's going to get you a bump in power that would be worth paying for a set of gaskets.
Bryce
Since the bottom end is all good to 7K RPM' the reason it dies off before 6K is that GM used weak valve springs. Swap those out for better pieces and look into reprogramming the prom. McLaren made a turbo version of the 3.1, so it can't be all bad.
Edit: Factory valves float badly and the RWD engines stayed a Gen1 design while FWD engines moved on to Gen's 2 and 3.
The 2.8L 60 in my '81 X-11 routinely saw 7k RPM at the autocross while stomping mid-80's Z-28's and GT's. in F Stock, so the notion they can only turn 5k is wrong. Just find you some early '80's Z code 60 parts.
I should have kept that car...
racerfink wrote: The 2.8L 60* in my '81 X-11 routinely saw 7k RPM at the autocross while stomping mid-80's Z-28's and GT's. in F Stock, so the notion they can only turn 5k is wrong. Just find you some early '80's Z code 60* parts. I should have kept that car...
note my avatar
Ok, not an '81, but I fully understand where you are coming from. Read a great interview with John Heinercy about that car. He was proud of it.
turbo grand prix manifolds and crossover, ford yellowtop injectors, slap turbo on and start programming from there.
i made some nice power with mine, the 5 speed made it that much more fun. driving back to back with my vette i think the turbo 3.1 was as quick on the butt dyno.
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