You may want to do a bit of research on that Lumina Z34 3.4 - I know that car is OBD1, whereas yours is OBDII.

 

Well I guess there was really no point in asking us what motor you should put in. It seems that you already had your mind made up about the 3.4L. If you are going to spend the time to swap in an LQ1, you might as well find a 96-97 engine if you can. If you cant, look into swapping the parts to keep your car OBDII. 96-97 intake manifolds, fuel rails, throttle body, injectors, 97 PCM. 96-97 heads would be a good improvement as well since they flow better and have a higher compression.
Like Ryan said, do all the preventative maintenance you can do on the car with the engine out. Replace the head gaskets, oil drive o ring, valve cover gaskets, both intake gaskets and the timing belt with the engine out of the car. Those are really the only weak links of the LQ1. Other than those maintenance issues, the engine should prove to be pretty reliable if taken care of.

 

IMO your only decent options are to either pick up a used 3100 short block and put all of your stuff on it like heads, etc (can't be more than a couple hundred bucks, heck I threw my ~100k 3100 engine away because I couldn't give it away during my L67 swap). Or if you care about performance, then stick in a 3800.

I wouldn't even bother with a 3.4 dohc swap- the chances of you finding one in good shape and low mileage is almost 0, and it would likely cost more than a 3800. They haven't been made in so long that there aren't a ton out there- the 3800s were just discontinued a year or two ago.

 

OK. Thanks a ton for all the input, everyone! I'm really weighing my options here. It looks like the generall concensus is that I should get the 3.8L. I'll look around and see what I can find. If this lumina Z34 is only like $200 with a bad body and a perfect motor (like my friend seems to think it is) then I'll just sang that 3.4L and when that blows up I'll swap the 3.8L into like I should have in the first place. It will not be my primary mode of transportation at that point, and it isn't gonna be the fastest car I've got either, so it's just gonna wind up being a fun car to learn about more motors with.

I'll call around in the morning and see what I can get for prices on a 3.8L and everything to do the swap. If it's only like $600 I'll forget about the 3.4L all together.

I really do appreciate everyone's help here. I know I'm a newbie here, but obviously if I'm not giving up after a three day old blown motor, hopefully that counts for something, lol.

I'll keep everyone informed of progress. Speaking of that, is there anywhere on this forum we can use like a registry of our car? As an Example (my other project car): http://aseclub.net/forums/index.php?...w_item&CID=240

 

Hehe, don't rip me a new one here, but I found this on craigslist in my area.
http://maine.craigslist.org/cto/1442518921.html

It's the right setup for what I'm trying to do, I could part out the good parts and trash the rest of the car when I've got what I need from it.

Big question though... 208K miles on it. Any issues you guys forsee on that kind of milage? Should I do headgaskets on it right from the start, or are these less succeptible to that issue? Anything I should be weary of with a 200K mile 3.8?

 

While I don't suggest buying such a high mileage motor (and I'm not saying that because it's a 3800, any motor with that amount of miles has plenty of wear and tear), you could make your money back in parts from the car. If you do want that motor though, I would definately recommend replacing the head gaskets before you install the motor.

 

Well put guys, and nicely put, too. Not harsh, but good solid advice that strenghens my own thoughts. I'm not gonna snag a car with 208K on it and expect the m otor to be reliable... Man, I need to go to sleep, lol. My daughter ran me out of wind today. I'll come back on when I've been rested and have something constructive to say. Thanks for the input guys.

 

I'd for sure skip it, if you're looking for a swap engine- I'd try to keep it under 100k. Getting over 200k, that engine and trans (as well as the rest of the car) is shot, and just flat worn out. You'd likely end up putting more money into it to rebuild it like new than its worth messing with.

You might get lucky and get another 10-20k miles out of it with no issues, but on the other hand, the thing could start having problems left and right a couple days after you buy it. If you were talking some ultra-rare engine setup, then it might be worth spending the time to go through and rebuild and replace everything; but 3800s are so common that they're easier to throw away and buy a newer one when they get too old- especially L36's.

 

Hello again... talk about a topsy-turvy topic here. I seemingly keep changing my mind on this motor. I found a deal that I couldn't refuse. 3.1L from a '97 Lumina with 83K on it for $250. Just to get it running I'll do that. Maybe after I get my second project car on the road in stable shape I'll do a more permanent solution for power out of the Monte. Until then I'll run a lower milage stock motor and practice not getting speeding tickets for now, lol.

 

I checked out your youtube video, you sir, have a very fine setup. I would be interested in getting something like that in the future. Is that the same motor as the the Bonneville SSEI?