So the motor I bought for 150 is junk I took it to my mechanic and he said I'd have to completely rebuild it to make it run alright. said he doubts it only had a bit under 100k miles the way it looked. he suggested it would be cheaper to buy another working motor instead.

Now I'm in search for another 3800. I have close to 3 grand right now and was wondering your guys opinion? Start with engine and trans build first, or buy a shell? Really want a monte again

 

Car-parts.com these are certified junkyards, alot of time it will list milage, and they do compression checks, even a warrenty

 

FYI - If you are looking for a non-supercharged motor, get a 2005+ L26, this is the 3800 Series III motor. Minor changes, it will work perfect in a SII car (basically, you need a throttle body adaptor and an L67 throttle body, then just figure out how you want to vent the PCV and you are done).

I know the L26 was offered in 2004, but it's supposed to be the 05+ that have the forged connecting rods instead of the cast ones. Better internals.

Frank on here did that very swap as his L36 blew up.

 

Thanks guys!

Are all n/a series 3 engines l26?

 

Yes, all N/A Series III engines are L26 designations. But like just about everything GM does, they have minor differences between years. '05+ is the way to go for an L26.

Also, if I recall, Frank had an easier time sourcing an L26 with lower miles and price tag then he did trying to get an L36. That still boggles my mind, but hey, it worked for him.

 

Monte Carlo Forum - Monte Carlo Enthusiast Forums > Your Ride > Engine & Transmission
My monte is dead

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Here's his thread that goes over basically everything. You can definitely call it... lengthy.

 

Good find Mike!! I did not have a chance to sift for it
But that covers it

 

It helps if you can remember some of the thread title - just punch it into Google, first result that comes up as sometimes the forum search tool won't search for words that are common in posts.