So I've been looking into the M90 conversion kit for the L36 lately...and it appears that with all the necessary parts, it's going to total out to around $2000 or so. ZZP claims that once it's all said and done, after the kit alone you should see 60+HP and 60+ft.lbs of torque on just under 5 pounds of boost with the pulley they recommend on stock injectors.

What I really wanna know is, is any of this really worth it in the long run? I'm truly determined to get decent power out of the Monte and it appears that's just not going to happen as long as it's N/A. A total L67 swap would be dandy, but I have very little experience with that level of mechanic work and I have no idea where I would find a donor L67 in decent condition.

Thoughts?

 

do a top swap. look for a crashed l67 car. it will definitely be cheaper. i dont think its overly hard, and if anything youll learn as you go. im sure there are plenty of step by step walk thrus that are illustrated on exactly how to do this.

 

If I could get lucky enough to find a cheap L67 that still has relatively low mileage on the drivetrain then I'd be all over it. I've had no luck looking around though.

 

morads has just the "top swap" parts. im sure you would need to get a pully, some gaskets, and a tune.




i wonder if a l36 with a top swap is faster, then an l67. isnt the gearing in the tranny of the 3800 better then the s/c.

please correct my ignorance, thankyou.

 

Well motor wise, the L36 makes more power on the same amount of boost because of the higher compression ratio, but on the flip side, you also run into KR issues a lot sooner on an L36 with a top swap. I've heard a 3.8" pulley on an L36 is equivalent to a 3.4" on a L67, so you need far more supporting mods to drop a pulley size, but it's all relative.

 

Yeah, staying NA is not going to get you far. I gave up at 222whp. I wanted to be the highest non sponsered NA L36 powered car, but that would have only given me bragging rights which is kind of like a "well, that's nice" but not awesome kinda thing, lol. It's also really expensive to do an NA build.

What are your goals with your Monte? Do you only want like 250whp or something, or would you rather see 300+whp? If you don't care about making a lot of hp, the SS M90 kit is going to be super easy to install and you will see an easy 60+hp gain. But the kit is expensive too. Like already mentioned, a top swap is nice because you will have the higher compression ratio and also better gearing (L67's are 2.93 and the L36's are 3.29).

I almost would say that if you're willing to spend $2k for an SSM90, then you might as well save a little more and buy a small turbo kit from ZZP. Easy 350whp right there (just don't forget to upgrade the tranny).

 

If the SSM90 kit wasn't so damn expensive they would have flown off the shelves.. but really it's probably the worst option to boost the car.

For $2000, I would honestly want to just save a little more and get the ZZP Z3 turbo, even on a low PSI you'd be faster than the SSM90, with much more options for power if you wanted later on.

 

Well, I did some looking around and it appears that Morad Parts has a top swap kit ready for $699.99

http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/3800-...item518cda07d2

Seem like a half decent deal? I called in and asked if they have specific mileages on the parts in their kit and the guy told me they don't have mileages on the parts but they do thoroughly inspect every component and if it needs replaced or isn't up to par they don't ship it out.

And if I were to do a top swap now, and I'm currently running the 4T65E and not the HD, how essential is it to get the tranny swapped out? I would plan on doing it eventually but that's a hefty chunk of change extra.

 

You would want to get your transmission rebuilt, not do the HD swap.

But your transmission will be hit or miss, some people get lucky and some don't. It's all about how you maintain it and abuse it.

 

Ah, I see.

Any idea how much it would end up running me to get it rebuilt?