turtlevette

I drive my car a lot, probably 15-20 k miles a year. I ain't gonna put up with $3 dollar gas for more than a year or two, so i'm looking towards the future.

I search ebay and see ford has aluminum v6 engines from explorers and such but it seems chevy never built an all aluminum v6. Why won't GM keep up with the rest of the world?

I want my car to be as light as possible and get excellent mileage. I'm not interested in drag racing and you just can't play redlight to redlight anymore without ending up in jail so i don't care about power. I just want a car with good gas mileage that handles.

I guess a backup solution would be an aluminum 350 block i could destroke to a 302 or smaller, but them blocks are outrageously expensive.

Fevre

Could try the Vortec 3500 which is a inline 5 cyl all alum block used in new Colorados. Slap a turbo on it you got something.

matchframe

I am probably going to get slammed for this........ but if you are serious about temporarily installing a V-6, I would find a 1999 Chrysler 3.5 High Output that came in the '99 300Ms. That year they came with 300 advertised HP at the flywheel and in the 300M (which is a heavy car) they got 29 miles to a gallon highway. Later year models dropped to 275 HP.

These engines were designed to mount to the frame like our small blocks are...... front to back, not side to side like a lot of today's V-6s. The engines are all aluminum.

Get a turbo or super charger and you will have a performing machine with the manners of a daily driver.




www.bigdogvettes.com

big_G

If you don't make the switch to fuel injection, like a 28 mpg LS-1 C-5, you won't see much better fuel economy with a V-6. The C-3 body is not good at cutting the air, and the cost of any real conversion could buy lots and lots of gasoline! Conversion costs, LS-1with supporting overdrive trans. and ECM, etc. approx. $8,000 if you do all the labor. My quick math gets me 4 years to break even at 30 mpg @ 20k miles/yr.

skeptic

This sounds like a joke/troll to me, but if you really are serious.

How much money are you planning to spend on an engine swap, just to save a few bucks on gas? How much would you have to drive before it pays for itself?

You're probably better off going with fuel injection and a 5-spd/6-spd.... New Vettes with the LS2 get 18/28 with 400 hp, if you're insistant on a full engine swap I'm sure you'd be doing pretty good with an LS1

Or just buy a newer econo-car as a daily driver. I'm sure you can find one that gets great mileage and handles. Pick up an older Miata and leave the Vette unmolested.

I'm Batman

You're probably going to get better mileage putting fuel injection on top of the old cast-iron V8 than going to a carbureted V6. My family used to have an S10 Blazer with the 4.3 V6 (TBI), and the mileage wasn't much better than the 3/4-ton pickup with a 350 V8 (TBI).

skeptic

Doh! Beat me to it.

PRNDL

GM was actually way ahead of the crowd using an aluminum 4 cylinder engine in the Vega, way back when. Only problem, as I recall, is those aluminum engines would melt... or otherwise implode. Anyway, maybe you could find a useable Vega 4 cylinder engine to use as a transplant. That way you could keep your vette "period correct"

oh, and you could also keep your username!!!!

big_G

If you want to be cool, find a 1963 Buick Skylark. Many of them had an aluminum block 230 c.i. V-8. Hot-rodders liked them for their light weight. They were pretty durable, too.

427V8

Fuel inject the 350!

You can get the factory TPI's farily cheap, and if you keep your foot out of itget good mileage.

You can also install a econo cam

68/70Vette

I think the big driver for gasoline consumption is the weight of the car, not 8 cylinders versus 6.

If you want good fuel economy, why not install a five speed? It'll greatly improve cruising economy. Seems like everyone on this forum whose gone to a 5 speed has liked them. The Tremac transmissions have an overdrive 5th gear and this will reduce engine rpm and hence improve fuel economy.

The Richmond 5 speed has a 1:1 5th gear. With the Richmond though you'd have the added expense of converting your differential to a 2.78:1 to get the good fuel economy.

Jay M

If you only drive 10 to 15 k per year I don't think the expense and effort will be worth the fuel savings.

If you get 12 mpg now and you drive 15k miles per year you anual fuel costs will be $3750 at $3 per gallon.

If it is possible to double your mileage which I doubt, my Maxima only averages 18mpg, your anual fuel costs will be $1875 at $3 per gallon.

How much will a proper conversion cost? Will you need an over-drive transmission?

Maybe a disel Jetta would be good. They get nearly 50mpg and handle quite well.

I think the best solution would be to put an LS1 into you car, it's light, gets good milage, and best of all it doesn't emasculate your car!!

~Jay

Z-man

This makes no financial or performance sense. You're in the same group with the loonies who are rushing out now to buy hybrids. Here's my quick math. Gas goes from $2 to $3 a gallon. At 20k mi / year and $2, that's $2666 to $4000 per year - an increase of $1334/year . The new hybrid costs $24k so break even is $24k/1334 = 18 years!!

I'd wager that a V6 won't improve gas mileage because you will be hammering it every where you go just to keep up with everyone else. Cost of new engine $8k. Payback time - never...

StingrayDK

We pay about 6-7$ per gallon over here

I dont think you are gonna save any money, but if your really want to swap engines go with the ls1.

Best of both worlds.

bobs77vet

sounds like time to buy a Honda and keep the vette

NHvette

I didn't wanna say it ... glad you did. I'm getting 45MPG in my CRX, and
while it is grossly underpowered, it does handle very well.
With some mods, it is even road-track worthy.

danthony

Get a little beater for a daily driver!

gliot1

Just put in a LS-1 set up.....they get around 33 mpg on the highway in a C5.

turtlevette

I'd never do that. I want to be seen driving a vette. I'm the only one around here that drives a C3 regularly and year round. I don't want to buy a newer vette and look like all the other swinging dicks around here. My car is unique. I want to continue to drive this car even if i have to put a tiny engine in it.

You guys have to be prepared that one day our cars may be banned from public roads by the federal or state governments for pollution control reasons. At one point when i lived in Colorado, Denver had a proposal to ban older cars from entering the city. Don't think it can't happen. If i had to put a hybrid engine in it to keep it on the road i would. It does me no good to look at the thing sitting in the driveway or up on blocks in the back yard.

An LS1 engine is a hot item right now and will cost me at least 4 grand. They look like a very tight fit in the C3 and its dubious how much weight i would save being that there is so much extra material in this block.

I was figuring to pick up a modern V6 for around 400 bucks. I wanted an all aluminum engine for maximum weight savings. Can you imagine how well the car would handle with a 300 pound engine in it?

I kinda like the idea of the old small aluminum V8 Buick engine. I was already thinking about that but thought it might be a trick to find the proper intake manifold to go to fuel injection.

I wish GM made a modern aluminumv6 engine i could salvage from some crapbox for a few hundred bucks. The ford explorer all aluminum engine can be had for a few hundred bucks.

Jughead

But you'll put truth to the myth that "Corvette's came with 6cyl engines." Or worse a 4cyl Vega engine.

Buy another car. Those V6 fords don't get more than 15mpg in reality.