231 V6 SWAP to CHEVY 4.3 V6

[JuuCeD82ReGaL]

Yea the lil v6 sh*t on me last month going to a car show after just painting the regal. Blew the rings and overheated. So I recently acquired a 85 chevy 4.3 v6,, the one that is originally a v8 with the 2 back cylinders hacked off. I hear these motors are real nice and for my application which is pulling 500lbs of hydraulics in the trunk would carry my car fine. Purchased it from my boss at work,, The motor was a reman from autozone he says,, he had it in a old toyota that was a project of his and he needed money and I needed reliable motor,, he added an edelbrock intake and holley carb,, chrome alternator and few other goodies for 450.00,, and it has a accel distributor. I just yanked it out with a buddy before it got dark the other day,, Im in the process of removing the 231 v6 now and once thats done I will clean the engine bay up and paint. Then a little paint to the new 4.3 and drop it in.........

Heres where I need EVERYONES help. Please feel free to add any advice,, I want to report this whole swap.

 

[joe_padavano]

How hard will this swap be?

It will be EXACTLY as hard as swapping the 3.8 for a small block Chevy. Same amount of work and cost, but without the pesky extra horsepower...

 

[JuuCeD82ReGaL]

Heres some pics,, I hope I can use my 200metric trans with this chevy 4.3 v6 and driveshaft? Anyone know?

These wires I notice go to starter, battery, and distributor. I also have a green four prong wire going down to the transmisson. I need some light shed on hooking these up to make the 4.3 work. I want to delete computer and just have a simple hook up with no wires showing. This car is not a daily.

Here is a few pics of the motor mount and the old one that was on the truck. Any explanation on how I can make this work?

This pic I took at a messed up angle,, I was thinking it is the plate covering the mechanical fuel pump location? Do I have to get an electrical fuel pump???? Do the stock cams on these engines have the lobe that hits the fuel pump lever>?

 

[JuuCeD82ReGaL]

This is bullshit. 80+ people viewing and dont have sh*t to say.
Reason why i never mess with this site like that :evil:

 

[jrm81bu]

Well you kinda opened a can of worms on this one. You can follow the wiring info that is in the 3.8 to sbc threads. Although it looks like you may have an old points stylre distributor in the 4.3, you may want to try to find an hei for it instead.
The mounts don't appear to be g-body 4.3 mounts either. You can get the frame side from Advance Auto or the like, but you will need to get the block side most likely from a junk yard.
The only way the transmission will work is if it has the dual pattern bellhousing. If it is then the driveshaft will be fine. If not then you will need to get a Chevy pattern 200 or short tail 350th. Either of those should work with the same crossmember you currently have also.
As far as the fuel pump goes, yes that is the block off plate for it. You will have to pull it off and try to tell if there is a lobe on the cam for it. You could borrow or buy the fuel pump pushrod and hold it up in there while someone tries to turn the motor over by hand, and see if the rod moves in and out. Or skip all that and try to run an electric pump.

 

[powerhungry oxymoron]

Ok Don't listen to everyone's bull. This is a fairly easy swap. You need the mounts for a 200 or 229 v6 or any small block g-body mount you just use the second set of mounting holes instead of the first. You really only need to get power to the distributor hook up the starter and and battery cables the other wires are for senders for the idiot lights. You can use the metric transmission but you will need a bell housing from a small block or chevy v-6 car. I am in the process of putting a 4.3 in my malibu but it is easier for me because I started with a 200 so i'm really just swapping the motors and reuseing everything else as is. If you can look at an earlier small block car or chevy v-6 car everything will be right in front of you. It is pretty much the same as swapping to a small block but without computer controls its incredibly easy. Basics here just power to starter and distributor and negative back to battery and a good ground then provide fuel and this motor will run. Keep it simple I'll try to get some pics of my setup which is running so you can see what you need. That distributor will be fine its just a remote coil type all distributors for 4.3ls are heis that is the only way they come it's just an aftermarket one and its a good one. I have studied these motors for the past year They are identical to small blocks with 2 cylinders missings and hook up like old syle small blocks they even use most of the same parts.

 

[JuuCeD82ReGaL]

Thank you for your reply's. Will let ya'll know how it goes.

 

[jrm81bu]

As far as powerhungry oxymoron's statement of using normal small block mounts, that seems wrong. If that was the case wouldn't GM have just used them for the 4.3 powered g-body's. Save yourself some trouble and just get the correct 4.3, 229, 200 g-body frame mounts, should be easier that way. And you should be able to use any of those engine's block mounts to bolt it right in.

 

[JuuCeD82ReGaL]

you talking about these frame mounts right?
http://shop.advanceautoparts.com/webapp ... 1617635___

So wont I also need these mounts for the engine side? http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/Small-Bi ... ccessories

 

[powerhungry oxymoron]

Put the mounts side by side and they are almost identical. I'm using them in my car now because when you go to a parts store and ask for 200 mounts they give you buick mounts. I've been through this twice now. The difference is some 299 mounts have an ear on the outside the small block mount does not, but this does not interfere with how the mount works. I have fought to find replacement parts for my malibu since I bought it. Having a 78 with a 200 everything you look up comes up as a buick part. I have bought all my replacement parts for small blocks because that is the only way I can get the right part 90% of the time. Yes those mounts look identical to the ones I'm using. Almost all of those mounts are the same. Put them side by side and you will see very little difference.