My fairly complete 3.8 to SBC 350 swap parts list!
- Thread starter 85 Cutlass Brougham
- Start date
I swapped out the 231 n/a Buick V6 in my Regal for Chevy HO 305 out of a MCSS. Complete with all the smog and computer controls. Swapping the V6 CCC harness out for the V8 CCC harness was pretty easy and straight forward. However the V8 uses a different wiring and vacuum setup for the HVAC that I still have not figured out yet.
Wow! I have done about 6 swaps and never thought it was a big deal, but when you put it on paper....Looks like a major ordeal! I have always made my swaps to look like it came from the factory that way ... This is a very helpful list for someone that wants to make the conversion..Great job guys....Tim
Can someone chime in on the reason an engine wiring harness would be required? I would assume you are referring to the dummy light harness underneath the wiper motor? Or are you referring to the ECM harness? If you delete the emissions and go strictly carbureted(no need for ecm) then is the harness still required? My main concern is that I want to make sure that my 442 gauges (water temp, oil pressure, etc.) remain functional when doing the sbc swap.
V6UnderPressure said:
The stock 3.8 uses a computer controlled carburetor and to keep a SBC swap legal you must retain the computer control system. Many SBCs from the 80s also use computer controlled carburetors. However every engine type used a different CCC setup, Buick V6s used one setup, Olds used another, and Chevy used yet another setup. That is why the harness must be swapped for the correct one for the engine. The ECM harness and the engine harness for the gauges are separate.
Clone TIE Pilot said:
Can you explain this? I think this may be location specific. No cars are emissions tested from 1995 or 1996 and older in my area.
V6UnderPressure said:
Every area does things differently. In CA and NJ there is no age cutoff for emission inspections, my car still has to be inspected every two years. IL with their hard winters they probably figured the road salt has taken out most of the pre 95 cars as not to be a factor anymore. Regardless of where you live in the US, it is always illegal to tamper and disable any low emission part under federal law. The only expection is if you are turning it into a track only car that will never be driven on the street.
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