Grand national swap into my malibu wagon is a idea ive had now this past week cause of a guy I work with. He always gnx this and gnx that. An show in videos on YouTube. So I looked up if its a normal thing an turns out its not. Well at least not out by me. So I ask the good people ive seen In this forum to help me decide what to do. Do turbo v8 swap on my wagon or put the gnx drive train in there? I live in chicago an always lookin for new wagon brothers to go cruise with. Or talk to. Check out my pics of my murder wagon an let me no what ua think of it an what I should do.
what to swap into my malibu wagon
- Thread starter MurderWagon81
- Start date
- Status
Whats the budget and future plans for the car?
Ls with a turbo ( or 2) is always cool in a g body.
In case you didn't already know, there are a couple differences in turbo Buick (T Type, GN) motors and an 87 GNX motor. Do you have access to an actual GNX set up?
Ls with a turbo ( or 2) is always cool in a g body.
In case you didn't already know, there are a couple differences in turbo Buick (T Type, GN) motors and an 87 GNX motor. Do you have access to an actual GNX set up?
Budget is paycheck to pay check lol unless I win the lotto. I no of the differences I just worded it badly. And no I do not have access to a dinner car. Im just askin about it an entertaining the idea. Ls turbo is a swim but I like the different and odd aspect.
A GN(X) drivetrain would be nice, but unless you get a sweet deal on a whole driveline, I'd stick to a SBC, especially if money is tight.
No use planning on something that's not in your realm of affordability. I know we can all dream, but stick to what you can afford.
No use planning on something that's not in your realm of affordability. I know we can all dream, but stick to what you can afford.
If you are living paycheck to paycheck, then build in stages. Stick with carb and cubic inches (same fuel tank, sender, fuel lines, throttle linkage, kickdown cables, accessory brackets. All these things have to be changed out if you go to fuel injection or another brand of motor.)
You already have a Chevy so go with a stout 350 short block first. Save your pennies and make this big lump purchase up front for a solid foundation. Consider a balanced rotating assembly, perhaps an 86+ 1-piece rear main seal engine with one-piece oil pan gasket, for leak-free durability. 1 and 2 piece engines interchange with the car/trans/mounts/accessories, just need the correct flywheel or flexplate. Consider forged pistons for durability.
Start with whatever heads come with your builder block. Preferably 76cc chambers so you can size your pistons to hit 9:1 compression to run on regular unleaded now. Drive that around until your grin starts to wane, then later swap in better heads later with smaller chambers to bump compression towards 10:1 using the same forged pistons. Build with a 2-piece timing chain cover so you can swap cams without pulling the engine or dropping the oil pan. High volume oil pump for durability.
Use a TH350 now, upgrade it with a rebuild later, then go with overdrive later when the gas budget starts to be a problem.
Enjoy your ride for about 5 years, then upgrade the entire engine later.
You already have a Chevy so go with a stout 350 short block first. Save your pennies and make this big lump purchase up front for a solid foundation. Consider a balanced rotating assembly, perhaps an 86+ 1-piece rear main seal engine with one-piece oil pan gasket, for leak-free durability. 1 and 2 piece engines interchange with the car/trans/mounts/accessories, just need the correct flywheel or flexplate. Consider forged pistons for durability.
Start with whatever heads come with your builder block. Preferably 76cc chambers so you can size your pistons to hit 9:1 compression to run on regular unleaded now. Drive that around until your grin starts to wane, then later swap in better heads later with smaller chambers to bump compression towards 10:1 using the same forged pistons. Build with a 2-piece timing chain cover so you can swap cams without pulling the engine or dropping the oil pan. High volume oil pump for durability.
Use a TH350 now, upgrade it with a rebuild later, then go with overdrive later when the gas budget starts to be a problem.
Enjoy your ride for about 5 years, then upgrade the entire engine later.
Hill I'm gonna stick with the 350 for now. Scored a 4bolt 5.7 from a vette today. So ill build that an pop it in the wagon next summer. Thank u all for the info. Always helps to talk an keeps my brain Turning lol. Keep it comming tho guys. I love to talk about more wagon stuff I can do. Its my first gbody an I'm loving it so far
- Status
Similar threads
