Power plants for a 94 firebird under $5000?

Q: Does it pay to swap my 4 or 6 cylinder engine for an 8 cylinder? A: First of all, you have to decide if you are going to keep the computer system. It's a bigger hassle if you do. Your best bet is to go to a junkyard or find someone who is parting out a V8 Camaro/Firebird, and pull as many parts as possible off the same car. You will need brackets (i.e. alternator, AC, smog pump, and power steering pump - save the bolts too), AC hoses, and Pulleys. You will also need new rubber motor mounts (about $20 at local parts store) and the engine side brackets that these mounts bolt to. Make sure you get the engine side motor mount brackets from a Camaro or Firebird as they are a little shallower and are needed to get the engine to sit low enough in the bay. The holes for the motor mounts are already in your crossmember. You will also need to get the engine fan and fan shroud (junkyard or new - your choice). You will need to buy a starter, water pump, and probably a power steering pump (get thses from a junkyard as they're almost always still good). You'll need a V8 HEI distributor. An ACCEL rebuilt HEI works great and costs less than $150.00. And of course plugs and wires. Assuming an automatic tranny, you will need a new tranny since the bellhousing bolt pattern is different on the V8 car from the 4 and 6 cylinders. A Turbo 350 will bolt right in with B&M's $75.00 conversion kit. It just lets you hook up the torque arm, but you'll lose overdrive. Take a polaroid camera to the junkyard, and you should be able to figure all this stuff out. Finally, you will probably have to change the front coil springs. I know this sounds like a ton of work (especially since it doesn't even include what you have to buy to assemble the engine), but this swap is really a piece of cake - everything drops in like it was supposed to be there. At the very least, assemble all the components you'll need (build the motor on an engine stand over a few months with all accessories and brackets), and have someone drop it in for you. A shop would charge you an arm and a leg if they had to scrounge all this stuff up themselves.

350/350 is most common. Wanna save a few bucks???? Get a 700R4 and a 4 bolt main 350 block and heads from a salvage yard. Clean it up freshen all gaskets - headers - exhaust A few mods and your off man. I know it can be done for 5000 or less, I have done it.

That Firebird is EZ prey to a hi-po engine swap.Check yer local wrecking yards for late model or low mileage cars. You may get lucky & find a LT 1 with transmission.Check e-bay & you'll see that there are engine, trans, computer & ex. sensors for less than $2000. =^ )

If you're doing yourself this should be pretty easy to find. If you go to an auto parts store or even on line you can find a multitude of these G.M. engines. Then all you have to do is pick and choose what you want or need.