The Stovebolt Site Forums The Shop Area Engine Shop GM supercharged 3800 swap

I was watching My Classic Car a week or two ago when something caught my eye. A gentleman had put a supercharged 3800 in a rod. In my research I've found that guys are taking the blowers off of the FWD cars and putting them on 3800 blocks from Cameros. Has anyone out there done this?

There might be more info at these two sites.

www.inliners.org

www.hotrodinlines.com

I'm not really thinking about it for myself, I just thought it was different. Seeing a 350/700r4 combo is getting a little old.

It would be cool. I have one in my Regal & the power is awsome. I understand they will clock 0-60 in 6.6 sec.

My buddy has one in a mid 90's Bonneville. The power and torque are insane in that big of a car. We used to smoke Mustangs and Cameros all day long and not even spin a tire. Plus the car gets close to 30 mpg!

This engine was outlawed from NHRA Pro Stock racing. Buddy Ingersol had a Grand National that brought this about. The 500ci BBC's/Fords/Mopars didn't stand a chance and since all the big names had these the 231ci Buick had to go. I had the priviledge of watching him make a pass at the strip in Ennis, Texas, where he cranked off a 7.20 1/4 at a time when the big boys were in the low 8's and a few just breaking into the high 7's. His crew filled the intercooler housing with liquid nitrogen right at the starting line and his 500ft or so burnout was awsome. For a couple years GM offered this in an S10 called a Syclone (with an "S") which I never got an opportunity to drive or ride in but would have liked to.

I bought myself a Syclone for graduation from college in 1991.The engine was a 4.3 L ,262cu inch with 700r4 transmission.Would run low 13's in the 1/4.It was a very fun truck to drive but not a real truck couldn't tow or haul more than 500 lbs.I still prefer the good old V8 just in a modern form 6.0 .My 1952 3100 has the 6.0 engine, supercharger is on the wish list for the future. As the saying goes there's no replacement for displacement !

I remember that Buick Grand National they only made for a couple years ('88-'89?)...it was known as a "Corvette killer".

cm

The Syclone/Typhoon engines were the Chevrolet based 4.3 liter and should NEVER be confused with the Buick based 3.8 and 4.1 liter engines.

Back to the question at hand, yes, the Eaton SC from the 3800 can be bolted to the F-body (Camaro/Firebird) 3.8 liter from 98 to 02. in fact, an FWD 3.8 liter can be bolted directly to the RWD F-body trans (same bell housing mounting), as the 3.8 liter in the F-body is a FWD derivative (engine mount and accessory drive are the difference). The down side is the throttle body and associated intake plumbing would be really close to going thru the firewall into the cab.

I agree that the SBC combination is old-hat.

For what it's worth in the oddball engine department. I've got a 50 1/2 ton with a 79 skylark/nova subframe and a 9 inch rear with 3:55 gears mounted with a custom made 3 link suspension and coils. The engine is a 4.1 buick V6 with a little bit of head work, a mild cam, and headers that I've converted to port fuel injection. I added injector bungs to a holley single plane intake and fabbed up a fuel rail. I'm using the throttle body off a port injected 86 olds 98 mounted to the intake with an adaptor which places the throttle body above the left valve cover and facing forward. A three inch air-tube connects the throttle body to a cone shaped K&N filter in an air-box in the left inner fender just below the headlight. The air box is open to the grill. For a computer I'm using a megasquirt 2 I assembled. The trans is a 2004r. I got it running with the fuel injection this winter but am waiting for warmer weather and cleaner roads for the final tuning. (northwest of Chicago) Naturally aspirated the V6 has plenty of power and is light and compact. The engine is setback as tight as I could get it to the cowl in hopes to improve weight distribution. I haven't scaled it, but it does handle extremely well. I also have 2 eaton superchargers sitting on the shelf an m62 and an m90. The plan is to install one on the v6 once I get all the bugs worked out of the fuel injection. For the purists on this sight, the truck started out as $100.00 truck. The only things surviving from the original truck are the hood and the back half of the frame, everything else required replacement. A little different combination than most, but one that works very well.
John

John,

I myself have built a few of the 4.1's as well as an 8000 RPM 3.8 pushing 330hp. would love to see pictures of your intake set up, as I used gen 1 3.8 EFI parts myself in my last build.

cleaning up the stock heads with a die grinder, flow bench and a bit of time can really make the engine breath.

I would go with the M90 vs the M62 on the 4.1.

I raced a GMC Syclone in a street race very late one night, because he wouldn't leave me alone. Trying to ignore him wasn't working. So I shut him down, about 5 times in a row.

I was in a 1986 IROC-Z Camaro with a tuned port 350 engine.
So I still think you'll be quicker with a V8. But it would be a very novel idea to power an AD with.