My 1986 Pontiac Firebird 2.8L Six Banger

[Lappin]

Hey everybody Iam new to the forums, iam 16 and I recently bought a 86 Firebird wich iam in love with. Iam hooked on F-Body's and have the only real american performance car at my school. For now I got roughly $1500 Canadian to sink into the car and I was wondering what is the best route to take peroformance wise. Thanks for eny help you can offer.

[alenstein]

Sorry to burst your bubble , but the 2.8 V6 is not really a performance engine. There is no direction to take it peformance wise, the market is very small for the 2.8L. Sell it and get a V8 fbody, or pull the 6 and get a donor 350 like L98 if am not mistaken .

[13secondsOthunda]

he's got a point. my 84 firebird was a 2.8L v6...it was fun, but not what i was looking for...now the car is undergoing a pro-street makeover (not something i suggest)...but a simple 350 with a 650cfm edelbrock carb, and manifold with some shortie style headers will give you probably what your looking for, and if you do it right, the $1500 could get you movin. around here i can pick up a running 350 out of a junker for $75 all the time and the carb runs around 300 and the manifold 200...headers are sometimes 300-400 but you can do it... good luck

[TraceZ]

I once converted an 86 2.8 camaro to a V8. It was a big mistake. The pile of parts required is just too much. You have to replace everything

complete engine with mounts
fuel delivery (intake, carb or FI, fuel lines, pump)
spark (distributor, cap, rotor, rires, plugs)
radiator, hoses & water pump
transmission, flexplate, starter, crossmember
belts brackets and pulleys
front suspension springs for heavier V8 (the V6 springs will sag too much)
complete exhaust including crossover pipe and manifolds / headers
set of factory guages with tach for V8, oil pressure sender for 60# guage
positraction rear end

I would recommend enjoying your car as it is. When you have the means to get one with either a 3800 V6 or V8, upgrade at that point. The real power is in the V8. Save your money and do it right at a later time. You could spend thousands on your current car and still be slow. Also, your current car will never return your investment.

[Squat13]

You know I always tell this to people but, Look for a GN motor, can you say turbo!

[beachbum86]

Hey everybody Iam new to the forums, iam 16 and I recently bought a 86 Firebird wich iam in love with. Iam hooked on F-Body's and have the only real american performance car at my school. For now I got roughly $1500 Canadian to sink into the car and I was wondering what is the best route to take peroformance wise. Thanks for eny help you can offer.

Hey man welcome!! I have the same car and I have been looking for the past 3 years to do so something with it. Unfortunatly there is really nothing at all in the aftermarket for this particular model. The most you can do is build your own CAI (search the forum, I already asked about it so there should be something on it) and a cat back exhaust. This will free up a little bit and maybey give you a few horses. But like they, said there is nothing you can do short of replacing the engine which is a serious PITA!!! Nobody even makes any turbos for this car. I talked with one of the NOPI guys here in town and they couldn't think of anything. I'm not sure but it might be possible to "aphro engineer" some mods. Get creative bro!!

Have fun!!!

[89RS_dude]

The only thing i can think of is to find those GM "universal turbo."It sounds really weird i know, but they do make them, i saw them on Horsepower(the show on spike tv) and it isnt as proficient as a regular turbo but it will up your hp. Other than that i can only restate what everyone else is saying and get another engine. You can buy a rebuilt 350 for about 1200. Look into it. and have fun!!

[Red20170]

How about a really good tune up and a wet nitrous kit?

[Christopherrr]

2.8....hmmm, it's storked version of my 3.1. Man, the 3.4 version is a stroked version of my old 3.1!

I had a 3.1 in the day...140HP 180FTLBS...not fast..but it got me around and it was a workhorse...

I think the 2.8 is rated 140HP and 170FTLBs...you can fun with the car. but if you want to go fast...don't bother too much with it...it won't hold up.

use it for now...and save your $$$ for something more serious.

[95TransAm]

I pretty much agree with all the statements. Use the 6 to get ya around for now, and save up that $$$ for an 8. Best bang for the buck IMO

[DeWynter]

I also have a 2.8 86 red/silver firebird. Dont push the motor to hard as they have a tendancy to throw rods, due to a poor rod bearing design. Preformance wise there arent alot of things to buy for it, I have looked back when that was my main car(now wrote off due to a rearending by a careless driver). A free flowing exhaust will help and you can do all kinds of porting and polishing of the heads and intake to gain some HP. It is possible to swap a TPI engine into the car if you get all of the components. I am in Alberta, and welcome to the boards.

[Lappin]

Thanks for all the info everybody, ive decided to sell my Firebird to my cousin who only needs a car to get back and forth to work, and Iam looking into an 1986 Camero IROC on the autotrader for about $950. With eny luck soon ill be able to enjoy the world of V8 F-Bodies