Thread: Top Swap having horrible idle, no power on throttle

Ok, well it didn't "blow up", the oil was most likely contaminated causing it to spin a bearing or 2 (no evidence, just an educated guess). After topswapping my '97 GT, I drove it to PA from TX and back, fully loaded up with kids and crap. On the way back I even squeezed an L36 shortblock in the spare tire well I got from buck531 on the forums. Plenty of track passes, and I didn't drive it very easy daily, all on the 60E trans.

Unsure of op's mechanical experience, but if it's done right there's absolutely no reason a top swapped L36 would be any less reliable than any other 3800.

He also has a 1 year warranty on the motor he bought, so if anything happens again, he's covered. I personally would've either L67 swapped, or L67/HD swapped it when the other motor ate it. He may not have had the means to do it, though.

Originally Posted by 99GT2dr

Ok, well it didn't "blow up", the oil was most likely contaminated causing it to spin a bearing or 2 (no evidence, just an educated guess). After topswapping my '97 GT, I drove it to PA from TX and back, fully loaded up with kids and crap. On the way back I even squeezed an L36 shortblock in the spare tire well I got from buck531 on the forums. Plenty of track passes, and I didn't drive it very easy daily, all on the 60E trans.

Unsure of op's mechanical experience, but if it's done right there's absolutely no reason a top swapped L36 would be any less reliable than any other 3800.

He also has a 1 year warranty on the motor he bought, so if anything happens again, he's covered. I personally would've either L67 swapped, or L67/HD swapped it when the other motor ate it. He may not have had the means to do it, though.

Just called the shop to confirm, they're putting in an L67 block not an l36. My mistake.. So I'll have an L67 with a GT trans. At least it has better gearing, i think. lol

If you were local to me, we could've done the same thing for about $2500 less in a weekend, or in one day if my back could take it. The 3.29's are good for city driving, the 2.93's are better on the highway, though. I notice I can get a lot more into the throttle without spinning in the regal than I ever could in my GT. Also, are you getting back your old motor to sell parts off of (top end)? Or are they using an L67 short block, and installing the top end of your current engine? Figure you could at least make a few dollars back selling the heads, blower, etc.

Yeah, it'll probably need retuned eventually, the timing won't be optimal for the lowered compression.

FWIW, most of the times when the engines let go like this, it's already been running hurt for a while. Could be a week, could be a month.

Originally Posted by 99GT2dr

If you were local to me, we could've done the same thing for about $2500 less in a weekend, or in one day if my back could take it. The 3.29's are good for city driving, the 2.93's are better on the highway, though. I notice I can get a lot more into the throttle without spinning in the regal than I ever could in my GT. Also, are you getting back your old motor to sell parts off of (top end)? Or are they using an L67 short block, and installing the top end of your current engine? Figure you could at least make a few dollars back selling the heads, blower, etc.

They using an L67 short block and the newer heads. I'm getting my heads back, might be able to sell them for something. I got them cleaned and cut right before the swap too.