Thread: W-Body help

Bonnevilles and Auroras are not W bodies they are G/H bodies.

It depends as to what you consider a fun daily driver.

The question is, "What are you looking for in the car?" What you think is a fun daily driver for you might not be the same as a fun daily driver for other people. What is your budget? Also depending on the miles you better plan on replacing the transmission with a refreshed or rebuilt unit.

I would suggest getting an l36 and doing a topswap on it. With your power goals you probably would come out cheaper going the m90 route than a turbo. Also note that the top swap would allow you to put fresh gaskets and clean out anything left from the previous owner.

Others will chime in on what you need exactly for your power goals, but if you can reach them without a cam or intercooler than the m90 should be the more reliable option.

Keep in mind that in town driving the 3800 will be much thirstier than your civic. I would suggest you start off with an l67 powered vehicle. Why do a top swap when it can already come with a blower. Except for changing the coupler in the nose drive the M90 rarely needs maintenance. Why spend more money later when you can attain your power goals on an l67 with a tune up, headers, 3.4"/3.5" pulley, and a tune. Then you are done!

Also in the sense of handling get ready to be dissapointed. The G/H body cars handle like yachts and there is very little after market support to make them handle better. The w body cars have decent after market for handling upgrades but it is going to cost you a pretty penny. Just remember that before 2009 GM's idea of a factory sport suspension is kind of a joke.

Also there is barely a difference between an HD transmission and a non HD unit. Most of the changes are in the differential. Other than that and gear ratio there ain't much difference.

L67 car in decent shape is the ideal option, but not currently available. Topswapping the L36 would replace the head gasket, and also the LIM which would be my biggest concerns with a used 3800. The entire top end would be fresh, and thus more reliable.

So whats the recommendation? Get a L67 that has 150'000 miles, or get a L36 with 100,000 or less.

Honestly ever car I find has issues. Be it brake issues, rust, cosmetic or transmission. Engines all appear to be running fine. Regardless I would want to replace the headgasket right away.



OR a third option is purchasing a clean L36 powered car, slowly build up the handling, interior exterior ect. Then swap the engine for a L67.

A good condition body is becoming rarer every day. Mechanical Parts however are plentiful.

Originally Posted by naminator

So whats the recommendation? Get a L67 that has 150'000 miles, or get a L36 with 100,000 or less.

Honestly ever car I find has issues. Be it brake issues, rust, cosmetic or transmission. Engines all appear to be running fine. Regardless I would want to replace the headgasket right away.



OR a third option is purchasing a clean L36 powered car, slowly build up the handling, interior exterior ect. Then swap the engine for a L67.

You mean LIM gaket, the headgaskets on these car never go. I would say save yourself some grief and get a L67 from the get go. The NA powered car will be barely faster than your slow civic so no advantage there. Then you have to spend another $400 to $600 on all the top swap components (heads, blower, fuel rail & injectors, pulleys, etc). Then you have to figure out some wiring as the l67 has some extra sensors that the N/A version doesn't have (also fuel pump as the l67 powered cars have a two speed pump $160). Then you need to either pay someone to tune or buy a tuner and tune it yourself ($260). Also gaskets when you do the top swap will be at least another $100. Then after all that work you will have a car that you would have started out with by simply buying a car with an L67 from day one.

Consider driving out farther to get a car with a better body. I live in New York City and no way in hell would I ever buy a car local to me. Most of the cars my friends and I have bought have come from at least 2.5 hours away. My car is a two owner car first bought in North Carolina, then North Jersey, and now NYC. After the amount of damage and wear and tear my car has received in these last 4 years i've owned it if I was a local looking at it to buy I would never even consider it. I think you should start looking at cars about a 2 to 3 hour drive away to find bodies in better shape.

I have been looking. Problem I am running into is the l67 cars have 160k+ miles on them. At that point I am worried about how tired the engine/trans might be. Thats all I need is to drive for 3 hours to look at a vehicle with a messed up transmission or even worse I buy a vehicle and dont make it the 3 hours home.

The higher mileage l67s are also more expensive than l36 offerings. On average I am looking at 1-2k more for a l67 with higher mileage. Thats why I was curious about an engine swap.

indeed I looked long enough and got my 2002 GT 40th anniversary for $1200 with no rust and 160,000 it runs perfectly.

I've got 160,000 on my 4t60. Still shifts nice and smooth. I would assume that a 4t65 would last even longer.

Still though. L36 vs L67, body condition would trump either.

I hit 163,000 the other day and still shifts smooth and runs flawlessly. and there is absolutely no rust besides one tiny surface rust spot by the door of witch you cant see.