My HX35 failset 3800 fiero build.
 

using a HX35w off a 99+ (aka the fabled 58lb/m super hx35). 3800 series2 fiero swap, stock motor, stock trans, stock everything. I already went 12.2 with a stock (lightly pulley) supercharger and a tiny bit of dry nitrous.

Oil line in picture is now kevlar (wasnt leaking with rubber, just changed it for piece of mind). Intercooler setup is in the works, frozenboost are BITCHES to the max.... Ended up ordering a ebay cooler (really nice) and it just got here, in time for it to sit in the box while I am painting the car.

Current setup with 15psi and no intercooler is working nice on pump gas.... intercooler and 20+psi is going to be sickening.... I also usually run racegas often, and there is a nitrous setup still on here. If my $40 trans holds up, I might be able to slide into a high 10 at 125-128mph.

http://images.pneumakinesis.multiply...nmid=118597708

https://www.dsmtuners.com/forums/att...ressor-map.jpg

http://i78.photobucket.com/albums/j1...S2400001-4.jpg
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http://i78.photobucket.com/albums/j1...n/th_race5.jpg

Re: My HX35 failset 3800 fiero build.
 

I like the 3800's, but man your choice in chassis is funky. I ASSume that's a blower intake setup with the blower's rotors removed?

I remember doing a water pump on a 2.8 Fiero and laughing bitterly about the zero clearances. Does the 3.8 help with that in any way?

Can we get more pics?

Re: My HX35 failset 3800 fiero build.
 

Also, what was the 60' on that run? You are trapping what most of the riceboy Honduh owners who frequent this site trap when they knock off a 12.8-12.9... and I did't hear any real wheelspin. :P

Re: My HX35 failset 3800 fiero build.
 

what are you doing, dh? following me around? :P

Please clean up that engine bay! Yikes.


I can't speak for the 3800 swap, but my DOHC 3.4 swap fits way better than the stock 2.8. It's a bigger motor but it takes 10 minutes to change the water pump, 60 seconds to change the belt (not joking!), a couple minutes for the O2 sensor, 20 min for the alternator.. it's just wonderful.

Fieros optimally do ~1.8 60-ft on normal street tires. 1.6 on drag radials. No joke. No traction problems with 1600 lbs static weight sitting over your rear tires, and more to come from the weight transfer at launch.

Re: My HX35 failset 3800 fiero build.
 

You just said DOHC 3.4. :(

Re: My HX35 failset 3800 fiero build.
 

So?

Re: My HX35 failset 3800 fiero build.
 

I hate those things.

Re: My HX35 failset 3800 fiero build.
 

my 60' was trash, 1.84.... I shoulda been deep into the 1.7's or the 1.6.... but I was a bit scared of breaking it, so I didnt push it any more.

The supercharger is hogged out with no rotors/belts or anything.

Re: My HX35 failset 3800 fiero build.
 

Looks tits, when you going to use the other 38lb/m of air the holset can provide though ;D

Re: My HX35 failset 3800 fiero build.
 

That's nice. ::)

Re: My HX35 failset 3800 fiero build.
 

When I get an intercooler... Its about 41lb/m at 15psi. 21 should give me another 12lbs/m at least.

Re: My HX35 failset 3800 fiero build.
 

I vote that you chop that manifold again to make a properly divided manifold. You'd be making more power and spool faster.

But w/o an intercooler, you're failing anyways... ;D

Re: My HX35 failset 3800 fiero build.
 

hahahaha you dumb ------- twat, you couldn't have picked a more fail engine to put in there. Its a 60 degree block (think 2.8 ) with dohc heads and firefly lifters, OG timing chain running a timing belt off the og camshaft location :3
Our local gm dealer wont even touch them they send them to me :S

Re: My HX35 failset 3800 fiero build.
 

just when i though i had escaped the fiero board...
they pulllllllll me back in !

this should be an interesting build

Re: My HX35 failset 3800 fiero build.
 

What makes you think you know more about my motor choice than I do, you dumb ------- twat? You obviously don't know much about the motor based on what you've said so far. I would say your GM dealer must just employee braindead druggies as techs, but maybe that description better fits you :S.
I've had this swap running for 4 years, including drag strip and road course time, 220whp on the dyno (naturally aspirated), and have experienced no engine problems whatsoever. I have 20,000 miles on the engine which I built myself.
If I'm a "dumb ------- twat", I guess I should take down all the "dumb -------" ---- I've said about the Holset VGT so you guys don't hurt yourselves using my "dumb -------" information. ;)

;D I love trolls! ;D

Unfortunately, one can never escape :(

Re: My HX35 failset 3800 fiero build.
 

What part am I wrong on? Are you telling me its not a 60 degree v6 push rod piece of ---- block converted to a dohc running a timing belt thats driven by a timing chain? Are you telling me the lifters are not riding right on the cam sitting on top of the valve like a firefly?

Are you telling me they are not a giant piece of ---- that GM will barley admit that they built due to the all the warranty problems they had with it?

Re: My HX35 failset 3800 fiero build.
 

those are some cute roller rockers!

Re: My HX35 failset 3800 fiero build.
 

The problem here is that the Canadian is afraid of anything that comes at him with four camshafts. It reminds him of his last family reunion. And who can blame him? All that shaft can be a bit intimidating.

Oh, and a GM tech that can't work on a GM car is the definition of QUANTUM FAIL.

Re: My HX35 failset 3800 fiero build.
 

I have no problems working on them, I have done quite a few for many things. They dont bother me one bit, I still think they are the biggest piece of ---- ever made though.


now what am I scared of again?
http://img140.imageshack.us/img140/8...08truckzr5.jpg

Re: My HX35 failset 3800 fiero build.
 

Agreed. There is a reason most of the cars that came equipped with them were off the road within a decade.

Re: My HX35 failset 3800 fiero build.
 

The timing chain and belt design is indeed ------- ridiculous, but it works. I wouldn't call the block a piece of ----, considering that they haven't been broken even with reasonable amounts of power put through them. There are a few 400+ whp DOHCs running around, one I know has 60,000+ miles on it boosted, with no problems, another something like 20,000 (weekend car, didn't get driven much, the drivetrain is now getting put in another customer's car). There are 3 other massively boosted DOHC 3.4 Fieros in the works right now that will start testing the strength of the block beyond the current 413 whp (highest documented).

Umm... like a BMW... like a Cadillac Northstar.. like a VW.. like a Volvo... like a Ferrari.. it's actually pretty common on performance OHC engines. Have you really never been inside another OHC engine or what?
Anyway, when I said you were wrong about them being "firefly lifters" I was referring to the fact that it doesn't have the same lifters as the Firefly. The parts are different. Sorry, I didn't realize you actually didn't know much about OHC engines. Spekter was right.

Actually, they are apparently a giant piece of ---- in the cars they came in, perhaps also because of the poor quality control by GM in the motor assembly process. I have heard plenty of horror stories. I've also seen a lot in junkyards... with overheated engines. None with parts failures; it was mostly poor maintenance.
However, my motor along with the other DOHCs that I know of in Fieros (I can think of ten off the top of my head) that were rebuilt properly or just thoroughly inspected before they were installed have put on many miles with no problems at all, some of them even running more than 400whp turbocharged. I think GM's build quality is partly to blame, and the fact that 95% of them came with awful automatic transmissions. Even the crate motors I know of in Fieros are running strong and reliably. Maybe better taken care of? It's a million times easier to do proper maintenance while its in a Fiero, since you can get to everything. It could also be that the ones that are still around today just don't have the unspecific problems you haven't mentioned yet.

Anyway, the main reason I picked this motor is because its the only motor I could put in a Fiero with a manual transmission that makes more than 200 hp. I live in California, land of the smog Nazis. The rules are VERY strict here on drivetrain swaps. My choices were a 180hp Quad-4 that cracks heads, or this DOHC with its infamous reputation of unspecific reliability problems. I'm totally happy with my reliable 220 whp and a flat torque curve from 2200 to 5500 RPM, and it doesn't get impounded if I get pulled over and the cops take a look. 20,000 miles on my swap with no probs.

And what unspecified reason is that, besides the cars being shitboxes regardless of the drivetrain that was in them? You know even those same cars with the other engine options are piling up in junkyards faster than people can pull parts off 'em.


Hey, if you guys don't want to hear about my projects, that's fine. I only started posting here because I thought my knowledge would be helpful and appreciated.

Re: My HX35 failset 3800 fiero build.
 

Hey, it's a nightmare engine with a lot of problems. You mention DOHC 3.4 in this forum and there are a handful of guys who've run up against them that shudder in horror. If you think we're ganging up on you and don't want to hear about your car projects, all I can say is search my post history for what I think of the engine - I give very specific lists of what goes wrong, all that overheating ---- is from how the engines jump time, you know - and it's pretty obvious I *haven't* reamed you for owning one out of some respect for what you do, and what you know.

Re: My HX35 failset 3800 fiero build.
 

Thanks Joseph.
My qualms mostly lie with highroller's "hahahaha you dumb ------- twat" comment. Totally uncalled for.


BTW I can definitely see this motor being able to jump cam timing, due to the small cam sprockets, but I've never had it happen.. I shift at 7150 rpm anytime I've got the pedal down. I've done this for 20,000 miles. I downshift with glee. I hold the revs up high in the turns. I drive the piss out of the damn thing. That sound like a nightmare engine? I don't think so.
It also hasn't happened to any of the 10 Fiero swaps I know of with hundreds of thousands of miles of combined driving... so the problems still sound like poor maintenance from shitbox W-body owners to me. I've never heard of cam timing causing overheating either. Not like spark timing does, at least. The Fiero guys, including myself, have experimented with all sorts of different cam timing on this motor and never had overheating problems. Sure sounds wicked at idle with a lot of overlap though. One of the Fiero guys had a special tool made so we can degree the cams easily. The sprockets are infinitely adjustable.
I think what the Fiero guys (myself included 8)) are doing with the damn thing is pretty impressive. It really just doesn't work out stuffed in a small engine bay of a 3500 lb car with a slushbox. I guess we take care of our motors better too.

Re: My HX35 failset 3800 fiero build.
 

Are you kids done?

The 3400dohc is a nice motor, its dirt cheap in junkyards, and you have UNLIMITED options as to what ECU you can run on it, and it comes with the manual trans option. It is a very obvious swap into a fiero, because even stock you can run 13's with them.

Just because something has "rumored" unreliability, does not mean its true for all motors in all situations... If fieros burned down as much as people think they do, then I most likely would have the last one left by now.

Re: My HX35 failset 3800 fiero build.
 

Welcome to HMT, we roll like that.



Welcome to HMT, we may not be. :P

Re: My HX35 failset 3800 fiero build.
 

Sweet ride and fabbing. Just looking at it makes me claustrophobic. I'm pleased any time I see something other than a Honda on HMT....you dumb ------- twat.

Re: My HX35 failset 3800 fiero build.
 

relax princess I'm just ------- with you, its true I dont like the dohc fail motor but I do like the fact that you built and swaped something. Look at my truck its a fail 6.0 ford that most people hate and I haven't had a problem either.

I've been in almost every motor ever made ;)

Your still a dumb twat,





































welcome to the club, OK.

Re: My HX35 failset 3800 fiero build.
 

My first car was a fiero. I literally caught it on fire 3 times and the fucker was never even registered I just blasted around backroads etc.









just don't ask how many of those times was the fault of a 14yo self learning mechanic :P

Re: My HX35 failset 3800 fiero build.
 

Its people like you that keep this stupid fire rumor going....

Fieros are VERY roomy inside, they are really great for odd shaped people compared to EVERY other 2seater out there, I have been in most, and the fiero is night and day. One of my clients was a bigger guy, 400lb+, and he loved the fiero because he fit so well in it.

I anorexic looking, but 6'4" and I fit great, I even move the seat up 3 clicks or so.