I'd like some suggestions as to what to do about my '94 SOHC engine. A little background first.

I purchased my '94 base model Stealth new and it's been a great second car over the years. It currently has 115k miles and has had no major problems to date, however I recently repainted the car, added 18" BBS rims, two-tone leather seats and the car looks like a 2007 model. I'm now motivated to do something about the SOHC engine... but not sure what (they say if it ain't broke, don't fix it?). Just trying to figure out what's possible.

I've thought about replacing the SOHC with a DOHC or twin turbo rebuild. Problem is, these rebuilds are getting hard to find and besides, when something goes wrong, parts for these engines can be hard to find and expensive. My thought was to either clean up the existing engine and add some performance enhancements or to drop a more modern engine in it that would have more longevity and available parts, such as a Corvette engine. I was a bit surprised when I googled "engine swap stealth" that no one out there appears to have done this before, though. Perhaps it is just too big of a job and doesn't make sense. Anyone have ideas? Get more bang out of the original, swap for a DOHC (and put up with hard-to-find, expensive parts) or try to drop a Corvette (or other) engine in? I can't find anything on the net about the last one. It's like no one's ever tried it before.

 

www.3sx.com has any parts for the 3S that you probably need. There is a VR4 with a 440 in it, seen a hemi in a stealth, pretty sure it would cost like 20grand to do the swap. My friend has a LS1 94 RX-7 and I believe it costed around 20grand total to buy the engine, reinforce the chassis and everything. You would have to do quiet a bit of modifying to do it, in my opinion its not worth it. But if you goto www.3si.org, search the forums and you can probably talk to the guy who did the VR440 and see what he went through to do all of it.

 

Trying to get more power out of the SOHC is almost a effort in futility. Swapping in the DOHC or TT engine is very doable, and many have done it. There have been a couple guys do a V8 swap, one used a totaled vr4, he cut the front end off and had a tube frame front end built, the other did not, but he has not been very forthcoming with how he made it work.

 

Okay, so 20 grand to put a different make engine is far too big a job and I see why this is not normally done. If you can't get much performance enhancement from the SOHC, I might look into finding a DOHC or TT rebuild. I've looked on ebay and jdmenginesinc.com and found nothing. Beyond calling local salvage yards, where else would one go to find an engine?

I found a place that sells brand new Mitsubishi twin turbo short blocks for $3299, http://www.dynamicracing1.com/customer/home.php?cat=224. Problem is, to complete this motor I'd have to buy new heads (2 x $1,064), camshafts (4 x $300) and possibly valves, lifters and god knows what else. The upside is you'd have essentially a new engine when you're finally done, but it seems like this would be very expensive. I'm not sure what all I can rob from my existing SOHC, but if I could make this work, it sure would be more comforting to have essentially a new engine. What am I missing here? Does this sound like afeasible way to go?

 

Salvage yards and Ebay would be your best bet for getting a TT engine. Buyer beware though, you never know what kind of problems you'll be buying. Search the classifieds on 3si.org for someone parting out their car, but just like ebay, you'll still not know exactly what you are getting or what condition it is in.

Rippmods used to make a centrifigul supercharger kit, but reviews have not been great. Thomas Knight also offered a roots type blower set up, with poor reviews as well. You do a custom turbo set up, but you'd be venturing into basically unchartered waters...

 

Thanks. I've got a guy checking for a used TT engine. They run about $1,600 used. I agree with you about not knowing what you get, so I'm thinking to be safe I might buy the new Mitsubi**** TT short block,rob the heads, camshafts, turbos, injectors, computer, etc. from the used TT engine (assuming I can find a decent one) and replace my current SOHC engine with this. Only thing is thatrobbing the used parts to combine with the new short block is going to run into a lot of labor taking it apart and putting it all back together. So depending on the quality of the used TT engine I find,maybe the best thing to do istojust buya rebuild kit for the used TT engine. Either way, it's still going to run a lot of labor, though. I know that sometimes you can find a good rebuilt engine online but I've looked and looked and nothing is available.

 

If you are serious about this, here is a checklist of what you will need. http://www.deftracing.com/tt.htm

 

Thanks for the link. I talked withaguy at dynamicracing.com that sells the brand new Mitsubishi short blocks for $3,299. He said best thing would be to buy a salvaged twin turbo engine andget everything else you need from that, including ECU and wire harness, plus of coursetwin turbos, heads, camshafts, etc. SaidI couldn't really use anything from my existing SOHC engine but could still use the tranny provided the new engine is also 5 speed (think they made a 5 and 6).

So unless a miracle happens and a low-milage or nicely rebuilt DOHC or TT turns up, I thinkI will try buying anew Mitsubishi TT short blockand asalvaged TT engine. Will report back here with results when complete. Let me know if you have any other advice before I start this project. Thanks again.

Grant

 

Your tranny will work regardless of what year engine you get. Just be sure to remember, match up the model year block with the same model year wiring harness/ECU. 91-92 and 93-99 are the model years. The biggest difference is the cam/crank angle sensors.

Please, chronicle and take pictures of your progress. It would help people in the future who want to do the swap.

 

i gave up on doing a v8 swap and ended up buyng a 89 firebird as a second car. At least it's easier to work on and junk yards are full of parts for them. I'm still keeping my stealth tho.