3800 Supercharged V6 in a Catera

[sccatera97]

Your right on the trans. I have heard of putting a Corvette Servo in and it is suppose to improve the shift quality. Best of all, I have seen them for about $35.

[Warez]

Did the Holden have an PCM that operator both the engine and transmission. Or did it have a separate ECM and TCM?

Also did you consider going with a manual trans? The Camaro V6 was avaiable with a 5-speed. You would just have to buy the pedals, slave cylinder and a few other parts from Europe. I already have bought these parts for my LS3 + T56 conversion.

[eastsidercaddy]

sounds like you got this thing down...all you need is the parts. I'm also lovin' the potential 300HP!

[sccatera97]

The ECU controls the engine and transmission. You can get modified chips from Australia to modify the boost, ect.

I have considered the manual, but in the intrest of money, I decided to go with the auto. You can buy a 4L60E for a V6 relatively cheap.

I have the Holden shop manual and have started tracking wires that need to stay what needs to go from the Catera harness.

I also made the passenger side proto type engine mount to retain the stock Cadillac engine mounts. I will post a photo soon.

[Boris]

Years ago I bought an '88 VN Commodore with the 3.8 and thought it was a bit of a dog. The Nissan I6 in the VL was a much better combo especially with the turbo but both of those motors blow the 3.0 in the Catera out of the water. The Nissan had more power and liked to rev, the Buick engine was decent.
Now add a blower and it could get fun.

Keep us posted on your project, I think you picked the right combo.


Instead of rebuilding my Cat motor I should have thrown a 3.8 in there.

[sccatera97]

Well, I put one motor in mine. The original motor had blow a head gasket (surprise!) prior to me purchasing it. By the time I got it, water hasd ruined 4 cylinders. I priced over sized pistons and they were about $125 a piece. I just bought another motor instead. While I had it out, I saw how much room there was and decided to plan ahead for the next engine.

Here are 2 photos of the right motor mount prototype made from scrap steel:





It is relatively simple mount. The left side, I have designed but not made yet. It will be more complicated due to having the starter in the way.

[z06bigbird]

I truly admire people like you who can build a car from scratch.

Those 3800s are almost bullet proof. Alternator once in a while. Vibration dampener at about 60k miles. Superchargers seem to fail at about 36k miles on many cars (and brand). One GM mechanic told me that if the owner of a supercharger fails to check/add oil in it after 24k miles, it will go out. ???

Trannies are strong too. I hear that the torque convertor lock up switch fails on some of them, but I think that is easy to get to.

Good luck. Keep us posted.


Good luck.

[sccatera97]

Thanks, I appreciate the luck. I hope to make it appear and function as close to being factory installed as possible. I have done engine swap before. See the photo of my 1985 Trans Am with a big block Chevrolet engine.Everything is functional and factory style:


Here is what I am after.This is the factory Holden with a 3800 SC:


The biggest problem so far has been interpreting wiring between the cars But I will figure out somehow.

[ariza034]

any updates??

[sccatera97]

I purchased another Catera that has rear body damage over the weekend so I could use it for parts and a test mule for fitting the engine. That way when I get it all done, all I have to do is swap it and there will be less surprises. I got a factory Holden airbox amd SC throttlebody comming. I also have started working on the radiator set up. It appears from measurements that a 182-1992 camaro radiator core with 1995-1999 Oldsmobile side tanks may be the closest fit with factory apearance and function.