85 vette

[bakon420]

i just got my brothers 1985 chevette and i want to put in a new motor... i was wondering if i could swap the 4.3l engine out of a astro van. and would there be much modifying?

[G-Body]

Whatever you do don`t buy a series II 3800 they do not fit well:dammit:. There are a bunch of web pages about the 4.3L swap, if you google 4.3L chevette it should bring them up.

Looks like the 4.3L fits in pretty well. Some people used a 4x4 pan and others cut the subframe for clearance. The one major clearance problem seems to be the exhaust manifolds. I saw 3 different solutions. One guy rotated the flange on the bottom of the manifold and cut the unibody, another flipped the manifolds around so they exit at the front of the engine. There was also someone who built their own headders to clear the frame.

[bakon420]

i have heard of the rear end breaking with the stock axle. i know you can put a s10 rear end in. and also breaks and suspension what should i do about that?

[G-Body]

I will probably do the S10 rear swap, either that or the mustang II/pinto rear looks like the best option.

Not sure what I am going to do for springs yet. I really have not researched that area at all.

The front brakes can be upgraded with fiero parts (the basic front cradle is the same), there are also some upgrades for the fiero that will work