[BlueStang624]

ok so im the newbie to the site right now... i have a 2000 v6. its got mild upgrades to the motor like cold air intake, TB spacer, and soon a SCT chip.. i was thinking of doing a cam next.... any suggestions? also whats an estimate price to have a 3.8L rebuild.. mines got 190k on it and i dont wanna start building it up to blow it up

[goren813]

Depending on goals you can go mild to aggressive, SuperSixMotorsports sells them, as well as packages with heads and intakes as well. Also, there is a member here that used to actually sell cams, however I'm not sure if he still does, he'll be in here shortly I'm sure.

I do want to say avoid a chip. A tune, even "canned" ones will give better results than a chip. SCT sells handhelds, and there are connections here to have custom tunes made based on data logging that you can do by simply driving the car and sending an email. Especially if you get into the motor or add FI this is the way to go.

[ESG-642T]

Originally Posted by BlueStang624 ok so im the newbie to the site right now... i have a 2000 v6. its got mild upgrades to the motor like cold air intake, TB spacer, and soon a SCT chip.. i was thinking of doing a cam next.... any suggestions? also whats an estimate price to have a 3.8L rebuild.. mines got 190k on it and i dont wanna start building it up to blow it up

cold air, and tb spacer don't even fall into mild they fall into "beginner" at best. I would suggest you do a rebuild, port&polished heads, intake, and a camshaft.

[9986paulk]

and, to be honest, the throttle body spacer falls into the "worthless" category. And the CAI is almost the same, maybe 2-3 horsepower. But yea I would say get a handheld if you want to do anything to it other than bolt-ons really. Depending on your goals, which you really should decide first...if you're really serious you could do forged internals now, or even a stroker. But the thing is if you're just a beginner, you're going to have to pay someone to do all the work, which could get pricey. But I don't think the install would be any more or forged stuff than hypereutectic and cast, just the difference in parts prices.

[pyschopath76]

^+1

[Codeman]

for the cost of your rebuild if you are just looking at putting some bolt ons on your car, it wont cost near as much as building a fully built motor. I would not even waste time with forged internals unless you plan on going all out such as a big shot of nitrous, or f/i. It is a waste of money. You could maybe look instead of rebuilding your motor, look on the internet they have 3.8s all over that do not have many miles for cheap, and you may stumble across a good deal. If you cant find any just figure out what your plan is for your car and how you want to rebuild your engine and start calling around and getting estimates.

[BlueStang624]

just cuz everyone is talking about goals.. basically what my plans are, is to either a. rebuild the motor or b. find one with way less miles... then i was going to do some small internal things then i also wanted to swap for a 5 sp and turbo it

[Codeman]

ok, well if you are looking to do stuff on the inside of your motor, if yours is in decent shape besides high mileage wear without any severly worn cylinders, mains, and crank it should not be to expensive and i would rebuild my own motor then and do what you want on the inside.

[BlueStang624]

basically all i had in mind was to replace the camshaft, rocker arms, and valve spring. so when i can afford the turbo, im not putting so much work on stock parts

[Codeman]

ok, well how much hp you plan on with your turbo kit? and if you replace all the valvetrain i would also add in some hardened pushrods. If you plan on stayin under the 400 rwhp mark you are fine on the stock bottom end and pistons. If not or if you like dishing out the money for a little reassurance then you can go ahead and put all forged parts in but it is gonna cost a lot of money.

[ewells2420]

Only rebuild your current one IF you plan on doing a stroker kit with it and/or forged internals. Otherwise just go find a low miliage one from a junkyard.

[9986paulk]

^ Yep that's pretty much the case. It'll probably be around $1000 more for forged internals from what I see @ SSMS. If you're planning on turbo, then yes, do it. Even if you don't end up with the turbo, then you can have your engine rev higher and it'll last pretty much forever N/A.

[ESG-642T]

Originally Posted by 9986paulk ^ Yep that's pretty much the case. It'll probably be around $1000 more for forged internals from what I see @ SSMS. If you're planning on turbo, then yes, do it. Even if you don't end up with the turbo, then you can have your engine rev higher and it'll last pretty much forever N/A.

cheapest stroker kit is 1350 from ssms. Once you add bearings, machine work, and labor if you can't install it yourself you'll prob be around 2300$ or so.

[JTs03v6]

Car-Part.com--Used Auto Parts Market
To find a engine near you. You could also use a 4.2l out of a f-150 or e-150 but will need to be tuned. This motor with a cam will give you some a much power curve over the 3.8 because the added displacement.

[9986paulk]

Originally Posted by ESG-642T cheapest stroker kit is 1350 from ssms. Once you add bearings, machine work, and labor if you can't install it yourself you'll prob be around 2300$ or so.

Well I just meant about $1000 more in parts over what you would pay to rebuild the engine with hypereutectic stuff, which is actually pretty close to right in that case. And that wasn't for a stroker kit, just 3.8 forged. But if I wa doing the forged stuff, I'd stroke it while I'm at it.

[lcorriveau3]

Stroke it Poke it and Tune it.