3.6 Pentastar for vintage swaps?

Pete. (l33t FS) said:

A 401 CJ said:

Dusterbd13-michael said:

The one in my reg cab, longbed 2019 ram work truck berkeleying HONKS. im shocked by what tjis bog truck does when you put the wood to it 

Back in 2016 I flew into LAX and grabbed a brand new 300 at the Hertz counter and took off for Bakersfield.  That car would flat move.  I passed every single other vehicle going up the Grapevine and when I got down to the truck stops there at Tejon I pulled over and thought I'd pop the hood and admire that Hemi.  Imagine my surprise when looking back at me was a lowly "3.6 VVT"

You know what else had 24 valves?

 

 

(Brakes are good.  Tires, fair)

Yup.  I used to have a V12 Lincoln lump.  Didn't run of course and I let my cousin sell it for $100.  Fair enough, my understanding was that their single noteworthy characteristic was having 12 cylinders.  They were pretty much regarded as boat anchors.

'Now it was never my understanding that the hot rod in the Commander Cody? song was a V12.  I had always pictured it in my mind as an OHV V8 during the days when flatheads reigned supreme.

A 401 CJ said:

'Now it was never my understanding that the hot rod in the Commander Cody? song was a V12.  I had always pictured it in my mind as an OHV V8 during the days when flatheads reigned supreme.

The original song was by Charlie Ryan and he sings "it's got 12 cylinders and uses em all"

Think I'd rather have the GM LGX 3.6L V6

racerfink said:

Think I'd rather have the GM LGX 3.6L V6

I wondered how they compare to the GM 3.6

A comprehensive comparison of the 3.6 Pentastar, GM 3.6 (LFX or LGX), and Ford 3.7 from a swapability and trans options/solutions standpoint would be interesting.  Subjectively I think the Ford sounds nicer than the other two, stock or with modified exhausts, though I haven't paid as much attention to the Pentastar.  The Ford also seems like it has the most challenging engine management situation in a swap but that may be incorrect at this point.

Peabody said:

racerfink said:

Think I'd rather have the GM LGX 3.6L V6

I wondered how they compare to the GM 3.6

I've driven many of both (you probably get tired of me saying how many rentals I've had) and can say that either are good runners.  What was most impressive about the FWD Impala was its ability to get down and boogie at high elevation.  I  had it back to back with an Ecoboost Fusion around Estes Park, CO.  I had the Fusion first and was impressed thinking how nothing beats a turbo car at 10,000 ft.  Wrong.  That 3.6 VVT would have beaten it.  
 

Id like to see a Fiero with a GM 3.6 swapped in.  

In reply to pres589 (djronnebaum) :

I would say we have to include the Honda and Toyota V6 options but they're fwd architecture only..

I was similarly impressed with a rental V6 Avenger I drove down the coast of Oregon in 2013, I don't know if that was the 3.6 at that point but it had serious jam and actually felt like a solidly built car, which I would not say about the pre-facelift version.

In reply to dannyp84 :

The Honda J V6's seem to have some aftermarket support in turning them length-wise in a car.  I assume there's similar solutions for Toyota's similar size/output V6's but that's not anything I've paid attention to.  But I agree, that might make it more interesting, and having more options to consider isn't a bad thing all of the time...

The 3.6L LGX in my Camaro comes with a Tremec 6 speed trans, the same one in the Mustang GT350, so it's plenty robust.  The 2.0L turbo Camaro gets that trans too.

There are plenty of swaps of the LFX into Miatas and RX-8's out there now, so there's knowledge on making them work in a swap.

In reply to dannyp84 :

Just found this thread but thought you'd like to know, I'm currently working on a 3.6 Pentastar swap into a 79 Fiat 124 Spider. Someone mentioned Dave Trojahn's Dart swap where he mentions the width being similar to a mopar 440, and that's true. It's also tall: from a 2014 Chrysler 300, top of intake to bottom of lower oil pan, the 3.6 is about 30.5" tall. I need to trim about 4" of height from the whole shebang to make it work (been measuring different oil pans and intakes: I can save 2.5" so far), and the valve covers will hang over the frame rails, but it currently seems not-impossible. 

Here it is on the run stand: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SMlKYJlYsBg

domari35 said:

I'm currently working on a 3.6 Pentastar swap into a 79 Fiat 124 Spider.

 

Do you have a build thread on this? Sounds like just the type of insanity we like to see around here...

dannyp84 said:

In reply to pres589 (djronnebaum) :

I would say we have to include the Honda and Toyota V6 options but they're fwd architecture only..

Lots of IS250/350 and GS350 on the road that would disagree.

Also 4 liter trucks, which have a different deck height but are the same architecture.

nlevine said:

domari35 said:

I'm currently working on a 3.6 Pentastar swap into a 79 Fiat 124 Spider.

 

Do you have a build thread on this? Sounds like just the type of insanity we like to see around here...

insert pic of morgan freeman pointing up, saying "he's right, you know."

A 401 CJ said:

Dusterbd13-michael said:

The one in my reg cab, longbed 2019 ram work truck berkeleying HONKS. im shocked by what tjis bog truck does when you put the wood to it 

Back in 2016 I flew into LAX and grabbed a brand new 300 at the Hertz counter and took off for Bakersfield.  That car would flat move.  I passed every single other vehicle going up the Grapevine and when I got down to the truck stops there at Tejon I pulled over and thought I'd pop the hood and admire that Hemi.  Imagine my surprise when looking back at me was a lowly "3.6 VVT".  
 

But add a 4-door Wrangler's extra weight, added rolling resistance of mud-terrain tires, added drag, and lack of a torque converter (in my case) and it just doesn't even feel like the same engine.

on the 4-door Wrangler - just bought a used one (JL). First 3.6 for me. What a dog! Even with just 31" tires, the manual trans and 3.45 axle ratio makes this thing feel horribly slow unless you rev the crap out of it. Came with a K&N CAI and a Borla high clearance cat back and it sounds gross as well. I don't know why this would be an engine that anyone would consider for a swap. 

My first concern with a modern engine swap is the electronics. CAN bus looking for modules that arent there any more, emmission equipment issues, etc. I know it can be done, but at what cost and time?

Driving my 4.0 XJ and my 3.6 JT back to back at first the XJ felt faster, because the power is low in the RPMs. Once I realized the power band in the JT is higher, it's a much faster vehicle, even being 2000lbs heavier. Instead of downshifting to 4th, I go for 3rd.

In reply to nlevine :

I just started one on Mirafiori and LXForums, but I'll replicate it in here as well. Seems like a good neutral place to share

build thread added in the project car section