[jmcva]

I have a 91 cav. that I would like to put a small block in. Anyone have any experience with this or know where I could look for info. on frame and suspension parts.

[matt167]

That is gonna be a big job, yes it is possible but no it is not practicle. You have to remove the entire unibody floor, suspension and drive system, leaving only the body itself, then build a tube chassie that will fit the v8 ( i'd assume small block chevy? ) to fit and drop the body on it and put a floor in it. You could probably get a MII kit for a front suspension to fit the tube chassie, get a ford 9" rear end, and set it up on a 4 link, which would need to be custom.

[steve t]

like mattl67 said cost too much, you can find a old car too fix up better

[machinestheman]

it was a 305 small block same placement front wheel drive fits snug but it can be done the motor mounts needed refabbed and i know he had a local machine shop do some work so he could bolt it to the transmission i cannot remember if it was manual or auto but it was stock in that type of car (The trans) and i never saw it with a hood but it didnt seem too drastic that a scoop couldnt cover or even **** the hood

i dont know much about engine specs but i think the 350 and the 305 have roughly the same dimensions that said it could probably be done with a 350

i would also have to say that the 305 destroyed the trans no doubt but ive seen it done

one last thing look at an olds tornado bmf'n engine front wheel drive

[ckucia]

Do you just want the V8, or do you want the V8 with RWD?

You might be able to shoehorn the FWD drivetrain from something larger without some of the major fabrication that would be required for a longitudinal V8 and RWD...

For an inexpensive V8, you could use any FWD Cadillac from around 1985 to 1996. Some of those had Northstars starting in 1993 but those are pricier.

There are a lot of 3800 drivetrains floating around everywhere. Pretty much all the midsize and fullsize GM FWD cars had them in the 80s and 90s - some with superchargers.

Then there are other V6 drivetrains.

Biggest problem will likely be track width on the front end, assuming you can get any of the above to fit in the engine compartment. Also, all of the above are automatics.

[curtis73]

Anything fits anything with a torch and a welder, but you have to be realistic. The cavalier is the second flimsiest unibody structure every to be mass produced on the American road. Second only to the K car. Its tin foil and you stand the chance of literally ripping the front subframe out of that car the first time you stamp the pedal.

Full cage, race subframes, extensive work, and multiple thousands of dollars to do it right. You'll basically have to design and build an entire chassis, tube frame, and suspension, then hang the outermost skins of the cavalier on the chassis to make it look like a cavalier.

Unibody cars have no "frame." Every body panel geometrically contributes to its rigidity (or lack thereof) and cutting just a small part of a floor panel or fenderwell can be like removing one cheerleader from the bottom of the pep pyramid or pulling the wrong stick out of the Jenga pile.

I always encourage making what you want out of what you have, but I might suggest starting with a stronger basis. I also don't want to insult your car; its great daily transportation, but lacks the rigidity for the performance modifications your talking about.