Mk3 Cavalier Owners Club | Vauxhall Cavalier Dot Com

Hello, going on Monday to pick the new engine up for the cavalier, how much work is fitting the 3.2 v6, btw mine is a 1.8 8v at the minute. Any tips or info will be very much appreciated


Thanks. Karl.

Only thing I can say here is good luck...

So assuming you have the running gear, brakes, suspension, wiring conversion to fit the engine into your car, and that's even if the engine itself will physically fit into the bay.... If it does, will you have room for all the ancillaries?

I believe it's essentially the same size as your 2.5 Andrei just different internals

So should be pretty easy then?

The theory is you use everything from a cavalier v6. But use the heads, and block from the 3.2

So you need cavalier inlets, exhaust manifolds, sump. etc etc

HAIRIBO wrote:The theory is you use everything from a cavalier v6. But use the heads, and block from the 3.2

So you need cavalier inlets, exhaust manifolds, sump. etc etc

I wouldnt use a cav inlet manifold, the ports would be too small for a 3.2, they certainly are for a 3 litre.
swopping from the cav to a vectra type I picked up over 40hp at 6500rpm.

iancav6 wrote: I wouldnt use a cav inlet manifold, the ports would be too small for a 3.2, they certainly are for a 3 litre.
swopping from the cav to a vectra type I picked up over 40hp at 6500rpm.

The 2.6 vectra inlet? Anything else worth swapping over?

cavkarl wrote:

iancav6 wrote: I wouldnt use a cav inlet manifold, the ports would be too small for a 3.2, they certainly are for a 3 litre.
swopping from the cav to a vectra type I picked up over 40hp at 6500rpm.

The 2.6 vectra inlet? Anything else worth swapping over?

I used a 2.5 vec, dont know if they are different?
I now have a 3litre omega, slightly better top end power.i guess you could use the 3.2 manifold, would have to modify it from fbw to manual throttle though.
what gearbox you planning using?

iancav6 wrote: I used a 2.5 vec, dont know if they are different?
I now have a 3litre omega, slightly better top end power.i guess you could use the 3.2 manifold, would have to modify it from fbw to manual throttle though.
what gearbox you planning using?

I don't know. How would i modify it to manual? Ive got an f25 for it couldn't afford an f28 though would prefer the 6 speed.

calibra over on club calibra has had this done, he is running Vectra plenums . look forward to seeing the progress

Yeah its v6 Steve, good friend of mine, am trying to get as much info as possible before attempting this

cavkarl wrote:

iancav6 wrote: I used a 2.5 vec, dont know if they are different?
I now have a 3litre omega, slightly better top end power.i guess you could use the 3.2 manifold, would have to modify it from fbw to manual throttle though.
what gearbox you planning using?

I don't know. How would i modify it to manual? Ive got an f25 for it couldn't afford an f28 though would prefer the 6 speed.

Never done an auto to manual conversion,but I guess its mostly pedal box,cable and linkage?

This is the cav with Vectra plenum.



And it on the rolling road

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V38N4C2K1GY

Sounds good mate, ive bid on a Vectra inlet on ebay but not sure if its the full kit, cant copy the link but the ebay number is 321461839678 if you don't mind having a look to make sure its right?

cavkarl wrote:Sounds good mate, ive bid on a Vectra inlet on ebay but not sure if its the full kit, cant copy the link but the ebay number is 321461839678 if you don't mind having a look to make sure its right?

Yes thats it except its missing the lower manifold that bolts to the heads,fuel rail and throttle body.
You are normally tripping over the things at VBOA meetings etc,so don't buy an incomplete set.

There will be a limit to how much airflow these can cope with,a 3.2 may be too big for it which is what I found running a 2.5 cav type on a 3litre.
Are you sure you want the Vec type on it?

Aright, which one would you recommend? Im a total novice when it comes to v6 engines.

You need all ancillaries from a 2.5 engine and the block and heads for the 3.2. What donor car did it come from? If Omega, you'll need a FWD V6 sump too. You'll need 2.5 ECU and loom, mounts etc. Use an F25 FWD box from a V6. It's an odd choice to go from 1.8 8v to 3.2 V6. You would be better off buying a Cavalier V6 and then just swapping the heads and block out. Way cheaper, easier and you'll have all the parts in place already.

cavkarl wrote:Aright, which one would you recommend? Im a total novice when it comes to v6 engines.

You might wanna do a bit of research first pal, you're gonna need clocks for the V6 too. Basically, you need all the bits from a 2.5 V6 Cavalier/Calibra donor car. In which case you might want to start with that as your base model to work with.

cavkarl wrote:Aright, which one would you recommend? Im a total novice when it comes to v6 engines.

I'd use the std 3.2 manifold.will take a bit of work to get it going, but at least its the right spec for the engine.

Humbucker, not sure I'd use the 2.5 ecu, it will make it run but mapping will not be ideal.The 3litre will exceed airflow capabilty of afm &ecu occasionally.
Go for some type of standalone ecu.I bought a Canems unit, easy to fit and use.
As Humbucker says, buying a std V6 might be an easier option?

Standalone management would be ideal, but the 2.5's Motronic ECU would work as it's adaptive. Can't map it as such, but running the engine in should alter fuelling to suit. Then, revised map could be saved to a Tech1 as a snapshot so that it can be loaded back on to ECU without having to run it in each time the battery is disconnected! I'll be running standalone on my 3.2 MV6 (Boost Monkeys Megasquirt based unit), but primarily because I need a brain for the car that can assist with forced induction/engine swap later down the line.

humbucker wrote:Standalone management would be ideal, but the 2.5's Motronic ECU would work as it's adaptive. Can't map it as such, but running the engine in should alter fuelling to suit. Then, revised map could be saved to a Tech1 as a snapshot so that it can be loaded back on to ECU without having to run it in each time the battery is disconnected! I'll be running standalone on my 3.2 MV6 (Boost Monkeys Megasquirt based unit), but primarily because I need a brain for the car that can assist with forced induction/engine swap later down the line.

Yes it will work and adjust the map, but will it be the best it could be?probably not.
the 3 litre runs so much better when on the canems ecu.

How much are those ecu's

I bought mine about 4 years ago,£430.

iancav6 wrote:I bought mine about 4 years ago,£430.

Ouch,

Engine should be getting fitted in a couple weeks, i bought a calibra se9 to use as the donor, just need an exhaust system for it as the calibra one wont work cos of the back axle. Nearly there!!!!




Karl