Engine Purchase and Prep

The StalkerV6 is designed around an engine of, uh, V6 configuration. Dennis Brunton, the extremely clever fellow who designed the Stalker, wanted to build a car that possessed the charm of the timeless Lotus Seven, but still be inherently American. Is there a better way to stamp the imprint of the USA on a kit car than to power it with a Chevy engine? In order to insure that the car would be practical enough for a daily driver, and to keep construction costs under control, Dennis decided the running gear would be derived from the faithful and numbingly boring mainstay of the American highway, the Chevy S-10 Pickup. 

But the lowly S-10 drivetrain would no longer be confined to the lumpy little truck, but would be given the ability to rip around the highways and byways in a way no S-10 ever imagined!  Once transplanted into the thoroughly up-to-date Stalker spaceframe, the Chevy V6 has sufficient honk to toss the 1400 lb Stalker around in a most impressive manner. Dennis's prototype Stalker was powered by a 125 hp 2.8L engine from a tired S-10 but the car performed impressively enough to garner many "Fastest Time of the Day" trophies in autocross events in Florida.

But it gets better. The Chevy 3.4L V6 that was installed in early '90's Camaros was rated at 160 hp in Camaro trim. The neat thing about this engine is that it is primarily a bored and stroked 2.8L and uses the same external engine accessories as the weaker 2.8L. Stalkers have been built with the 3.4L in more or less stock trim with the factory EFI, but I decided to follow the lead of several builders and upgrade the 3.4 with a Holley 4V carb, a torque cam kit, and of course, the standard Stalker tubular exhaust headers. Best estimate is that this takes the little V6 out to 180-190 hp, and sends the fun-meter needle way up the scale!

There are basically three ways to procure a 3.4L V6. One is to find a suitably powered Camaro in the yard of somebody who is away on an extended vacation, and, ah, relieve the neglected Camaro of its engine. This method carries its own obvious risks. Another method is to buy a 3.4 from a junkyard (but don't use that term while you are on the premises of the salvage company) that has removed the engine from a Camaro that endured a very sudden stop. Still another way is to purchase a new Crate Engine, which is a brand new long-block fresh from the GM assembly line.

I elected to go the junkyard, er, salvage route since the crate engine was more than I wanted to spend up front, and the ten-finger discount method was considered to not be very conducive to maintaining a good reputation in the community. No doubt buying a junkyard engine involves some risk, but this is a project car, not the family's daily driver, and I was willing to roll the dice. Salvage engines are available at local yards, on salvage networks, and on the internet. Prices range all the way from 250 dollars for a total junker, to many hundreds of dollars for a better engine, or a total junker if the salvage dealer thinks you are a dunce.

Since I was considered to be only a semi-dunce, a 3.4 from a Camaro that took a massive hit landed in the bed of our pickup (ironically an S-10, but it is safe from donor-hood since it is a 1985 with only 32,000 miles!) compliments of a local salvage yard. I went with this engine because I was able to hear it run briefly and tell that it didn't have any ominous deep knocks in its bowels.

We decided to leave the heads and crank intact and limit the internal engine work to cleanup and installation of an Edelbrock Performer-Plus cam. Our rationale was that the primary intent was to get an engine that would run good enough to put the Stalker on the road. If the engine blowed up we would strip our new goodies off the comatose engine and move them to a rebuilt short block. (Update March, 2007; the salvage yard engine now has 7000 spirited Stalker miles on it and has performed flawlessly)  The cam kit comes with lifters; this turned out to be a fortuitous move since one lobe of the cam was severely worn along with a couple of dished lifters. Be sure you remove the thingie that takes the place of the distributor on the 3.4 or the cam will be very difficult to remove!

While we were in the neighborhood of the valve train, we replaced the totally slopped out timing chain and sprockets. The cam cover on the rear of the engine got a new gasket and we replaced the rear crank seal.

An Edelbrock Performer manifold base and top was installed so we would have someplace to attach the Holley carb. This manifold is designed for lots of low-end grunt which should be a great combination with our lightweight Stalker.

The Holley 390cfm four barrel carb is a recommended partner for the Perfomer manifold. I removed the electric choke since the Stalker is a warm weather car.

A set of Edelbrock Signature valve covers and breathers added a bit of sparkle to the junkyard engine. After a thorough cleaning, PlastiKote black engine enamel was sprayed on the motor.

Since we wanted to return this engine to the good ol' pre-smog/pre-electronic hotrod glory days, the triple ignition coils ended up in the pile with the EFI stuff. A remanufactured distributor for a '82 S-10 2.8L was installed along with new wires, plugs, rotor and cap. A reman starter for a '89 S-10 2.8L was installed as well. The original thermostat housing was unusable with the manifold, so a replacement was procured at Autozone (part #85109). Various holes in the manifold were filled with pipe plugs and a new heater hose nipple was installed.

By the way, the engine stand is from Harbor Freight. You will need some 12mm x 1.75 x 70mm bolts to attach the stand to the engine block. All threads and fasteners on the engine are metric.

I found a timing scale in the Stalker department of Autozone that was intended for a small block Chevy. After cutting off about half the scale and putting a bend in the remainder, it fit perfectly after drilling a hole for a screw that goes in an unused hole on the timing cover.

The optimum timing for this engine is 38 degrees BTDC. The damper is 6.25" diameter; solving for the circumference results in 38 degrees being 2 1/6" from the TDC mark on the damper. I scribed a mark at 38 degrees and used a timing light to set the timing at that mark at 3500 rpm when all the advance had kicked in. The centrifugal advance weights were modified by grinding off part of the tips to produce a wider advance range which works nicely on this lightweight car.

The wiring looms were purchased at Advance Auto Parts. There are enough bits in the package to customize to work on the 3.4 with the S-10 wires and distributor. I was even able to use one of the looms to secure the vacuum advance hose of the distributor.

1/15/04

The majority of the engine work is now done. The alternator installation will be completed when the brackets arrive with the kit. It now remains to be seen whether we have an engine that will provide many miles of frolicking around north Alabama or will quickly send us back to the shop for major rework.

You buys your junkyard motor and you takes your chances!

2/26/04

A bracket for the ignition coil was fabricated and attached to the frame.

Alternator and engine belt idler are now in place. The alternator brackets are supplied in the Stalker kit. The spacers for the alternator bolts can be cut from leftover steering shaft tubing.

Lower radiator hose is generic flex hose from AutoZone. It has spiral wound wire inside to prevent collapse due to suction. I plumbed a bypass using 3/4" plastic els and hose from the intake manifold to the water pump. In retrospect, the simplest thing would be to just plug the manifold and pump fittings.The entire bypass deal became moot when I installed the heater.

3/17/04

One of the breathers was replaced with a PCV valve that is plumbed into the base of the carb. This will prevent pressure buildup in the crankcase and oil foaming.

Forward to Delivering the kit to the Shop!

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