Hey, does anybody know if either the 5.3L LS4 from the Grand Prix GXP or the 4.6L NHP Northstar V8 from a front wheel drive caddy will fit into a modified cobalt engine bay? I know that you can jam a 5.3L into a grand prix, but they also carry a 3.8L V6 stock, what do you guys think, anybody have any experience or any ideas? extra engine weight could help to keep the tires on the ground too. Thanks hopefully this is do-able

 

Chassis will need to be big time strengthened, and the overall upset the balance, but i think it would look cool.

 

thought about this, but it would cost a lot and be a bitch

but it would be fast as **** lol

 

short answer, it's possible if you have enough money. you will lose many, many things that make the cobalt driveable on a daily basis though.

instead of getting a new engine, why not just get a turbo, and build up the engine you have.

 

u would not lose anything to make it drivable, just get some fat ass tires

my dads monte ss with the ls4 gets low 20s for mpg and he drives it hard

im sure everything could be wired up to keep it working like a cobalt with a big engine

 

you would lose things like power steering, windows, abs, most all of the electronics, would need a new tranny, etc. newer cars have everything so tied in with the electronic systems, that interupting those systems causes them not to work.

 

if you could work it out, it'll be a monster!

cobalt with a sound of V8

 

so your kinda getting to : if he could get the wires all sorted out then it would work but only do it if you know how to wire and that wiring would be a huge pain in the ass

 

You'd just have basically a trailered drag car, like D4 was saying. None of the electronics would work with the swapped ECM, you'd need all new suspensions, brakes, and on and on and on.

 

that's the thing, it won't work. there's nothing to figure out with the wiring, it just won't work. it would be ok for a track only car, but without everything working it won't be worth it for a street car.

by the time you finally get it to work, as a track only car, it's not worth the money spent on the upgrades, because you could have had a faster car for less money, and still have it be driven on the street.

 

not true, u could do the swap and get the ls4 turbo kit that puts out a lil over 500hp, it would be crazy

 

i dont think you understand nike...theres alot of hsit that just wouldnt get alon, ie power steering, ABS modules, ECM, PCM, suspension parts, brakes, transmission, etc.

this isnt like a honda swap where everything seems to just drop in place. Itd be a HUGE pain in that ass.

and thered probaby be very little room to fit turbo related parts under there after all is said and done.

 

QFT!

 

where theres a will theres a way

i bet it could be done somehow, like taking the whole ls4s internals, everything from the ls4 donor car and putting it into the cobalt body

kinda like the civette

 

what you're not understanding is that none of the electronics in the car will work anymore. it's not about making power, it's about being able to drive the car.

so after all the custom fitment to make this work, if it's even possible, you still have a 4 cylinder car. at that rate, what's the point.

money is better spent just building the engine, and keeping everything working.

 

Itd be THOUSANDS CHEAPER to just build the stock motor. Plus the amount of aggravation would way to intense for me to deal with. And in the end, if you just wanted a car and motor with no luxury features then youd have that.

Yes, theres always a way if theres a will, but does the will have money closley behind?

 

how would u have a 4 cylinder car if u took all the ls4 internals and **** out of the donor car and put them into a cobalt frame/body?

 

sigh...

you said internals... so, are you talking about a whole engine? or just the internals. there's no room inside the cobalt engine to put 8 cylinders. so you can fit 4. so either you're explaining it wrong, or not understanding.

that being said, if you put a different engine, you have to use the computer to control that engine. the computer that's controlling the new engine will not be compatible with the other systems in your car, meaning they won't work. you can't swap out everything, it doesn't work like that. at that point, you obviously have all the money in the world to spend on your cobalt, and if you have all the money in the world to spend on your cobalt you would just buy another car. or, fix up the engine that's already in it.

 

Long story short, its not gonna happen. I dont think anyone will do this. Just because of the hassel involved

 

buy a miata and put a Ls1 in it...lol

 

yea, swap out everything, engine computer, all of it, and run all the air conditioning and radio to the current stuff in it

it would be like a monte carlo/impala/grand prix with cobalt cosmetics

yea u could do this with a lot of money

my dad met the rich guys in florida when he was young, they had so much money they put 454s into chevettes and other tiny cars

 

it was different with older cars because they didn't rely so much on the computers to run everything. what you're saying simply won't work.

it's like trying to replace your keyboard on your computer with a ps3 controller. even if you get the ps3 controller working with the computer, and you can move the mouse around with the joystick, you still can't type a sentance. same thing with the car.

 

so what you're saying is that even if someone got the v8 running in a cobalt, they won't be able to type a sentence??

 

finally, someone gets it!

 

Hell why not the 572 crate motor?