The 3800 series V6 would probably fit very nicely and has HUGE aftermarket support. Can't think of aV8 that would fit . Not sure where you'd start, though. Unless you're talking about switching to rwd, that's what I would do.

 

Shoot, if ya get a Caddy V8 and trans (and PCM, etc) you'll have rice burner for sure! And you'll spend a lot of money doing it. It's up to you but I'd spend that money getting the Caddy and having a nicer set of accessories to use while having all that fun.

 

Think a Northstar would fit?

 

It fit in my sister's Caddy but it was the same size as an Impala. Not sure what, if any, V8 was in the smaller Caddy that's the size of the Malibu.

 

My 06 impala ss had the 5.3 v8 in it and it was a real real tight fit.I doubt it would fit right in to a Bu without some major mods.

 

I have been thinking of that engine swap for some time, I came to the conclusion that the car might need to be widened, it would need the tranny and all the computer stuff from the Impala and there would need to be a custom sub frame made along with the suspension and bigger rims and tires. . If anyone has both cars intact and good experience with custom fabrication then this swap would be that much easier. I think it would be alot of fun but maybe becuase it was that hard to do is why GM stuck with the 3.9 in the SS Malibu. It would have been AWESOME to have a 5.3 in the SS Malibu though.

But im with Boats4life on this one, I would much rather swap an engine for a RWD setup. I think that working with a S10 or Colorado might be better for that, work with the frame and you will have a nice looking RWD Malibu.

 

^This. Use the S10 and a junkyard LM7 or something and cut a tunnel for the driveshaft. You're already doing a lot of cutting anyway, just brace the floorpan for the tunnel. That would be the sh!t.

 

Or you could get a crate motor and Edelbrock EFI with a transmission that doesn't require electronics to work right. Or get an electronic transmission and the whole shebang, then mount it. You'd also need a new rear suspension. The front might be able to work by just pulling the half shafts and keeping the bearings.

 

Get a 3800 supercharged and trans from a junkyard Grand Prix GTP or Regal GS. That's the only feasible option. Like boats4life said, there's a huge aftermarket. You could have it putting out V8 power for less than a grand (after the initial swap, that is).

 

This is one hell of a job!!! here's a little bit of a look into this with a similar production year grand am, which is also an N-body. http://www.s10forum.com/forum/f42/2003-grand-am-s-c-v8-rwd-293580/

 

Someone had too much money as far as I'm concerned, but I'll bet it'll mop up just about any contender there is. Only thing is, to get as much use out of that as it must have ended up costing it is either illegal and/or dangerous to other motorists, or it has to be on some kind of course or track.

Still a fun time to drive on the track, but if it's on the streets then it's an accident waiting to happen.

And they guy even made a comment about "not sharing the pics because they're copyrighted" and then posts them on a public forum.

I think that kinda shows his reasoning ability overall. His execution looks pretty good, but his reason to build it leaves me wondering...

 

Pictures posted in public forums are protected by copyright laws just like pictures in magazines. This idea that stuff posted on the Internet automatically fall into the public domain is totally false.

Not that it makes any difference because nobody cares.

 

I wasn't saying the copyright was no longer valid. His comments about "not sharing" and then trying to link that to the copyright seem odd and disconnected.

Once they're in the public domain anyone can see them so his secrecy is null and void, and so long as anyone who reproduces them doesn't make any money with them there is no copyright infringement that I'm aware of. And if there is, does he have the software that crawls the internet to find and prosecute any who do?

It just seems like he's putting raw meat in front of hungry lions to me - it's an exercise in futility. He might be right and I assume he is, but it's a poor way to keep his secret and/or protect his copyright if he's all that worried about it.