1990 Cavalier 3.1 CL, finding ways of improvement =\

[catalyst_007]

Hi there,

Well, lemme start by saying that i love my car, its one of my first and i am i guess, emotionally attached, i mean i love the power my car pushes out but i know its lacking since it was first made.

Its a 1990 Chevrolet Cavalier 3.1CL 5 speed, and I wanna find a way of making it better, faster, more reliable, the ability to bend off the line isn't 100% necessary but would be nice

Essentially, i wanna know wat can be done to my car to i guess, tune it up on my own without having to do drastic things such as engine swap.

The engine is it pretty good condition, it has about 260k KM and it roars believe it or not.
waterpump is approx a year old, and thats really the biggest change its seen (and a new muffler)

Wat can i do? replace the headers, change the exhaust, what! plz help

Thanks,
Luis

 

[60convert]

give it a tune up, probally replace the intake gaskets as they are common to leak then use it as a daily driver. oh and change the oil every 3000miles how ever many km that is. you abuse that car with that many miles on it and it will die a quick death.
Jesse

 

[catalyst_007]

thx, but any other tips? i change my oil every 3-4k KM (approx 2000 miles?) and believe it or not, this car has seen 1 other owner, and he kept it in top notch condition, the only SEVERE problem this had, was the water pump which i replaced w/ my father, and obviously some rusting that tore a tiny hole in the muffler which was quickly replaced


other then that, its pretty good

how about cold air intake? could i do that? maybe around the bottom of the car away from the engine could that work? and theorheticly, how much would that boost up power?

 

[dq409]

007, You have a car that you love,,,,,, but,,,, it is what it is.

If you try to make it something it is not and keep pushing it ,,,, it wont last long.

Other then adding things like a KN air filter and bolt on goodies I don`t think you will see much improvment.

Until your willing and ready to swap the engine or build it up enjoy it as she is,,,,

If you really want to make her go ,,, think about swaping in a turbo V6 !!!

,,,, dq

 

[Fran Preve]

I just retired from the plant that built all the 60 degree V-6's, I've always had a spft spot for them. That said, unless you want to tear the engine apart youse screwed. Cat baack exhaust and cold air induction (which you'll have to make). You probably have the best rear (front?) gear available. You may be able to screw with the throttle body, 3.4's bigger???. And up the fuel pressure (how?). I've given it some thought, a 3.1, but in a Camaro body and their ain't much you can do without spending good size money on the motor.