Kicking off a new build after having to scrap the project I bought and waisted money on. So looking at options its 4 seat lt car with bypass in rear a 2D trans trying to keep it light and dune friendly. Now stuck on a motor option V8's are great but building on a budget and my frist car so I dont want to build a car that will be to much for me. High hp will come later.

Looking at the honda 3.5 or like a gm 4.3 and trying to find por's and cons with each motor. Money is a factor but I want to spend it where it counts and upgrade the car with turbo and such as a learn o drive.

So what are your thoughts . Which is easer to up grade, last longer and will give the most bang for the buck ??

4.3....

pro's.....least expensive, great torque, low tech

con's....heavy, lacks "sex" appeal, no (or little) aftermarket "stuff" for it


I have Toyota 3.4 v6...same can be said for it.

I have a Honda and love it. One thing to remember is if you go turbo you will need race gas which means high doller fuel bill. I have had zero problems with my 3.5L.

I have had both. 4.3 has great torque but redlines/cuts out at 4200 rpms if I remember right. 3.5 Honda, not sure what the redline is on it? I run it up to 6k rpms no problem. Torque is good, not as good as the 4.3. You have good turbo opportunities on the 3.5 too. Hands down, I would go with the Honda 3.5. You can do the 3.5 on a budget. I'm running the stock computer in my car. You can get the Harness from K n R on here. I know a guy on here just upgraded a his buggy from a covair to a 3.5 honda. Saw it a few weeks ago and it looked and ran really nice.

I'll be objective as possible so I don't get my azz jumped by sour-puss....


Honda all the friggen way!!!!!!!!!

Seriously though, if you are thinking turbo, get the Honda.
4.3's have more aftermarket goodies than the Honda, but you might as well be building a V8 for the price...

Go with a 5.3 or stock LS1. You can slowly build the HP on the V8's and keep it on pump gas.

3.5 honda and after you turbo it it will beat most ls1's mine at 8psi would beat my buddy's 620hp ls1 , and that was motor dynoed hp for those that ask.

I've got the 4.3 and love it... it is heavy, but sounds like a V8 at low RPM's and has unbelievable torque! My buddy has the Honda 3.5 in his car and we are pretty close to the same power. Honestly I feel the Honda's last for ever and get great gas mileage but you might pay more for it up front. One of the pro's for GM is you can find parts at any parts store.

I always wanted a Honda 3.5 but when I found this car with the GM, I jumped on it. I have no regrets what so ever, actually more impressed with it then I ever thought.

what is the weight of the two? I would go 5.3 but finding an used alumnim block one is harder than I thought.

Are you going to have to do headers, computer, wiring harness, coolant lines, etc or was the car set up for something already? If I recall, the weight difference between a cast block and the aluminum block is about 80lbs.

Got to do it all. In the planing stage got the frame going should be done in about two weeks depending on how hard I work at it, lol. So this is just trying to get the plans locked down. I always wanted a V8 but saw a honda car that flew over new years and poped the option into my head. The bigest thing Im needing at this point is a trans I cant afford a to go to the $10,000 trans but dont want to build a car that will snap a 2D everytime I go out and weight will play a big role in that.

I have a big heavy car with a stock ls1, 35" #2 cut paddles and 934 CV's. I have 5 seasons on the 2D without an issue. I will pull it out of the car at the end of the year and have it freshened up. When I start building more HP into the motor, I will definitely have to look at upgrading the transmission. A lot of getting the transmission to live is how you drive the car. I prefer dependability and pump gas over the big inch super fast high hp cars. Turbo motors for the most part require race fuel or av gas. You just doubled your gas bill every trip.

Shortstar 3.5L. DOHC, all-aluminum, tons of torque and a decent redline. Works like a charm in my 4-seater, click it into 3rd and dune.

+1 love my shorty. trouble free (so far)

X3

X4 on Shortstar, keep oil in'em and they are reliable. I'm pushing 6lbs of boost and never had a problem with the motor.

Ya like to say with pump gas. I had a turbo 1915 vw and had to make an extra trip to get race gas and cringed at the bill. I made it two seasons with it before i started on this lt quest just nothing wrong with it just famiely grew so dose the seat spacing and like the idea of more than 4in of travle, lol.

Ok how much dose the short star run in comparison to the others? And whats up with the oil??

x5 shortstar. great torque, looks and reliable

I am partial to the shortstar but for what your doing I would do a junkyard 4.8 or 5.3 ls, harness from MEFI stuff.

The oil issue with my shortstar was user error, it isn't common.

Try this place LKQ for your motors. You will have to call them, they do have good prices. Couple years back I picked up a 3.2 S type for $695 out the door with wiring loom.

I'm just about finished putting an steel block 5.3 in my car right now...I had a 4.3 in it originally. My car is pretty heavy and built for a lot of hardpack use. The 4.3 was great in the hardpack, but was under powered for a car a heavy as mine (over 2500#) in the sand.

To me the extra 80lbs. of the steel block is not a big deal and you can do a steel block 5.3 for about the same price as a 4.3...you will also still be good with a 2d.

If you really want to stick with a v6 just know that the honda will be easier to upgrade down the road. To get more power from the 4.3 it probably means a full tear down and block machining, pistons, heads etc...finding turbo stuff for a 4.3 takes time to find all the parts and to get good info. The honda will be much easier to turbo later for more power!

I guess I will be the first to say Nissan....great power and great motor....easy to find and not expensive...about 450 bucks....I have a 3.3 18 lbs of boost....50/50 race gas and super....never a problem.

x2. Love my Nissan 3.5 but you either need a Motec or Autronic to run the variable cams or just pin them fixed and run any stand alone system. Chain for the cams vs a belt in the Hondas. Not that the Hondas ever have problems that I have heard of. The Hondas are also look nicer as far as valve covers and intake but I still love my Nissan.

There are a couple guys that do Honda stuff near you..

Honda .

I've only run a Honda 3.5L and I have to say "You will not be disappointed". This motor rips and is pretty much plug/play at a very reasonable price. Also, I never experienced any mechanical problems what so ever.