Engine Knocking so i need another

[DArtaganan21]

Hi i have 95 vs commodore executive v6 manual. My car has done 320,000 kms. I'd notice my car had lost a lot of grunt, when i was driving a while ago. I had it checked out and was told my that my engine had a knock and that it was on its way out and i would need a new one or a rebuild, obviously.
I want to know:
- How do i tell what model transmission ive got
- How much am i looking at for a 2nd engine and what model it is, because its to expensive to pay someone to rebuild it and i dont have a garage.
- How much for a V8 and how much more to fit roughly
- What kind of problems would i come across

Ive been told the vs engines were made to a specific model transmission for exapmle i would need an "adaptor" to fit a vs auto engine to a manual transmission.

Cheers Hayden

[cander24]

Being a 95 model VS its a series 1 so it will have a Borg Warner T5 (assuming it has not been changed at some point). If its cable operated it will be a T5. You can also check the compliance plate on the firewall (passenger side) and it will tell you there under 'Trans'. A new motor will probably set you back around $400 at a guess but shop around because some wreckers will charge heaps more than others. Ebay can also be a good place to look as they usually go pretty cheap on there. From what I know the crankshafts are different between a manual and auto ecotec motor however you can still fit a manual box behind an auto motor, with the downside being that the flywheel will only be held to the crank by the mounting bolts whereas a manual crank also has small dowel pins to locate it.

[DArtaganan21]

Cheers mate for your help, i was checking the compliance plate and it said my transmission is a m78 and my engine is ls2 my model is VS8VK19-115