EYY
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The easiest and most cost effective way to go about this conversion is to buy a donor car. 304 powered VS' can be had for under $1000 at the moment, and after selling off a few unwanted parts from the donor vehicle, you can minimise the overall costs of your conversion. I'll just outline a few of the main aspects of the conversion here; so it won't be too indepth but will give you a good idea of the work involved and a few of the things (such as air con and wiring details) that I've been unable to find published on the internet.
Wiring
This is where most people feel that they'll struggle with the conversion; but in fact it's so easy it's a joke. Unplug the ECU and engine loom inside the cabin (3 plugs - two for the ECU and one for the cluster/shifter safety switch), undo the main power wire going to the fusible link box (one 10mm nut), undo the earth wire bolted to the body (13mm nut), unplug the two plugs next to the brake booster and that's pretty much it. You don't even need to unplug the transmission.
Aside from that, you'll need to either change your cluster to the V8 unit as the V6 tacho won't give a proper reading. You have a couple of potentially cheaper and easier options to rectify this though. Firstly you can fit a couple of resistors to suit the V8 (the process and specifics are outlined in a few threads on this site). Alternatively, you can swap the entire tacho as I have done to retain my original odometer. Which then leaves the problem of the fuel gauge. Some V8 models had long range fuel tanks - apparently it's important to use the correct fuel gauge matched with the tank as they're calibrated differently.
Engine removal
Firstly you'll need to remove the bonnet. Guard masks also are a must to make sure you don't do any damage to your paintwork; and they're around the $30 mark from supercheap auto if you don't have one. Well worth the investment in my opinion.
Without access to a hoist, I've found the easiest way to remove the engine is to remove the engine and transmission together. Luckily these engines are easy to remove - and to be honest the wiring loom is probably the most difficult part (not very). Then it's a matter of removing the radiator, airbox, exhaust, and tailshaft. Disconnecting the transmission shifter rod and undoing the transmission cooler, power steering and fuel lines. You'll also need to remove the engine covers to disconnect the heater hoses, throttle cable and cruise control cable (make sure you keep the throttle cable). You'll also need to have the air con degassed then remove the air con lines from the compressor. There are a few other small things that you'll need to remove like the MAP sensor, the brake booster hose and a couple of vacuum lines etc which are pretty obvious.
Once you've done all of that, you'll need to remove the two bolts that bolt the engine mounts to the K frame. I use a couple of 50mm straps tied around the exhaust manifold headers of cylinder 1 and cylinder 8 - so that the straps sit diagonally across the engine.
This part is a little more difficult and requires some manipulation with the engine crane and a jack, but still not difficult if you have experience or a little bit of patience. Grab your trolley jack and place it underneath the transmission pan, with a piece of wood between the jack and transmission pan so that you don't do any damage. Jack it up just enough to take a bit of weight off the transmission mount. Now unbolt the trans mount and remove the crossmember. You'll need to find the right combination of lowering the jack and raising the engine crane to remove the engine. I didn't bother removing the engine fan, but if it's your first time it'll make it a bit easier. If you don't remove the exhaust Y piece, you'll struggle to get the engine out as it'll hit the steering rack.
K Frame and Other differences
You'll need to swap to the V8 K frame as the engines mount in very different ways between the 6 and the 8. This is a matter or unbolting the struts, undoing the 4 K frame nuts, removing the steering rack and undoing the brake lines. The V6 springs will sit very low with the 304 fitted, so try and retain the V8 springs if possible. Everything else is the same (v6 to v8) in terms of brakes, struts, bushes etc.
Air con
The V8 air con lines come out in the engine bay near the fire wall on the drivers side; and on the V6 they come out on the passengers side. This line can be unbolted on the drivers side under the plastic cover that hides the wiper motor and swapped for the V8 line. You'll also need the V8 grommet for the passengers side so that it covers the hole where the V6 lines once were.
The condenser and hard lines in front of the radiator are completely different, so you'll need to swap these for the V8 items as well.
Feel free to add to this thread, correct or supplement the info I've given or ask any questions.
Cheers!
Wiring
This is where most people feel that they'll struggle with the conversion; but in fact it's so easy it's a joke. Unplug the ECU and engine loom inside the cabin (3 plugs - two for the ECU and one for the cluster/shifter safety switch), undo the main power wire going to the fusible link box (one 10mm nut), undo the earth wire bolted to the body (13mm nut), unplug the two plugs next to the brake booster and that's pretty much it. You don't even need to unplug the transmission.
Aside from that, you'll need to either change your cluster to the V8 unit as the V6 tacho won't give a proper reading. You have a couple of potentially cheaper and easier options to rectify this though. Firstly you can fit a couple of resistors to suit the V8 (the process and specifics are outlined in a few threads on this site). Alternatively, you can swap the entire tacho as I have done to retain my original odometer. Which then leaves the problem of the fuel gauge. Some V8 models had long range fuel tanks - apparently it's important to use the correct fuel gauge matched with the tank as they're calibrated differently.
Engine removal
Firstly you'll need to remove the bonnet. Guard masks also are a must to make sure you don't do any damage to your paintwork; and they're around the $30 mark from supercheap auto if you don't have one. Well worth the investment in my opinion.
Without access to a hoist, I've found the easiest way to remove the engine is to remove the engine and transmission together. Luckily these engines are easy to remove - and to be honest the wiring loom is probably the most difficult part (not very). Then it's a matter of removing the radiator, airbox, exhaust, and tailshaft. Disconnecting the transmission shifter rod and undoing the transmission cooler, power steering and fuel lines. You'll also need to remove the engine covers to disconnect the heater hoses, throttle cable and cruise control cable (make sure you keep the throttle cable). You'll also need to have the air con degassed then remove the air con lines from the compressor. There are a few other small things that you'll need to remove like the MAP sensor, the brake booster hose and a couple of vacuum lines etc which are pretty obvious.
Once you've done all of that, you'll need to remove the two bolts that bolt the engine mounts to the K frame. I use a couple of 50mm straps tied around the exhaust manifold headers of cylinder 1 and cylinder 8 - so that the straps sit diagonally across the engine.
This part is a little more difficult and requires some manipulation with the engine crane and a jack, but still not difficult if you have experience or a little bit of patience. Grab your trolley jack and place it underneath the transmission pan, with a piece of wood between the jack and transmission pan so that you don't do any damage. Jack it up just enough to take a bit of weight off the transmission mount. Now unbolt the trans mount and remove the crossmember. You'll need to find the right combination of lowering the jack and raising the engine crane to remove the engine. I didn't bother removing the engine fan, but if it's your first time it'll make it a bit easier. If you don't remove the exhaust Y piece, you'll struggle to get the engine out as it'll hit the steering rack.
K Frame and Other differences
You'll need to swap to the V8 K frame as the engines mount in very different ways between the 6 and the 8. This is a matter or unbolting the struts, undoing the 4 K frame nuts, removing the steering rack and undoing the brake lines. The V6 springs will sit very low with the 304 fitted, so try and retain the V8 springs if possible. Everything else is the same (v6 to v8) in terms of brakes, struts, bushes etc.
Air con
The V8 air con lines come out in the engine bay near the fire wall on the drivers side; and on the V6 they come out on the passengers side. This line can be unbolted on the drivers side under the plastic cover that hides the wiper motor and swapped for the V8 line. You'll also need the V8 grommet for the passengers side so that it covers the hole where the V6 lines once were.
The condenser and hard lines in front of the radiator are completely different, so you'll need to swap these for the V8 items as well.
Feel free to add to this thread, correct or supplement the info I've given or ask any questions.
Cheers!
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