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The 3.3 has a bad reputation in the Mopar world. This does not make sense to me personally, as it was the basis for the 3.5 V6 which is found in the LH series cars (which is also close to the 3.5 V6 in the Prowler/Viper). Also an engine losely based off of the 318 which is a damn near indestructiable engine.

This engine can be built to take more ware and tare, and this engine was not A604-like in construction. There are two concerns with the 3.3. The first is with the oiling system getting clogged and thus causing rocker damage in the top end. This was only a problem with the early 3.3's and was completely resolved by the second year of production for the 3.3.

The second issue with the 3.3 is with the bottom end- specifically the crank. The solution might be having a machinist send them out for special coatings. This, and optionally forged pistons would make the 3.3 strong enough for any type of work (be it a supercharger or a nitros kit) so long the fuel and intake systems are correctly tuned and setup (sure your 3.3 may have problems if you run an intake with a blower and yet have no intercooler system, or if you run 20 psi of boost- yet keep the original fuel system... but so would any other engine for the most part!).

When Shelby made their 255hp Racing 3.3, it was basically a stock 3.3 with differently machined heads, stronger pistons and rods, and different manifolds. And if the 3.3 was good enough for Shelby himself, then it should be more then able for what we throw at it. Just remeber were she redlines (6,000 RPMs)!

I have two hypertheoletical 3.3 build ups depending rather you want to go the boost route or the N/A route in your performance 3.3 build. Both assume you're starting with a 1st generation (1990-1993) model year 3.3. Stuff in red lettering is just theory at this point (no one has tried it). VERY rough HP estimates for each mod & total is given but take those with a grain/gallon of salt (results may varry).

N/A 3.3 Buidup List:

Mod	Est HP Gain
1st Generation 3.3 Engine Assembly (Stock)	~150
1998-2000 Model Year Upper Intake Manifold	~5-10
58mm Throttle Body	~5-10
Cone Airfilter	~0-5
Highflow 3" Exhaust System	~5-10
Final Drive Gears from late model small engine's A604/41TE	~5-10
1998-2000 model year heads & cam	~5-10
3.8L V6 Crank & Connecting Rods	~30-50
1.6 ratio roller rocker arms	~10-30
Over-plug spark coils- spark plug wire elimination	~0-5
Autostick Conversion	~5-10
High Stall Torque Converter	~10-25
Conversion to elecric water pump+AC removal	~0-5
TOTAL	~230-330
Minus Red Items Total	~170-195

Boosted 3.3 Buidup List:

Mod	Est HP Gain
1st Generation 3.3 Engine Assembly (Stock)	~150
1998-2000 Model Year Upper Intake Manifold	~5-10
58mm Throttle Body	~5-10
Cone Airfilter	~0-5
Highflow 3" Exhaust System	~5-10
Final Drive Gears from late model small engine's A604/41TE	~5-10
1998-2000 model year heads & cam	~5-10
3.5L V6 Forged Crank Machined to Spec	N/A
1.6 ratio roller rocker arms	~10-30
Over-plug spark coils- spark plug wire elimination	~0-5
Supercharger or Turbo Running ~5-10 PSI of boost	~30-75
Autostick Conversion	~5-10
High Stall Torque Converter	~10-25
Conversion to elecric water pump+AC removal	~0-5
TOTAL	~230-355
Minus Red Items Total	~170-195

From there, varrious compression ratio forged pistons for the 3.3 are on the open market. If you want to stay N/A, I suggest the biggest compression ratio you can pull off with the OEM DIS system. Adding fuel is no biggy using OEM electronics.

For boost applications, I strongly suggest keeping the OEM compression ratio (or close to it).

NOTES ABOUT RED MODS LISTED ABOVE:

1998-2000 model year heads and cam: This mod involves throwing the newest top end on a 1st generation 3.3 which will "bolt right on", starting in 2001 the heads bolt differently and might not work on a pre2001 block. This is listed as red since, although it is known to bolt up, no one (as far as I know) has actually done this mod yet. May or may not involve different sized pushrods. It is assumed you're using a "loaded" set of heads with all the rocker arms, valves, cam, etc still on them.

3.5L V6 Forged Crank Machined to Spec: This mod involves taking an OEM 3.5 crank (which is forged) and having it machined to work in a 3.3. Would run about $300-1000 US to have machined, however it would make the bottom end pretty indestructiable. Some machine shops have claimed to be able to do it, but until I see and/or talk to someone with a 3.3 who has done this- I consider it a theory (aka not yet tried) mod. This mod is done for reliabilty purposes and does not change power/torque.

1.6 ratio roller rocker arms: This mod involves finding a set of shaft mount off-center rocker arms in the 1.6 ratio configuration. It is a pretty simple mod ASSUMING someone can find off center rocker arms that will work in the 3.3! It is also not known if the rocker arm style or ratio was changed in 2001 models.

Over-plug spark coils- spark plug wire elimination: This mod involves taking two coil packs, talking them apart- removing the 6 total coils (3 per pack) and building a custom housing and circuit for each one so that the coils can be mounted directly to the spark plugs. This eliminates the spark plug wires and eliminates spark plug voltage loss due to spark plug wire resistance. This is similar to whats done in some of the newer 3.5L engines (i.e. Prowler) OEM.

Supercharger or Turbo Running ~5-10 PSI of boost: This mod involves mounting a blower or turbo in the 3.3 engine bay to supply boost. Assuming the engine is tuned to give the proper amount of fuel, it should be a pretty painless mod. It has been done to at least 5 3.3/3.8s that I know of successfully however it is debatiable how long term reliable it is for higher boost levels. I am guessing 5psi is fairly reliable in the long run on a stock bottom end. If this is done with the 3.5 crank mod, I am sure higher boost levels could be done reliably in the long run. I list this as a expiramental mod only because such a few amount of people have done it and we're waiting to see how well their engines hold up.

Autostick Conversion: In this mod, you grab the autostick equipment and circuits, TCM, etc out of a A606/42TE (intrepid, 300, lhs, etc) and try to get it to work with an A604/41TE. This allows you to drive the tranny as if it were a stick shifter. The advantage to this, is that with the 41TE TCM OEM- the tranny shifting is based on three things: smoothness of ride, gas mileage efficency and lastly prolonged tranny life. This does not always have the same shift patterns as one would want in a performance application. As such, your WHP would go up depending on the driver's skills, with this mod. Your "at the crank" HP should be no different.

High Stall Torque Converter: In this mod, you try to find a different torque converter out of a different A604/41TE + engine combination. For instance, a 41TE with the 2.0L engine might have a different torque converter- i.e. higher or lower stall rpm than the torque converter used with the 41TE + 3.3 combination. By finding a higher stall converter from a different engine combination or year- you can get more WHP. Basically you hit the brakes and gas while stopped. The rpm at which the torque converter is able to move the car despite the brakes being fully applied is the "stall rpm". The advantage to a higher stall, is that you can at the track- put on foot on the brakes, one foot on the gas and try to bring the engine rpm to the begining of the powerband. You then release the brakes and your take off/first few seconds will be faster... thus giving your more WHP and performance at the track. This does nothing in terms of your "at the crank" HP figures.

Conversion to elecric water pump+AC removal: Ok, with the 3.3's you have a belt powered water pump. They make water pumps which are electrically powered with fake "delete" pullies. They work by allowing the engine belt to move threw the pulley with very little drag (since its not powering a pump anymore). This also allows you to put the belt around the pulley in any direction since there is no "backwards" direction involved. By doing this, you can remove the AC compressor- use a smaller belt and slightly change the pattern of the belt. This is good since it redoses loss to belt accessories and increases your "at the crank" power. This assumes you can find a water pump thats electric that can work in a 3.3!

3.8L V6 Crank & Connecting Rods: In this mod, you take a 3.8L v6 which is a stroked-out, bored-out 3.3 and remove the crank & connecting rods. This then, when put in a 3.3- should give you a stroked out 3.3. This would end up giving you a displacement of about 3.5L. Potential problems would be using the 3.3 pistons on 3.8 connecting rods, deck hieght differences (if they exist) and seeing if the pistons go too far or too up in the block.