Will a 1987 Engine fit in a 1988?

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pontiac_Fiero

Hmmm? Where do I begin here? First of all, to answer your question, Yes...the '87 and '88 2.8 L V6 engines are compatible and interchangeable (nothing changed but the year...and 1988 was the LAST year for the Fiero). I had an '87 Fiero GT that was plagued with overheating problems, which likely was a contributing factor to your head gasket blowing. After getting a rebuilt engine and rebuilt tranny and driving her for a little while after all of that, I eventually sold the car to a co-worker for his kid who blew up the engine after trying to drag race with it ------> Here's the bottom line though IMO: That engine bay is very tight (and can barely breathe and cool itself off in there) and putting in a new engine without making some changes to improve engine cooling will invite the same problems you had with the '88 engine. Just sayin' ...Good Luck with it :)

Some ideas that I wish I had used for Engine Venting and Cooling ...This first pic would have been a PERFECT OEM solution for better venting.

Now..as far as "forced air cooling", while I don't like the way this looks, it makes ALL the sense in the world as far as pushing air back to the mid-engine to keep her cool and help with the overheating issues.

nice pix Racer_X these buggies are not strange to you~ I am impressed~~!

Thanks Judge! I've actually owned 2 mid-engined sportscars.....The '87 Fiero GT and a 1993 Toyota MR2. In my opinion, nothing drive quite like a mid-engine car...handling is incredible due to having the weight more evenly distributed on the car. Wish Toyota still made the MR2 (not that ugly MR-S convertible though...that was a joke). MR2 pictured below:

And now ...the later incarnation of the MR2,..called the MR-S (S for Spyder), still mid-engined, but now a convertible and ugly, IMO. Out of production, thankfully....lol

Buckminster Fuller had it right....cars of the day were more efficient driving in reverse...his design the "4-D Dymaxion" automobile with only three wheels did amazing until he tried to impress some foreign investors and smashed it~

Engine block is the same. Things like exhauster a little different though from 87 to an 88. If you can keep all your tubing and wiring and transfer it from your 88to the 87 block, you should be OK. Things like that EGR tubing is different which is related to the crossover tube for the exhaust. The actual block is the same, so if that's where you're going it'll be OK. Keep all your hardware from your 88 and transfer it over and it should fit right in.