Welcome to Oz Volvo @DET17!
You remember shipping me that bunch of your fine bits to Tasmania? ? Anyway....
There were (basically) 3 versions of the GM 3800 V6 engines sold on OZ market cars, AFAIK (@carnut222 please correct me if I'm wrong!) :
The 3800 used in series 1 VN Commodore. It had a steel extractor type exhaust and was known for its problematic themostat location when used in RWD applications, and the fact that the crankshaft used in automatic and manual transmission was different. The first revision of the 3800 used in the series 2 VN Commodore onward from year model 1991, aka L27. GM revised the inlet manifold from the VN, and fitted cast iron exhaust headers. In production car racing, permitted freedoms resulted in slightly less power than the same freedoms applied to the earlier VN engine. HSV offered a supercharged version of this engine.The second revision of the 3800, now marketed as "Ecotec" from VS on (circa 1996). Beginning with VT series 2 (IIRC) the manual transmission option was the T56 instead of an Australian version of the Tremec T5 made by BTR Engineering. A supercharged option was available. This Ecotec engine continued in Commodores until the VZ series 2 began using the HFV6 architecture (e.g. LY7, LLT, etc).
Here in Upside Down Land, the 3800 engine was used as the basis of Formula Holden in the mid-1990s. Local companies like ACL made high performance parts, like improved engine bearings, for that and for production car racing use. I don't know how much of that gear is still available any more. I haven't tinkered with GM/Holden V6s for over 30 years, so I don't know what's out there now, but I do know from experience that it's wise to improve internal components (like rods and pistons) by replacement with superior items whereever possible, or by methods like professionally shot peening the (weak) factory conrods, etc, where not.
Unlike their later HFV6 incantations (known as AlloyTec over here), the old 3800 timing chains didn't often present problems prematurely. But from a quick look on the 'net, there's quite a lot of good gear available in the US for GM V6s.
These engines are extremely exhaust sensitive. Significant power / torque gains (& losses!) can be had with changes to exhaust, even with a standard MemCal.
IIRC, the weight of a 3800 is about 410 pounds, which isn't that much more than a redblock.
3800 swaps done in OZ? The only one I know of is mentioned on Turbobricks and was done in the time Before Oz Volvo. I can't remember now if it was into a 240 or 700.
For the life of me, I can't remember the shape of the V6's sump (due to Mountainside Pit Lane PTSD, perhaps...) nor where the engine mount attachment points are for the block, so I can't tell you have easy (or not) dropping one into a 700 would be.
Give us a shout if you have a shopping list of the bits you need and need somebody to get 'em or find 'em.
