does any one know if a motor out of a mid 1990 era grand am will work in a 1995 lumina?

depends on the motor. PM Ravant. he'll be the most help in this dept.

The '95 Lumina is different from every other 1.5'th gen w-body, because it is run by OBD-1. If you're willing to pay roughly $700 for an OBD-II conversion, then the following engines/years will work:

3100 from any '96->'99 Monte Carlo/Lumina
3400 from any '00->'05 Monte Carlo/Impala

Otherwise, you're pretty much limited to a 1995 3100 out of any of the following:
Grand Am
Monte Carlo
Lumina
Grand Prix

And they have to be the 1995 Model-year.

95 anything gm is bad news as far as swaps go. stay away from cars that year.

He probably needs an OEM replacement. If that's the case, then he can't use any other year. '95 is OBD-I, and frankly, I doubt he's going to want to spend $700 give or take a hundred bucks to convert it to OBD-II to use any '97+ 3100 or '99+ 3400. The combined total cost of getting a '97+ 3100 or '99+ 3400 into a '95 Lumina would be roughly $4600-$4800 bucks, depending on the shop, quality of work, and warranty. For that price, he'll be better off finding a '98+ Lumina LTZ with the 3800 and calling it a day. If he gets a '95 3100 for that Lumina, total cost of replacement would be under $2500. There's a lot different between the '95 Lumina and the '96+ Lumina other than the OBD-I/II difference. The way the fuel level gets sent to the gauge is wired differently. The way the gauge cluster receives the fuel level is wired differently. The way the transmission is controlled is wired differently. The way the ignition timing is set up is different. If you pick up a Haynes manual about these cars, it's really surprising at how many differences one year makes. (And the '96 is even different from the '97+ Lumina/Monte. Which also screws with a lot of people.)

my prents accually have both of them and there both a 3.1L V6 so they would swap just fine but i think they might have had diffrent engine options

Trust me, I've worked plenty with all 1.5-gen W-bodies, and got my mechanical start with the '95-'99 Monte Carlo/Lumina specifically. The '95 Monte/Lumina is a total pain in the neck because of its unique on-board diagnostic setup, the computer isn't exactly OBD-I, and it's not exactly OBD-II either. But, in order to utilize the changes in the engine after '95, you have to do the $700 OBD-II swap before you can install a newer (96+ 3100). At that rate, might as well go for gold and have a GM 3400 engine installed. 20 more horsepower, 20 more ft-lbs of torque, and it's SIGNIFICANTLY smoother, more efficient, and more reliable.

it shouldnt matter, as long as you have the same block, you can swap the manifolds and sensors and what not over, not sure on that year but ive done a couple newer ones

it shouldnt matter, as long as you have the same block, you can swap the manifolds and sensors and what not over, not sure on that year but ive done a couple newer ones
YEAH, NO!

dude, call either a Jasper motor/tranny dealer near you, or get on the horn(or yellowpages.com) and look up a company called LKQ. very cheap running slavage parts out of wrecke cars. ive never had a prblem with anything from them. in the past two months ive done thre motors and four trannies from them, all wiothout a problem.
give them a shot.

it shouldnt matter, as long as you have the same block, you can swap the manifolds and sensors and what not over, not sure on that year but ive done a couple newer ones

Normally doesn't, but the newer blocks have some notches in them for sensors that the older ones don't. The 3100's, because of the tumultuous BS going around among management in GM from '95-'97, are full of differences left and right, that make them semi-proprietary to their original frames.