I live in Ca and the idea of adding EFI to my car is out, I just got an official response from teh state and they said no way, no-how, even if it does pass smog. They said my only option is to replace the engine. These are the requirement:

The engine must be the same year or newer than the vehicle.
The engine must be from the same type of vehicle(passenger car, light-duty truck, heavy-duty truck, etc.) based on gross vehicle weight.
The engine must be a California certified engine (not a crate motor, not a JDM motor).
All required emissions control equipment must remain on the installed engine.

So here's my thought, buy a wrecked 2nd gen and transplant the engine and hardware. The TII swap into a 13b really doesnt answer alot of questions for me and I was hoping someone might know these.

1) What is the best year to use the engine and tranny out of?

2) Are there any matching problem with the stick shift? I read in the TII thread there was an inch difference.

3) What do I do about the drive shaft?

I am thinking about keeping the 12a tranny actually (since I have 3). I dont want turbo and the 88's put out about 146 hp. Is this too much or will it be ok for daily driving, with an occasional flooring? What flywheel do I use? I assume the diameters are different so it will have to be changed. Can I have some weight welded to my 12a's or do I need a new one? Should I just install a 13b tranny since there cheap and if I do will I need to change my drive shaft also?

I plan on using the entire engine bay practically, so the wiring harness and electrical stuff should be fine. The only thing I'll use off mine is the AC stuff (if it lines up).

Any heads up would be good, thanks.

 

The NA 13B (up to 88) flywheel and clutch will work with the 12A trans.

The main problem you are going to have is getting all the solenoids and such working.

 

hey have you had any success wiring the 88 engine's harness into your 85 to make it all work? im doing virtually the same project (87 13b into 83 GSL), and im stuck at the 'how the hell am i going to wire the stock ECU into my car' part

 

california sucks with their strict car rules!!!!!

 

The second gen motor will bolt in with a few modifications as you probbaly know. You can run the 12a tranny with the N/A 13bs, they are all the same. But when you go to wire the harnness and ecu, you should just get a second gen ECU and a second gen wiring harness and just splice in what you need. Because if you are going to keep all the emissions you are going to need the second gen harness as well. Well good luck to you. If its any help I have a second gen 86 to be exact full wiring harness, intake and all the sensor stuff you would need for the injection. But I don't have any emissions parts.

 

Why do you have to swap motors, does your 12A not pass emissions?

 

If you go to the trouble of doing a S4/S5 13b swap into a 12a, you may as well go ahead and put the T2 in (IMHO).

I have just finished the T2 swap and have all the wiring figured out. I'm pretty close to posting the wire diagrams up on the board. I now know all the wiring changes actually work. I transplanted an 88 T2, emissions, ECU, exhaust and all into my 84 GSL-SE. Here's a link to it: The Chronicles of a Turbo II Swap

Having the wiring changes is actually a large part of the work. Basically doing a NA swap of the ECU and all the sensors and wiring is just as hard for T2 as NA.

It's real sweet to drive and I still haven't pushed it since I'm breaking in a rebuild. That extra power really makes the car a load of fun to drive--but it's not so much that you have to redo the whole suspension and rear end.

Only thing I couldn't bring over from the T2 was the stock air filter box, just no way you're gonna fit that in a FB. I just put a cone filter on the AFM and a crank breather on the air pump. Don't know if CA will allow that or not.

Scott