Hi all,

I am in Brisbane Australia, and am in the process of installing a Gen 2 (what i'd call a series 5) 13B Turbo into a 1981 Gen 1 (Series 2). I have purchased a front cut so I have all the ancillaries in addition to the engine and gearbox.

I am aware that I will have a clash between the turbo and the steering box. The standard fix for this is to move the turbo forward via a new manifold. I could on the other hand leave the turbo where it is and fit the power steering rack from the Gen 2. This could necessitate an avalanch of mods. Chop up the crossmember? How about transplanting the entire assembly - crossmenber, control arms, struts, disks, calipers? This would require new rims as the standard 13in won't go over the S5 disks, but the cost of this is countered by not needing to buy a front cover or new turbo manifold.

Has anybody had any experience with sort of a swap???

Arran

 

Swap in US spec parts and make it left hand drive, then you'll only have to worry about cooking the idler arm bushings

Seriously though I've heard (but not seen) people swapping the whole second-gen crossmember, suspension and all, into a first-gen... apparently it's more of a bolt-in than you may think BUT the 2nd-gen strut/springs will put the front end an inch or two too high.

 

Thanks for the reply peejay,

Am about to remove the engine from the Gen2 so can seriously measure it up.

Arran