first off im getting an 85 gsl automatic and most likely throwin in my current 85 gsl motor and tranny

my bro on the other hand thinks i should get a parts car s5 na with motor and drivetrain there and swap that in leaving it bone stock.
i told him i would need an se front plate and oil pan along with the se front crossmember and also to have the driveshafts put together. am i missing anything?
whats the differences between the:
12a and se front plates
fc oil pan and se oil pan

i read somewhere that i could use my 12a front plate but what mods would i have to do to make it work. i did lots of reading but now i need a tutor please

as far as the tranny mounting i would let it sit back an inch or so and not touch the tranny, but the only info on the auto fb's i could find is that the tranny mount is supposedly 4 inches further back or somethin.

wishin they had rx-7 class in high school,
gamble

 

12A is n engine, SE is the trim level of a car (just to be picky)

Why not just get a GSL-SE with the bigger engine and upgraded suspension? I understand that the 13B in an S5 has a few more ponies, but add a Racing Beat exhaust and K&N filter and you're already up to around 165hp with the otherwise stock GSL-SE, simple bolt-on additions that save time, money, and headaches over cobbled-together fankensteined engines and trying to get every little piece you need to do the swap....

 

Tell ya what, Manntis, you sell me a very nice GSL-SE for under 2 grand, and that sounds like a great alternative.

Since that's not really an option, we'll gladly "frankenstein" together an excellent fb shell with an fc engine/tranny for around that price.

BTW: I'd like you to drive that SE to me. Thanks.

 

Uh, ok.

I think he was just saying that for the cost you can get better by starting with an SE....

Maybe i mis understood what went on tho.

 

So you're saying 2 cars and all the parts & effort required to combine them into one car is only worth $2,000? Wow, you really sell your labour cheap.

 

Labor is free.
The 2 cars are only $1100 combined. That leaves $900 for miscellaneous debris.


EDIT:
I guess I should also mention that my 2 brothers and I have 4 other vehicles besides the fb shell we're picking up on Friday and the possible FC. That means time isn't really an issue. We also live in an apt. with a garage, so the garage can have a project sitting in it indefinately with our daily driver's in the big parking lot with no worries.

 

yes the things we do ourselves is cheap, hell its even free except for food and drinks.
getting both cars for barely over a grand and then gathering the extra parts we need still ends up being cheaper than any se we've looked at and a little faster too. the best se we've found so far has paint nowhere near as good as this garaged shell and the guy was askin 3k for it.
i just want to have some fun doin a motor swap. i like workin on cars myself and wouldnt call it labour. labour is what i do all day at discount tire changin wheels and tires and fixing flats. not fun at all. but when i think of how i can take a car from the ground up and make it somethin fun to drive i just get all giddy hehe
i guess i'll just wait til i get my shell and clean it all up pretty with no engine and tranny and take some time to figure out exactly what im gonna shoe horn in there
just want some simple answers here so i dont have to go 302 or replace an old worn out 12a with a slightly less old and worn out 12a...
gamble

 

More like 140 -150 and thats with a good engine.

 

The GSL-SE starts with 135 HP , and the exhaust system alone has a history of adding 25 HP - remember, Racing Beat has had decades of experience at getting Rotaries to breathe properly. The change to a freebreathing K&N filter adds 3-5 HP to this engine configuration.

 

Gamble,

Use the Series 5 engine. Use the 12A Tranny, it will hold up to whatever a stockport N/A 13B can dish out.

You will need (off the top of my head):

Again, Don't bother with the S5 Tranny.

This way you don't need the headaches of trying to wire in the ECU in keep the Fuel Injection. With the higher compression rotors of the S5 engine and a good carb and exhaust, you'll be close to 190HP at the Flywheel.

If you feel like doing the whole thing with the ECU and Fuel Injection, then check out Paul's Fuel Injected 13B Transplant

IMHO, if you did go all out like Paul Did, you might as well have done a TII engine transplant with the ECU too.

My 02 cents.