Hrm... as some of you may know my car was charred to a crisp recently. So now I have a T2 with no body, but probably some good parts (HOPEFULLY the engine/tranny) I am thinking about going with a 1st gen.

Any suggestions as to what year and trim would be best suited for my parts and what parts I would be able to fit in a 1st gen?

anyone know of any smokin deals on a 1st gen with great body and interior, but bad engine?

 

Well, since no one else has said anything, i guess i will. You will gain a lot of information if you read the sticky on swapping a t2 into a gsl SE. And that is also what i would recommend to get for a swap.

As for "smokin deals", good luck. In my experince, se's aren't tought to come by. But getting one that isn't rusting to death is a totally differen't story.

 

This is just me but if i were goin to put a T2 drivline into a 1st gen i would put it in a base model 83 and ugrade to se suspension and that shnazz to get the disks and lsd and watnot but thats just me it would be a hell of alot more work. It would prolly be like 5 times easier to just throw it in a -se though :]

 

well, will t2 suspension swap into a 1st gen? any of it? I would really like to know what all I can swap in to my car bolt on or with a little welding, but nothing drastic, reasonable swaps.

 

none of the suspension will just bolt up.

as for the t2 swap, its been beaten to death. do a search and youll find more than youll ever need. i know that for beginners youll need a gslse oil pump, front cover, and racing beat engine mount (if using a 12a chassis). to physically get the motor in the car. then its alot of wiring and pluming. i never understood why a se was recommended, but then again, ive never done the swap.

 

You do not need the racing beat engine mount. Just extend your 12A mount and drill a new hole 10mm further back. (RB sells the mounts for $85.) You could get a GSL with the disc brakes also.

 

Its worth the headache, just take your time and no shortcuts. Im almost done with mine, its fresh in my head so if youve got some questions pm me.

see ya
mike

 

Why do you need the gsl-se oil pump?

 

Not the Oil Pump, but a the Oil Pick-up Tube. (the 12A one works too)

Unless you mean the OMP, which you could use as well.

 

don't know where you are but i got an 85 gs with a great body, great dash and console and seats but no carpet or interior door pannels...for sale, $600 obo... Does run.

 

I can't afford 600 yet. I would need to buy parts as well as the carpeting. I am in GA. you aren't too far away, but I would also need to get it painted. 300 for paint. comes to 900. if you would be including the engine as well then maybe I could sell that and get some money that way, but there is no way to tell how much money I would get from the engine.

 

if you cant afford a $600 car, you might want to look into somehting besides doing a t2 swap. the swap is going to cost you atleast in the 2k range

 

I can't afford 600 at the time. I will have a job this summer and maybe next semester. I can't buy any car now for 600 because I don't have 600 now. I DO however have a t2 engine and transmission along with a turbo and an intercooler and injectors manifolds etc. all of that stuff might work. and should work, except I can see the injector plugs might have melted though they ARE covered.


I also have less than 10k on my engine, it would be a shame to have to sell it.

 

To bad your in GA I was talking to a kid today who has a TII body without a motor and trany here in NM that he was trying to give away. I was giving him a refridgerator because his die and he was trying to get a drive in my First Gen ... he had his priorities in order.

 

That's great Advice!!

Take it from the guy's who have already done it. It aint cheap I think your best bet is two find a 87 with no engine, and put a T2 hood on it. And now you have a T2 again

 

hrm... okay okay let's see here. I HAVE a welder and I can weld halfway decently. So I can make some stuff myself.

I have the T2 engine(and MOST of the long block should be good...).
I have the T2 tranny.(need cust. driveshaft)

I do not need power steering.
I do not need AC though that would be nice.
Radiator? hrm... if the se one would work adequately then I could use that one, otherwise I could fit a T2 one in there. somehow.

I will need an intercooler, or front mount the TMIC somehow. it looks like it might be good save rubber parts.

I would say that hoses and lines and that like should be a few hundred.

I will use my turbo, which I HOPE can take a little head from outside the car. (fire originated outside the car, to give you an idea, the TID was still partially there and so were a couple belts, though they were not still on the pulleys. so iow not hot enough to melt ALL the rubber. the clutch fan blades are gone.)

we have a lot of tools and such and I know someone who is willing to give me some parts to help me complete it.


I know there are more parts... but I am considering things like this and gas lines etc. which is why I want to use the gsl-se, or less preferrably, an s3.

these two sites give me hope.
http://www.geocities.com/chris32472/partslist.html
http://home.mn.rr.com/linnihan/budget.htm

when I say I can't spend 600 on a car, I mean I can't (I think...) afford to spend that much on just a body. Else it would have to be one in really good shape. What I am hoping for is a deal like this: " sonny here left his car behind when he went to college and I can't get the darn thing to start! blah blah blah some $$ amount that is not representative of what the car is worth", which this happens with rotaries on occasion and I figure if I look around. keep in mind I don't need this NOW I am just on the lookout now.

I am expecting to spend between 2 and 3k before I sell parts off the T2. I think I can afford that if I can get a job next semester and I should be able to get a good job over the summer. Time is not really a factor because it is not absolutely necessary for me to have a car at college, it is just something I would like. In fact, I rather