Ashyukun

iTrader: (3)

About a month ago, I bought an 88 FC vert- it has a seized up engine (causes unknown), and the back of the trunk (not the lid, though) caved in a modest bit from a collision. Shortly thereafter, I found an 87 vert in a nearby salvage yard which I was able to buy pretty cheaply as a parts car- and to my surprise its engine spins and seems to be compressing at least passably. So the plan is to pull the block from the parts car and swap it in for the one currently in the 88 in hopes that it will run, and then take my time rebuilding the original one as a spare (or to swap back in immediately after being rebuilt depending on how well the parts car's engine runs). Based on what I've read here so far, my plan is going to be to not pull the tranny out of the parts car, but to pull both the tanny and engine from the 'main' car to make mating the replacement engine back up to the transmission easier.

As such, I'm going to have the better part of the drivetrain out of the car- and I'm looking for advice as to what additionally I should do (both in potential performance upgrades & generally good ideas) while I've got it all apart. I'd ideally like to not spend an insane amount on things- but I'm not looking to be stingy either, I wouldn't have gotten this car if I weren't willing to spend the money to treat it right (and besides, for what I got it for I should be able to afford some niceities :P ). Obviously, anything noticeably broken will be repaired/replaced.

A bit of additional background/information to help- by and large, I don't plan to do any racing or the likes with this car. If I decide I want to do that, I'll likely pick up a coupe or and FB. The 'vert just isn't really made for that anyway- it's made to be fun to drive and to look good while doing it. It will not likely be a true 'daily driver', but more than likely in the warmer months when the weather is good you can bet given the choice between taking the vert and my Saturn sedan, the vert will win without a contest. I do want it to perform as well as it can within reason- though I honestly have no intention of doing a TII swap in the immediate future.

That I'll be looking everything over as I'm taking things apart and swapping engines is a given, and I'll be replacing all of the gaskets & seals as I go. I'm currently on the fence about whether to ditch the MOP while I'm doing the swap, but even if I plan on running premix- if not permanently for certain for the first few tanks since I know the engine has been sitting around for a while and I figure giving it extra lubrication can't hurt. I also know I'll be ditching the stock airbox and putting a less restrictive filter on, and likely building a cold-air box too (I found a roll of spare flashing, so the box should be essentially free...). I'm still debating whether to ditch the A/C and P/S, but I think intially I'll likely keep them intact- I want to see just how much I really end up using the A/C in the summer (by which time I hopefully will have this car running...) before pulling it out, esp. since the probability of having to convert it over to a different refrigerant if I pull it and then want it back in.

So I don't clog up with page with images (my verbose posting does that effectively enough -_-;; ) I just put up all the pictures I've taken of the cars so far here.

Thanks in advance for the advice!

My5ABaby

iTrader: (7)

Replace:
Motor mounts
Differential mounts
Pilot bearing
Throwout bearing
Clutch fork (optional)
Pivot ball (optional)
Front tranny seal
Rear tranny seal

Oh, and port the backup engine.

ROTARYROCKET7

Now for the differential mounts, should he go with stock or the UHMV poly mounts that are stiffer ( or are they too stiff?)

EDIT: Does this sound like a good thing?

These bushings and mounts give more precise handling and driver feedback, and increase the amount of engine, transmission, and suspension vibrations transmitted to the chassis.

Do you really want to increase the vibration?

Jason NYC

Ashyukun

iTrader: (3)

That's something I've been interested to find out the exact details of- as I understand it, the stock 'vert mounts are stiffer all around, but I don't know how much softer they'd be than the different aftermarket mounts. Frankly though, increasing the vibration doesn't worry me entirely that much as long as it's within a manageable realm. Also, since I won't likely be driving the car at all until after all the work is done on it (including replacing the mounts), I'll not have a point of reference anyway. :P