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Introduction
This project is not unique, nor is it
exotic. It's quite a common engine swap because these cars
offer sporty performance with a light weight torquey engine.
The Caddy engine in a 3900 pound car moves surprisingly well,
and in a 3200 pound car will move even better. This project
will involve just basic mechanical skills and basic mechanical
technology. This will not be some super exotic super car with
sub 11 sec. ET's. An affordable daily driver with hopefully
low 14 sec. ET's. Dependable, affordable, reliable. |
May
20, 2006 |
Over the next several weeks my
son and I will transform this modest sports car into a ride with a
bit more zip making it perform like it looks. The 2.8 did a
commendable job of motivating this pushing this car down the road in
the '80's, but it's performance pales in comparison to 350Z's, WRX's,
and even Civic's!
Let's be clear from the start,
I'm not a Fiero expert, not a Cadillac expert, or an engine swapping
expert. Anything you read here is my attempt at doing a proper
engine swap with proper engineering techniques. Many of the
procedures in this project are taken from others who have gone here
before. Please remember that any time you install an engine into a
vehicle that wasn't originally designed for it, you need to consider
all possibilities. Balance, placement of components in
consideration of heat, function, and operating parameters. Before
you begin any project like this, you must accurately and honestly
look at your abilities and facilities. We are expecting this
conversion to cost about $2500 because we are going into the engine
seeing as we have 250,000 km on this one. It's a good runner, but
with oil leaks. I'm not installing this into a mid-engine car
without carefully going over it. It would be foolish to spend the
time and money on a project like this without making sure we won't
have problems soon.
I am a mechanic of 35 years with
several engine swaps in my past. A 14 second Mazda
rotary Beetle, a Suzuki LJ 4X4 with a Datsun B210 engine, a
V8 Vega, a VW double cab with a Rabbit engine, and my own V8
S-10 Jimmy soon.
I will adding to this article as
the weeks pass, so check back and see how we are doing.
Let's
begin
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