Skatepunk60

take the engine , springs , computer , tranny and exhaust out of one car and drop it in another? As you guys probably heard i may be getting my dream car! an 83 s/e drool... right now i have an 85 s/e w/ a broke umm rear i think this transfer is totally worth it but im having troubles in the convicing part. What do you guys think

Thanks

JadesAn89

Okay - what do you mean by "broke rear"? And what's wrong with the 85 that you would have to swap all these parts in from the 83?

MDv6man

EXTREMELY DIFFICULT!!!!! The engine and trans aren't that bad. But the Computer and associated wiring will be one of the biggest headaches to swap and get correct. Springs (why?) wouldn't be bad. Neither would exhaust but I recvommend replacing them with new parts. The WORST part would be the fuel tank and associated plumbing up to the engine.

Want to know what I'd do?

Take the rear off the 83 S/E and put it under the 85. Why? they only made about 5500 S/E's in 85 as opposed to 11000 in 83!!! Rarer vehicle. If you really like the looks of the 83, swap body panels and interior stuff. Keep the85 stuff so it can be turned back to original if you decide to sell it.

TomP

Yeah, just swap axles... throw a junkyard axle underneath if you want, then sell the car. Only one problem with putting the '83 rear on the '85... GM switched to metric brake fittings in '84. So the 83 axle has SAE (standard) brake line threads and flares, the '85 has Metric brake line threads and ISO bubble flares. Brake parts are otherwise identical though, so you could just take the '85 brake parts off the '85, take the '83 brake parts off the '83, put the '85 brake parts onto the '83 axle, and put the '83 axle back under the '85.

Skatepunk60

hmm why would i need to cange the 83 axle into my 85? The rear well was hit by a truck goin about 40mph and got f*cked up (previous owner).. body places told me ill never be able to get it back to the way it was. ill include a little sketch i drew of the damage later..cause i aint got a pic. Thanks guys i really appreciate your opinions.

MDv6man

OOOOHHHh I see. When you said the rear was f**ked up we thought your rear axle was bad. We're dealing with a rear ended car. Gotcha. well check at the first part of my post (before I give my "advice") -- I still stand by that part.

Why do you want the 85's motor and all? just for the benefits of MPFI?

Skatepunk60

the 83 has no engine .. it had a carbed v6 but the owner swapped a 350 into it.

My mistake on the axle thing sorry

MDv6man

Okay just to get things in order I have a few more q's

The 83 has no motor (and no trans?). Does it still have any wiring or was the computer and harness gone too?

The 85 is complete except for the smashed rear (correct?)

Still looking at a lot of work if the above situations are correct. But it can be done. I would work on removing the wiring harness and sensors first (takes pictures of the 85 harness for routing) and install it on the 83. Then I would attack the gas tank and fuel lines. After that I would put the 85's motor and trans into the 83.

After that (because you'll be tired) celebrate by paying a shop to put the springs and exhaust on!

Skatepunk60

It may have the wiring harness im not sure but i think it does I talked to my dad and he says we can most likely fix this at home .. the 85 w/ panels from the 83 because the 83's frame is .. umm well i can stick my finger through the unibody, the paint is awesome and the interior is beautiful but the kid let the car sit for 7 years. My new plan is to put on the 83 nose and back bumper , taillights interior and keep the springs , computer and motor mounts so i CAN put a 350 in my car. If it has the t/a side vents ill change those onto mine too. Then ill just take off tons of little parts that you always need (power window/headlight motors) when im done scavenging ill part out whats left cause its all good except the frame which is dead.

By the way thanks a bunch MDv6man for the advice and tips

TomP

Heheh yeah dude when you said you have an "85 with a broke rear", I thought you meant a broken rear axle, not a rear-ended car!

Well to replace rear panels, you're going to need to weld. You can go for a fullblown MIG system, which costs a bit to get yourself started, or check out http://www.eastwoodcompany.com for their complete Firepower arc welding kit. Normally, arc welding is too powerful to do work on the thin body sheetmetal of a car, but the kit comes with two adapters to allow low-amperage work. Here's a link: http://www.eastwoodcompany.com/aspfi...1.asp?T1=19266

I have a MIG setup.. the Lincoln Electric Weld-Pak 100 ($300), the gas conversion kit ($100), and a 40 cu/ft argon/co2 bottle ($100, $15 to fill with gas). Recently I added a $170 auto-dimming helmet to my tool list. (I recommend it!!! Makes welding much more precise!!!) So that's comparing $515 to $200 ... I wanted the first welder I bought to be my last. But if you're just going to do panel replacement, and then not weld for a while, this kit might be the way to go.

Eastwood also sells a no-weld panel replacement system, using a rivet gun, a flush-rivet tool, and special adhesive caulk, but it's mainly meant for small patch jobs, not replacing large (and structurally important) panels.

Hop to the "body & interior" board, and do a Search for "quarter panel" written by "TomP". You'll see my messages of what I'm planning to do, and see the picture of the 1/2 of Firebird that's in my backyard, waiting for me to weld it on.