Switchin a '87 Regal over to a Turbo motor

[Quik393]

I have been wanting a Regal for years now, just have never came across the right one for the right price for what I have in mind. I finally found the one, its a '87 Regal non turbo car. Its in excellent condition in/out but the motors got a knock so im gettin it for $500. Now that the backgrounds outta the way I got a few questions.

1. What all is involved in converting this car over to a GN/T-Type drivetrain? Is the tranny the same? Rear end?

2. Where can I find stock turbo motors or long blocks so I can put one in and drive it while I build a nice motor?

3. Do I need a computer from a turbo car? What about the whole harness?

4. Is the radiator the same setup?

5. Is the suspension the same?

6. What vendors on this site sell a lot of engine parts?

I'm planning on daily driving this thing as soon as I can get a running turbo motor in it, and then building up something slowly. Is it a hard swap or is it mostly just locating all the parts im gonna need? Anybody know where I can find a wrecked Turbo car to use as a donor? Sorry for all the questions, I'm just excited i finally found a g-body to start messin with. Ill prolly be on here a lot now.

Mike

 

[2 QK 4 U]

1. Tranny is not the same, but a brf 200r4 will fit.
Rear end is a 10 Bolt however, it has a 7.5" ring gear oposed to the 8.5".

2. You can normally find a decent priced stock motor on this board or Ebay, maybe swat meets if you're lucky. A wrecked TR with a good driveline will be a good bet as well.

3. You'll need the whole ECM and the complete engine wiring harness.

4. Radiator is not the same, TR radiators have oil cooler as well as a trans cooler inside.

5. Suspension is the same except for touring springs and rear sway bar.

6. Your best bet with vendors is the list from this site or use www.gnttype.org for all your resources and knowledge.

7. You need the baffled gas tank, as well as the pressure lines, return and vent lines(can buy used or new) <search on this topic for part numbers and prices. Also a lot of discussion on this topic in general from this site.

If you've done any motor swapping in the past it's not that difficult. It's all the little things that will seem frustrating at first.

I suggest make a list and do things in a logical order, like when you have the tank out to put the other one in...do the rear end before bolting in the new tank. Makes life a lot easier.

Every now and then someone will post a wrecked car here and on Ebay. Just keep your eyes peeled. and Good luck!

 

[Matt Weiser]

What you want to do is both simple, and not so simple. Actually installing the motor/tranny is the easy part. They'll bolt right in. A complete motor bought off the "parts for sale" section of this board should run you about $2k. A tranny, $300-400.

Then you need a TR computer and engine wiring harness. The computer will be cheap. You can buy a brand new repro harness from www.casperselectronics.com for about $650, or hunt around for a used one for less. A used posi rear end out of a TR will cost about $800. Or you can go with a custom Ford 9" for, what, around $1,200-1,500?

In your shoes, I would go with a custom aluminum rad. The stock TR rads have tranny and oil coolers built in. But you can add a separate cooler for the trans and go without on oil cooler.

Then you need an intercooler, power steering pump, and whatever other unique bits don't come with your long block.

As you can see, it starts to look real economical to just get a wrecked TR and just swap all the parts over. Otherwise all the little stuff you need will just nickle and dime you to death.

The only other suspension difference I can think of is that TRs have a quick-ration steering box. Not a big deal. If you want this, it's basically the same as those used on F41 F-bodies. These are all over the junkyards.

Gas tank: Get one out of a TR or modify yours by building your own baffles and using a pump hanger/sender from a TR. You can make your own fuel lines out of fancy braided SS hose or just use cheaper rubber EFI hose from any parts store (that's what I did).

Some good vendors:
www.johnsperformance.com
www.kirbans.com
Ramcharger's
Poston's

Good luck!

 

[Reaper]

just buy a TR its cheaper and easier. save our self the trouble.

 

[gnx7]

where are you located?

This is a lot of work... but would be well worth it. Finding a rust free Regal in good shape is getting harder and harder to find. Hope the car is in as good as shape as you say.

I have nearly everything you need and I'm in SF.

'87 intercooled engine/trans, radiator, steering box, wiring harness/ECM

What engine came in the '87 car? 4.1i?

-Mark
San Francisco, CA

 

[1000MileStylez]

email me if you need building tips. Mines still a work in progress, should be out by spring time

 

[49-blues]

Its alot of work- im working on my second and last one. you will also need electric fuel pump and filter.by the time you get the car together in parts-you could have just bought an original gn which will probably worth more money anyhow.

 

[1000MileStylez]

my regal -400 bucks
chassis work, cage and other mods 1200
87 engine 1500
engine harness 200
moser 12 bolt rear 1500
engine parts$$$$ still buying$$$$

im building a strictly race car which i think my way is cheaper instead of buying a 10,000 dollar gn, when all that money could be just put into the motor, and the rest of the interior and everything else i dont need, so thats 10k wasted.....oh yeah it comes with the 8.5 rear woopdy doo!

It all depends on what you want to build

 

[Quik393]

Thanks for all the replies guys. Ive been running so many ideas around in my head the last couple of days its beginning to make me dizzy. The guy with the regal actually called me and told me he'd take $300 just to get it off his lot. The car is as clean as I've ever seen a regal before. Three of my friends have GNs and none are as clean as this regal.

I was seriously thinking about just scrappin my whole idea and just puttin a SBC 406 in it. It seems like it might be an easier swap in the long run...But then Mark posts that he has all the parts I need and not only that but hes a 30 min. drive from me. Mark, Im livin in Palo Alto right now, Im extremely interested in finding out more about what all you have for sale. Could you e-mail me a list of everything you're interested in selling? Is it a wrecked car or just a lot of parts?

I'll definitely keep you guys that have already done this or are doing it in mind when I run into problems, but I don't think it can be that bad. Like people said, its probly harder to locate all the parts than it is to actually get everything in there.

Anybody think I should just go the SBC route and save myself the PCM and injection probs? Thanks again.

Mike

 

[The Don]

Grim Reaper

if I all ready own a 86 regal v6 3.8 and can get my friendds rear end tranny and complete engine for $3000 will the swap be feasable?

 

[Razor]

I got an engine harness for sale..200.00

 

[The Don]

If your telling me I don't need one my engine is complete I'm just trying to find out some complications with this swap...I have the complete engine, th-200brf tranny 8.5 rear end...I just wanna know if Ill run into any unfore seen probs with this swap and is it feasable?

 

[Darkside]

You can save yourself a bunch of money and time by just buying a turbo regal. I have 3 years in my car in just a basic restoration, it's a '84 GN and I have not had to do anything major with it. Use your $500 regal and make it a parts car for a used turbo regal, save your self a lot of head aches. Even if you shop around really, really hard, you are still going to dump $5000 in this car if you do it right!

 

[83ttypecooled]

Transplant

Hi!
Let me see if I can itemize your situation before they shut me off here. The transplant you are speaking of comes easier when a donor car is available. My car is an '83 ttype, was carbed. Was fortunate to find a wrecked donor, '87 GN. Without the donor, I would have been f d! Too many parts are needed to do the job any other way, economically. I realize I was very fortunate to find that donor. If you want to do it right, as in totally oem, this is the way to fly. Stupid little things get in your way, otherwise. I think I'd just buy a complete workable car, if I had to do it all over again. Good luck!

 

[The Don]

if I all ready own a 86 regal v6 3.8 and can get my friends rear end tranny and complete engine for $3000 will the swap be feasable? are there any other parts I will need...he has a GN the body is in rough condition but the motor is good what other parts would I need?