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Thu Jul 01, 2010 6:34 pm

how hard is it to change the water pump in one of those?

I am hating my 1.9L right now. Major pain to change the water pump.

Thu Jul 01, 2010 9:13 pm

levi wrote:
I like torque. 8)

I think everyone does!

8)

thummmper wrote: a hypothetical 214. she has 174000 miles on her, so her factory
freshness is a little stale, but it only costs 2500 for a moparts crate motor.

Now whats the MPG? Is this conversion cost effective, or is it just because of the extra horses, or ???

Thu Jul 01, 2010 9:49 pm

the wassenpumpen is a 2 hour job. It's located in the old cam locale, under the tstat.
It is usually replaced every 105000 with the cam belt while theyre in there. almost never fail. the cam belt parts are $400.00 or so.
she makes 221 ft lbs torque at 2800.
I just drove her to san diego, some 225 miles, round trip and got 23 mpg at 80. It goes up at slower speeds, but I didnt have the time to find out. she weighs 900 lbs more than my gl and the tires are 25.5" tall.
3.9/1 r/p. 2100 rpm at 70. that lockup converter really helps. It has traction control too. I will have to look to see what the claims are for 1300 rpm torque.
this e/t is stubborn coming out-the car was in missouri for 5 years from california with an air force reservist who got activated, so the bolts all have a little katrina in their threads. I had to cut through an exhaust pipe today to remedy a taper flange bolt that wouldnt budge in the little room there was to turn a wrench. theres more room around a 396 in a 70 camaro than this car. It's no wonder mechanics get higher rates, they need so many special tools just to reach this stuff. my eyes are opening...

Thu Jul 01, 2010 10:03 pm

thummmper wrote:
I just drove her to san diego, some 225 miles, round trip and got 23 mpg at 80. It goes up at slower speeds, but no time. she weighs 900 lbs more than my gl and the tires are 25.5" tall.
3.9/1 r/p. 2100 rpm at 70. that lockup converter really helps. It has traction control too. I will have to look to see what the claims are for 1300 rpm torque.

2100rpm @ 70.... I'm drooling!

So the mpg is in the van, or the original car? 23mpg at 80 is pretty impressive. In my WBX, I get +/- 17 at 75. So @ 5mpg difference, is that going to be cost effective overall.

Figure 20,000 miles per year. Stock WBX will get a good mix of 16-17mpg. Thats 1250 gallons per year. At $2.75/gal = $3437.5 in gas/year

Same 20,000 miles. With 25mpg. That'll be 800 gallons/year. At same $2.75/gal=$2200 in gas/ year

$1200/year so in about 4-6 years you'll be making money with it depending how expensive you figure your labor to be.

Pretty darn good man! 8)

Fri Jul 02, 2010 4:05 am

I thought about this same thing with an old '84 awhile back using either the Buick or Olds (same i think) but with the supercharger. After awhile i decided the challenge a bit much but good luck. Saw a single cab a few yrs back with the whole Buick and subframe assy grafted into the back, very neat job.

Fri Jul 02, 2010 11:11 am

in my 90 i actually got 21 with the 2.1/ manual before I pulled it for the suby.
I researched the gm 3.8. nice dependable ptrain, but I wanted a back seat, so the sideways thing dq'd it.
I am very close to lifting the e/t out of the LHS. 1 half shaft, rear trans mount bolt and I can start lifting,
that is as soon as bitchen calls me back so I can get his hoist and impact gun for the stub axles.
my landlord just dialed it up and wants me out by aug 15, so I have till the end of this month [july] to install and finish the hdw.
then I need 2 weeks to demo my second floor and truck it off. I'm going for it cause I dont have another months rent.

Sat Jul 03, 2010 2:45 pm

It's finally out!!!
took it to my local scrap yard and they weighed it with their forklift and a digital pallet scale 691 lbs

now i will clean everything tonight after I get the speed sensors from the hubs and cut off what i need from the subframe--
theres still 15 gallons of gas in this thing, so I will remove the pump/sender in the tank and start sucking.

Sun Jul 04, 2010 7:16 pm

Is it the same engine+tranny on the 2 pics?

transmission lookslike different :oops:

Who was making the tranny?It looks like a ZF.....maybe you can use the same adapters as I'm using :wink:

bye!

Mon Jul 05, 2010 1:17 am

fitting #1 yielded data that led me to #2 with some trimming.

With that, I am almost down to where I need to be. those exhaust manifolds stick out like chicken wings. All along I have just had a knowing about this project. There is enough room for the manifolds just between the stringers. That was total luck.
I will make templates for the steel needed to rienforce everything.

this was a fast long day

Alika- that is a chrysler trans--42LE/ A606 electronic auto trans with traction control. Its a torqueflight from the sixties that
makes a u turn to a sandwiched differential. Just what I needed.

Mon Jul 05, 2010 7:43 pm

first preliminary settled fitting-I can lower it another inch

but that puts me in the 8" ground clearance neighborhood.

I was up till 130 last night, so I'm bushed again and coughing up cigar. nice. It has taken a long time to get to this point,
and it looks viable.
I will reinforce the arm pin gussets I cut, probably with the same pieces.

Sat Jul 10, 2010 5:42 pm

Installing a new cross member 6-1/8" fwd of the first one takes a little planning while rerouting conduits and cables.
I have a design on paper now that handles everything. I will be sandwiching 3 layers of 1/8" wall 2x2 steel square tubing
so I can picture frame here and there instead of doing the wristracking holesaw thing. I will still holesaw the stringer
transitions to lay everything outboard.

Mon Jul 12, 2010 10:38 pm

tri tube cross member spaces beautifully, scaling the van beams perfectly while allowing all conduits to pass through without any
loss of strength.

coolant manifolds in place for pre-fitting. I want to make them removeable in case they begin to leak for any reason.

hot water return coolant crossover manifold is ready for leak testing

knuckle guards in place tie the pins in from the front as well

the pin braces/ knuckle guards are the launch site for the round tube motor mounts--

Mon Jul 12, 2010 10:49 pm

you're working too fast :shock: :shock:

I wish I could weld like you :cry:

Mon Jul 12, 2010 11:07 pm

Impressive fabrication work, Todd! I like what I'm seeing.

One question: Did you situate the transmission so that the output flanges are perfectly aligned with the outer axle stubs? I can't quite tell from the photos how you've got it laid out.

David

Tue Jul 13, 2010 12:09 am

On any other forum we would have seen someone commenting on your welds by now.

I'm not going to be that guy except to say mine look the same. :lol:

Also, about draining that gas, used the fuel pump to drain it.

Tue Jul 13, 2010 12:16 am

Also, the back of that transmission has an interesting bolt pattern:

It is very similar to the parting line of my transfer case.

Tue Jul 13, 2010 10:31 pm

The trans had to be set 1.5" aft of the center of the trailing arm cv radius.
I can never just give a strait answer. so now the mondo motor mounts are over half done--I was going to use 1.5" 1/8 wall
steel tubing, but I didnt like the scale of it and it would look underbuilt, so I opted for a nice 10 guage 2" steel tubing I had
on the rack.

This is the bracket the engine will bolt up to at the rubber mounts.

my welding sucked really hard until I got a halogen light under there, then it only sucked terribly. since I am so aesthetic, I paid my
penance by grinding all of it for 3 hours and touching voids up for the regrind.
surfaces must be flat to fit things to, so I'm on it. my welding has always sucked laying down--I keep thinking I just contracted
herpes, but then I remember I have been getting burned all day by little cherries in my sleeves and ears.
You guys dont understand--I have until aug 14 to be out of my shop--I am getting more done running on fumes than I ever did
before. I am still unemployed and the rent is all paid to the end. so I am trying to get this powertrain hung so she can roll in one
piece to my san diego destination.

I have 32 days to get as much welding/fab done on the van, disassemble my 1800 sq ft second floor and truck it away and patch the walls.
so its general quarters until its done.

Wed Jul 14, 2010 9:29 am

I think your welds look fine. At the rate you're going, I think you'll get it put together before August 14th. Keep up the good work :)

David

Wed Jul 14, 2010 1:18 pm

Stand up job! I love your posts! I just finished my 2.2 and also am dissapointed with the high rpms at highway speeds. I will just have to live with it due to budget! Keep up the good work!

Wed Jul 14, 2010 1:41 pm

D Clymer wrote: I think your welds look fine. At the rate you're going, I think you'll get it put together before August 14th. Keep up the good work :)

David

i agree - i will add though that i would bevel all of your metal when you fit it - allowing for maximum penetration - and a double pass always helps

I will say this about grinding - the way i was taught is that if the weld is cosmetic then grinding is ok - but if the weld is on a structural piece or the piece is going to be holding any form of weight - then it should not be ground

i couldnt tell on the one piece where you welded it around...but i wouldnt grind any weld seeing as this is a first time this form of swap is done

just my $.02