Swap trans and motor from 1989 into 1983?

[ghiafreek]

Can I do this without any complicated issues. Came into a loaner manual 1989 carat and would like to swap out auto trans and motor in my 1983( not running) for the 1989 carat ( running). What's are your thoughts on ease of swap?
thanks.

[dabaron]

for starters, you'll have to pull the wiring loom for the ECU from the 89 to make the digifant system work. then there is the auto tranny wiring and the coolant system changes to be addressed.

not a simple unbolt the old, bolt in the new.
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1991 Vanagon GL Camper
i had no idea i wanted to be a mechanic
"burnin oil and cookin coils" -- Destructo

BiWerks Design, LLC

[danfromsyr]

IMO this is a 'if you have to ask" you probably shouldn't do it.
how can we properly assess your ability, your skill set, your willingness to see it through, your garage facility or the patience of a friend/spouse/parent.


will the parts swap, sure the chassis isn't standard or automatic specific.

there are MANY parts that will need to be swapped over, including some of the ignition & starter wiring as well as the reverse lights circuit
then there's the shifting linkages including the bushings.

there are some other OLD threads in here on manual to auto or auto to manual swaps.
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[?Waldo?]

[ghiafreek]

[MarkWard]

I'm in the middle of swapping in a manual transmission. Even though it is well documented the pedal clusters are identical. This was not the case with this conversion. We are also assuming your van is not one of the last air cooled engines.

As long as you can have both vans on hand for doing the swap, it should be fairly straightforward. The early chassis even has the cutout for the later style shift linkage. Lots of tiny details need to be addressed.
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[ghiafreek]

[Zeitgeist 13]

The auto pedal assembly is much easier to remove than the manual--by far. I don't think there's much difference between the air/diesel/WBX pedals, except that some early and late late models use a steel pedestal and some use an aluminum. If you want an easy route to swap, you can install the 2.1 engine management and exhaust, but leave the 1.9 cooling system intact, albeit with some mods to exclude the ATF cooler if there is one on the early models. Then again, since you have a complete donor, you could swap over the 2.1 coolant tubes, hoses and radiator/fan. The 2.1 cooling system is often considered to be superior. The 2.1 exhaust is definitely superior.
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Casey--

'89 Bluestar ALH w/12mm Waldo pump, PP764 and GT2052
'01 Weekender --> full camper
y u rune klassik?

[ghiafreek]

[MarkWard]

Hope you document it here. I enjoy a good project thread.
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