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So I bought the wife this horizon and after a few different things I have read..I have a question for anyone that can she'd some light on this for me....what is the biggest motor I can put in this....it currently has a 2.2 non turbo but I would love to give it more guts than 90 hp...I've been thinking of just dropping in a rebuilt 2.2 with turbo...but I really want to go simi-nuts with it...keep in mind this will be the wife's daily driver....any thoughts????
You can realistically drop in a 2.2 or 2.5. Either engine will be fine for a daily driver. 200HP or so is about all most all season tires will want anyway.
+1Quote:
Originally Posted by cordes
A lot of conventional wisdom states that the 2.5 turbo is overkill for an L-body. You just can't use the torque in the lighter car. But people have done it both ways. I have a 2.5 TII setup(considerably modified) in my Scamp, and it's an animal. I certainly wouldn't give it to my wife as a daily driver. 1st gear is almost useless, well, other than making huge plumes of tire smoke:eyebrows:, but lots of fun for me. Even a bone stock 2.2 TI setup is a 50% power upgrade from the stock N/A motor, which automatically increases the fun factor a bunch.
It's not that tough to convert over, especially if you use SMEC(88-89) electronics so you avoid having to run all the extra wires into the cabin for the logic module. I managed to create a custom harness for my Scamp combining the original 83 harness with an 89 P-body harness in about 5 evenings.
Thank you for the info..my next question is where would I find a motor at most of the sites I have been to don't carry anything for my car being how old it is....and unfortunately I'm in 4x4 country so to find a sitting one is like nill to none...any suggestions....by the way the wife likes the idea of the 2.5 TII she likes playing as much as I do...lol
I believe the car farm is in Bluefield, WV approx 1hour drive away
Do a search on car-part.com for an engine for an 89 Shadow. Should pop up something fairly close to you.
But truthfully, your cheapest bet is to find a rot box donor car to pull the engine & harness from. A turbo Shadow or Daytona ES should be fairly easy to find, and cheap in your area. Also try looking for a Chrysler Lebaron, or a turbo minivan, although the later is a little tougher to find.
The donor car is best, because you can pull the harness & ECU as well to get you going. Then get a hold of the factory service manuals for your Horizon & the donor car, and start checking the wiring. Isn't too tough to do. I think in the end, I only had to splice 9-10 wires to make a functioning harness. Now, I don't have A/C or cruise control, so that made it a little easier. I kept the lighting, windshield wiper/washer, and horn wiring from my Scamp, and the engine control wiring from the Shadow. The only wires that needed splicing were the power into the cab, and the ignition feeds back out from the ignition switch. I also set up a dedicated fuel pump circuit because I'm using a much larger Walbro 255 lph pump in the tank.
Agree with the above:
RGL10 is a very talented member from WV and could possibly assist with appropriate parts.
L bodys are about the Easiest cars to convert to a Turbo ENGINE but you need a plan.
1989 and up are common block and have different pulleys/sprockets etc.
1988 is a bit oddball and 1987 and older is mostly the same.
1988-89 have SMEC Electronics arguably the best due to availability and 2.2 or 2.5 stock configurations.
1987 and older is Logic Module and Power Module Electronics which are fine but only for 2.2.
Any 2.2/2.5 will fit your car and transmission but L bodys have the weakest transmissions.
Stronger Turbo automatic is a direct fit but requires 1988-89 L body automatic axles due to larger inner splines.
Your Engine/trans mounts are specific to your L body and must be retained but will fit any 2.2/2.5
Jobber rebuilds are mostly inferior so keep this in mind.
A good running single donor car is prefered, 1989 would be ideal.
Mismatching can sometimes cause problems.
Any year can work.
Thanks
Randy