Spirit 2.5 Turbo/manual trans into a 1991 3liter auto?

[boerge]

Hi,
I am new here, and more of an 80/90's front engined Porsche guy, but I have a 1989 Dodge Spirit 2.5 Turbo manual sitting in the barn. I looked at it, and the components under the car seemed to start to get quite rusty.. But the chassis seems to be ok. I need to change the clutch on this car.

I found a 1991 Chrysler Spirit with a 3 liter engine and auto trans, car looks exactly like my 1989.
Question:
How hard is it to put the engine and the manual trans from the 1989 into the 1991 if it turns out it is in better condition?
I read Vigo's project thread, and while he had an amazing pace on his project, he seemed to have done something similar?

The other option would be to put the good components from the 1991 (calipers, basically everything underneath the car that can change out) onto the 1989. Which way would be the easiest here?



Thanks in advance!

B from Norway

[turbovanman²]

Well, I am going to assume that these cars are rare, so I would keep the 4 banger and swap over the K-frame, suspension etc from the 91.

To swap the 91 over, the engine etc will swap over but you'll need to find cables for the auto, shifter and a 89 3.0L wiring harness. The 3.0L bolts right in, you'll have to find the 89 front and right side mounts but the left will be ok. You'll need to use all the accessories, IE Power steering etc off the donor car. Its not that hard to do, the wiring harness will be the hardest part, and a matching computer.

[Vigo]

Simon, hes talking about putting the 2.5/5spd into the 3.0/3spd car.

The nuts and bolts part is not bad at all. You'll be able to reuse almost everything under the hood of the 89, although you'll have to get different motor mount brackets because 91 are 'big mounts' and 89 are 'small mounts'. Any 2.2 or 2.5 from 90-95 ought to have the motor mounts, doesnt matter if it was turbo or not. However, the manual trans mount is different from the autos, so you'll need one from any 90-95 manual car, unless you can mod the auto one from your 91 to fit the 89 trans. This might be possible, cant say for sure without looking.

BUT, on manuals only there is a 4th motor mount, a tiny shock absorber we call a 'bobble strut' that connects the diff area of the trans to the k-frame. Most auto cars dont have the bracket on the k-frame to bolt this to. However, i have seen some auto cars that had it. If yours doesnt have it, you can either get a manual k-frame from the junkyard that has it (too much work) or just buy the bracket from polybushings.com and get it welded on.
http://polybushings.com/pages/moparubrkt.html

You'll have to change a few things on the wiring harness most likely. Read through this thread to get an idea of what you'll need to do.
http://www.turbo-mopar.com/forums/sh...ad.php?t=52474

There IS the option of trying to find the factory harness from a 91 turbo spirit (non RT), but those are rare and there's no guarantee you'll find one anytime soon.


Changing the clutch with the motor/tranny on the ground is a piece of cake. Swapping in the clutch pedal is a bit of a pain just because you have to lay on your back over the door sill to work on it, but its much easier than the pedals on a lot of other cars. The shifter stuff is pretty easy too. So the 5spd swap part of it, i would say will not be too bad.



^all of that is option A. Option B is put all the suspension from the 91 onto the 89. Honestly, that would be a lot less work. You can swap the struts, spindles, springs, shocks, brakes, k-frame, steering rack, fuel tank, track bar, and possibly the rear axle, and its all just nuts and bolts. The only thing that might be different is the axle. You need to look at the front of the rear trailing arms where they bolt to the body. Where they hinge will either have a round or an oval bushing. If they are both the same shape, the axles will swap. If they are different style bushings, swapping them would change the wheelbase and cause the tires to rub under certain conditions.

[raccoon]

seems like a lot of work but its really just lots of little jobs.

[RoadWarrior222]

Hard part is remembering which bolt goes where after 3 years, when it's been moved from buddy's house to buddy's house in totes after the divorce. So keep a journal of sorts and mail it to your brother in case she burns your papers

Just kidding, it gets done fairly quick a little at a time.

[boerge]

Thanks Vigo and others, that was really some good answers there. I think I'll go the 1991 into the 1989 route, that would also keep the car "stock". I believe there are very few Spirits of this combination in Europe. (Turbo and manual) Are they getting rarer in the states these days?
To bad its only for ppl like us that still see some fun in these cars...

[Vigo]

Turbo spirits are not super rare, but turbo/5spd ones are VERY rare. Considering they're rare here in USA, im guessing you're right about it being incredibly rare in europe.

If you want other people to see the fun, you'll need to take them for some rides after you modify the car a bit.. With some bigger injectors, an intercooler, and an exhaust, you can crank that thing up to make 300 lb ft of torque easily. That always feels crazy for people when they dont expect it!

[turbovanman²]

Simon, hes talking about putting the 2.5/5spd into the 3.0/3spd car.

Ok, but what I said still applies, just slightly different and of course he'll need the bobble mount bracket.