78 or 79 malibu swap

[onabudget-t]

just wondering if anybody can give me some tips on putting a gn complete drivetrain in a 78 r 79 malibu.

[just plain john]

I'm doing an 81 El Camino, same thing. Here's what I've found so far......you will need to sort out the fuel delivery. In my case I used a tank and sender from an 85-87 throttle body injected EC. This allowed an in tank Walbro 340 fuel pump. Alternatley you can run an aftermarket EFI rated external pump, but you'll need to add a sump to the tank. You will have to provide a switched hot lead to power the pump. I also found that the GN trans crossmember will work, but new holes will have to be drilled on the drivers side since the crossmember is slightly different on that side. I also salvaged the the motor mounts on the frame. bolts right in but you need to put it in the correct existing holes as there are several to choose from. If your car is equipped with a 7.5 rear the turbo motor will kill it quick. The 8.5 from a TR or GN is a bolt in. Your stock driveshaft will be too long. Maybe it can be shortened, but I would prefer one that is the same diameter the whole lenght of the shaft. I haven't begun to wire the car yet but it liiks like a b*tch. The Buick ECM needs a road speed input signal to determinewhen to turn off the cooling fans, lock up the converter, and a few other functions. Caspers has the VSS you need for that. I'm going to use the factory harness I got with the motor, but Caspers, Postons and perhaps others sells a harness suitable for use in a transplant. Bring your wallet. In fact, you'll need it for just about everything, unless you are way better at the junkyard crawl than I am. All this is not inclusive but that's what I've found so far.

[monte87LS]

dont worry onebudgett Im not here to highjack your thread ...just here to get some more info for us both because it looks like im going to be putting an 87 TurboBuick drivetrain in my 87 MonteLS...I had some questions about the wiring, ya see right now I have a 350ci motor with a TH350 trans in my Monte, I took my computer out an all, Im wondering what kind of wiring im looking at considering theres really not much to my car, I will be using all mechanical guages, manual steering, manual brakes, I have no AC/heater box (I deleted it)...my headlights and all work fine without the computer, so what Im wondering with my car is what am I wiring?...I know I'l need to do the fuel pump and electric fan but besides that, whatelse for my setup, it seems too easy, all I can think of is dropping the motor in, feeding the engine harness through the firewall and plug it into the T-Type computer...I have a complete 1987 Regal T-Type parked right next to my Monte ready for the swap!...everything I need!...my modded T-Type setup in my 3000LB Monte would be nice, also Im waiting for my BOP adapter plate so I can bolt my TurboBuick motor up to my built TH350 trans