Hey guys, I recently came across a deal on a 3rd gen engine that I couldnt pass up, I have a 12a With a huge Mikuni Carb on it right now, the engine is pushing close to 250k miles and Decided to switch it out with the 13bTt.

I just have a couple questions before I start this long project! lol

Will the New Motor mount correctly on the existing Motor mounts?

Will it fit without having to tear into the firewall?

And how much of a pain is the wiring going to be??

Thanks for your help!!

 

No it won't mount to the current mounts. The 3rd gen engine mounts are on the side, the 1st gen mounts are on the front. You'll have to custom-fab something for this.

Yes it can fit without tearing into the firewall, since you'll be custom-making the mounts you can mount it where it'll fit. I hope you're getting the transmission too. If not, you're going to have fun mating it to a 1st gen tranny. They don't even use the same style clutch as ours do (pull-type instead of push-type IIRC).

The wiring is going to suck hardcore, especially if your car came with a 12a. But even if it was an -SE it would suck. I hope you've got a multimeter, an FSM for both cars and a lot of free time.

The whole fuel system is going to have to be changed. Very very different fuel requirements between a 13b twin turbo and a carbed 12a

Good luck. Take lots of pictures, make good friends with fabricators and people in local machine shops, and document as well as you can because everyone wants to do this swap.

And budget *way* above what you think its going to cost. It always costs more than you think.

Jon

 

Hey thanks for that Info, It has a blown Automatic transmission on it and Im buying a used Automatic for 50 dollars off of a friend. Ill definatly take lots of pics and document the many struggles im about to have, Ill repost when I thikn of more questions, Thanks!

 

I just went through the entire engine swap. I am not going to lie to you, there is a fair amount of work. But to tell you the truth there is not too much work over the T2 engine. There will be added cost depending on how you do it though.

There are small things that are different on the rew engine(ie the crank angle sensors). You can do it a few different ways.

1. make a new engine subframe
2. swap front covers

I swapped the covers because I did not want to have to mess with figuring out weight distribution of the vehicle again. Just made it a little easier.

I documented a lot of the work in a thread called project F(d wanna)B. Check it out. There is also another write-up where another member made a complete subframe for the engine.

Viper hit the nail on the head. there are so many silicone hoses and garbage under the hood of a 3rd gen. I pulled the entire harness and is was over 20' long. Nightmare...yes. I went single turbo and standalone for a reason.

Z