jerry12

ok, my 86 GXL is blown. I don't want to get rid of the car because the body is in beautiful shape, and so is everything else. So I think i am gonna put about 10,000$ into it. Put a turbo motor in it, drivetrain, have the interior completely redone, get a nice body kit and paint job, redo the suspension, and make it into a really nice car. Any suggestions on where to get a good T2 motor and drivetrain? Also, I know there are threads on this but i dont have time to search.....what exactly am i getting myself into, and what do I have to buy to do this swap?

j200pruf

iTrader: (4)

Go talk to an insurance agent and find a totalled TII, then you can get the drivetrain hood, better suspension, motor and what not, plus it would be really cheap.

White_Seven

If you've got the time and space, try to find a donor T2 car (rear/side wrecked, etc) and use that. You can still get that motor rebuilt while you work on swapping the rest of the stuff (ECU/harness, tranny, differential, half-shafts, rewire fuel pump, etc). So far it's not that bad a task (I am in the middle of a conversion on my 86 right now). Later when you've got the time, you can go through the many threads on here about doing a conversion. Quick tip: Stay within the Series for the Turbo II conversion (in your case, an S4 87-88 T2, same as mine). The S4 to S5 conversion IS possible, but at the cost of A LOT more work. There are several people in this forum that will have a lot of what you need in case you end up not going with a donor car and buying the parts individually. Good luck and keep us posted.