Hi all! First post here, been lurking for about year now.
I recently managed to blow my (not so) Iron Duke while trying to drive my ´84 from England to Sweden. Started with a tapping that quickly devoleped into a knocking / clanking / banging then dead!!!!
Here's the question - whats the quickest / easiest / cheapest swap to get this car up and running and on the way to Sweden using bits I can source in the UK? (It's a 4 speed manual)
The quickest and cheapest way to get your car back on the road is to put another Duke in there.
If you are talking about a completely different engine swap, you are going to get a lot of opinions. A lot will depend on what skills you have. Can you weld, run electrical wires, do in-depth engine/transmission work, fabricate parts, etc.?
I recently managed to blow my (not so) Iron Duke...
quote
Originally posted by Noiseman:
Here's the question - whats the quickest / easiest / cheapest swap to get this car up and running and on the way to Sweden using bits I can source in the UK?
Sounds like you want to do the swap on the side of the road... Are you stuck somewhere until it gets fixed?
I've never managed to get a definitive answer on whether this would work, but some of the Vauxhall/Opel OHC engines were used in the US - specifically the Sunfire Turbo engine. If the bellhousing is the same bolt pattern you should be able to find a 2 litre 8 valve engine from an Astra/Cavalier in the UK which would bolt up to the trans. You'd then need to have engine mounts fabbed and sort out the wiring, but the FI on those engines is quite simple, and certainly on older Astras entirely within the engine compartment.
If the bellhousing is different, then this won't help much!
I've never managed to get a definitive answer on whether this would work, but some of the Vauxhall/Opel OHC engines were used in the US - specifically the Sunfire Turbo engine. If the bellhousing is the same bolt pattern you should be able to find a 2 litre 8 valve engine from an Astra/Cavalier in the UK which would bolt up to the trans. You'd then need to have engine mounts fabbed and sort out the wiring, but the FI on those engines is quite simple, and certainly on older Astras entirely within the engine compartment.
If the bellhousing is different, then this won't help much!
This graphic says it's different.....but I cannot confirm it's accuracy.
Just drop another duke in there, that is the quickest / easiest / cheapest swap you can do to a car that has the duke in it, or any other engine for that mater nowadays. remember if you change a motor to a different one it is going to need to have its old computer from whatever car it came out of as well as what others have said. Many things are different in an engine swap in any newer cars and believe it or not in my eyes anyway the Fiero engines are the first of the newer engines. That require computer control and there are other things that you will need to do or know when you swap it out with a newer engine or one of a different size anyway.
It ain't like the old days, 60s and 70s when we would just take a 454 out of something and drop it into whatever we wanted, those cars had carburetors and for the most part didn't have any computer controlled engine systems.
Steve
------------------ Technology is great when it works, and one big pain in the ass when it doesn't
I'm waiting on a reply about geting another duke (whole doner fiero maybe) Fingers crossed
Interesting about the opel / vauxhaul idea, those cars are really easy to come by over here
About the problem / death of the engine, the car was alternating betwen these two states:- Engine light on / ticking noise / normal power Engine light goes off / ticking stops / engine runs rough with low power Car had new plugs / leads / cap / rotor, oil and coolant levels checked 30 miles previous when refuelling
I didnt have a look under the car close enough to see any damage but there was oil leaking from the firewall side of the engine. The car was recovered back to my dads place and I hitch hiked to Belgium to work at a festival then booked a flight back to Sweden ( was one hell of a day!!!!) I'm now looking at flying back to England, fixing the car in the street then driving it to Sweden (where I have space / time / welding gear etc. to swap in a N* / SAAB etc.)
I don't know about the transmission that's in it now, but the F23 has the same output splines as a 4spd muncie, if you were thinking the Saab (Ecotec) route, there are fitting kits, however you're almost certainly looking at greater expense than finding a duke and getting it shipped over...
I'm waiting on a reply about geting another duke (whole doner fiero maybe) Fingers crossed
Interesting about the opel / vauxhaul idea, those cars are really easy to come by over here
About the problem / death of the engine, the car was alternating betwen these two states:- Engine light on / ticking noise / normal power Engine light goes off / ticking stops / engine runs rough with low power Car had new plugs / leads / cap / rotor, oil and coolant levels checked 30 miles previous when refuelling
I didnt have a look under the car close enough to see any damage but there was oil leaking from the firewall side of the engine. The car was recovered back to my dads place and I hitch hiked to Belgium to work at a festival then booked a flight back to Sweden ( was one hell of a day!!!!) I'm now looking at flying back to England, fixing the car in the street then driving it to Sweden (where I have space / time / welding gear etc. to swap in a N* / SAAB etc.)
why don't you just scrap it and save yourself the airfare
a 1984 ? oil was low, a ROD let go, went through the block. ( that's Common for a 1984 Fiero) Lucky it didn't catch fire. unless a 84 is worth ALOT MORE in England than it is here, I'd "Call it a day". Fix it along side the road ? Not gonna happen.
a 1984 ? oil was low, a ROD let go, went through the block. ( that's Common for a 1984 Fiero) Lucky it didn't catch fire. unless a 84 is worth ALOT MORE in England than it is here, I'd "Call it a day". Fix it along side the road ? Not gonna happen.
There are so few here in the UK, there isn't really an established value.
Any fiero which runs and drives and has an MoT on it is worth £1000 I'd say.
Originally posted by Noiseman: Interesting about the opel / I didnt have a look under the car close enough to see any damage but there was oil leaking from the firewall side of the engine.
I'm waiting on a reply about geting another duke (whole doner fiero maybe) Fingers crossed
Interesting about the opel / vauxhaul idea, those cars are really easy to come by over here
About the problem / death of the engine, the car was alternating betwen these two states:- Engine light on / ticking noise / normal power Engine light goes off / ticking stops / engine runs rough with low power Car had new plugs / leads / cap / rotor, oil and coolant levels checked 30 miles previous when refuelling
I didnt have a look under the car close enough to see any damage but there was oil leaking from the firewall side of the engine. The car was recovered back to my dads place and I hitch hiked to Belgium to work at a festival then booked a flight back to Sweden ( was one hell of a day!!!!) I'm now looking at flying back to England, fixing the car in the street then driving it to Sweden (where I have space / time / welding gear etc. to swap in a N* / SAAB etc.)
I take it you don't have International Recovery on your Breakdown Insurance? Just saying. Not that I'm suggesting you get it to start, overfill it with thick oil, and drive it on the M way until it dies you understand. No, I'm not suggesting that at all. If I were I'd be telling you to double check all the clauses and qualifying periods/type/ages of cars covered. RTH and not to the nearest garage. But I'm not,... not at all, at all.
The XE2.0 is only 4 wires, I think the later LET 2.0 is 7. I'm sure I have a write up somewhere. Both are 150hp easy, 165 with a decent exhaust. From what I can gather the 'box splines are the same so an engine/box swap would be best. Although, if you get it to Sweden, the post '91/92 Saab 2.0/2.3 uses the GM bolt pattern/spline set. The 2.0 with the T25 will give 275hp with T5 suite. The 2.3 with the TD04 gives 325hp with T5 suite, you can get that engine to 400hp with a hybrid turbo and T5, no internal engine mods, though a head gasket change would be an idea. Biggest problem would be intercooling the thing properly. Have a look on the T5/T7 suite Forum.
Or Mini's, then the UK Scrappage Scheme took car of most of the rest. Sweden though, a post '92 Saab engine/box has to be the way to go. Cheap and silly power levels with just a diy ECU reflash.