ecotec swap (Page 6/98)
fierodeletre NOV 29, 01:38 AM
speaking from zero experience, I personally would have trouble fabbing those mounts that wftb did, they look fantastic, but it seems the GM guys decided to mount the eco in the cav every where the fiero's motor/trans is not mounted. that and the computer interface issues. I like the fact that the axles fit on wftb's build. I wonder if there's room to reverse the shift cable in the engine compartment, though? Any word on that solstice manifold?
cheers
Austin

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If you can't be good, be good at it.

wftb NOV 30, 08:25 AM
actually the mounts are pretty simple .i have a grinder chop saw and a vice and an assortment of hammers.most hardware stores have steel for sale that will do .i set the assembly on the cradle and cut and bent to suit.as you can see in the pics ,i bolted the mounts on first ,just to hold everything in place so i could trailer it over to my friend Al's so he could weld it for me .he added the boxing on the tall mount .the other side of the front mount is a simple L shape .picture : i have decided not to get the solstice exhaust manifold at this time.i am going to get headers when they become available.
there is lots of room to run the gear select cable in from the the other side of the tranny to avoid modifying the shifter .you need to make your own bracket and still would have to add extension rods to the shifter.
Fosgatecavy98 NOV 30, 12:18 PM
how much space is there between the motor and trunk?
wftb DEC 01, 08:18 AM
there is 7 inches from the valve cover to the top of the trunk firewall .you can vary this distance depending on how much tilt you mount the moter at .the cavalier exhaust manifold juts almost straight out but does end up going below the step in the trunk .i still have the original spring loaded fitting and a stub of the original tail pipe on the manifold ,so there is only room for a tight bend without cutting the trunk.after i get my new pipe on i am going to patch it with sheetmetal and it will only intrude about an inch.if you go to the thread "drove an ecotech powered fiero today "i believe you can see what i mean about the cavalier headers.
FierOmar DEC 01, 11:16 AM

quote
Originally posted by wftb:

there is 7 inches from the valve cover to the top of the trunk firewall .you can vary this distance depending on how much tilt you mount the moter at .the cavalier exhaust manifold juts almost straight out but does end up going below the step in the trunk .i still have the original spring loaded fitting and a stub of the original tail pipe on the manifold ,so there is only room for a tight bend without cutting the trunk.after i get my new pipe on i am going to patch it with sheetmetal and it will only intrude about an inch.if you go to the thread "drove an ecotech powered fiero today "i believe you can see what i mean about the cavalier headers.



I think you meant: to say "drove an ecotec powered fiero today " (not ecotech).
Thread can be found here:
http://www.fiero.nl/forum/Forum1/HTML/061080.html

Sure enough... a picture is worth a thousand (or at least a lotta) words.


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FierOmar

fierodeletre DEC 03, 01:29 AM
bump.


wftb: So correct me if I'm wrong, but is this megasquirt box everyone's talking about basically a reprogrammed ecm that makes the eco talk to the fiero electronics? How much is one of these? Would this eliminate the need to secret squirrel the ignition switch in the glove compartment? Despite how cool the term is, it would be neat to see it done

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If you can't be good, be good at it.

1fastcaddy DEC 03, 11:33 AM
megasquirt is a complete standalone fully programmable DIY ecm with tons of online forum support also. I actually have one that Im tryin to sell if your interested. It was tested to work and I have a harness, although its setup for a TPI v8. Let me know if you, or anyone else is interested. $350 + shipping. Thanks, Drew

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1985 GT Fastback
Low Original Miles at 41,506!!!
01 Cavalier Z24 16" wheels
KYB shocks
KYB struts with coilovers-coming soon

fierodeletre DEC 03, 06:38 PM
Would the programmability of the your 5.7 TPI box lend to its ability to be used for this swap, an ecotec one? And how much is one new, comapred to your $350, that seems pretty reasonable if it was useable in an eco swap.

Austin

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If you can't be good, be good at it.

edit:
And is that forum support to be found here on PFF or on megasquirt's site? Also, was I correct in assuming that this type of box would allow you to interface with all the original fiero guages and controls?

[This message has been edited by fierodeletre (edited 12-03-2006).]

wftb DEC 03, 06:38 PM
i think the megasquirt would probably work fine and then the fiero and cav ecm are simply not needed .the draw back is that megasquirt will not run the ecotec ignition.so you have to add a stand alone ignition system .a distributor can be run off of the power steering drive point.the 1000 hp drag race motor used a distributor like that.
Fosgatecavy98 DEC 03, 11:15 PM
About the megasquirt, yes the ignition is a draw back, I will be running a DIS ignition off a 1998 cavailer. 2 Coils and should be rather simple once I can find it, my local junkyard said they had one for $35 but they only had '97s and earlier.

(Note: Anyone getting the DIS off a cavailer, its in your best interest to get a 98+ off a 2200 motor. The '97 ones are extremely hard to get to as they are mounted behind the motor, the 98+ are mounted right about the trans/motor area and only require a 13mm wrench and some wire cutters)

I should be receiving my megasquirt stuff this week, I am sponsored by this company ( will say who later) and they have offered to give everyone doing a fiero swap a small discount, so stay tuned on that!

wtfb, what header are you looking at? I will be needing one also, this will most likely be my first upgrade after the motor is running.