How easy is it to swap a 16 Valve DOHC Quad 4 for the Iron Duke? I ask because there are two of these engines at my local pick-n-pull that are complete and still in their respective cars. How cheap do I need to get them to make it worth while?

I saw those! Got the wheels off one.

I heard of several swaps and talked to one guy and he said he wouldn't do it again. Looks cool, performance is average, installation was too much work.

I'd consider another engine. I know, PNP is cheap.

I've seen a bunch of notes in diferant places that some versions of Quad 4 aren't that reliable. Especially the earlier ones. You might want to check into that more.

No swap to a non stock motor is going to be easy.

Speaking of Pick-N-Pulls and cheap parts... I was at my local PNP and ran across a 1990 Buick with a 3800 with 75,000 miles. The car was rear ended real bad so you know it ran before it was parked. I could get the whole motor, tranny, and wiring harness for around $300. Too bad I'm not ready to let go of that kind of cash and let the motor sit around until I may need it. I was tempted...

Roy

What IS a pick-n-pull.. Is this some cool lingo for a junkyard? I haven't seen any motors worth taking from the junkyards around here.

It's a junkyard but the recycler doesn't strip the cars down, you go out into the yard, find a car that has the parts you want then you pull them off the car yourself.

If you are thinking about doing a Quad 4 swap, use the HO version rated for 180HP. I heard the other versions aren't worth the work. Also you will need the trans that comes with the engine since they mount differently. I think the swap is well worth it if you are looking to make a good handling car with some pep, but doesn't make a muscle car. I beleive that doing this swap will give you a mid 15 second car. Depending on what kind of performance car you are looking for, this may be the swap for you. It sure would make a fun ride with a 5 speed with the high reving engine. As far as the price goes, I paid $1500 for engine/trans/computer/harness. The head was redone by the previous owner due to a headgasket failure so that's the reason for the higher price. The HO Quad is a hard to find engine and could be very pricy.

Eric
Black 86.5 GT

[This message has been edited by Eric_PA (edited 09-07-2000).]

I've heard lots of people talk about how the HO QUAD4, though less powerful than most V6 and V8 engines, is the better swap for someone that wishes to maintain a more neutrally-handling car.

Does swapping in a larger motor really change the handling that much? Can someone demonstrate here how much of a difference that would be?

I mean ... though it's nice to win a stoplight race once in awhile, I prefer the back-roads to the straight-aways. If I want to keep my car's handling well-balanced, am I limited to a HO QUAD4 swap?

[This message has been edited by 87ECO5 (edited 09-07-2000).]

The DOHC 3.4l revs higher than the Quad 4 and is lighter(a bit) than the 2.8 V6

ECO, if you want a demonstration, try this.
Put about 100lbs of extra weight (bricks, bags of sand, kid sister ) in the trunk and go for a drive. Just be careful, the handling won't be dangerous, but you might not be used to what the car will do with the extra weight.

To ERIC_PA, did I understand you did the Quad-4 swap? If so give details of how you did it. Or, what kind of gas milage and performance to you actually get. It had been my dream to build/own the perfect canyon carver. This engine would outhandle any other engine swap (all other things being equal). Let me know.