What will I run into when trying to install a pre-87 duke in an '87 sport coupe? Are the blocks the same? Can I take all the DIS equipment and use it on the older engine. The '87 has a broken rod/cracked block, and I have three '84-'86 dukes as spares. Can I do it without too much hassle?

You need to change the engine harness along with the ECM for this to work. You can do it no big deal, other wise no the DIS will not work on a pre '87 2.5 block as the castings are different.

As said above... DIS parts cannot be used on a distributor motor... They are entirely diferant animals. About the only things they have in common are they both bolt to the same transmission and they both have 2.5l displacement.

I used to think that it would just be an engine electric issue but there's more to it than just the engine harness ECM etc. Allot of stuff is diferant in the 87-88 cars. Kind of compares to the diferance between 84 and 85 wiring... The throttle cable setup and the fuel plumbing is all diferent too.

The ease at which you can find DIS motors makes swapping in an older motor, well,, not very appealing.

You can get these motors a "dime a dozen" from many GM FWD products up thru 91 models for a dollar a cubic inch or less. There is a 91 olds Cutlass Calais motor that is rated 110-112HP. I didn't notice anything external diferant on the one I saw awhile back. (Other than brackets/pulleys...)

You do have to change pulleys and brackets but otherwise the FWD DIS motors are all the same.

[This message has been edited by theogre (edited 06-07-2001).]

I swapped a DIS engine into a distributor car. I used the '87 shortblock, '86 head and intake and the '87 wiring harness and ECM. To use the older head, I simply changed a few sensors on the head/intake and I spliced some of the pigtails from the old harness to the new one. The wires are all the same color so it is very straight forward.
To put an older engine in a newer car, all you will need is the wiring harness and the ECM from the dist.engine.

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don't push the A/c button.. it catches the car on fire