Ok, I have searched endlessly and cant find enough info on here. I just bought an 87 or 88 duke to put into my 85. I have the ECM for it, and the wiring harness. The problem with that is that the harness is for an auto, I have an isuzu 5 speed to attach, what do I have to do to make that work? Also, like I said, I am not sure if it is 87 or 88. How can I tell which one it is and does it make that much difference to my swap? It does have DIS and a funky looking throttle cable adaptor, as well as a crappy oil filter thing on the oil pan which makes me think it is an 88 correct me if Im wrong. The other thing I noticed is the car I pulled it from had the fuel lines on the other side. What is the easiest way around that?
What else is different aside from the internals, meaning what is different when swapping the motor in, and how do I get around all these problems? I did use the search feature for about 2 hours but didnt really find any threads about just that. If anyone wants to point me in the direction of a thread I would appreciate that as well.
TIA

-JOE

thats an 88 motor. there arent any threads on swapping it in because its not worth it. ecm, throttle cable, tons of other stuff must change, including engine mount bracket under the front of the cradle; the 88 part looks similar but doesnt work

I have the cradle the engine was on so I can swap that in too if I need to. I also have the ecm and wiring harness. I guess I will get a new throttle cable.

-JOE

quote Originally posted by joesfiero: I have the cradle the engine was on so I can swap that in too if I need to. I also have the ecm and wiring harness. I guess I will get a new throttle cable. -JOE

Cradle was different too. The internal oil filter was new feature on the Duke in '88, sounds like that's what you have. While cetainly not impossible, the 88 duke will pose some unique challenges, my thoughts are that you could probably find most of the stuff that you need in the Mall. The ECM may need a new chip for the 5-speed for the 5-speed.

Are you trying to swap out just the engine from your 85 cradle? Are you switching from a V-6 set up?

I don't know if this will help much but I took about 200 pictures of my 88 Duke engine swap, car has an automatic though. It might give you some reference pictures to help you size things up.

http://www.jetman.smugmug.c...allery/4958542_QKwbE

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jetman
Silver 86 SE 2M6 4-speed, with "check wallet light"
Now fortified with 8 essential slices of bacon goodness

If its an 87 you should have little problem.
Any pics?

At this point I would look into buying a spare 88 car that needs a motor, and a 3800 to put in your 85 notch.

Thanks, with all of your help and the search function (almost all night) I have indeed determined that it is in fact an 88 motor.
I have the cradle that the 88 was installed on, so I should be able to swap that into my car as well. My car is an 85 that had the duke in it, now it is an empty engine bay and has been for a few years.
Jetman, thanks, the pics do help. Can anyone elaborate on the ECM needing a new chip (PROM Im guessing) to switch from auto to 5 speed?
Dark, LOL thanks for the advise, but I am too motivated to get this motor into this car. A 3800SC is in the plans within the next however many years it takes for gas to go back down to a reasonable level. I got the duke for a reasonable price, insurance is right, registering it will be easier, and so forth which is why I am willing to do the extra work to make it go. My budget for this car right now, however, isnt that great, so if anyone has any tips on making things work instead of buying new parts, Im all ears. For example, I think I figured out a way to use the old throttle cable instead of getting an 88 one and swapping it in.

-JOE

I think I may be in luck. Spending more than a couple hours investigating further and studying the engine, I believe the wiring harness is from a manual trans car. I noticed the speed sensor connector had just the right reach for my isuzu 5 spd., also, there were no connectors way over where the speed sensor is in the auto. Also, there is a square 4 pin on the auto and I cant find it anywhere on my harness.
Apparently the guy that put the engine in the car I took it out of, had put it in because his 3800sc went awry and he wanted to still drive the car. From the looks of it, he went over the engine pretty well, everything is well sealed, fairly clean, but not completely put together right. I have determined that he never actually got the engine running due to other problems (such as the auto tranny). Also, when I took the torque converter off, I noticed loose flywheel bolts! not safe. That made me want to check every other available bolt on the engine that he might have taken off to reseal it. Everything else looked good there. Notice in the pics the cut PRNDL switch wires and no place on the harness for them, the sweet custom shift selector bracket, as well as the speed sensor location in my hand and the connectors on the auto.





Any other thoughts, concerns, ideas? let me know, I would appreciate it.

-JOE

Please give us more information on your 85, what engine and trans does it have? Fuel pressure was different between V-6 and 4-cylinders, can't remember if it was a different fuel pump though.

The ECM and harness is different between the 85 and 88 engines, all the way from the ECM (different) to the terminations (connectors for TPS, CTS, etc also different).

If you swap the 88 cradle, then you also have to buy some parts to swap the 88 struts into the earlier strut towers.

I know you're on a budget, so sticking to the 85 rear suspension might be in your best interest.

Realistically, if you're on a budget, finding a 85-86 engine is probably a better deal, you'll spend more on putting together all the pieces to make the 88 work than you might, say, just pulling a correct year engine from the local U-Pull-it.

Then you won't have to worry about fabbing up the coolant hoses, using correct accessories, swapping ECMs/harness, swapping motor mount brackets, carbon cannisters, throttle cable, etc.

Alright, heres the breakdown,maybe I want clear enough. My car is an 85, it originally came with the duke. When that died 5 or 6 years ago, I took it out and never put anything back in it.
I have the whole dropout assy from the 88 duke including:subframe,engine,auto trans,wiring harness and ECM, all from the 88. The things I may need to fab up would be coolant hose stuff, fuel lines, throttle cable, and AC parts as far as I can tell. The subframe from the 88 has the struts intact, but Im thinking I may just try to get the 85 subframe to work with the engine.
I do know I need the wiring harness, all connectors, and ECM from the 88, Which I do have. If anyone has done this before and have tips, let me know. Thanks
-JOE

Bump, got in a car accident and have been away for a couple days. Still need tips and advice.

-JOE