• Hello Guest, welcome to the initial stages of our new platform!
    You can find some additional information about where we are in the process of migrating the board and setting up our new software here

    Thank you for being a part of our community!

Orange 75 242 V8 Swap

hey when do you think you will be doing the 8.8 mounts? i would love to bring up a 8.8 and mod it at the same time ;)

We are paying Jeff (55superbeetle) to do all the work on the rear end. He might be down to do a second one at the same time, for a reasonable right price. Do you already have an extra short side axle, and a donor 240 rear end for the brackets? Shoot him a PM and see if he's down.
 
Progress is slow, but steady.
The car is in my dad's back yard, and he's doing all of the work on it right now. I'm just collecting parts (all new suspension bushings, HVAC stuff, newer dash, leather seats...) and planning some of the later work (wiring, exhaust, interior...)

My family is in the process of moving to a new rental, so it'll be another month before I personally touch the orange car. I haven't even touched my daily driver white 242 lately, because of all the crap that comes with moving.

He did get the engine mated to the trans today, and is going to start the test fitting procedure, most likely tomorrow. We'll keep the pictures coming!





 
Hey I would recommend installing the oil tranny lines now before you get the motor in. I wished I it did when I did my swap. The fittings are really tight to get your wrench/hands between the tunnel and the trans.
 
Hey I would recommend installing the oil tranny lines now before you get the motor in. I wished I it did when I did my swap. The fittings are really tight to get your wrench/hands between the tunnel and the trans.

Excellent advice, thanks! I let my dad know.

I'm planning on cleaning up and touching up the paint on the engine compartment before the engine and trans go in for good, so right now it's just the first of many test fits.
 
I haven't been good about getting out to work on the car at my dad's house. So after a few months, he eventually got fed up and had it towed to a shop called Lifes Good Racing, where Jeff (55superbeetle) is now helping with the swap. http://www.lifesgoodracing.com/

If you don't know Jeff, take a minute to read his amazing build thread:
http://forums.turbobricks.com/showthread.php?t=222596

Jeff is an amazing mechanic and fabricator. In a matter of hours, he already has the engine in the car, and a handful of hidden modifications to make it all fit and still look OEM. I really want the final product to look as factory and subtle as possible, even when the hood is popped, and Jeff shares that vision. A few pics:






Engine is now bolted into the car, and now Jeff is working out which sets of brackets we can use with the LS3 water pump to make the alternator and AC compressor fit under the flathood.





A few things had to be done to get it to fit:




The front cross member bolt holes where the engine mounts bolt in had to be slotted a little bit, to let the engine slide away from the steering shaft, resulting in about 1/8" of clearance.



Coil bracket on the driver's side was modified, to allow clearance to the brake booster.







tranny cross member had to be cut and welded, so that the tranny would sit centered. This may have something to do with the 1975 cross member not having the various bolt options that later 240s have.



Hoping to use a stock GM airbox, for maximum OEM-ness. Super quiet muffler, OEM GM computer, functional AC and heat, stock (early) Volvo automatic shifter, and (widened?) steel wheels are part of the plan.
I'll post pics as I have them.


I am so stoked right now.
 
Back
Top