4cyl or V-8 conversion ..... questions

[greenezombie]

have my 75 Vega I just picked up "supposedly" the engine had been pulled to replace a rear main seal and it never got done and just sat....

had aspirations to just fix the 4 banger and have a driveable project

I rolled it over popped the rear main cap and TADA!!! bad main bearing, Crank has grooves SOooooo my question is...

#1 I could mic the crank buy bearings but then I think I might as well hot tank,hone,rings,cam....on n on ... right?

#2 V-8 conversion? I'm orig. a 4cyl with 4 speed trans (muncie I think) so I see motor mount kits would I need to change trans mount? driveline? just need basics I may need??? Opinions ?

[kgroombr]

I think my Vega with the original 140 gets more attention that those with the V8. It is possible to rebuild the 140, but from the condition of the main bearings, I am sure your cylinders are rough and it will need to be sleeved. You can still buy sleeves and pistons to do this but the machining to install the sleeves can be pricey. A machine shop in my area wants to charge $200 a sleeve. I was lucky enough I had to do a business trip to the Washington D.C. area and found a shop that charged $50 a sleeve so I took the block with me and had it done up there. Main bearings are always available on ebay. Gasket sets are a bit hard to find, but they pop up on ebay once every couple months for a reasonable price.

Another solution if you are patient and can travel a bit is that 140 engines pop up all the time on craigslist. I got two with transmissions for free. One was in good shape and runs great, but the other was rough and had a cracked block.

I am getting ready to do a rebuild project on a 140 and post videos on youtube. I am hoping to spur some interest in people restoring these to original rather than molesting them with a V8.

Realistically, putting another engine in it will probably be cheaper and less of a hassle.

Ken

[greenezombie]

whats your YouTube channel? I'd watch that.

I was really wanting to have an old 4 that would give the rice burners a run for their money LOL
the DOHC would be the one to have but slim pickins there.

and the MPG's cause I plan to drive it everyday. at this point idk

[kgroombr]

I will be starting a brand new one. I am trying to think of a descriptive name that hasn't been taken. First thing I have to do is clean out my garage. It has been raining like crazy here in the Augusta, GA area and I have to pull stuff out, clean and sell it or just toss it. I just retired from the Army and I have been pretty much gone for the last three years (one of my reasons to retire as it wasn't getting any better). My wife took old furniture and such and stacked it in the garage. Currently piled up and I barely have room to move around. I also have a bunch of Vega parts that I need to get rid of as well (wheels, wagon roof rack, seats, other stuff I forgot about). Am I rambling yet?

My new job also has its moments as well so time has been precious, but doing what I can when I can.

I will definitely post the channel when it gets started, but I don't anticipate anything for another month or two.

Thanks for the interest.

Ken

[cammerjeff]

If you are looking for a 4 cylinder Driver, I would look on you local CL (as previously Mentioned) I do not know what part of Washington State you are in, but a Quick CL search turned up these possibilities.

77 Vega Parts car (would have the improved Dura Built Engine.

http://seattle.craigslist.org/see/pts/3933793503.html

75 Vega engine sold as Core $60.00

http://seattle.craigslist.org/tac/pts/3936502236.html
Yes you can do a V-8 Conversion if that is what you want, but it will not be a weekend progect, nor will it be cheap.

If you get lucky you may find a decent Vega 140 to drop in from someone doing a conversion. And the Pacific Northwest seems to have a Large number of Vegas still around.

But you have to keep your eye out for them.

[greenezombie]

OK I've decided to V-8 it, I'm looking at the v-8 kit trans-dapt 4686

seen many but they all specify for use with th350 ONLY ??? I have the 4 speed so will I NOT need the trans cross member?

[92turbogtz]

I've always wondered what a 2.3 Quad 4 or an Ecotec swap would be like. I still have the turbocharged 2.3 Quad from my GTZ just sitting in my garage and I've briefly toyed with the idea of swapping it into the Sunbird. It definitely would be a cool swap into a Vega to keep the retro look and still have a lot of power.

The GTZ made 210 hp to the wheels at 6lbs (completely untuned plus a boost leak) and the engine is easily capable of handling about 14lbs of boost. It would make quite the little screamer.

[mt94ss]

So how is the conversion going? Have you gathered the parts?

[cjbiagi]

Most likely you have a Saginaw trans, not a Muncie. I don't believe a Muncie was ever installed from the factory in a H body. Not sure what the difference would be as far as only using a TH350. You might have to modify or fab up a trans crossmember but I don't see why it couldn't be done.

[Smiley]

The 4 speed should be the same length and spline as the TH350.
The transdapt kit requires you to drill new holes in the floor to mount the crossmember anyway so it should be fine.
You might need a V8 Monza bellhousing if you plan to use the cable operated clutch setup.

[monzabug350]

Heay Zombie,if you want to drop a late mod 4 into your car check out quad 4 rods,they specialize in converting fwd engines to rwd via adaptors,and have carb and intakes to pass on efi.Also have ignition systems to do away with ecm's. ( think distributors) and the adaptors are for m/t and a/t apps. Check it out, it might be cheeper than a rebuild on your 140 motor. Im thinkin turbo setup to give you an edge when you pull up next to a rice burner but thats just me.

[greenezombie]

haven't posted in a while, then again haven't got much done but I am newly inspired as I worked a trade new years day for My Vega's V8 engine.

now the guys story is this was a take out for something bigger and that what I have is a 331ci built by AC Nutter racing out of vancouver

i was getting a good deal I think I was in my trade materials about $400 so I wasn't too nit picky, after i got it home i inspected more.

came with some cool spectre aluminum valve covers and wieland dual plane intake both brand new never run, now If a racing outfit built it I was expecting roller rockers or something that signaled "race" but not really ... But internally it is spotless, looks like it was machined assembled and never ran though the guy said he did some burn outs while it was in a 64 nova wagon... now I would call BS but I picked it up at a hot rod shop where the guy worked and they had lots of nice rigs with top notch mods so , I'll cross my fingers and hope for the best.

Question: if it is a 331 which I find was common way back but not anymore, what makes it a 331? by numbers it's a 79' 305ci block, so is it a 350 cranck n rods or heads or ??? I'm not a super motor guy I was just lookin for a stock runner I could clean up and and slap in her, so maybe I got lucky.....we'll see

also is anyone in need of a original 140 4cyl ? it was a runner with a bad rear main, was gonna fix but mains were showing some copper n I just decided to go v8 (i'm in washington state)

[cjbiagi]

A 331 is a 4" bore block bored to 4.030 along with a 3.25 stroke.

[greenezombie]

Thanks

[Monza Harry]

Green Zombie, To take Clyde's a little further a "327" bored 0.030" over. A 305 uses the same crank as a 350 (both the same stroke) and I doubt 305 block could survive long with that much overbore 0.157" that would have a low tech water injection system! I would feel that a mid '70's 305 block wouldn't have more than a 0.220" cylinder wall, and that will only leave 0.063" a full 1/8" short of minimum requirements. I would recheck those casting No's to make sure you didn't get a fancy or worse yet useless 305 bored to death literally, (the 305 isn't bad it is just under supported (sound familiar?) not any aftermarket cyl. heads to speak of, 305 HO's are getting scarce as any where a 305 bolts in a 350 does too for less money and more power so most were melted to make Kia's etc.) Harry