Need help getting 99 Gsx on the road

[LlQUlDXTC]

My brother came into possesion of a 99 Gsx shell. I can claim it if I can get it running. What I was told is the motor was shot, and the entire drivetrain is gone. Basically I need a motor, turbo, manual trans, transfer case, drive shaft, rear diff, and most likely many bolts that were lost when they took all this out. The little I have gathered from reading is I should be in the market for a 6bolt and that eagle/eclipse/laser(highly doubt ill find one) are the same and thus would all be fine as donors for parts. I am not planning on making any big performance improvements any time soon and anything close to stock is fine. I just need some guidance as to where I should look, possibly for a wrecked gsx or awd tsi? Any insight or corrections to what I think is right would be greatly appreciated. Sorry for the long thread and thanks in advance.

 

[LlQUlDXTC]

Oh and is it possible to drop in a fwd instead? Not that I would want to, but as a last resort. And yes I have searched the classifieds but only found shells or cars in good condition.

Thanks again.

 

[oVaBoost]

finding a wreck dsm 99 dsm would be your best bet but if you check classifieds i sure you can find a tranny and maybe even a motor cause im sure theres alot of people on there that part out there cars from drive train and engine to body parts. check out local salvage yards. but is that car worth fixing???

 

[bastarddsm]

yes you can put in a FWD transmission and leave the drive shaft out.

 

[LlQUlDXTC]

Yeah, I think it's worth fixing. The body is in really good shape, clean interior, and this was the first car I ever wanted when I first got my licence, naturally back then my dad wasn't thinking turbo awd, he was thinking 93 camry.. I think I can get my hands on a 91 tsi awd, I should have no problem swapping in everything between the motor/differential/axles etc? I know nothing about the swap except that 6bolt=good 7bolt=not so good .

 

[Stainbox12]

Start reading the most you can and please SEARCH. There´s a lot of information regarding swaps, repairs and so on. Get a hold of a repair manual. If you can find a wrecked DSM, as stated before, it would be your best bet, since you won´t need to look for so many things, and you will have them all together. Trust me, looking for bolts, and so many missing parts, is very hard.

 

[Matrixhunter]

If you can get ahold of the 91 awd, you will only be able to use the 6 bolt engine from it. The drivetrain has to be from a 2g 1995-1999 eclipse or talon. 95-96 drivetrain components also have different spline counts than 97-99 components. Whatever you find make sure the entire setup is from the same year.

You should start reading about how to do a 6 bolt swap.

 

[bastarddsm]

Not only are there different spline counts the engine mounts are on the trans for a 2g, and a 1g doesn't have provisions for these. Also the 2g driveshaft is different, as well as the rear end.

What you need to do is make sure you get the same year of driveline components all from a manual. The autos have a different ratio in the rear. I belive that all manuals have the same ration (3.545:1). However you certainly have to match up the t-case with the same year transmisson. In 97-99 they changed the ratio in the t-case so if you try to use it with a 95-96 trans the rear wheels will not spin at the same speed and the front.

 

[LlQUlDXTC]

Thanks for the help guys, that's exactly what I needed to know. My thoughts on the situation were the same Stainbox12, I figured I'd need a whole car, difficult part is in finding a wrecked DSM that's not parted out already. I think I still might get the 91 awd, because a friend of a friend is selling it to me for 1200 Unless its a complete piece of junk I think it's a pretty good deal yes? Maybe I will make some slow progress on the motor while I learn the swap and look for a donor car. One way or another I'll be driving a DSM soon

 

[mentalTSiAWD]

I would definitely fix her up. It would be an awesome winter project.

 

[mentalTSiAWD]

Actually I think I saw a 96 GSX in raliegh craigslist.

 

[ryanx99GS]

Yeah, I think it's worth fixing. The body is in really good shape, clean interior, and this was the first car I ever wanted when I first got my licence, naturally back then my dad wasn't thinking turbo awd, he was thinking 93 camry.. I think I can get my hands on a 91 tsi awd, I should have no problem swapping in everything between the motor/differential/axles etc? I know nothing about the swap except that 6bolt=good 7bolt=not so good .

That's not neccesarily the case. I forgot where I read it but, 99's and DSM's from 90-94 share the same percent on cases that have been filed as crankwalk, I believe it was 2%. Whereas 95-98's or something like that had 96%. If you could find a 99 motor i'd go for it.