[benvanderjagt]

😮

She drove home.....and flawlessly. I'm stunned how well it drives! It was a 2.2 T3 that was replaced with a 2.5 T1 with the T3's wiring harness and converted to a T2 running 15 PSI of boost making almost exactly the same amount of horsepower as the original T3 but at 2k RPM instead of 3.5K.... What a beautiful bastard car! I can't tell you how happy that makes me.

It was kind of weird, though. The very first time we started it, idle was incredibly smooth. (Yes, I still have the balance shafts hooked up.) I pulled it out of the garage, and it created a huge pillar of gray smoke, clearly running rich. I drove around the block and left a beautiful trail of smoke behind me. Couldn't figure it out, so I swapped it back from the FWD stage 3 back to the stock SBEC-1, and the smoke was vastly reduced, but now it was painfully obviously blue.....

I popped the oil cap off, and...no blowby! I thought, "Bad turbo seals?" I drove around the block again, and it was stalling and bucking and whatnot. I limped it to the parking space and FINALLY it threw a power loss code! 13! Sure enough, the crossover from the MAP to the BAR sensor was rotten. Swapped it out, and TADA!! no smoke, perfect driving, total awesomesauce.

So, my biggest question is, "Where did the blue smoke come from?" I mean, there was no mistaking the smell or the color. And it ran for quite a while until the moment I fixed the MAP readings.

Whatever, don't care, haha! It still does some weird stuff. The Air Bag light is on, the front right turn signal doesn't light, the front left side marker doesn't light, one of the backup lights doesn't light, the speedometer reads about 15% higher....some wiring is weird, I'm sure.

Anyway, it drove home! And like I said before, flawlessly. (= Boy does the front-end on the Spirit hook hard! I don't know if the differential is different, but it definitely feels better than the Shadow. I spun a tire in 4th several times and even once in 5th, but the Spirit simply flies forward like one of those magnet-driven roller coasters.

 

[benvanderjagt]

@arieskcar Have you had any major compatibility problems with the airbag systems when doing conversions? The Shadow and the Spirit both had working systems. I'm using the SBEC out of the Shadow and everything else (both accelerometers, clock spring, SRS module, and wire harness) is untouched. AFAIK, the SBEC has nothing to do with the SRS, so I'm a bit stumped.

 

[arieskcar]

@arieskcar Have you had any major compatibility problems with the airbag systems when doing conversions? The Shadow and the Spirit both had working systems. I'm using the SBEC out of the Shadow and everything else (both accelerometers, clock spring, SRS module, and wire harness) is untouched. AFAIK, the SBEC has nothing to do with the SRS, so I'm a bit stumped.

No because you have to use the body control module from the original car itself. I think only 92 93 had it. Are you having any issues?

I was actually just about to comment my cousin has your level of luck his freeze plug behind the starter when bad and he hammered it so hard He bent in the cylinder liner we're trying to pull the block right now in a parking lot...
This car is a 89 with a full 92 SBEC swap And the whole interior / body module

 

[benvanderjagt]

Everyone at the office has been talking about my luck. I'm hitting the lottery once I figure this all out. ;-)

The air bag light comes on immediate and never turns off. It's definitely not something I expected, since that part of the system shouldn't be any different. I already double-checked that everything is plugged in and secure. I checked the grounds, though the SRS should be completely ambient anyway, so that shouldn't matter. I have one of the more expensive OBD scanners, but I don't think it can pull SRS data, so I may have to start calling around the dealerships.

(In Virginia, we can technically get around a problem with the SRS if we completely remove it. It must be completely removed, including the steering wheel that takes the air bag. It's doable, but it sucks.)

I'd love to help you with that repair. It sounds like a bear...but not impossible.

 

[benvanderjagt]

facepalm The driver's side horn and accelerometer use the same plug and have the same length. That never would have occurred to me!

(Good thing I never tested the horn, haha!)

 

[INSATANSSEAT]

So you have a running TII swapped Spirit R/T? Neat. Have you been doing anything with the car you want to keep TIII?

 

[benvanderjagt]

@INSATANSSEAT Yep, it worked great! I've never done a full motor swap before, actually. It was a pretty straightforward drop-in. I even transferred over the vacuum lines from the Shadow to make it more stock-ish. It's running the Spirit's intercooler and a Honda Civic radiator. It could definitely have used the original Spirit R/T radiator setup altogether, but I only have one good set, which I'm saving for the other car. I've been running a manual boost controller, which is still all over the freaking place. I've got an electronic boost controller coming in tomorrow.

I'm keeping as much as I can from both, just in case I can restore BOTH to TIII status. The other R/T is still....STILL going through some BS with the DMV. This time, I think someone from the DMV administration itself has just told me to do something that would be a felony. I have a clear right to the car itself, so I could theoretically strip it down to nothing and put the parts into something else, but that would be awful! A complete Spirit R/T should not have to die just because of some stupid bureaucracy. I've got my eye on yet another one (or possibly two, three, or even four), all red and all 1991's...plus all with titles. At some point very soon, I plan to send a couple heads to Jackson Simler to look at.

I know it's not what anyone here wants me to say, but I much prefer driving the Spirit with the 8v engine and Mitsubishi turbo. I get +1 bar, more power than the car came with originally, no lost features (with two exceptions), and very fast response time. I get about 5lbs of boost at 2,000 RPM and about 15lbs of boost at 2,500 RPM. Sure, people are pushing SEVERAL BARS of pressure through the TIII setups, but I've got what I want.

 

[benvanderjagt]

The EBC arrived destroyed. :-D I am awesome. Send me anything working, and it will die simply by being in my presence.

siiiigh Got another coming in Thursday.

 

[benvanderjagt]

After another GReddy, I ended up getting the Innovate SCG-1 for about $400. AWESOME kit! It's a full-featured boost controller, AFR, data logger, etc in a 52mm package. They throw in everything, and it reeks of quality construction. I highly recommend it! A grainger valve is a quick way to get more power, but this will let you get smooth, controllable power up and through the RPM range without having to keep looking over at a gauge or feathering the gas to get it just right.

Oh, and my stunningly awesome luck continues. I took my 2000 Plymouth Grand Voyager to inspection, and it spun a bearing in the inspection bay. I'm not even upset in the slightest. I'm just amazed by the course of events.

 

[james]

If it wasn't for bad luck, some of us wouldn't have any

 

[arieskcar]

After another GReddy, I ended up getting the Innovate SCG-1 for about $400. AWESOME kit! It's a full-featured boost controller, AFR, data logger, etc in a 52mm package. They throw in everything, and it reeks of quality construction. I highly recommend it! A grainger valve is a quick way to get more power, but this will let you get smooth, controllable power up and through the RPM range without having to keep looking over at a gauge or feathering the gas to get it just right.

Oh, and my stunningly awesome luck continues. I took my 2000 Plymouth Grand Voyager to inspection, and it spun a bearing in the inspection bay. I'm not even upset in the slightest. I'm just amazed by the course of events.

3.8? If so they sludge up all the time

 

[benvanderjagt]

3.8? If so they sludge up all the time

3.3. Found another motor for $200, and we have the chain hoist. shrugs I would rather fix it than replace it, but it's hard to argue with the price. A whole engine rebuild kit would cost $180 on its own, plus whatever machining is necessary.

 

[benvanderjagt]

Posted it in Cars For Sale By Others, but here is a listing someone needs to jump on! It has been SLASHED to $1,100.

It sounds like it needs a block. I HAVE ONE! I have much of the necessary hardware. We can make this go. I would have jumped on this one myself, but my PathFinder is out of order, so I don't have a way to pick it up.

 

[benvanderjagt]

Self-bumping the thread in hopes that someone local-ish can buy that $1,100 Spirit R/T in Lebanon, VA. I plan on keeping just the two, one in 8v and one in 16v. I don't need a third. The block out of the one I did an 8v swap on should be totally fine. (Note: It had a cometic gasket, which is only good if the block AND head are decked. I would recommend a crush gasket or getting the whole works machined.) This could be a quick fix and a complete strong running R/T. The seller works as a Chrysler dealership tech, and he says if he keeps it he'll do an SRT swap.

Reminder: The turbo alone is about $500. The head, if it's good, is probably another $1,000. The complete car is priceless. I sure hope someone is close enough to make this work out.

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