Not your typical pick-em-up truck... Ectotec in an '80 Chevy Luv
#1
Not your typical pick-em-up truck... Ectotec in an '80 Chevy Luv
After buying my Colorado and losing interest in my base model Cobalt, it eventually got traded in on my wife's new car. However, I am still quite intrigued by the Ecotec family, and had been keeping an eye out for an LSJ or Ion Redline to tinker with.
At the same time, I've never really been a car guy, and have always been more inclined to own small pickups. When this little guy reared it's head on Craigslist, the wheels in my head started turning, and a week later, it was following me home on a trailer.
Sitting in my driveway, with all the spare parts removed from the bed.
Tear down has begun, and I am in the process of removing the original motor and drivetrain. I was going to wait until I at least had a motor to start a build thread, but I have to many questions that need answered before I even track one down.
At the same time, I've never really been a car guy, and have always been more inclined to own small pickups. When this little guy reared it's head on Craigslist, the wheels in my head started turning, and a week later, it was following me home on a trailer.
Sitting in my driveway, with all the spare parts removed from the bed.
Tear down has begun, and I am in the process of removing the original motor and drivetrain. I was going to wait until I at least had a motor to start a build thread, but I have to many questions that need answered before I even track one down.
#2
I've pretty much narrowed it down to 3 options. The idea is to just make this thing a fun, reliable drive, on a reasonable budget. Right around 300hp at 2500lb is my end goal.
My main question I guess, are the pros and cons when it comes to acquiring and swapping a 2.0 Ecotec into this thing. I'm either going with an LNF, LSJ, or B207. As far as I know, either of those 3 blocks will bolt to an Aisin-5 with a Sky/Solstice bellhousing.
Ideally, I would like to find an entire car as a donor, so that I can pilfer the motor, turbo, sensors, wiring harness, pcm, and other odds and ends I can retrofit to the truck.
LNF: Pricey, more electronically advanced, closer HP/TQ numbers to my end goal.
LSJ: Cheaper, but would need turbo swapped, as the M62 would put the throttle body in the firewall.
B207: This is the route I am contemplating, as I can seem to find entire Saab 9-3s running and driving for
My main question I guess, are the pros and cons when it comes to acquiring and swapping a 2.0 Ecotec into this thing. I'm either going with an LNF, LSJ, or B207. As far as I know, either of those 3 blocks will bolt to an Aisin-5 with a Sky/Solstice bellhousing.
Ideally, I would like to find an entire car as a donor, so that I can pilfer the motor, turbo, sensors, wiring harness, pcm, and other odds and ends I can retrofit to the truck.
LNF: Pricey, more electronically advanced, closer HP/TQ numbers to my end goal.
LSJ: Cheaper, but would need turbo swapped, as the M62 would put the throttle body in the firewall.
B207: This is the route I am contemplating, as I can seem to find entire Saab 9-3s running and driving for
#3
Senior Member
You could go with the lsj sc and do what 3.8 sc guys do with Camaros. they cut the inlet on the supercharger and weld in a 180 pipe and weld the throttle body mount that was cut off to the end of the pipe. kinda complicated but id think it would be the cheaper path if you do it yourself since wrecked lsj's are not to hard to find.
#9
Senior Member
iTrader: (10)
I would second the solstice 2.4 option. Get a complete donor that was crashed or something, should be dirt cheap. All ecotec bellhousings are the same, or you could use the solstice trans if you wanted. You will have to modify the mounts and driveshaft no matter what, so you could just use all stock solstice drivetrain to get there.
Small turbo setup will do 300hp with ease. Any more and you would want piston/rod upgrades but that's easy when it's apart and still cheaper than finding an LNF solstice.
Small turbo setup will do 300hp with ease. Any more and you would want piston/rod upgrades but that's easy when it's apart and still cheaper than finding an LNF solstice.
#11
Senior Member
iTrader: (1)
there are a few other transmission options aside from the asin 5 speed in the solstice. there are conversion bellhousings available to run a t5, although thats far from the best option. with a bellhousing from quicktime performance you can bolt a t56 to the ecotec. this would by far be the most expensive, however cool to have a 6 speed. also with the deep 6th gear you could put a stupid rear end ratio in, and still cruise down the highway at 2200rpm.
one thing your going to need to keep in mind is shifter location when selecting your transmission. id bet the truck will need something with the shifter fairly far forward, something the solstice doesnt have. you may be able to build a "hybrid" transmission using a transmission from a colorado/canyon with a solstice bellhousing/front case half, as they are the same type of transmission.
one thing your going to need to keep in mind is shifter location when selecting your transmission. id bet the truck will need something with the shifter fairly far forward, something the solstice doesnt have. you may be able to build a "hybrid" transmission using a transmission from a colorado/canyon with a solstice bellhousing/front case half, as they are the same type of transmission.
#13
Senior Member
Awesome build. I've always been a big fan of minis and own an s10 myself. Excited to see you progress with this. I just saw an s10 on instagram that had a turbo ecotec motor in it.
#14
Been looking into the 2.4 route, and they are definitely abundant around me, just not in the form of a Solstice. HHRs, G6s, and various Saturns all over the place.
Would it be safe to assume that the Solstice bell housing would bolt up to a 2.4 out of any of those?
Would it be safe to assume that the Solstice bell housing would bolt up to a 2.4 out of any of those?
#15
Senior Member
iTrader: (1)
yup. all 2.0l, 2.2l and 2.4l ecotecs share the same bellhousing bolt pattern. there is no difference between a fwd le5 and a solstice le5. same deal with the fwd lnf and solstice lnf
one thing i found when i did my swap was used solstice parts from a wrecker were pricey, but the odds and ends could be had at a reasonable price new. i was looking at things like engine mount brackets and coolant pipes. the stuff wasnt going to work for me, but it might work for your swap.
one thing i found when i did my swap was used solstice parts from a wrecker were pricey, but the odds and ends could be had at a reasonable price new. i was looking at things like engine mount brackets and coolant pipes. the stuff wasnt going to work for me, but it might work for your swap.
#17
Got the truck pretty much blown apart. Interior is gutted, and so is the engine bay. Motor and trans are loose, just need to get a hoist to get them out.
Couple of complete donor cars have popped up on CL that I have been interested in, but couldn't get a hold of the owners. Go figure.
Hopefully a more exciting update sometime in the near future.
Couple of complete donor cars have popped up on CL that I have been interested in, but couldn't get a hold of the owners. Go figure.
Hopefully a more exciting update sometime in the near future.
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Snail_SS (09-16-2016)