I've gone over how to swap an '88 cradle under an '85 V6 a few times, trying to get a handle on what precisely is different between the cradles. Without having them in front of me at the moment, (I intend to soon! But I don't want to wait 'til last minute to start gathering info and doing research.), I can't directly compare them to get a definitive changelog. SO! My question is this:
Given the various swaps out there (3800, 60*V6, Ecotec) and the various mount options sold by different vendors for each, what I'm trying to discover is how many of those swap mount options are "locked" to a given cradle?
Example: If only swapping the cradle on a stock 2.8 V6, you need the 1988 driver's side engine mount bracket and mount as well as the passenger side engine mount according to
this guide.So. Of the swaps (3800, 60*V6, Ecotec), how many of them even use the same driver's side engine mount bracket as the 2.8 on an '88 cradle?
Other than the driver's side engine mount, what other engine/trans mounts are different between 1985 and 1988?
I know about the fabrication for inward relocation of the strut mounts, brake changes (parking brake, brake lines, rotors, calipers), exhaust changes and coolant line changes. Those don't really concern me as 1) My current rear brakes need a full overhaul, 2) no matter the engine swap, I'm going full custom exhaust, 3) Coolant lines are flexible, but 28 years old and need replaced. So, yes, it's a bit of work, but I figured since I'm swapping engines/trans, it's a worthwhile endeavor.