Finally made my own thread! I intend to make this thread my general ecotec swap discussion thread, and then I'll make individual threads (or maybe posts in a how to thread) with what I learned, did, and actually worked.
So, my 85 SE with the 5 speed iron duke has had a few issues. The reason I bought the one I did, was because the PO had painted it (although the paint is flaking a bit) and had put a rebuilt engine in. I was looking for a daily beater driver that was going to be pretty reliable and not need a lot of work. Well, that's pretty much the opposite. I only drove it probably 30 times, and it broke down 4 of those. It also wouldn't pass emissions, which ended up being due to the fact that they had put a rebuilt short block in, and didn't rebuild the head. The valves leaked so bad (I don't remember the numbers off the top of my head, but the best cylinder leakdown was like 28%, and the worst over 50) that all the exhaust wasn't staying in the engine at idle. Shortly after this diagnosis, I hit a bump on the way to work and the engine wiring harness melted and the ECU/fuel injector quit.
I ended up finding a crashed 2008 Cobalt with the 2.2 L61 Ecotec, F23 5 speed manual, with 159000 miles for a whopping $260. I have thus far pulled the engine, fuel/evap system, and most of the wiring. I bought a FSM off ebay that should be arriving later this week so I can figure out what to do with all the wiring. I'm planning on doing this on as much of a budget as possible. As mentioned in Trace26's ecotec thread, I'm going to try and do the rest of the swap for under $300. You all think I'm crazy and going to do a crap job, but I will go over budget and do a nice, factory looking install. But it's still my goal.
I'm going to use the factory ECU and wiring, and probably keep the BCM to run the gauges and cruise. I don't think the cobalt cluster will fit at all in the Fiero dash, so once I get it running I will probably disassemble the cobalt cluster remote mount the stepper motors in the fiero housing, and make the cobalt cluster run the bulbs in the fiero dash. I will probably end up buying HP Tuners. I'll only charge the credits towards the budget, so there's $100
For mounting, I'm going to fabricate motor mounts to reuse the fiero engine/trans mounts. The ecotec mounts are in strange places for the fiero cradle (halfway up the engine). I'll bet the NVH of the ecotec is worlds better than the old duke, so it should be pretty smooth. I have an entire 88 suspension in my garage that I saved from the crusher. I haven't decided if I'll use it, but I probably will.
The exhaust... is probably going to be a problem that might blow the budget. The factory exhaust manifold looks like it's going to get really close to the trunk, and I'm not going to cut it out. Hopefully I can weld up a flange that makes the turn. A solstice header might work better. This is ideal, but also $400
http://www.turnkeyenginesup...tec-off-road-header/I'm going to keep the cobalt fuel system and try to keep the evap canister. I've fought with emissions enough in this and another one of my cars, I'm going to play it safe with the utah air quality people. I'll need a few of those stupid GM plastic quick connectors, which is probably another $100.
For the shift cables, I'm going to fabricate a mount/linkage. It sounds not ideal but possible to use the factory cables. If not, new longer cables should be $250. That might be another budget breaker. lol
Coolant hoses and heater hose should be easy. A/C will probably be next year.
