So a local guy is selling an 89 SE in pretty decent condition but a bad motor for a great price. First thoughts was to strip what I need off of it and send it to the scrappers.
But I'm having second thoughts and it doesn't seem right to let it die. So I looked around briefly and found a VG from a 94 max for really cheap with warranty.

Would a 94 VG fit in place of a 89 VG?

 

yea it will fit but there's one major item that changed in 1993 - the plugs for the injectors. so either you have to reuse your old injectors, OR, snip the plugs out of the 1994 donor car and solder them in place of the ones on your engine harness (for the rear three... the front three have a subharness that has 4 wires on it that you can leave on the 1994 motor which will already be the right style connectors)

other than that you're good to go

 

thats the best combo you could hope for u get the engine of the 94 3rd gen with all the bells and whistles the engine had and you get the MT from 89 (plus what im guessing is a much nicer interior and exterior than your other car)

if u can get it done cheap id definetly do this idea

 

what "bells and whistles"? It's virtually the same engine minus a few insignificant things.{injectors/some different egr crap}

 

round tooth timing belt ftmfw tho. thankfully i had a 94 motor in my 90 when i bought it... so we swapped gears onto my new engine at Goon's place so i can retain the round-tooth belt. score!

 

Still a insignificant improvement...It's still 99% the same engine.

 

oh of course. but given the choice of same-mileage same-condition i'd always take a 94 VG, due to the belt. cuz that's the only real change

 

Well I went and looked at the car today. The interior is horrid and the clear coat has mostly fallen off. It looks like it's just going to get stripped. My DD 89 GXE (rhymes huh) is it great condition. I bought it in may with 114k miles. It's a little over 125k now so I'm just trying to be prepared for auto transmission failure. No trouble so far with it, but it's inevitable. I also think subconsciously I want it to go out as I really miss a 5-spd.
Thanks guys for the info

 

was the 89se a 5spd? if so, i'd suggest holding onto all the stuff you need for a 5spd swap, in case your auto goes out quietly in the night, as mine did. also if you want a firmer ride and better handling, might as well do a full spring/strut/swaybar/rear disc swap while you're at it (you're gonna have to swap ebrake cables btw. not that hard tho). you should really enjoy that. no more floaty feeling ftw.

Otherwise... can you tell us about the car? color? interior color (what's left of it)? options? got foglights? PM me if it does. I guess this thread is done... startup a new part-out thread in the classifieds, perhaps

 

Yeah, the 89SE is 5-spd. To get a complete manual swap was the original idea for the car. I accidentally stumbled upon it on craigslist for $375. I'm keeping everything i could possibly need for the 5spd swap. Also keeping: Rear disc swap parts, drivers window switch, fog lights, SE tail lights, mud flaps, the white faced gauges, alternator, radiator and some of the new hoses
.
What else should I keep?

I really don't want to completely part this car out. I don't need another junk car chilling in my driveway for months. If there's something specific, I can probably pull it. It's an 89 Se with 203K miles, burgandy with tan leather. The seats are shredded but everything else looks ok.

 

keep all the window regulators and the fuel pump, all the fuses and relays (you never know when you might need them), heck even spare corners and headlights. the clock also... if it isn't dimming. they usually all end up dimming sooner or later. i still suggest the SE suspension. just remember the swaybars! i'm on GXE swaybars and SE springs and.. well.. the GXE swaybar ain't got crap for the SE springs!

are the pillars suede-covered or hard plastic?

 

I don't know, window regulators are decently cheap and are notorious for breaking (already replaced one). Also if my fuel pump went out, I don't think I would go to all the trouble of changing it to put in a used one.

I was not aware that the SE had any different suspension than the GXE. I'll have to look into that.

My GXE has "suede" i guess. I have no idea about the SE. Hard plastic sounds crappy.

 

yea i think all GXEs have that suede... some SEs do, some don't. If you have light-tan suede pillars in the 89se then i want them.

SE has a considerably more capable stock suspension than the GXE. stiffer springs, stiffer struts, stiffer front swaybar. I finally put on the SE swaybar in front to match the SE spring/strut swap i did back in august (rear swaybar is same either way i think) and the car finally stopped rolling over in every single corner (as matt93se noted, stiffer springs need a stiffer swaybar to keep the car level) it rides and corners WAY better than the old GXE crap. even in rain, i made a left-hander and startled myself how agile the car felt... after 1 or 3 G's that i've dropped into this car with mods and repairs... the car is just now starting to prove to me that all my hard work is paying off.

for the window regulators... you can JBweld the bead into the plastic to make it basically indestructable. if it fails after that, it'll be cuz of a burned out motor.