Chevy Body Swap

Not being primarily a GM guy, I can't tell you exactly what all you might run into on the mechanical side. I do know that GM typically made it VERY easy to swap drivelines around between cars (engine mounts, etc.) with the notable exception being that Chevy used a different transmission bolt pattern than Buick, Olds, Pontiac, and Cadillac. No issue there for you since you already have your T56 and LT-1 paired up. It just comes down to getting the T-56 into the transmission tunnel, transmission mount positioned correctly and getting a clutch linked up.

On the registration side, as far as I know the legal "soul" of the car goes with whatever piece carries the VIN plate, which is the body itself. Generally you stay quite legal if you swap entire bodies with VIN plate, it becomes questionable if you swap just a structure carrying the VIN plate, and outright illegal if you swap the VIN plate itself. So putting a complete '79 body on an 94 frame and drivetrain results in a car that is legally a 79, assuming that the 79 still carries its original unmolested VIN plate. That's why its harder to (legally...) swap an old carbureted drivetrain into a modern car, because it now has to meet the emissions test for the modern year.

Things would be a whole lot easier if the car you buy for the older body comes with a clean title and registration. "Salvage" title processes vary a lot from state to state, and I've never messed with them. I know it can get pretty complicated sometimes. But it sure seems like it wouldn't be hard to find a clean-titled Monte Carlo, Regal, or Cutlass around. They only made about a bazillion of them, and they've held up really well corrosion-wise over the years.

Steve wrote in news:oM2dneGoMM422GrVnZ2dnUVZ_q snipped-for-privacy@texas.net:

The part of a car which is the "car" itself is the part which has the VIN stamped into it. Everything else is replaceable while still retaining the car's original legal identity. It is this fact which allows Cars Inc. to sell brand-new 1955-57 Chevrolet bodies, registerable as 1955-57 vehicles. They reuse only the firewall from donor cars, as that's the part with the VIN.

It is federally illegal to install an engine/emissions package from a donor vehicle that is older than the recipient vehicle. Going the other way is legal provided the entire emissions system from the donor makes its way into the recipient. But if your state has no smog check, who'd know you had done this, either way?

Emissions tests are not an issue where I live, though I would prefer to keep things mostly legal to avoid problems down the road.

Well, the midsize Monte/Regal/Cutlass/etc are G-body cars, but yeah the thought still holds. It seems clear the way to go would be viewing it as a "restoration" for the '79 car with my '94 parts rather than a "restoration" for the '94 with a '79 body. I suppose the key would be finding the right car. It would probably be easier to start with a complete '79, but I would be tempted to save money by trying to find only a body and then piecing everything together.

Thanks, Harry

That's interesting, I didn't know they were doing that. A similar idea to what people were doing with Volkswagen Beetles while they were still being made in Mexico...buy a brand new VW in Mexico that can't be registered in the US, find a rotten old Beetle registered in the US, and replace everything with new parts except what the VIN plate is riveted to. They could then sell the new car in the US as a '69 (for example) and might even sell the old car in Mexico as a 2001.

I don't have to worry about smog checks down here in Mississippi, but yeah the resulting creation would have to be a '79 as far as the law is concerned...

Thanks, Harry

Just look for a complete car that's reaching end-of-life mechanically. That way you get all the bits you might need to make something work between the two and don't take a cost hit of buying a perfectly good car.

Now that drive-train of yours if it could be brought to chicago would be perfect for my brother's '82 olds ;)

well, I think you have the right idea, the key would be if you keep a '79 frame, you'll still want to swap over all the suspension pieces that interchange, because the real appeal of the 9C1 package is the suspension tuning...

nate

I think that car was featured in Grassroots Motorsports, although it wasn't a large feature. Looked interesting, at least.

nate

Thanks for clueing me in to that mag...the website has quite a bit of good reading. I couldn't find that Chevy story but still worthwhile.

Harry