In July, I bought a 5spd 89 N/A z31 with a bad engine with the hopes of finding a turbo engine and doing the swap with my dad as a project. I have found the information on az-zbum and these forums to be very helpful on the subject. Last weekend, I found the donor car, a 1985 z31 turbo, and will be buying and picking it up on Saturday.

**EDIT the donor car is really a 1985 N/A with a newer turbo engine**

Because we are getting the entire car, my dad refuses to bring it to the house, and has instead said he would pay to have the swap done by a mechanic. This was going to be my first engine swap, a learning experience, and he is convinced that i'm incapable of doing it with a little help.

I respect his opinion, but this is too much, I'm worried about having a mechanic do it, especially because i'm not truly sure about the condition of the N/A Transmission. Any problems that arise will lead to more money spent, especially at a mechanic's shop.

My dad is making this more difficult than it needs to be, and nothing I have tried will change his mind.

What can I do?

 

Welcome to ZDriver!

Not really sure what to tell you... this is a Zcar forum, not family dispute / resolution forum.

I'm assuming you are a minor (under 18)? If your dad is paying for everything, I don't get the problem... usually teenagers are upset that their parents AREN'T paying for everything.

 

I'm 19 and in college. I payed for both the 89 and the donor car, i'm upset because my dad is having me take these cars to a mechanic at HIS expense.

What I really want to know is what can be done to minimize the amount of surprises this place is going to call about?

 

That depends on how many "surprises" the cars have, and how knowledgeable / experienced the mechanic is. You're fishing for answers we can't give.

 

Think about your dad's (or parent's) perspective. You start this project, hit a major glitch, and the project stalls. The prospect of the carcasses of both cars remaining indefinitely on their doorstep is likely his/their concern. I would readily accept any offer to pay for a professional drive-train swap. Don't worry, as with any car over 20 years, there will be plenty of projects to work on and experience to gain once you have a road-able car to drive.

 

You guys are right, I just went with it. Both cars are at the mechanic's shop now, but they have run into a problem: They are saying the engine mounts from the '85 turbo are not lining up with the '89.

I've read that just the ecu, engine harness, and cross-member need to be replaced with the turbo counterparts. Is this really true?

 

Yes. That part is true.