astra gsi mk2 c20xe conversion

[033 Ken]

Hi, A young chap from invercargill has got a 80's astra with a 2.0 single cam motor, he has bought my spare c20xe and he wants to do a conversion, is it a hard or easy?

I belive it is a common conversion but havn't found any build treads on the net yet.

both the donor car and his will be side by side fro the conversion and i have said he can have everything he needs.

The guy wants to do the astra boss replica i think.

Any input would be helpfull

Thanks

[021 Chad]

After having an astra GTE, I noticed that they changed very little in order to fit the c20XE motor into the MK2 Astra / Kadett E shell. As the car already has a C20NE fitted (which has the same block as the DOHC motor) this makes things MUCH easier as all of the engine mounts will bolt up. Fitting the eingine should be as easy as bolting it in, but the engine loom will need to be replaced with the loom from the DOHC donor car, this will be the hardest bit I reckon.
Having driven the Astra GTE however, this chap should be prepared for a hairy ride, to put it plainly the handling is tripe, but fun in an out of control kind of way. I would suggest that post engine fitment he look at reinforcing the front monocoque booms either side of the motor as these tend to twist about far too much with the extra torque / stress. He will also be needing a well sorted suspension system to keep things in line.

[049 Jennifer]

Yeah the chassis can tear from the torque... have seen that with my own eyes!! So your suggestions to beef up the suspension is spot on!! If he marks all the wires on the wiring loom so he knows where they go back should be ok... he will also need the ECU!!

[033 Ken]

thanks heaps, i will pass this info on. He will have everything he needs including the ecu so no probs with the parts, is there a photo anywhere of where the chassis tears? might be wise before the motor goes in lol.

[021 Chad]

thanks heaps, i will pass this info on. He will have everything he needs including the ecu so no probs with the parts, is there a photo anywhere of where the chassis tears? might be wise before the motor goes in lol.

I don't have photos, but if you look at the underside of the front end you can plainly see that there is not enough cross bracing between the two booms these are 'cantilever' style booms that extend out from the fire wall and support the shock towers and lower front suspension arms. The cracking occurs between these booms and the firewall a lot of the time, but due to the twisting the cracks can appear anywhere on this structure.
On the SouthAfrican Superboss the firewall and booms were pressed from a thicker and slightly stronger steel plate in order to cope with the extra stress of the more powerful motor and subsequent agressive driving.

If the car in question is just going to be driven normally than this will not be an issue, but if there is some tire shredding in it's future, it's better to have the ground work done.