Putting a 1979 1500 w/ 5 speed into a 1974 shell

T

tdskip

True Classic
So I've had the car for 12 hours now and I'm already looking at "upgrades" - lol.

Can someone take me to school on the feasibility of putting a 1500 and 5 speed into an otherwise stock 1974 replacing the 1300 / 4 speed? Good idea? Straight forward swap? Check list of bits I'll need to gather?

Thanks in advance for the coaching.
 
An easy and very common swap

tdskip said:
Can someone take me to school on the feasibility of putting a 1500 and 5 speed into an otherwise stock 1974 replacing the 1300 / 4 speed? Good idea? Straight forward swap? Check list of bits I'll need to gather?
Click to expand...

I've done two 1500 transplants, one with five-speed and one keeping the original four-speed. And many others here have done the same.

Poke through the "Best-Of wiki" linked from the index page for this forum and at http://xwebforums.org/forumdisplay.php?f=38 and also search the archives here and at 1.0.
 
Ah - didn't know the WIKI was there. Also found your earlier post.

It looks like;

1) Later/taller engine cover
2) Spacer or custom exhaust

Shouldn't be any changes need to the harness etc if I stick with a carb, as the 1979 engines were still carbureted right? Any difference on engine mounts?

Thanks!
 
You are on the right track

tdskip said:
Ah - didn't know the WIKI was there. Also found your earlier post.

It looks like;

1) Later/taller engine cover
2) Spacer or custom exhaust

Shouldn't be any changes need to the harness etc if I stick with a carb, as the 1979 engines were still carbureted right? Any difference on engine mounts?

Thanks!
Click to expand...

The lower engine mount for the 5-speed was beefier due to the additional weight of the tranny and the dog-bone mount at the top is a bit longer than the 1300 dog-bone. I believe the driver's side lower a-arm is different for the 5spd as well. It has a notch in it to clear the tranny.

Also, 1979 was the first year that the X switched from points to electronic ignition. So you need the ECU found in the side pod of the engine bay on the passenger side above the wheel well. The PO of my car wrapped it in duct tape, :( but you can see where it is in this pic:
im0013042ab.jpg


Do you have a donor X? Or is this just an engine/tranny that you are getting?
 
Yes (almost), and no difference (almost)

tdskip said:
Shouldn't be any changes need to the harness etc if I stick with a carb, as the 1979 engines were still carbureted right? Any difference on engine mounts?
Click to expand...

1) Yes, no changes to the harness and all that. The one thing you should know is that the stock carb on the '79 is the evil performance-strangling 28/30 DHTA. If at all possible you want to replace it with a 34 DMTR/DATR/DAT which is what came on the European 1500 cars, or a 32 DMTRA/DATRA from a US 1300 car. The DA ones have a water choke, the DM ones have a manual choke - the '74 is the only one that came stock with a manual choke. Aside from the choke hookup, all are simple bolt ons.

2) If you have the original '74 engine mounts, they will work just fine, and the lower mount will have the necessary finger for supporting a stock '74 exhaust system. If not, let us know what exhaust you are planning to use... I've always used exhausts (aftermarket or stock) designed for the '74 so I haven't had to worry about anything except making up a suitable spacer.
 
Thanks guys - appreciate the info and coaching.

The 1300 has an electronic distributor already, would this swap over to the 1500? I'll need to double check the carb spec, now would be the time to get the right one on there for sure.

In doing my research it's been suggested that I may need different CV assemblies to install the 1500, but I didn't see that mentioned here. Is that bad info or should I be looking for the bits.
 
tdskip said:
Thanks guys - appreciate the info and coaching.

The 1300 has an electronic distributor already, would this swap over to the 1500? I'll need to double check the carb spec, now would be the time to get the right one on there for sure.

In doing my research it's been suggested that I may need different CV assemblies to install the 1500, but I didn't see that mentioned here. Is that bad info or should I be looking for the bits.
Click to expand...

The CVs are captured by the observation that you want to keep an entire drivetrain, from flywheel to clutch and tranny all the way out the axles, a-arms and hubs, together: either all 4-speed, or all 5-speed.

A distributor/ignition that works with a 1500 will work just fine with a 1300, and vice versa. One of my 1500 conversions I carried the stock '74 points distributor over; the other I carried over an aftermarket electronic distributor that was already on the 1300.
 
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