TwiceConq'ed

Oh, for the record, the cars are located about 2 hours north of Green Bay, WI. Shipping is the buyer's concern, but I will facilitate you any way I can.

I'vw posted stuff for sale here previously, and as it turns out I don't frequent the board enough to answer PMs or reply to posts... so CALL ME if you're interested. Here's what I've got: The "good" car is a 1987 Chrysler Conquest TSi. Red, black-leather gut, 5-speed car. According to the previous owner, it drove great right up until the engine failed (he swore the transmission was OK). It's complete except for the engine, radio, and front seats. It has a full, mandrel-bent 3" exhaust (no converter, O2 bung right after the turbo) with a Merit XCelerator straight-through welded muffler at the end. The exhaust is for the stock 2.6L; the muffler has a hole poked in it where a hook caught it while loading it on the trailer (did that myself--doh!). I know the exhaust sunk the previous owner to the tune of $400+. The interior is in good shape other than lacking the seats, and the outer body isn't rusty. It does have a dent in the passenger's rear quarter panel, and the frame is rusted in the area of the converter. That damage looks like an easy fix to me if you're competent with a welder or has a friend who is, or I wouldn't have bought the car. The shifter handle was sawed off because the previous owner wanted to keep his precious Momo knob but couldn't get it off. The OEM steering wheel is gone, replaced with a Grant GT in great shape. The front spoiler is cracked but repairable; Evercoat makes some fantastic new plastic-repair products. One of the LCAs may be bent; there's a receipt from an alignment shop with question marks. The roof has sadly been cut for a cheesy aftermarket sunroof. The "parts" car is a nearly-identical '86 Plymouth TSi. Same frame damage, missing the front seats as well along with the LH front fender. No engine or wheels either (it rolls on Ranger wheels at the moment--it can be loaded onto a trailer). It has the OEM steering wheel w/controls, but the buttons are well-worn. This car has a similar dent in the rear quarter panel to the '87, and some minor external body rust not present on the '87. The shifter on this one is fine, and I believe the Momo knob is still on it. I bought this car for the roof, the non-motorized seatbelts, and other stuff the '87 needs. The 5-speed trans is there, but I have no idea of its condition. This car had an engine when I bought it, but upon disassembly it was evident the entire motor was scrap... but the short-block for the '87 was even worse! There were a lot of parts included when I bought these cars, but keep in mind: I don't have any blocks (they were both scrap) or turbo stuff short of the manifolding. I have one head I believe is good; it may not be. Both flywheels are around somewhere and they both appear useable. If you're interested or have questions, CALL. I won't BS you about the cars... the '87 is in my garage and the '86 might take me a while to visit and give you straight answers, but straight answers you will get. Other projects have come up, and I've just plain run out of room so I want 'em gone. I'm asking $700 for the pair but will not be insulted by lower offers; I may tell you no but you won't hurt my feelings or anger me. Call me if interested: nyne-oh-six three-nyne-six nyne-ate-five-won. I probably won't be able to answer, but I will return your call quickly unless you do it at an absurd hour. ;D Thanks for the ad!

Oh yeah, I know... I've heard of the A-engines referred to as wideblocks, Y-blocks (a Ford term), Canadian 318s (318eh? ), and big-blocks. None of them are correct. I just try to inform folks. It's either an A-motor or a polysphere--"poly" for short. The poly engine was also available over the years in displacements of 277, 301, and 325 cubic inches. The 318 poly was, in dual-quad form, rated as high as 290HP--the same as the '70 340 Six Pack. Some more interesting information: the only reason Chrysler went to the LA design, initially on the 273 (which was never a poly), was to fit it into the 1964 Barracuda. By going to the inline 18° valve inclination, they narrowed the engine up a whole bunch and made it fit the A-car, which could now compete with its primary competition, the 260- and later 289-powered Mustang. The poly would have fit the later "wide body" A-bodies, which were ultimately fit at various points with both 440s and 426 Hemis, though the Hemi conversion was ugly at best since the passenger-side shock towers on the SS/A and SS/AA cars of 1968 were literally sledge-hammered out of the way by a Hurst employee (no, I'm not kidding). But, Chrysler discontinued the poly at the same time they introduced the wider A-car, though for some reason they kept the poly 318 another year in Canada (probably the origin of the "Canadian 318" moniker). The 904 can be built up to be as stout if not moreso than the 727. Virtually every 1968 SS/AA car in existence has an A727B (big-block) case fitted with A904 internals. Why? Less rotating mass=quicker elapsed times, and they never made a big-block A904. The real question is how much do you want to spend? Figure at least a grand to make an A904 as stout as putting $300 into an A727 of any stripe. Later (after the big-blocks were long gone), the A904 developed into the A998/A999, most of which were not only lockup transmissions, but had a lower first gearset ratio of 2.74:1 rather than the A904's 2.47:1. This was done so that Chrysler products could provide reasonable first-gear acceleration with stupid-high (low numerically) gearsets to provide reasonable highway economy. That way, Chrysler didn't have to spend the money on developing a 4-speed automatic. My '84 Fifth Avenue had a 2.26:1 rear axle (a 7.25" Sure Grip)! I'll allow one guess as to which 1st-gear planetary the Super Stock boys use. It can even be retrofitted into an A727, but it's not cheap and it likely won't live nearly as long in street use as the original 2.47 gear. If you've gotta keep the poly, find a more suitable shell. The Starion/Conquest platform will be nothing but a nightmare unless you're a glutton for punishment. Yes, it can be done... but why? Even the LA-engine swap is best left to the advanced swapper; the poly would be worse yet.

OK, this post is simply for education purposes. 1) There is no such thing as a 318 "wide block." There are two 318s: the A and the LA. The blocks are dimensionally nearly identical. The 318A, or polysphere 318 (so named for the shape of its cylinder heads) was used through '66 in the US and through '67 in Canada. The bottom end (crank and rods) are virtually identical to the early 273 and 318LA (wedge-head) engines. The pistons are poly-specific, though, and will cost you aa fortune. If you want to put the time, money, and effort into one it's a spectacular engine (the current "Hemi" is actually a polyspheric combustion chamber). They are the last of the "thick-wall" Chrysler V8 engine castings and will safely take an overbore of .090" or more. Yes, you can build a 408" poly engine since with that bore and a 4" stroker crank, that's where you end up. I've talked to a fella with a 408" poly stroker, sheetmetal tunnel ram and all. 2) The trans in the car currently is a 727. The 904 didn't exist back then. The problem is that though the pushbutton is "just a shifter", the trans is cable-shifted and that makes it unique. It can only be used with the following shiters: A console unit from a '64 Sport Fury, the original pushbuttons, or anything from a '65 Chrysler, the vast majority of which were column shifters. Being a '64, the transmission utilizes the difficult-to-service, expensive ball-and-trunion output shaft rather than a sliding-spline U-joint yoke. The '65 transmission had the sliding-spline yoke and was still cable-shifted. Starting in '66, all Mopars went to a linkage-actuated shifter mechanism. Nostalgia racers will pay big bucks for a '65 transmission to get the slip-yoke output with the cable-shift setup, since it's a 1-year-only transmission. Just the thought of running exhaust on this swap makes my head hurt. Though the poly has a lot going for it, it's a tough sell in a 'Quest since the motor's pricey in the first place and fitment is another nightmare altogether. Personally, I'd pull the engine just far enough to snag the forged-steel crank, grab anything good that will bolt onto a two-door or wagon, and crush it. No one wants, likes, or cares about 4-doors unless they're weird factory hi-perf cars or have veryinteresting provenance. Since this doesn't seem to be the case with your car, it's crusher fodder once all the good stuff's been stripped. Sorry; that's how it is... and I'm a die-hard Mopar guy. I bleed Corporate Blue but realize the truth of your situation.

Don't mess around, either. Be safe--those things will blow you across the room.

As I mentioned, I really don't know what this stuff is worth. I expect a fair offer, that's all. I don't expect top dollar because I'm not gonna use this stuff and I know others can and will. I know--it sucks when it's up to you to make an offer; you want to get a reasonable deal on them, and I don't want to get screwed, but not knowing values makes it difficult for me so I'd hope that you'll be fair and anyone else would jump in and mention if you weren't. If this were RWD Mopar stuff, I'd have it nailed. This is not my area of expertise. One of the turbos is in parts and I can't swear it's 100% it's complete. One still appears to be operational, and one is split but methinks it's all there. However, since I'm selling them as cores, there's no guarantee on them. I will say that there appears to be no vane damage on the compressor/impeller side of any of them. Howzabout this? I'll dig out all the turbocharger stuff and snap some pics. I can post them or e-mail them to you, and you can decide from there. If you want the pics e-mailed, PM me the address (posting it on the board may not be wise--spammers). I'm pretty sure I can e-mail higher-res pics than I can post here. Let me know.

One engine was burned up so badly from lack of oil, the rods were heat-blued halfway from the crankpin bore to the piston pin. All four of 'em... never seen anything like it in 25 years in the car hobby (and that includes working in a race-engine shop). When the former owner's father and I hammered the rods off the crank, the bearings stayed on the crank. They were welded solid and the whole shebang went in the scrap bin. The other engine had a crack in both the block and head, and apparently whomever was driving it just kept putting water in it and driving it. The head and block both had a large area eroded away from water escaping out the side of the engine. I may have kept this crank, but I'm not sure... I'll check and let you know.

I mentioned the valve-body similarity so you'd know that a trans brake for an A727 will fit a similar-year A904/A998/A999 and work perfectly. Also, it appears that for what you're doing, the A998/A999 gearset would be preferable with its 2.74 low gearset (as opposed to the A727/A904 2.45 first gear). Launch, baby! The A727 internals are idental between big-block version (A727B) and small-block (A727A), with the exception of the Hemi and truck transmissions which used a 4-pinion planetary and a 5-disc front drum. Here's something worth investigating: because of their similarity, I'm thinking you may be able to use the D50 forward case on an A500 (the A904-based overdrive transmission used in light-duty 2WD trucks). I don't know if it works because I've never tried it, but how cool would it be to have that .69:1 overdrive at the flip of a switch? Hit the button and a 4.56 gear suddenly becomes a 3.15. Though the A500 is a lockup trans, changing the valve body, forward case, and converter might circumvent that, leaving your high-stall converter options open... of course, even with the overdrive your highway RPM would still be at your stall RPM. It's definitely worth researching.

I have two TSIs, one an '86 and the other an '87. I'm keeping these cars, but since I'm doing engine swaps on both, there's a lot of stuff I don't need. Right off the bat, I'm not selling any body panels, suspension, or wheels other than a pair of standard TSI fronts. The '87 was a driver until the previous owner had minor TBI fire. I bought the '86 as a parts car for the '87, so I don't know why it was junked for sure, but the engine was a mess (cracked block and head). Both cars are 5-speeds; the previous owner claims the '87 trans is fine but he was too stupid to figure out how to remove the shift knob and hacksawed the top of the shift lever off in order to keep it... so other than the shifter it should be good. I have no way to check these transmissions other than to say they roll over nicely and the shifter action is good. Both engines were junk, but the problem with the '87 was the injector fire and a smoked bottom end (I can't believe it ran). The head appears to be good. The car has a full mandrel-bent 3" exhaust offered elsewhere. I do not have any good turbos, but I have 3 cores. The '87 distributor was unhurt in the fire. Everything should be good. Complete only, with NGK wires. Lots of underhood stuff I won't need because of the swaps. I know very little about these cars' original engine/electrical configuration, so Mr. Density will need good descriptions or pics of what it is you need, and I'll see if I have it. If you need anything from either car, I'll guarantee it's not DOA. In fact, I won't require payment until you know it's good other than actual shipping charges--and where shipping's concerned, I may be able to get it to you at no charge if you're in the Great Lakes region (MI, WI, northern IN, OH, and IL). Go to autoparts2020.com; if there's a store near you you're hooked up! I really have no idea what a lot of this stuff is worth, so I leave it up to you to make a fair offer on anything you need. I'm not looking to make a killing here; I just want to offer stuff I know I won't need to folks who can use it. PM me with needs... be specific, since I'm a StarQuest hammerhead.

Still need this? I have a couple of them. I'm 2hrs north of Green Bay.

I know very little about these cars, so I guess I need explanation or a pic of what it is I need to yank off the car, but I have a fairly-complete '87 in my garage (missing only the engine itself) from which I'll gladly pull the ignitor if it's still there. PM me with more information so I can get you going if possible. I'm doing an engine swap anyhow, so I won't need it.

Sorry to hear about the divorce, man... been through it and no matter how you feel, it sucks. Do what I did--bury yourself in the car. Very therapeutic. In my case, it was replacing a tired, knocking 400 with a fresh 440 Six Pack in a '72 Charger. I figured I was about a year from completing that project, but once she left I had it done in about 2 weeks. No, it was not nearly as involved as what you're doing but it kept me busy for a while and I felt a lot better driving a Six Pack Charger than I did an '89 Delta 88 sedan. Good luck, rustrocket. Keep your chin up.

Bah... a big-block isn't that hard to put in an A-body if you're willing to pay for the insanely-expensive headers. The big-block F/M/J/Y-body swap is actually pretty easy. Mopar Action did an article in the June 1992 issue called "Hot to Swap" that covered the process end-to-end, and that was before the conversion mounts were available. The car into which I'm installing that goofy 318 is an '81 LeBaron coupe converted from Slant Six/auto to V8/4-speed using all factory parts. The rear axle is an 8.75". The same thing can be done to your Mirada, even though they never built a factory manual-trans J-car. A friend and I did it to his '82 Mirada, and I plan on doing it to my Imperial as well. Speaking of my Imperial...

To my knowledge, the little Torqueflite differed only in bell pattern, and the internals were identical to those of the Chrysler-badged products as was the length from the rear engine (trans) mount to the output (main) shaft, since they used identical mainshafts and tailshaft housings. I'm not sure about the Mitsu stuff, but the A904 was dead by '81, leaving the A998/A999 as the sole light-duty trans. This isn't such a bad thing, since they used a deeper 2.74:1 low gearset, but most of them were lockup, and a true HD lockup converter still hasn't been developed. I helped swap a 340 into an '84 D50 as well as putting a 360 into an '83. In both cases, we used the rear trans mount as a locator to get the front motor-mount brackets into place. The '84 was a 4WD, the '83 a RWDer (and a damned rocket, I might add). Both the shift and the (engine-correct) kickdown linkage dropped into place as if the V8s were born there. In similar years, the A727 and the A904/A998/A999 used the exact-same valve body, assuming they had the same converter style (lockup or non-lockup). Yes, the A904/A998/A999 transmissions can be built to be extremely strong. In fact, virtually every competing SS/A auto car uses A904 internals in an A727 case (1968 Hemi Dart/Barracuda). Stout? Yes. Cheap? Not even close! Then again, those cars run mid-8s. Depending on your build, a sturdy A904-based trans can be built for a lot less money. As always, how fast you want to go is dependent on your wallet. The parts are there if you can afford them.

A long time ago, I posted this for sale but was unable to ship it, as well as being 50 miles from the car. Now I'm a little better-equipped to move it and it's only a few feet from me. I've got a complete 3" mandrel-bent exhaust system for a G54B-equipped Starquest hanging under my '87. If this car were to ever go G54B again, it would not be in my hands so to me it's expendable. The previous owner apparently spent a ton of money having this exhaust built; I have only his Dad's word on that. It's a full 3" system, manifold to tailpipe, with an O2 bung right after the manifold and a XCelerator welded muffler out back (straight-through design). While loading the car on the trailer to get it home, the muffler got caught on one of the trailer's tie-down hooks and has a hole in it but it's an easy fix with a welder or even J-B. This is an off-road-only exhaust, as there is no catalytic converter . It's been a while since I was under the car, but I believe at least the forward provision for the cat is there. If you're interested, let me know and I will shoot and post pics. The car on which it was installed and still resides is an '87 TSi. I don't know what it's really worth, and I'm not trying to start a bidding war but from what I'm told there's about $500 tied up in this system (but how do I know? I don't). It's still on the car; I left it there before posting so any pics I post will show the excellent fit. I really don't know what it's worth, but if you're going to contact me offering $75 for it, please don't waste your time or mine. The bends alone are worth more than that. Offers? Questions? PM me for further contact information. I'll gladly respond to e-mails or take a phone call about this since it's gotta be useful to someone more faithful than I. If you're located in MI, WI, northern IL, northern OH, or northern IN there is a good possibility shipping could be free. The company for whom I work operates in those areas and I might be able to get it on a truck for ya. Check out autoparts2020.com; if there's a store near you I can probably get it to you at no cost beyond your offer. I'll consider interesting trades, particularly anything small-block Mopar related, especially if it involves the nomenclatures "W2" or "W5". Let me know.