1981 Pontiac Grand LeMans Safari Wagon
- Thread starter PBGBodyFan
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Good guess.
Drove it to work yesterday and on the way home I heard/felt something break, only had 1st gear. Limped it home over 10 miles this way, that was fun. But I made it, no reverse either so I had to use the dolleys to spin it around in the driveway, then roll it to where I planned to do the motor/trans swap.
The kicker is I wanted to drive it just one more time, to the car show/swap meet in Elkhorn this weekend. Was going to enter it in the show, BOP cars are the theme. Guess it wasn’t meant to be.
Drove it to work yesterday and on the way home I heard/felt something break, only had 1st gear. Limped it home over 10 miles this way, that was fun. But I made it, no reverse either so I had to use the dolleys to spin it around in the driveway, then roll it to where I planned to do the motor/trans swap.
The kicker is I wanted to drive it just one more time, to the car show/swap meet in Elkhorn this weekend. Was going to enter it in the show, BOP cars are the theme. Guess it wasn’t meant to be.
Warranty expired on the trans last week, sorry 😐. I forgot to offer the extended warranty on the trans when you picked it up from me lol.
Bummer it crapped out on you. I guess that's why people swap the 200's out!?!
Looking forward to seeing what goes in as a replacement. Would have been nice to do it more on your schedule but sometimes the world has other opinions.
Bummer it crapped out on you. I guess that's why people swap the 200's out!?!
Looking forward to seeing what goes in as a replacement. Would have been nice to do it more on your schedule but sometimes the world has other opinions.
Of course, the warranty always runs out just before it blows, go figure 🙄😆
Thanks for it, I think I drove it 1,200-1,500 miles since swapping it in. So it got some more life and let the wagon ride for a couple years in mostly stock form bringing smiles to some random people along the way. I do wonder if the Trailblazer driveshaft being a touch longer forced something to happen. Has been maybe 100-150 miles since swapping that and the rear in.
Yep, crappy timing in some ways but also that close to being perfect, just wanted two more days and one more trip.
SBC 350 and 2004r out of a 88’ Monte SS on deck. Have most things ready to go and the teardown will start this weekend. I know the BOP guys will give me frowny faces but it hey at least it’s not an LS swap…that’s maybe in a couple years 😀
Thanks for it, I think I drove it 1,200-1,500 miles since swapping it in. So it got some more life and let the wagon ride for a couple years in mostly stock form bringing smiles to some random people along the way. I do wonder if the Trailblazer driveshaft being a touch longer forced something to happen. Has been maybe 100-150 miles since swapping that and the rear in.
Yep, crappy timing in some ways but also that close to being perfect, just wanted two more days and one more trip.
SBC 350 and 2004r out of a 88’ Monte SS on deck. Have most things ready to go and the teardown will start this weekend. I know the BOP guys will give me frowny faces but it hey at least it’s not an LS swap…that’s maybe in a couple years 😀
When my th200 took a crap, I was on my way back from Louisville, KY, about 90 miles from home. Not my idea of a fun drive, but we made it. TH350 to the rescue!
Wow, that's a long drive with a blown trans, did you have at least 2nd gear?
I need to get back at it, been a busy past week and this week might not be ideal either but I did get the engine/trans pulled along with the core support and all suspension last weekend/early last week. Now it's time to clean and paint the frame. I had just enough room to clear the short garage and front bumper pulling it out together, wanted to leave the nose/bumper in place if possible. Engine was sold within a day to a Turbo Buick guy who wanted the block as a spare/future build. Trans went to scrap, maybe could of seen if someone wanted or needed a BOP TH-200 core but I highly doubt it. I did put something on the bumper as it crossed over to help protect it a bit.
![IMG_3692[1].JPG](https://cdn-0.gbodyforum.com/attachments/img_3692-1-jpg.181344/ "IMG_3692[1].JPG")
![IMG_3693[1].JPG](https://cdn-0.gbodyforum.com/attachments/img_3693-1-jpg.181345/ "IMG_3693[1].JPG")
Say "ahhhh"
![IMG_3694[1].JPG](https://cdn-0.gbodyforum.com/attachments/img_3694-1-jpg.181346/ "IMG_3694[1].JPG")
Got the frame stripped to metal then Eastwood extreme chassis paint after some light primer. Ridetech arms, coilovers, front sway bar and UMI brace on. Never rebuilt a front end with this much access nor had a frame cleaned this much, sure makes working on stuff nice but was some work to get to that point, about a gallon of lacquer thinner. SBC mounts in place, new brakes (stock) for good measure using later metric rotors/bearings so the whole car now runs metric lugs.
Aluminum core support from a Grand Prix in as well, in the middle of adding the frame/crossmember extension and 2004r crossmember. Need to play with the tie rod/heim joints and coilovers once the full weight is on. Hope to mate the engine & trans this weekend and toss it in.
Aluminum core support from a Grand Prix in as well, in the middle of adding the frame/crossmember extension and 2004r crossmember. Need to play with the tie rod/heim joints and coilovers once the full weight is on. Hope to mate the engine & trans this weekend and toss it in.
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This is taking longer than I would like but about a week ago or so I finally got it fired up and set the timing. Still working on all the small stuff so it isn’t driveable yet but trying to carve out time for it and get it to that point before winter. Goal is to get it aligned and able to drive it before salt goes down, so maybe a month here.
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