What is different between '88 and '90 323's

[grey1]

Will a used 1990 323 engine ( and 5 speed) easily transfer to an '88 w/ 4 speed? What are the differences to be concerned about? Computer and harness? ....Transmission mounts ...or shafts? Intake?

These are listed by Hollander as two seperate engines, why?

Any helpful info is appreciated.


Yes I have posted this question on other forums. If there was ONE good forum I would post there. Intead, there are a bunch of halfast sites

[yunvmyegt]

ones a bf chassis ones a bg chassis, anythings possible, theres a few people on here with bf gtx's with bpt's in them.... im sure youll need lots from the bg to make it work in the bf.....

[grey1]

Thanks for the reply.

Yes BF to BG happened that year... but this '90 is a hatchback not sedan. According to the Man link the 1990 hatchback 323 (BG) came with the B6-E engine ( 8 valve SOHC) That should be exactly what I need. However, the FSM lists the '88 as B6-EFI (or EGI) That might not be important, though.

I think the distributor might have changed to electronic. As long as my '88 dizzy fits. I dont care.

[grey1]

Thanks for the reply.

the 1990 hatchback 323 (BG) came with the B6-E engine ( 8 valve SOHC) .

So.... I wonder if the BG and BF hatchbacks are really that different?
I honestly do not know enough about it to say. Maybe someone who has seen both will respond

[jay]

If the fwd 323's and the gtx's are similar, the 88 bf 323 will use a b6 1.6, the 90 BG 323 will have a BP 1.8. The halfshafts will also be different. THey also switched from the old style mechanical dist. to a Hall effect dist.
But the fwd cars aren't what I'm most familiar with so don't take this as cold hard fact just yet...

[808]

It's a B6 powered BG by the sounds of it. If that's true then the swap should be fairly easy. Why are you wanting to swap? Bad motor?

[crazycanadian]

The BG 1.6L is different.. computere systems are different... the BF 1.6L runs a complete vacume dizzy, the intake is different... Axles may or may not interechange I am not sure, but the BG and BF have different front hubs and wheel bearing assemblies... Its possible but I don't think it'll be plug and play...

[808]

It would be just as easy to swap in a BP the more I think about it. And you'd get way more out of it.

[grey1]

"Why are you wanting to swap? Bad motor? "


I suppose i should have expained more.-- I found an 323 for sale. The owner had pulled the head off because gasket blew. He just wanted to be rid of it. He said the block should be good but the head was bad (we will get back to that in a minute). Well, the top of the cylinders had some rust up high around the squish area. I guess from coolant. I have not measured for out of round yet, nor have I even turned the crank over. I have cleaned the deck and put the diss-asembled head back together.

I just want to make it run as cheaply as possible. I appreciate you guys with your turbo's and what nots...but I am just a simpleton, I guess.

I heard of a guy who had this 1990 B6 for sale. He had swapped either a BP or B8 into hatchback 8 valve.


About the head- it can be shaved .008 and still be within the deck thickness spec of the FSM ( if I read it right) I dont know if 008 will be enough to remove the warp though. I did not even measure when I saw that it was WAY over the limit.

QUESTION: This cam is very hard to turn- requires socket. Is that because of the warp? I thought these should turn by hand. I dont know.

QUESTION: Will the vaccum distributer fit on the newer 8 valve head?

[MyHooker]

Thank god the cam is hard to turn, if it was easy, you would have bad valve springs. The dizzy should swap over, however if your head is that bad off, get another one, will save you heartache in the future. I hear you though on the cost issue. But there is Cheap, Reliable, and Just plain working (normally fast, but not in this case) pick 2.

[grey1]

if your head is that bad off

well i put the edge on there and looked for daylight..looked like a finger nail thickness in the middle. I will take the feelers to it later and report.
I did measure the deck though. The FSM said something like 4.036 - 4.048 inch ( I dont remember the exact spec) This one measured just under the larger number, like say 4.044. I dont want to make an interferance engine!

Thank god the cam is hard to turn

I seem to recall turning cam sprockets by hand on known good heads....but I might be mistaken. This one will not turn by hand



Thanks .