hi, i'm planning on buying an engine from mantapart.com to put into
my 99 sunfire se.
after reading the engine swap post in the FAQ
i became discouraged to swap an ecotec into it
because of all the other stuff you have to swap out(the bcm, wiring etc.). and
i dont want to have to drop a couple of grand on a donor car
when i can spend em buying new parts.
this mantapart website really caught my eve becuse of all the parts they sell.

mantapart sells a 2.3L HO crate engine (it says that it can be converted to run
in a 96/up cav/sunfire, but would req. computer and wiring change over) are these the same
changes needed to swap the 2.2L ecotec?

Another choice i saw was a 2.5 hybrid race shortblock, and that one doesnt say anything
wiring swaps.

i also saw a 2.4 Quad hybrid race shortblock

i know the easiest swap for me is an LD9 outta a 99/older Z24 or sunfire gt
but those are getting harder and harder to come by.
ive already got a a 5sp trans outta a 00-02 cavy.

my question is which of the available swaps yould you recomend?
which do you think is easier?

any reply is greatly appreciated.

around here we dont really like mantapart too much. there were several problems when it came to the actual performance of the parts they were selling, and the performance of the company themselves was a bit toutchy as well, so most people just avoid them all together.

to answer your first question, the changes you would need to make to swap in a 2.3L would be completely different from the changes needed to swap in an ecotec. the 2.3 is a pre 1996 motor, making it an OBD1 motor, meaning it has less emissions requirements than a 96+ car. anything after 96 is obd2 compliant, basically having stricter emission controls on the car. the ecotec is an obd2 motor, meaning that it has the same, or close emissions standards as your car, BUT a lot of the wiring is different than both the 2.3L and your current setup, making it a difficult swap to do, because youre basically taking an ecotec car's motor and computers and putting em into a non ecotec car.

your best bet for a motor swap would be a 2.4L. they came not only in the sunfire GT's and Z24's but they also came in alero's and Grand am's for the late 90's.
if you decide to go the route of the 2.4L LD9 motor, you should read up on it. as there are quite a few variations throughout the years. take a look at this page: CLICKY one of the most accurate writeups of that motor around, and it explains all the variations thorughout the years.

another route that seems to be becoming a more popular choice would be a V6 swap. either the 3.1L 3100, or the 3.4L 3400. they are both somewhat common swaps for our cars. they do although require some fabrication when it comes to motor mounts, and a decent knowlege of electrical wiring as there will need to be a hybrid of the computer you have and the computer from the V6. this also requires some reading material, try here: CLICKY and heres part2 of that: CLICKY kardain is the one doing the swap, and hes done some pretty good work, and has written a good step by step on what hes doing. the 3.1L swap is very similar to what hes got goin on.

but in terms of simplicity, the 2.4L would be your best choice. your best bet with that is to either take a look at what these guys are selling: CLICKY or just find a used 2.4 from either a junkyard, a parts car, or someone selling one already out of the car, and building it up to whatever you want it to be, because most likely it will come out to be cheaper then anything els you will find, if thats what youre looking for. theres a lot more information floating aroun here too, search around and you'll most likely find whatever else you need

hope that helps

in order to swap in either the 2.5 quad or 2.4 hybrid or even just the HO quad you will need the pcm and wiring harness from a 1995 manual Z or GT...and you said you have a 00+ getrag? is it in yet?

Mantapart? You'll never see that thing.