I'm thinking of getting rid of my Formula, and what I want to replace it is a 89TTA. But those are pretty scarce. I can buy my old 88GTA back from my brother pretty cheap. So I was wondering what was involved in pulling the L98 and swapping in a 3.8Turbo and making my own TTA. The main things I need to know is if I can use a GN motor, or do I need to find one that came from a TTA. I remember reading somewhere they were a little different. Also, would it bolt up to the stock TH700, or would I need the original tranny too? TH200, if I remember right. Would the whole wiring harness need to be changed, or just the computer? And lastly, a ballpark figure of what this could cost. Thanks.

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1998 Formula M6
"F*ck off you stuck up LS1 jerk"--Corr

 

The TTA engine was modified to fit, including the exhaust manifolds. Yes, you will need to use a different tranny, the 700 won't bolt up (remember, the 3.8 has the BOP (buick,olds,pontiac) bolt pattern). You will also need to swap over the wiring harness, ECM, and everything, since the 3.8 uses a distributerless ignition. It is a lot money. You can find several TTA's for sale on the internet for around 8-12K (probably cheaper than trying to build one).

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"I used to have a handle on life, but then I used it as a plunger and broke it" -The Wave

ASE Master Tech + L1
Savannah, GA
'87 Trans Am-K&N,Cold air induction, SSM SFC, Flowmaster, 16" GTA rims.
'97 Bonneville SSE
About Me

 

would it be easier for him to do the 4.something Turbo that came in the Syclone/Typhoon?

 

I think the 4.3 Typhoon/Cyclone engine will bolt up to a 90* bellhousing like the V8, but is definatly 700R-4 material. The question is, where the hell are you going to find a 4.3Turbo setup? I have driven several GN's and Typhoons (I work for Buick and GMC) but havn't driven them one after the other so I really couldn't tell you wich is faster.

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"I used to have a handle on life, but then I used it as a plunger and broke it" -The Wave

ASE Master Tech + L1
Savannah, GA
'87 Trans Am-K&N,Cold air induction, SSM SFC, Flowmaster, 16" GTA rims.
'97 Bonneville SSE
About Me

 

well from past posts, the 700R4 seems to peform better than the 200R4. a simple adapter plate is all you need. you can use the GN engine I believe but then you can't have air conditioning. If you want air condidtioning then you need some FWD 3.8L heads. TTA and Brandon will be able to explain this all better than I can. I was seriously considering this but I decided I'd rather have a 6 speed than a Turbo3.8 and the 2 don't go well together. Only time will tell do some searches. This has been covered pretty well. It is not nearly as expesive as some people think. Just find a totaled GN setup and go from there.
Tas
'89 Formula WS6

 

how did the swap go. You tooling around in the turbo car now?

 

the swap isn't that bad...and yes you can use the 700r4 so don't believe the people that say you can't, TCI makes an adapter plate that runs about $80

It's some work but it's worth it Any questions let me know, the swap on my car was done last April, and I have a friend that did the swap in his 89 GTA as well who's running low 11's on pump gas

WOW, talk about reviving dead posts lol