Hey everyone, new member, long time K car lover. Here we go:
I have a near-mint 87 blue/woody K wagon that I am gonna fix up to be a beach/camping mobile. I love this thing, and I love never seeing another one like it anywhere. I plan to lift it and inch or two, put on some mags and AT radials, and air shock the back to lift it a little. It's gonna be my camping/scuba/cross-country car. I absolutely love it when I tell this to mechanics, and they say it needs to go to the junk pile. The body is almost mint, it was my classmates grandma's car, maybe has 40k on it.
She took good care of the body and interior. It's a front bench, which I acutally like, much more functional than console/buckets for my adventures. HOWEVER, she ran it low on oil many times. By the time I bought it for $300, it had a slight tap and lacked power. I commuted with it for a year, and when I run it now, it's ready to blow. The tap can be heard for a quarter mile (no joke), and it can hardly maintain 40mph in a headwind. She's toast.
SO, now that my background is complete, my question. I have found an 86 New Yorker with 57K, in good shape and running well. It is a ways away from me, and I only have pictures, but I assume it is a 2.2 or 2.2 turbo. (I don't see hood louvres in the picture, so probably a 2.2 carb?) MY QUESTION (finally), is, can I swap the drivetrain from this new yorker to my reliant relatively easily? Mounts match, wiring harnesses, etc?? I don't have the ability to do this, but I have a buddy in town who can, as long as it isn't an insane custom job. Does this bolt right in? Keep in mind, I want to be able to take this thing on a 2000 mile road trip, so I don't want something that "might work." We want to pack it up and head to Seattle next summer (from North Dakota). I've researched a bit already, both are FF layouts.....the tranny may even be identical. I wish I had the VIN. I'll work on that...
Also, the dash shape looks identical. I'm really inept with electronic, wiring, etc....but can I put the digital dash in the K Wagon too? Will the computer from the New Yorker work and make the dash all good? It looks like it will fit?
I'd appreciate any help at all. I will be posting pics as I go. I can't afford a crate motor for this thing, or else I'd just do that, that's how much I love it. But if I could get the drivetrain, and sweet dash set-up, maybe some other interior parts, from that car into my wagon, I'd be in hog heaven. Thanks so much for your help!!
(PS--are there any k-car club window decals available???)
Jeremy