mdshaw
mdshaw New Reader
12/5/13 12:45 a.m.

1 is a perfect condition 03 Saturn Vue - loaded leather heated seats fwd, 75 k miles. Friend gave to me if I would tow it from the transmission shop. It has the dreaded CVT. I told him last Summer the only way to truly fix it is to put the 03-04 Ion auto which is an Aisin , the TC, Tcu & brackets. He decided to get a second opinion & after the shop said $2500 & 3 mo warranty he had enough. So the search begins fo parts.

2 is a 99 Itegra GSR that my son's friend wrecked, got for $1500. Just front damage. Was looking for a motor & trans for our perfect 94 Civic Ex. Can sell most of the other parts for close to the purchase price. Was a god car week so far. I think it was payback for helping my son's friends get there rebuilt motor'd Civic running for them. They worked on it for 2 weeks. We brought it to our shop & had it running in 2 late nights. I showed them & had them do all the work so they would learn. Now I have 3 very devoted helpers.

bengro
bengro New Reader
12/5/13 6:45 a.m.

That is so great.

I got a 98 s10 that has a blown auto and scored all the parts to convert it to a manual for 200.

I am helping a friend drop an ej22 into a brat

I am helping another friend drop a 2.0 from a 96 jetta into a rabbit pickup,

And, lastly to complete the tiny truck swap trifecta, I am trying to convince my friend with a rampage that she needs to swap in either a 2.0 from a neon or a 2.4 from a stratus.

Curmudgeon
Curmudgeon MegaDork
12/5/13 7:03 a.m.

I seriously considered finding a Vue for the kid and doing the Aisin swap. It does have one drawback: there is cutting and welding of the subframe necessary. Not scared of it, but the current ION 3 popped up for a killer deal and already had the Aisin trans.

JohnRW1621
JohnRW1621 UltimaDork
12/5/13 9:07 a.m.

If you plan to keep the Vue as a driver; score!

If you plan to flip it; caution.
After you have all the swap work done, you will still have a cars whose price is dictated by the low market price of a CVT Vue. Sure, you can try to explain that you have taken out the CVT factor but the "public" are not going to understand this and the few who understand some of it will likely see it as a bit of a Frankenstein vehicle who's future repair needs will not match up with the service manual.
If your plan is a flip, the easiest route to profit is likely to unload the low, 75k mile motor for $700-$800. Same motor in Cobalt, Malibu, HHR, Saturn L-Series, Ion, Vue, Grand Am, Alero, etc. Highly marketable. Gain a couple hundred from easy parts like seats, headlights, etc and send the rest for a couple hundred in scrap for grand total of $1k to $1.2k.

fidelity101
fidelity101 Dork
12/5/13 9:26 a.m.

I love the keep it if you pay the tow purchase.

I picked up a 93 240sx rust free for 45 dollars because it had a rod sticking out of the block, just had to pay the tow bill from the shop down the road to my house!

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