Badgers Vectra Engine swap

"Vauxhall the fuss about then?"

Meet Torquecars member BAD63R or Badger, his name is really Andy but he's been called Badger ever since he can remember (due to his surname) and lives in sunny England. He currently owns a Calibra and a Vectra and has the habit of swapping engines in his cars. We knew that when he said he had got a Vectra and had no plans to modify it it would only be a matter of time before he started with the mods, but we were certainly not expecting a turbo engine transplant!

He got interested in cars when he passed his driving test but he has always liked cars, even wanting a Calibra since he was 5 (So far he has owned 3!) - from that you can probably work out his age now if you know your Vauxhall history! 

The first ever mod he did was getting a nice set of Wheels and hasn't looked back since then. He has learnt evrything himself or from friends, and websites (especially Torquecars of course) and he will just get stuck in to his latest project and work things out for as he goes which he says is the best way to learn.

Now we know a little about Badger its time to hear about his car.

I got the Vectra mainly because it was another car that I quite liked especially the GSi spec (same bodykit as mine) and it was time to start thinking about something that wasn't gonna cost the earth to run like my Calibra V6 lol.

Well, as the Vectra already had a 2.0 16v engine it made more sense putting a 2.0 16v Turbo engine in rather than putting in the normal 2.5 V6 engine. Also because this engine offers the most BHP out of any of the standard 2.0 ltr engines. The 2.5 GSi engine would have probably been my other choice but when I found the advert for the Turbo engine, I thought I couldn't resist as it was near half the price of what these engine normally go for.

It was easy as far as engines swaps go really as we were replacing one 2.0ltr for another but with the Turbo bolted on.

My top tip for anyone doing this modification is to make sure you connect the Turbo recirc pipes correctly as you can melt the engine in about 60 seconds.

The model of Vectra that mine was when it left the factory already had the same size brakes as the V6 model so luckily there was no need to uprate them due to the extra power. The suspension is very stiff as it has Irmscher uprated springs fitted so that all good. But when it came to the wheels, I just had to pinch the OZ Supertourismo GT's from the Calibra as they are a great set of wheels for holding the road.

I'd like to replace the engine mounts with Polyurethane bushes but other than that the car is al in all working great. There's a lot of tuning bit's I'd like to do such as a big Front Mounted Intercooler, uprated Oil cooler, Bigger Turbo and a nice Tubular Manifold. But it is pretty much finished now as far as the conversion goes. I would like to start playing with the idea of using the 6 speed gear box that Vauxhall do which would complement the engine very well.

There are a couple of plugs and thanks I'd like to pass on. A great big thanks to my mate Petar for giving me a hand and hepling me get it done so quick and a huge thanks to my girlfriend for putting up with me whilst the conversion was happening, Love ya Babe! 

And the Vectra drove off into the sunset and lived happily ever after...

Or at least until Badger works out how to fit a 6.0 V8 engine from a Vauxhall Manaro !

To keep up with Badger project Vectra (and Calibra project) and other Torquecars members projects join us in the forum which also contains more pictures than we have been able to post on this engine swap article.

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