[chuzz]

Well Guys, my ownership of the 05 PT was short lived, to say the least. It seems that nobody around here is willing to work on or fix the a/c on it, so the mayor called me yesterday and asked if I'd be interested in the 05 PT Cruiser GT with the 2.4 turbo. He PROMISED it has icy a/c and actually has 7,000 miles less than the PT. So, the wife and I went and checked it out. It does indeed have some very nice a/c along with the auto stick, am/fm/cd/cassette player, nav system and sunroof. It also has nice chrome wheels with newer tires. The paint has some typical clear coat peel and fading here and there, but at this point in time, I really don't care. And I can actually access all of the spark plugs without having to remove the intake plenum! How about that? I drove it for about half an hour and really like the way it runs. It handles pretty much like the other one as far as the ride goes, but I THINK it was a little better through the curves. Anyway, the bottom line is that now instead of the naturally aspirated one, I have a 2005 PT GT! Gotta call the insurance agent and have them swap the insurance over and see how much difference it'll make in my premium, but I'm hoping it won't be too bad as I'll be 59 years old in two months. Anyway, we're packing, so I'll be posting pics in a couple of weeks. It's a shame that nobody around here is willing to work on the a/c on the other one, as it's really a nice little whip. I guess the mayor will be stuck with it all summer and have to wait until the fall to sell it!

 

[djsamuel]

Sounds like a great deal. Best of luck with your move to Lake Wales. Nice area, and a good Chrysler dealer there on Rt 27.

 

[chuzz]

Do you know the dealership name, by any chance, dj? I'll want to continue to let a Chrysler dealer change the oil in my 200, so if an engine warranty problem ever occurs, I'll be covered. I'm keeping all of my receipts on the air filters, pcv valves and spark plugs that I purchase and change myself. I'm not going to let them gouge me on stuff like that! I see you're only about 45 miles from me there in Clermont. Maybe we'll be able to meet up one day.

 

[dana44]

Sounds like a wonderful deal, and yeah, clear coat never has been that great on just about any car. Of the two 2002 PT Cruisers I have in the family, one is peeling a bit and the other one isn't. Kind of want to get a turbo some day, or, I want to drop a 3.3/3.8 into one, no matter what the amount of work it takes, metal welds, but I want a V6 under the hood for once.

 

[chuzz]

I think a 3.3 or 3.8 PT would be awesome. I did see an article a few years ago where some dude had spent like a hundred grand shoving a hemi into one. It was an incredible effort. I'd sure love to ride in that just once!

 

[dana44]

Yeah, I remember that one, which was actually a dozen of them built up in LA, $100K each. It was Mother's wax that did a 3.8 in one, along with a manual transmission, which I think was part of their problem because it had to be certified due to the fact the 3.8 never had a manual transmission behind it, so in CA it was definitely a challenge. I'm definitely going to get one done with an auto (to increase registration ability over here), then a full frame 5.7 or 5.9 (or 5.2) RWD one. They are about the same weight of an A body so it should be fun to say the least, and it has been done before so at least I have a few examples to go by.

 

[djsamuel]

Do you know the dealership name, by any chance, dj? I'll want to continue to let a Chrysler dealer change the oil in my 200, so if an engine warranty problem ever occurs, I'll be covered. I'm keeping all of my receipts on the air filters, pcv valves and spark plugs that I purchase and change myself. I'm not going to let them gouge me on stuff like that! I see you're only about 45 miles from me there in Clermont. Maybe we'll be able to meet up one day.

The dealer has the imaginative name of Lake Wales Chrysler Jeep Dodge Ram. Here is their web site:

http://www.lakewalescdjr.com/

They are the same company as Posner CDJR in Davenport, FL and Winter Haven CDJR. I've purchased from Winter Haven and they've been pretty good, and I took my Ram to Posner for a recall and my wife's PT Cruiser for the 5 year lifetime warranty inspection and they were excellent.

 

[pt006]

Dana; A V-6 PT is a car Chrysler should have built. Instant torque! It would be easier to start with a 2006 or later PT with an auto trans. As they have the TIPM system. In some states, you can only replace an engine with an engine from a newer model year car. [federal law ?] ---Given a choice, I'd go for a 3.6 V-6 ----6 speed auto. [more HP]. ------ Ever think about building another one in black ???

 

[dana44]

Totally agree, it would have been the missing link in upgrades. The nice thing about the 3.3/3.8 was its size. When I get the chance to do such a swap, yes, the engine does have to be both newer or the same age, and it has to be moggingly cleaner than the existing engine (for any application), which should not be an issue. The turbo Cruisers were/are nice, I'm just not excited about them, and they were an extra what, $4K to the pricetag? At the time it was more than I wanted to spend, a V6 might have been half that and improved the horsepower to weight ratio, something that was always an issue during reviews (and steeper hills).

 

[pt006]

Dana, I dont know the physical sizes of these motors, I'd say the smaller the better. Just a suggestion: remove the nose, lower control arms, axles, exhaust, air box, etc. Verify the correct motor strut location [adjust if necessary], then build a plywood fixture that locates the axle position in relation to the frame. If this location is maintained, you can 'tilt' the V-6 around this axis to determine the best or easiest location of the engine. While keeping the half shafts happy. --------- Sure sounds easy on paper.

 

[valiant67]

It's probably as "simple" as this: The 4 and 6 cylinder transmission (assuming it's automatic) most likely are the same physical size and shape. The transmission pretty much determines where everything will go.
It's the same way making homemade mounts to swap a slant 6/small block/big block/Hemi in a RWD car. The transmission mount is the same and that determines where the engine has to go.

 

[dana44]

Agree. It's kind of, get the transaxle in, then fit the engine, may have to alter a little sheetmetal from what I have read/seen, then make engine attaching points. It will be a fun project, and yes, remove hood, fenders and grille, keep them from getting messed up, the front structure will remain to work on, no need to cut it off and reinvent the wheel there, but it's one of those projects that will be fun and challenging on top of it. If Mother's Wax can do it (they used a manual transmission and it had to be certified, the 3.8 never had a manual behind it in FWD configuration, so they had special California alteration of mechanicals they had to deal with), but an auto should be pretty easy to certify. The 3.3/3.8 have been very good engines in the minivans (and others), and is narrow enough that it should be a good fit for the PT Cruiser as FWD.

 

[pt006]

Dana; In 2011 the Chrysler 200's came with a 2.4 L engine [diff. than a PT engine]. It had a 4 speed auto in the base model and a 6 speed auto in the other models. And a V-6 Pentastar/6 speed auto was also available. All in the same body. The 6 speed makes the car feel peppier around town. I mentioned this just in case you don't have enough stuff going on in your mind.

 

[dana44]

Yeah, thanks, another thing to keep me awake at night, building things in my head that is. There are what, five or more different iterations of the 2.4 out there? The six speed would be really nice. One thing I am taking into consideration with the V6 swap is, by sticking with period correct years fitment may be a little easier (maybe not, but I can hope).

 

[Stratuscaster]

original 2.4
JA (Stratus/Cirrus/Breeze sedans)
JR (Stratus/Sebring sedans/vert)
NS (SWB minivans)
RS (SWB minivans)
PT (PT Cruiser)
turbo versions in JA/JR (Mexico), Neon SRT-4 and PT
KJ (Liberty - very rare - only the first year, as I recall)
Wrangler

GEMA (WGE) 2.4 "World Engine"
Caliber
Compass
Patriot
Dart
Cherokee
Journey
JS (Avenger/Sebring/200 sedans/vert)
current 200
Renegade
Fiat 500X

I'm sure I'm missing something (or have something incorrect).

 

[dana44]

And yes, it would be very easy to just keep the 2.4 under the hood, or find a turbo model, but there were a lot of extras added to get the turbo to fit, so that scenario would be just find a turbo model. A 3.3/3.8 is an easy 50-80hp more and that is before some minor work, such as balancing and porting, and it would still smog after that, and this is what the PT Cruiser lacked without the turbo, right around 50hp on the short side, and a whole lot more bottom end than the 2.4. I always said the PT Cruiser needed to have a V6 under the hood, so even if it takes a little modification to get it in there, it has been done, or, RWD and IRS all day long, baby! That would be best as a Prowler setup, front engine (I like the 3.5), and rear transaxle and torque tube to keep it simple, so to speak.

 

[pt006]

stratuscaster; around 2007 they made a turbo 'world engine' [vvt] for the Caliber. The new 200 engines are 'multi-air' . Some of the Dakotas had 4 cyl engines, but I don't know if they were 2.4's.

Dana; There is a guy in hawaii who is putting a V-6 Buick in a PT. He is doing it with limited resources, and unfortunately, limited health. He has made some pretty ingenious fixtures out of wood. Pretty amazing guy.

 

[dana44]

Yeah, the 3.8 Buick engine is pretty narrow, like the 3.3/3.8 (which is why it would be a good candidate), and the 3.3 is very common along with transaxles that are the same size/model as what is in the PT 2.4.
the 2.4 was never in the Dakota, it was the K car 2.5 until the last year which in 1996 was the Jeep 2.5.

 

[HOTPIG175]

Well Guys, my ownership of the 05 PT was short lived, to say the least. It seems that nobody around here is willing to work on or fix the a/c on it, so the mayor called me yesterday and asked if I'd be interested in the 05 PT Cruiser GT with the 2.4 turbo. He PROMISED it has icy a/c and actually has 7,000 miles less than the PT. So, the wife and I went and checked it out. It does indeed have some very nice a/c along with the auto stick, am/fm/cd/cassette player, nav system and sunroof. It also has nice chrome wheels with newer tires. The paint has some typical clear coat peel and fading here and there, but at this point in time, I really don't care. And I can actually access all of the spark plugs without having to remove the intake plenum! How about that? I drove it for about half an hour and really like the way it runs. It handles pretty much like the other one as far as the ride goes, but I THINK it was a little better through the curves. Anyway, the bottom line is that now instead of the naturally aspirated one, I have a 2005 PT GT! Gotta call the insurance agent and have them swap the insurance over and see how much difference it'll make in my premium, but I'm hoping it won't be too bad as I'll be 59 years old in two months. Anyway, we're packing, so I'll be posting pics in a couple of weeks. It's a shame that nobody around here is willing to work on the a/c on the other one, as it's really a nice little whip. I guess the mayor will be stuck with it all summer and have to wait until the fall to sell it!

Lucky man!

I've only seen 1 PTCGT in NZ, but apparently there are quite a few across the ditch in Australia.
I only want reliability, because I, too, have reached the 59 year mark, and I think I need a service.

Cheers, Andy