The Donor Car - A BEAT Pontiac G6 | Ecotec Miata Swap Episode 2

We found a crashed Pontiac G6 that had the right engine for $300. The owner told us it was just the factory immobilizer giving issues and that’s why the engine would not start…. Unfortunately that was not the issue. We spent a few weeks diagnosing the vehicle and tracing wires with no luck. We decided to just pull the engine anyway, worst case is that we are out $300 and have extra engine parts. We got the engine to turn over by hand and the numbers from the compression test were great!!
Ecotec Miata recommends a 3 connector ECU (E37) since it is easier to use and has capabilities for tachometer and the check engine light. The ECU out of the G6 is a 2 connector ECU (E67), but we are going to send it anyway. In order for the tachometer and check engine light to work, we have to buy an aftermarket module. The recommended module is a Dakota Digital STA-1000. It connects to the OBD2 wires and provides a signal to the tachometer.
Pulling the engine was a little bit of a challenge as we have never pulled a FWD engine and were determined to leave the transmission in the vehicle as we pulled it. After two days and remembering to unbolt all TEN transmission bolts, we had the engine, ECU, and wiring harness out and the rest of the car was ready to go to the scrap yard. Since we live in Michigan and rust is very common, we had to drill/cut/break multiple pieces in order to get the engine out. The header was probably the worst part to get out, thankfully we will be using a different header for this swap.
While we were pulling wires and the gas pedal (this is needed due to it being converted to drive-by-wire, I will cover this later) out of the interior of the vehicle, we noticed that the vehicle was equipped with a no-name aftermarket immobilizer system. We assume that this was the reason why the vehicle was not able to start.
Check out my channel and subscribe! @TheCaffeinatedGearhead
Instagram: / m.edition.millie