Which engine?

[Sparky]

OK, so this is only loosley a V8 thread...

I'm trying to decide exactly what to put in my MkII. It is now named "The Eternal Project Car", and I have access to a full shop facility, so the scope of some of these options isn't as insane as it sounds. My basic goal is to make my 85 P-type into something resembling a mid-80's Italian exotic (think Ferrari 308/Testarossa mix), with a lot of power to back it up. Needless to say, a 5M isn't going to cut it. Right now, I'm debating between to following.
2JZ- Keeping it in house is good, price is still pretty bad, of boost torque not as high as I'd like.
1UZFE- V8 good, torque good, in house good, price bad, needs built to handle boost well. Needs boost to make enough power.
Ford 302- Forged internals stock (80's Fox body). Lots of torque, cheap parts, and would respond really, really well to a parallel twin turbo setup at about 7 psi. Also opens a option to do a midship engine with a Pantera transaxle (doing a tube frame on everything behind the front seats).
BMW V12- Actually, it's just a pair of BMW M20 straight 6s joined at the block. Many of these are available in 7 series that have devalued straight to the scarp pile, M20 parts are very pentiful (a 325i is my current daily driver), and they sound sooooo good when the rev out. I just don't know if I can put a German engine in a Japanese car.

Any thoughts?

[pdupler]

It is now named "The Eternal Project Car",

Given some of these ideas, it sounds like its not going to get any closer to being done anytime soon. If you have access to welding/fabbing facilities, the Ford option would be the cheapest. Open up the JC Shitney catalog and order a bunch of cheap parts. Can't do that with any of your other options.

[Brian Gillespie]

Ls1, 5.7

[Supra_devil]

the bmw v12's were used in the 8 series more than any other. they are good motors and i did some looking, i think one could fit, but i decided against that route.

personally, i would go Alu with any v8. this will keep the nose lighter and the car will handle better, which i am assuming you want if you want your car to be "something resembling a mid-80's Italian exotic"

[treynon]

ls1 or 1uz

alloy *thumbs up*

[Sparky]

Can't stand LS1s. I spent awhile around a race Camero with one, and it broke for some of the worst reasons (I think it had plastic valve guides, IIRC). The 302 is a better bang for the buck.

[Norbie]

2JZ- Keeping it in house is good, price is still pretty bad, of boost torque not as high as I'd like.
The beauty of the 2JZ's sequential turbo system is that the engine is pretty much never "off boost". Trust me when I tell you this engine is never lacking torque, it has mountains of it all the time!

[935motorsports]

You forgot to mention the projected budget.

[CarFreek]

German engine/Japanese vehicle/Italian style-Isnt that the WW2 Axis of Evil?-MID ENGINE SUPRA?-Can you still find one of those Colotti/ZF Pantera transaxles for cheap? What Suspension setup for that? How unique

[lechner]

I have the same goals and I'm leaning 1UZ. You marked Price Bad as an issue, but I think the 1UZ is a lot cheaper than you think. They are being boosted with stock internals, the real issue right now is exhaust manifolds and space for turbos. (You could also go NA 1UZ with 8 TB to have an exotic flavor, this has been done and is for sale as bolt-ons)

302 is an interesting and cheap option, but I think you would need to go mid-engine and very low mounting to achieve the handling aspects you want with such a heavy engine (and for it to be viewed as 'exotic'). And that will add greatly to the cost/difficulty of the project.

If you decide to take on the difficulty/cost of a V12 conversion, why not keep it in house and import a Toyota Century V-12? But how is it going to handle with the added engine weight of either V-12?

[Tire Shredder]

The beauty of the 2JZ's sequential turbo system is that the engine is pretty much never "off boost". Trust me when I tell you this engine is never lacking torque, it has mountains of it all the time!

mmmmm gotta get me one of those motors someday....

I agree with norbie. It's kind of hard to beat the 2j setup, but some fabrication is required (which you don't seem scared of). cost seems to be the main draw back. To me, a v8 seems to change the overall character of the car.

will always be an I-6 for me...

[Yenko]

383 SBC!!! tough and lots of torque

[elhsupra]

OK, so this is only loosley a V8 thread...
1UZFE- V8 good, torque good, in house good, price bad, needs built to handle boost well. Needs boost to make enough power....
I have the 1UZ and the price of the motor is very cheap. However, the price of parts and additional fabrication is not...
Like Robert said, what is your budget? How much is a lot of power?

I have the same goals and I'm leaning 1UZ. You marked Price Bad as an issue, but I think the 1UZ is a lot cheaper than you think. They are being boosted with stock internals, the real issue right now is exhaust manifolds and space for turbos. (You could also go NA 1UZ with 8 TB to have an exotic flavor, this has been done and is for sale as bolt-ons)
...
If you decide to take on the difficulty/cost of a V12 conversion, why not keep it in house and import a Toyota Century V-12? But how is it going to handle with the added engine weight of either V-12?
The 1GZ-FE would be a challenge, but with the right parts, standalone, etc... That would be fun:good:

[JDMuscle51]

Lots of giant engines being thrown around, if you want exotic go for the Soarer 4.3 V8 (SC430), strap a TRD supercharger on it and call it good. Please don't put a heavy chunk of iron in it front or rear.

P.S.- Twin Engines are sort-of exotic too, think?

[82phoenix]

The soarer 4.3 V8 is just the 3UZ I believe. Very much the same as a 1UZ, but .3L more displacement, higher C/R and from what I've read weaker rods than the earlier 1UZ (not as good for forced induction).

[JDMuscle51]

OK, I had just heard of some japanese guy who built a nasty Soarer with a Blitz Twin Compressor set-up, and made like 450hp to the wheels, and he was rollin' on dubs. :-)

[treynon]

anyone know the pricerange of a front clip to the west coast san pedro area of a crown royal saloon cuz then it would basically almost be a direct swap as their auto trans has a slip yoke not the rubber donut like the LS series and the headers would be a close only shortened one side a tiny bit to clear the steering.

Save u alot of fab work if you just went with auto trans from that then kept the stock computer and didnt have to work on that either. Auto ya sux but with nitrous, nah dont sux as much anymore.

Mike

[JDMuscle51]

Treynon has a point, if you want a drag car, the auto would be sweet, then if you built that motor to pull stumps it would be a sweet ride.

[Brian Gillespie]

LS1!
LS1!
The only way to roll, aluminium block, 400 hp w bolt ons and cheeeeeep parts/rebuilt.
Not enough?
Heads and cam upgrade for some serious horse pwr!
Or 2jzgte to keep it in hause

[treynon]

a340e fits with 1uz bellhousing so why not u kno that thing can handle a bit of power.
I believe its a direct bolt in too with the a340e trans xmember?

[Sparky]

Wow, this thread seems to have a life of its own.

As far as a 1GZ goes, ever try to find one? I looked into it awhile ago, and all
I found was a lot of people in Australia having who couldn't find one (I think Norbie turned up in that search).

Budget is pretty open, since it will be spaced over the course of a couple years. Trying to keep it reasonable, but not very afraid of the $10-20K area.

[villerat]

2jz I think is the best setup you are looking for. Build eng to 500hp at the tires and you would have a very very fast car like the Ferrari 308.