Im new to mkIII's but i have been doing alot of research for a 1JZ swap and i have diff costs from other people from 5k to a lil less i would like to know the exact cost if thats possible from someone else who has done the swap for everthing needed to go into a 86 mk3 thanks
Cost
- Thread starter hatchmk3
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You wont ever get an exact cost man. The reason I say this, is bc your car is completely different then the next guys. So you might run into some he didnt. And that may cost you an extra chunk of $$$. Get what Im saying. Look through peoples build threads and gt an idea of those costs. And g from there.
Alot of people say get a price in mind, and then DOUBLE it. And that will be the amount youll end up coming close to. Idk how true it is or not, but the only way to know, is to do it.
Alot of people say get a price in mind, and then DOUBLE it. And that will be the amount youll end up coming close to. Idk how true it is or not, but the only way to know, is to do it.
I cant speak from actual experience of a swap-but really the price depends on many things. How proficient are you with cars? do you already have necessary tools (price to obtain tools you don't have)?
I'd have to say that it depends less on your personal car (so long as its a mk3 lol) and more on your location (although you obviously CAN run into problems specific to your car).
How easily can you obtain an engine and parts? And will shipping kill you?
There are many many things to think about.
will the engine need to be rebuilt when you get it? will the turbos be okay?
expect to replace many engine parts that are old on the donor engine. And expect to maybe rebuild it (I would).
The easiest way to come up with a cost is to literally, sit down, price every single component you need and add it all up (with shipping). (don't forget any work that you'll need done, but you cant do-like machine shop work! get quotes!) Every single part to do the swap. Then, at minimum, I'd add a couple thousand on to that price you come up with. If you haven't reached 6-8 thousand after adding everything together and adding on the two thousand dollars, your likely forgetting something.
Doubling the amount you need is also a great idea, with no real losses, if you end up spending less, then you just end up with a bit of extra spending money....
I know when I (roughly) priced swaps, after parts and stuff, I came out to around 5-6 thousand after parts, without rebuilding the engine/machine work iirc....and without the 2k extra barrier.
I (try) to leave a lot of room for error when doing this kind of work.
just my thoughts on it
I'd have to say that it depends less on your personal car (so long as its a mk3 lol) and more on your location (although you obviously CAN run into problems specific to your car).
How easily can you obtain an engine and parts? And will shipping kill you?
There are many many things to think about.
will the engine need to be rebuilt when you get it? will the turbos be okay?
expect to replace many engine parts that are old on the donor engine. And expect to maybe rebuild it (I would).
The easiest way to come up with a cost is to literally, sit down, price every single component you need and add it all up (with shipping). (don't forget any work that you'll need done, but you cant do-like machine shop work! get quotes!) Every single part to do the swap. Then, at minimum, I'd add a couple thousand on to that price you come up with. If you haven't reached 6-8 thousand after adding everything together and adding on the two thousand dollars, your likely forgetting something.
Doubling the amount you need is also a great idea, with no real losses, if you end up spending less, then you just end up with a bit of extra spending money....
I know when I (roughly) priced swaps, after parts and stuff, I came out to around 5-6 thousand after parts, without rebuilding the engine/machine work iirc....and without the 2k extra barrier.
I (try) to leave a lot of room for error when doing this kind of work.
just my thoughts on it
hatchmk3;1744909 said:
yeah turbo GE's make good power with stock CT-26's but also spending alittle more on a 57 or 60-1 CT you can make great power just make sure to do it right! can't stress that enough good luck on whatever you do.
Also don't be afraid to ask questions SM has some really smart people that can help you Enormously.. God knows SM has helped me with just about everything ive done to my car and i couldn't aprreciate it more
again, it depends-how much you gonna rebuild it? total STOCK rebuild? account for a minimum of about 1000-1500. add on another 1000 buffer. Im doing a TOTAL rebuild of the engine, added arp rod bolts, arp headstuds, 2mm titan HG, got the rods/crank re-sized for standard bearings, and lots of new parts (clutch, oil pump, throwout bearing, pilot bearing, thermostat, waterpump, etc just to name a few) and ive spent about 2000-2500 including machine work. not too bad if you consider that it will be ready for a turbo and a good amount of safe power after this.
another thing you might not have considered but is a very real problem, if you've never dealt with this kind of stuff before (and which I've recently learned the hard way), is that people (specifically machine shops) will try and pull the wool over your eyes-and expect you take their word for it when they say "its good to go" after you pay them 1100 in machine work to prep your engine. That thing you are so desperately slaving away on so you can again drive your beloved car. but they really don't give a crap about you, or your car, they just want their money. You need to check the machine shop's "work" once you get it back, make sure they did what they said they did-correctly. If that means spending more money by going to another machine shop to have it checked, so be it. This is where that "buffer" comes in. so even more research on your part is necessary here....you need to find a good shop if you can.
anyway, im blathering to much, so Ill end it here. I have my doubts that you could turbo your engine (if you dont already have tools, time, and big tools like engine lifts etc) for 1500, maybe 2000 if you had a mostly good engine that just needed a basic rebuild-and non of the parts, like coolant hoses for example, needed to be replaced. dont forget that 300-600 dollar turbo (300ish used, 600 new).
---------- Post added at 07:44 PM ---------- Previous post was at 07:41 PM ----------
and ditto to what Habanero said, this place is the best.
another thing you might not have considered but is a very real problem, if you've never dealt with this kind of stuff before (and which I've recently learned the hard way), is that people (specifically machine shops) will try and pull the wool over your eyes-and expect you take their word for it when they say "its good to go" after you pay them 1100 in machine work to prep your engine. That thing you are so desperately slaving away on so you can again drive your beloved car. but they really don't give a crap about you, or your car, they just want their money. You need to check the machine shop's "work" once you get it back, make sure they did what they said they did-correctly. If that means spending more money by going to another machine shop to have it checked, so be it. This is where that "buffer" comes in. so even more research on your part is necessary here....you need to find a good shop if you can.
anyway, im blathering to much, so Ill end it here. I have my doubts that you could turbo your engine (if you dont already have tools, time, and big tools like engine lifts etc) for 1500, maybe 2000 if you had a mostly good engine that just needed a basic rebuild-and non of the parts, like coolant hoses for example, needed to be replaced. dont forget that 300-600 dollar turbo (300ish used, 600 new).
---------- Post added at 07:44 PM ---------- Previous post was at 07:41 PM ----------
and ditto to what Habanero said, this place is the best.
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I've always disliked the idea of the NA-T engines. The 7m-gte has lower compression pistons so that the engine can handle the turbo. I've heard that turbo charging an NA reduces the life of the engine due to that compression difference. Also don't forget that the NA Supra came with the W58 manual transmission so depending on your power goals you may want to invest in the R154 trans that came in the Turbo edition of the MK3. My personal suggestion, purchase a 7M-GTE but do the build right the first time or it'll cost you way more later.
I'm just repeating what other people have said on here, but tuning is the key when it comes to high compression turbo engines. But I totally agree with that r154. replace it to get rid of a weak point, rather than spending the 400 on a new w58 clutch.
you could pick up a GTE if you look hard enough $800 $1200 with Harness and ECU maybe even a R154 attached
My advice after doing a few of these over the years? Plan on spending approximately 20% over and beyond what you THINK the thing will need. That said, do now, what you don't want to do later on the side of the road or in a parking lot. In other words, if it's rubber, you'd be wise to replace it. 
suprarich;1745476 said:
Your absolutely right. But I think inexperience would definitely assist in this, therefore I was pointing out a possibility and the usefulness of having a buffer.
Also, if someone were to send their engine to a machine shop in another part of the country it would cost much more because of shipping...therefore you would have to really raise your price on how much it would cost to rebuild your engine, and 1500 dollars would definitely not fit the bill...
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I hate to be the guy who says this... but if this is your only car and you need to get somewhere before this time next year... buy a spare car to drive while you do the build. It will give you the luxury of taking your time and doing it right, without worrying about how you'll get to work/school/whatever.
Also, unless you know the entire car is in good shape (as in, you've driven it for a while before the current engine quit), budget and extra grand to get the rest of the car in shape.
Also, (lol.. also) if you buy a 1JZ or 2JZ do yourself a favor and reseal the whole engine (valve covers, crank/cam seals, and VALVE STEM SEALS) before you install it, or you'll want to stab yourself in the face when it starts smoking or leaking a few weeks after it's running. Also, buy good parts to do this, not ebay gasket sets. OEM, felpro, or supertech.
Then, budget an extra couple hundred (at least, if not an extra $1500) to replace the stock turbo's on either one of the JDM JZ engines... they are both known to die and will probably do so as soon as you start to have fun.
Rebuilding your 7M might be a good plan, just read up on it so that you do it right the first time.
Also, unless you know the entire car is in good shape (as in, you've driven it for a while before the current engine quit), budget and extra grand to get the rest of the car in shape.
Also, (lol.. also) if you buy a 1JZ or 2JZ do yourself a favor and reseal the whole engine (valve covers, crank/cam seals, and VALVE STEM SEALS) before you install it, or you'll want to stab yourself in the face when it starts smoking or leaking a few weeks after it's running. Also, buy good parts to do this, not ebay gasket sets. OEM, felpro, or supertech.
Then, budget an extra couple hundred (at least, if not an extra $1500) to replace the stock turbo's on either one of the JDM JZ engines... they are both known to die and will probably do so as soon as you start to have fun.
Rebuilding your 7M might be a good plan, just read up on it so that you do it right the first time.
Other than getting a quote from a shop that does the exact swap you are after, an actual price is impossible to know. There are far to many variables from one person to the next, i.e. how much work can you do yourself, where you live, deals you can find etc. This is why most people recommend with a starting bank roll of about $5k, w/o it most engine swaps are never finished, regardless of the project.
If you want more power, and have the room and skills, I would suggest looking for a 7mgte supra that is wrecked, or needs to be restored, this way you have everything you need for a swap. Otherwise you might consider looking for an MKIII with a 1j or 2j swap already done, with the economy the way it is, you could likely find one for less than the swap would cost.
If you want more power, and have the room and skills, I would suggest looking for a 7mgte supra that is wrecked, or needs to be restored, this way you have everything you need for a swap. Otherwise you might consider looking for an MKIII with a 1j or 2j swap already done, with the economy the way it is, you could likely find one for less than the swap would cost.