new motor..... what to swap in?

[Wilcox]

i have a 1987 mk3 with the tms and an lsd and a 7m that has 217,xxx. its already eaten 3 hg's because the block is warped and if i pull the motor i want to put something else in. i have about 3,000 to work with for a swap and i dont know what to do. any opinions and thoughts would be nice. i need some ideas!

thanks, wilcox

 

[Dan_Gyoba]

For 3k, it's got to be another 7M, and you'll have to do a lot of the work.

 

[S.A. supra]

Maybe a 2jzge no turbo, but you can turbo it later. You'll have to research that one. I don't blame you for wanting to get away from the 7m but you need more money then that. For a 1jz swap $4500, 2jzgte $6000. Give or take, depending on what you have.

 

[IndigoMKII]

Eating HG's because the block is warped. Must be the 7m's fault on this one as well.

For 3k, you can properly rebuild the 7m or swap 2jz-ge if you find one in running condition.

 

[deazndude]

PROPERLY built 7m imo.

 

[Wilcox]

ya i mean you guys are on the same page as me. i was thinking 1uz or 3uz but i can only find a 1uz with an auto transmission, and i refuse to drive a vehicle that doesnt have a clutch. how difficult do you guys think it would be to drop a chevy v8 in? i know its not a purist thing to do but logically it makes sense. if i dont do that i plan on a new 7m with arp studs and bc cams

 

[Dan_Gyoba]

If you're going to go V8, then you'd better be decent with fabrication work. Lots of things to make fit that don't want to. Very easy to go over budget. You should probably get any motor built (Or for a Chev V8, you could go with a crate motor, probably the cheapest way to get a known good build) and you'll be looking at spending half or more of your budget on that. (A quick look says that for a GM 350cid, anywhere from $1400-4000, with the low end of that being about equal to a 7M-GE in terms of power.)

So much easier and more predictable (in my mind) to pick up a 7M-GTE, get it built properly, and drop it in. My 7M-GTE rebuild is probably pretty close to the $3k mark (Though I'm doing much of the work myself) with forged pistons, MHG, new oil and water pumps, 550cc injectors and Lexus AFM, ARP studs, new hoses throughout. When I drop this in, I expect to be making good power with no issues.

 

[Wilcox]

ya i thought about all of the wiring work and mounts and other bs, and im throwing the v8 idea out the window. if i go 7mgte i still have to buy an intercooler and piping and should probably go through it and make sure the block is decked and it is nice and balanced. i priced a 7mgte at 1500 and thats without intercooler or any other misc. mods. i think im going to do a 7m block with a 5m head itb's and bc stage two cams. how does that sound?

 

[emericaskater285]

350 sbc

Just rebuild the 7m right, or else increase your budget and go 1j/2j.

 

[Dan_Gyoba]

Why the 5M head? Why make things more difficult than they need to be?

FWIW, I bought a complete 7M-GTE with wiring harness and ECU for $200. It needed to be rebuilt, but a JDM 7M-GTE will ALSO need to be rebuilt, and won't come with a useful wiring harness, or throttle linkage.

 

[Beals]

1uz or 2jz, this is coming from a 1jz owner who wouldn't trade her for the world. except maybe a v8 turbo 5 speed.

 

[Wilcox]

Why the 5M head? Why make things more difficult than they need to be?

FWIW, I bought a complete 7M-GTE with wiring harness and ECU for $200. It needed to be rebuilt, but a JDM 7M-GTE will ALSO need to be rebuilt, and won't come with a useful wiring harness, or throttle linkage.

if i could find a 7mgte for that price i would not argue or look at it twice, but i dont know where to find used engines like that except places like jdmenginedepot.com. also i want to do a 5m head because it ups the compression ratio and its easeir to set up itsb's with the intake runner design of the 5m head. i also believe that using the 5m head slims the chances of eating HG's in the future.

 

[Dan_Gyoba]

Well, there's a 7M-GTE in the for sale section that is a drop-in replacement for under $3k for everything that you should need for a good 7M setup.

If you use the 5M head, then you also need 5M (or 6M, really) pistons, or else you go into interference engine territory, since the valve reliefs won't match. You will be losing a LOT of flow because of the 12V design instead of the 24V design of the 7M head. If you want higher compression, why not just use 7M-GE pistons instead? Less work and easier to get ahold of.

If you're looking at things like independent throttle bodies and the like, then your $3k budget is ludicrous. I'd say that it would take a lot of work to get a solid, stock 7M-GTE in and running for that budget, unless you can find something like that deal in the trading section. That's what I said in my first reply, and I stand by it.

 

[Wilcox]

true, i didnt think about the different piston design. i would go 7mgte but unless i build it with an intercooler and good internals and a set of cams i wouldnt be gaining much with a stock 7mgte would i? in that case i might as well do 7mge with arp head studs and bc cams. those are my two options..... lets way the goods and the bads

 

[Dan_Gyoba]

That for sale link was a good 7M-GTE with good internals, interccooler, upgraded turbo, Lexus/550s for $3k. It's already way past what one could reasonably do with a 7M-GE without turbocharging it. Plus, if you already have a 7M-GTE, you'll need electronics and wiring harness.

For that matter, come to think about it, I paid less than $3k for my 1990.

 

[Wilcox]

thats the other problem i have. ive been looking around lately and even if i can get a 7m-gte the only way i can get a wiring harness and ecu is if i buy the motor with a r154. i can find the ecu for sale seperately but not the wiring harness. i really dont think that a 7m-gte with ecu, wiring harnesss, and r154 is worth 2,400. i need to find a wiring harness and ecu

 

[88mk3supra]

i have a rebuilt/built 7mgte motor with upgraded turbo just doesn't come wit harness or ecu has less than 7000 miles on it! PM me if your interested I need it gone for my swap

 

[88mk3supra]

Stock Harness and ecu are everywhere for dirt cheap too.

 

[LunaVyohr]

1uz or 2jz, this is coming from a 1jz owner who wouldn't trade her for the world. except maybe a v8 turbo 5 speed.

If the OP was to do a V8 swap, they might as well do an LSX swap.

 

[Wilcox]

i was recently thinking about a 1uz and using my w58 with an adapter plate and i can afford it all, but the wiring scares me away......