Small Block Chevy in a MKIII???

[nightmare]

Okay.... I know I'm gonna get flamed:3d_frown:. Screw it! My turbo seal is outta my stock CT26. And the car has 167,000miles. So by time i get a rebuilt turbo. It'll be a good time for the headgasket to go.
So I was thinking... $625 for a rebuilt ct26 57trim, a couple hundred in gaskets and head studs for the headgasket(MHG I run 10lbs). And I'm afraid that after i do all this work the bottom end will go:evil2:. It's just my luck...
But my dad has an old truck with a 350 chevy motor and th350 trans. Hell i can rebuild it all for about the same as the turbo and gasket.
My question is... Does anyone know of anyone that has the swap? I'm curious. If the 350 will pull the MKIII around well or not. I've been in plenty of fast camaro's. They're a little lighter (i think).
I'm not really lokking for a to make a monster outta the car. I'm just trying to make it more affordable and still be a nice car. If anyone can forwrd some info on the swap? Please do so. I love seeing the muscle car guys swapping in import motors. I appreciate all kinds of cars. So please don't think that i want to be a redneck and just put a v-8 in it.

 

[suprarx7nut]

By the time you go through the effort and time of making a small block chevy motor fit and run in a mkiii, along with fitting power steering, climate control, etc. you would be spending a lot. I've heard this before and I just dont get it. If you want an affordable V8 car, get a domestic. They're cheaper, everything will work how it was designed (well, maybe ) and you will have much less work ahead of you. How would an entire swap not be more expensive than maintenance on a 7M?

If you want an affordable, nice car perhaps you should rebuild the turbo and go easy on it until you can afford to do a complete (or mostly complete) stock rebuild on the 7M.

$0.02 from an amateur. Do with it what you like.

 

[nightmare]

I'd really like to just rebuild the whole engine(7m). But I just can't afford it right now. The rest of the cars in decent shape. Is there anywhere that is reputiable. That sells rebuilt 7MGTE's? I saw a place on ebay that does. But I have a hard time trusting stuff on ebay.
Would I be better off buying a JDM 7MGTE? And use that turbo and all.

 

[honestabe]

You'd be better off saving up your money and buying everything you need for the rebuild. Once you have everything, send it off to a shop to rebuild it for you (better yet, do it yourself if you can). I'm pretty sure there's atleast 1 Supra guy in your area.

Adam

 

[nightmare]

I can't drive the car as it is. Until I get the turbo. I guess I'll just get it first. and play russian roulete with the headgasket until I get the money for it.
I can do all the work myself. I was an ASE certified tech. But I just got a house and haven't built my garage yet.
I live in mid-southern Indiana. So there's not to many shops in less then about 80miles. That would know what they were doin anyways.

 

[IJ.]

Done correctly it'd make a brilliant car

done halfassed it'd be a disaster.

 

[RedGT]

V8 swaps can be a real PITA take my word for it. I shoved a 383 in the tiny engine bay of my Sonoma and it took me over a year to get it in and working right. Alot of custom fabrication would be in your future but is very doable. You could even get the AC, PS working if you know how to make AC lines and PS lines.
The only reason you should ever put a V8 in your car however should not be as a cheap alternative, but for something that is different than mainstream and you have a good bit of time and money to put into that project.

 

[Poodles]

Stock SBC = slow

Building the 7M will be cheaper for the speed. Hell, if the bottom end is still in good shape, a rebuild will cost nearly nothing as it's just checking tolerances...

Now an LS1...

 

[Boost Lee]

I can do all the work myself. I was an ASE certified tech. But I just got a house and haven't built my garage yet.
I live in mid-southern Indiana. So there's not to many shops in less then about 80miles. That would know what they were doin anyways.

Hello nightmare.
Where are you located at?

I'm not so sure about your "no shops within an 80 mile radius", unless you're down in the Evansville area.

There's PLENTY of places (and people) that are MORE than capable of giving you a helping hand.
Being ASE Certified is a big key in knowing what to do, but having assistance with one that's been around Supra's for a while makes things go a bit smoother.

As for your original question:
My opinion? Why spend the money and time going with a COMPLETELY different powerplant all just for a lateral movement?

Your ASE Certifications should've given you enough know-how to properly maintain a motor. The 7M is MORE than capable, but you must always keep in mind, it is a 15+ year old motor.

Jeff

 

[Nick M]

An LS7 would be quite the screamer. Do it.

 

[wiseco7mgt]

I think you should do the truck up that has the 350 in it and drive it while doing a full resto on the 7m

 

[Nomad707]

umm of course a stock SBC is slow.. you add headers a carb and intake manifold and you get amazing bolt-on performance and HP gains.

theres a guy running around lake county CA with a SBC 350 /TH350 combo and it does NOT fuck around.. at all... i love the idea of a V8 supra.. the sound/look combo is sooo cool.

 

[Poodles]

headers/carb/intake will still be slower than a BPU 7M...

Heads, cam, headers, and a good EFI system and you'll be cooking pretty well, but it's still going to be more expensive than just building the 7M...

 

[EOS]

A 350-powered MK3 would be a very cool ride, but having done stuff like this in the past, I can tell you that there are quite a few custom parts/configurations to keep in mind:

*Engine mounts
*Transmission mount
*Driveshaft
*Headers
*Exhaust
*Transmission cooler feed line
*Transmission cooler return line
*Transmission shift cable adjustment, etc.
*Steering shaft clearance issues
*Power steering feed line
*Power steering return line
*AC high-side line
*AC low side line
*Upper radiator hose
*Lower radiator hose
*Heater core hoses
*Cooling fan
*Ignition system and associated wiring
*Charging system and associated wiring
*Vacuum system routing
*Aftermarket FPR
*Aftermarket fuel pump, especially if your dad’s engine is carbureted
*Modified stock or completely custom oil pan

It’s a great idea, and I certainly don’t mean to crap all over it, but there’s A LOT of little things that need to be addressed to do this right. I don’t know how many of these things would be a serious issue on a SBC-into-a-MK3 swap, but you’d need to consider this sort of thing from all possible angles. I just don’t see this being a cost effective alternative to rebuilding a 7M, no matter how cool the end result would be. And this is assuming you’re going to use as many stock SBC parts from your dad’s truck as possible; imagine what it’d cost if you went for a bunch of performance parts too…

Joe

 

[nightmare]

I'm just gonna wait and get my parts over the winter:icon_cry:. I hate to let the car sit so long. If the 7M goes completly then I'll think more about a SBC swap. (Actually I'm more of a ford guy.)
I wasn't thinking of doing the swap just to be cheap. But cheaper in the long run. To stay 7M and build it is expensive. SBC's... well chevy was smart about one thing. They made most of there stuff the same through different models. There's just not the availability of parts for the prices for a 7M.
But for know I'll just fix what i got.
And Boost Lee: I'm not that far south. I live around Jasper. So Indy is about the closest as far as import shops go. I think there's one up by Bloomington. But I've never seen a car leave from it. I really don't have any problems working on the 7M myself. I just don't have funds to pay for someone else to do it for me.
And i was thinking. Isn't just about the same amount of work putting a SBC in a supra as a.... well... other normal upgrade swap.
I guess I'll drop the idea of the swap for now. And fix what I got.... and continue to call my car a "nightmare".