Opinions please - MZ20 Soarer, 1J or 1UZ?

[sbyder]

Hiya guys,

A few mates have been thinking about putting together a project drifter and we only just remembered the manual MZ70 sitting at a mates shed minus engine.

4 years ago it blew the head on the 7M, so a replacement 1J was bought. This never ended up making its way into the engine bay, so the engine was sold and the car left to sit in the shed for 4 years.

Time to recover the beast!

Plans are to completely strip it and use it for drift practice days, only to have fun, nothing competitive. We've been pondering about the choice of engine. Obviously we dont have bucket loads to spend as we all have mortgages, but we require a reliable engine with a bit of grunt.

Having owned 3 soarers I know the 1J is tuff as nails, but its also costly to install and keep everything under control. 1UZ's are an amazing engine and fairly cheap these days.

My question is, what would be more cost effective. Throwing in a 1UZ with decent intake and exhaust system and having to make custom mounts and getting the rear sump model... OR throwing in a 1J from a MkIII supra and having to pay for the new cooler boost control set-up, ECU and associated turbo paraphernalia?

Any comments welcome

Ben

Heres a couple of quick pics of the beast before she blew all those years ago.

[roadsailing]

go the 1j, easier to get a manual gearbox for, youd have to turbo the 1U right?

i'd be very interested in how much weight you could get out of one of those, throwing away the mainframe computer in the boot would probably save a couple hundred kilos!

[sbyder]

its still got the manual box in the car, just a matter of mating it to the 1UZ. Im not sure on the box type though. Hopefully its a R154, but chances are its a W58 or something similar.

I wouldnt turbo the 1UZ for now. Id just give it a VERY free flowing exhaust and good intake set-up.

[JustenGT8]

n/a UZ will deliver a torquey 170rwkw easy with minor mods......way cooler and imagine the sound

[sbyder]

I agree
The guy thats donating the car now has a celsior with 170,000kms. Still purrs like a kitten. Gotta love the smooth V8!

Ive heard of a few MA70's with 1UZ's but im still trying to work out what exactly i need to make it fit. Bellhousing adapter, rear sumped engine and new engine mounts. That it?

Ben

[sbyder]

Went and saw the beast for the 1st time in 3 years. Heres a few pics.






Rebuilt W58 Gearbox



Cheers
Ben

PS - we're seriously thinking about a 1UZ. 1J will just cost too much.

[sbyder]

Ok now I know its a W58 box. Im told that it was fully reco'd just before the motor blew 3 years ago.

Can a decent W58 handle the torque of the mighty V8?
Can a bellhousing/clutch/flywheel combo be purchased to mate the 2 together?

[JustenGT8]

yes and yes

CRS for the BH. I can do you a wicked triple plate clutch and flyhwheel package if interested?

[EldarO]

trademe.co.nz

ive seen manual 1UZ gear on there.

i dont have ANY EXPERIENCE with it, ive just seen it on there, so dont bite my head off.

[sbyder]

We've still got the twin plate clutch from the 7M, but im unsure how we could make it fit to the 1UZ. When it comes to gearboxes and linkages im very If we cant keep the existing stuff we'll have to look at custom stuff and take you up on your offer.

This will be an extended project car as we all are low on $$$'s. I'll be transporting it to my place to work on in the next few weeks. Then we'll start looking for a V8 soarer engine/halfcut. Next is to change the brake booster with a hilux booster, find a set of crown headers and custom make the engine mounts. All that will be left after that is an ECU to run the show and we're in business. Or course brakes and suspension will be upgraded and weld the diff up for easy drifto actions

From the info ive gathered over the last 2 days this will be the 2nd UZZ20 (1UZ MZ20) in the world, though I would love to be wrong so someone can give me guidance

[sbyder]

So can anyone tell me if there is anything ive missed in order to get the engine in?

1 UZZ30 1UZFE engine with rear sump
Change Brake booster with a hilux booster
Set of crown headers
Custom make the engine mounts
ECU
CRS 1UZ to W58 bellhousing
Custom flywheel/clutch combo?
Re-make the front sway bar in order for the oil filter to clear it

[The Real Roadrunner]

We've still got the twin plate clutch from the 7M, but im unsure how we could make it fit to the 1UZ.

custom flywheel and job done.

try direct clutch in QLD or other performance clutch places.

the rest of the list sounds about right

cheers
linden

[sbyder]

awesome news. thanks very much

[millsi]

id go with the celsior headers if you can fit them, the crowns are mega logs and the reason he crown engine puts out less power. speak to scott at venom cobras he will be able to get you everything you need including clutch etc.

[sbyder]

thanks for the tip