7.4 Liter V8 in '86 Mini? (1 Viewer)

[desertguy]

This question is related to the topic shown below.

What I am wondering is if I were to take my dad's 7.4 Liter V8 Vortec straight out of his 1996 Suburban 2500, after cutting out engine space under the hood (and this is in a 1986 Mini), and after getting a 2" body lift, what other steps would i have to take to be able to make this work? and what adapters? i appreciate any help i can get.

Also, the engine has 143,000 miles on it, should it be rebuilt?

Thanks

 

[Jukelemon]

Have you done the comparison figures on the weight difference between the stock 4cy and that 7.4? What are you planning on doing about the suspension and steering systems? Not being critical but that is some jump.

 

[desertguy]

im not exactly sure of that, although i do think that i am going to swap out the suspension mount and put in F250 shock mounts, which will probably be able to take that kind of weight. about the shocks, probably the ones straight out of the suburban, which i will just be gutting for parts, but I do not want the transmission from the suburban. this is the reason i am asking because i am not the expert on these sorts of things. as a said, any help or friendly advice for anything would be greatly appreciated.

 

[Jukelemon]

Marks Adapters is a place to try and locate the adapter. I have never heard of that type of swap but that certainly does not mean it does not exist.

 

[thefatkid]

I would stay away from that kinda weight in your mini truck. your gains would not be worth the frame and axle issues you would create. You would be better to do a cab swap onto a full size running gear. Look up toyota mini swap options on all the toyota sites and go form there.

I perfer my 3.4l 5vz swap but it is very speendy.
I have not seen but some have good results from 7mge/7mgte from supras.
Small block ford/chevy is ok the ones I have seen don't wheel too well cause of the front is too heavy.

 

[thefatkid]

One other thing, the aussies like to swap in the 1uz out of the lexus, 4.0l all aluminum 230+hp sweet. I think Marks adapters makes a bellhousing to go to a r150.

 

[bkg]

WHOOOA!!! TIME OUT!

That BIG BLOCK will NOT fit in your Toyota! No way, my friend. Sorry - just isn't going to happen.

Couple of things.
1 - it won't fit w/o a 3" body lift, removal of the front diff, custom engineered steering shaft (engine too wide), rear mounted radiator, removal of inner fenders, custom firewall work....
2 - you will have to run the 4L80E tranny - there's no way on God's green earth you're going to get the Toy tranny to work behind that thing.
3 - T-case... ummm.. possibly survive w/ some Cryo work and upgraded input/output shafts. Otherwise, stick w/ the cheby and custom mounts. Oh - and custom drive shaft(s) as well.
4 - You'll no longer be 4-wheel drive since you won't have room for that front diff... You're going to need a new rear axle as well; that Suburban comes with a 14 bolt for a reason.
5 - now let's talk wiring. You're going to need to find a good wiring harness from Howell or Painless and splice it in - unless you are good with wires.
6 - shocks have nothing to do with bearing the load of the vehicle; they dampen springs. Springs bear the load.
7 - BTW - your radiator will be mounted in the bed... You'll still have to cut the core support up, and I'm not sure you'll sneak around the steering...


I've heard of only one big block Chevy in a Toy - but the only thing Toy was the body and frame. I've also seen a Hemi in a toy - same scenerio. If you decide to try this, please take plenty of pictures!

 

[TrailBoss]

I know a guy who tried a small block swap and he was good at fab-n. Nix...So many problems at every- EVERY- thing no reasonable person would attempt a BB...

I saw a *choke*nissan *uhmm* 240Z that a guy put a Infinity V-8 and twin turbos into today on the net. Anything is possable?

 

[TrailBoss]

Holy V-8!

V Drive! like a dragboat...put that BB monster in the bed going south, transfercase in the engine bay????

Remember I said "No reasonable person"

 

[notyourmomslx450]

just get used to changing 4 spark plugs from the front seat!!

 

[TrailBoss]

No wait, this south facing BigBlock behind the driver will work! Flip the starter north, the engine starts and runs backwards. Install a corvette waterpump that has reverse flow.

Up front we are using Toranado/ElDorado trans/ final drive (they were designed for BB-455olds), most of the donor vehicles front suspension will be needed.

An ol chevy cast iron tranfer case up in the front end will power the rearend.

See what too much monster garage does to a simple man

 

[desertguy]

Wow. Ok, well I can understand a few things of what you guys are talking about. But, the only thing is, it cant be all that spendy, and I know for a fact that I won't be able to make all this work - it sounds a little complicated, and i really dont think its worth all the trouble. what kind of engine would you guys suggest for putting in a '85 or '86 mini? whats the best power, effeciency, etc.

 

[lunyou]

well besides the 22re that it should have come with??

If you were unlucky enough to get the 3.0 V6 i hear that the 3.4L V6 from the mid 90s tacos and t100s will bolt right to your tranny and motor mounts. But you will have to buy a wiring harness if you arent good at wiring.

Search a couple pages back and you will find a thread with me asking about putting the IFORCE V8 into a mini and you will find all kinds of info about the 3.4 swap.

You can also run to the store were you buy your offroad magazines and they have an issue(not sure of the magazine) but i think it is the same magazine that is building the 80 series too. In this magazine they are going over the 3.4L swap into a 4runner which will be practically identical to the mini truck swap.

lunyou

 

[Gold Boy]

NP205 Is the best cheap option for a transfare case which can handle a BBC, cgm 14 bolt r diff, dana 60 fr diff.

One way maybe is to take the toy body and place onto the suburban frame, after a little frame cutting.


GB

 

[Advent]

it cant be all that spendy

Ha.

A quality 350 swap into an FJ40 runs between $8k and $10k. That's almost completely fabrication, and that's for a swap that's been documented and done many times before.

You're talking about putting in an engine that's going to require major, MAJOR, fabrication and forging ahead without any prior work to review. I'd venture to say you'll probably even go through two or three cooling systems before you get that right. There's a couple thousand bucks right there. You'll need to start from scratch on the steering (say, at least $500 for quality parts), modify the body to fit (can be cheap if you don't care that it looks like scrap), get tranny adapters (you'll be replacing the transmission a few times before that eventually gets swapped out for something beefier too), new drivelines (properly done there's at least $500), and that's all before you even start figuring out how to attach the engine to the frame.

The only cheap part about this idea is that you already own the engine. You'd be time and money ahead to just sell the suburban in drivable condition.

 

[tonkota]

If it's cubes you'd like, then I suggest this:

427 Small block Chevy from Summit and it has a nice warranty!

http://store.summitracing.com/egnsearch.asp?N=400240+309150+115&autoview=sku

World Products 427 C.I.D. Iron Block Engine AssembliesBig cube small blocks that produce incredible power.

World Products have created the "ultimate" small block Chevy crate engines, containing a full complement of premium grade brand name parts. These 427 c.i.d. engines start with a Motown cast iron block with 4-bolt mains and Motown 220 aluminum heads with 220cc chambers these engines have 10.0 to 1 compression and make approximately 530 horsepower. Quality 4340 forged steel crankshafts, forged aluminum pistons, 4340 forged steel H-beam rods, and hydraulic profile camshafts with matched lifters are installed at World Products. Motown all aluminum intake manifolds, and modified 870 cfm Holley 4-barrel carburetors handle the air and fuel. Manley valves are install with 2.080 in. intake side and 1.600 in. on the exhaust. Other assembly items include; true roller timing chains, performance piston ring sets, Clevite bearings, HEI distributors, 8mm spark plug wires, and Accel spark plugs. The valve train is handled by Aluminum roller rocker arms, and 4130 push rods, internally balanced these engines are broke in and Dyno tested before shipped. Assembly components consist of Fel-Pro, ARP, and Manley.

It would fit and you could tear out all of your driveline in just a few minutes

 

[Gold Boy]

This may be a big block option??

Buick 400, 430 or a 455, these blocks are small for the cubes, much less than say 454 and much more power.

I have a 430 which puts out 475 lb's at I THINK at about 2200 rpm.

 

[KliersLC]

What do you need all that power for? If you want to race, build a hot rod, if you want to wheel, build a wheeler, they don't really mix. Sell the suburban, buy a warranteed 350 and slap the TBI on it and call it good. that swap has been done many times and is much less work/money than what you were planning.
FWIW,
Dan

 

[baxter650]

Sell or trade the BB for a Vortec V6 & turbo 350, get the AA adapter to keep the Toy T case. Its hard enough to keep a SB cool, you will always have issues trying to cool a BB. You would have to change to much to make it work.

 

[WristPin]

swap it out if you like to deal with rebuilds every 110K.
the stock motor shoulnt b messed up.
they last well over 300K.