Best “feasible” option…

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cruiserguysc

cruiserguysc

10 Year
Joined
Feb 18, 2012
Threads
43
Messages
113
Wanna look at swapping motor in one of my 88 62’s! ( 350?) I DO NOT HAVE A ENDLESS MONEY TREE! Lol! What are the affordable options? What have you folks done or seen? Thanks
 
so is it mostly a pavement cruiser/overlander? or do you off-road it? what accessories (bumpers,racks,etc) are you carrying?

putting a cheap but wrong engine in it for your intended purpose won’t make you happy

and are you doing the work yourself? that makes a huge difference cost wise too
 
cruiserguysc said:
I DO NOT HAVE A ENDLESS MONEY TREE!
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This doesn't really help frame the question. No one does, but some have smaller trees than others. What are you looking to spend? @franklin40 nailed it with his comment.

That said, I like the 2UZ in a 62.
 
I swapped a Chevy TBI 350 into my 62. It was cheap for me because I traded a go cart for the whole truck. Overall it was an easy swap. I didn’t buy much more than mounts and adapters. Less than $1,000. I made a lot of parts also. It’s not fast, but way better. I wasn’t going for fast. Keep your local emissions in mind also. Here in California you can’t just swap whatever into whatever and register it for on road use.
 
franklin40 said:
so is it mostly a pavement cruiser/overlander? or do you off-road it? what accessories (bumpers,racks,etc) are you carrying?

putting a cheap but wrong engine in it for your intended purpose won’t make you happy

and are you doing the work yourself? that makes a huge difference cost wise too
Click to expand...
Franklin40,
This particular cruiser will be one that I just mainly stay on pavement. I would like to use it as my daily driver back-and-forth to work which is not even a 4 mile round-trip, however, this is the perfect cruiser for the parking lot I have to park in.

I do not have the time or space to do the work myself. About 2 1/2 weeks ago a buddy of mine called and said he knew someone who had a 1988 cruiser for sale that already had a 350 swap. Unfortunately, I was a little late on that purchase, however, I’m intrigued by the 350.
 
jclark said:
This doesn't really help frame the question. No one does, but some have smaller trees than others. What are you looking to spend? @franklin40 nailed it with his comment.

That said, I like the 2UZ in a 62.
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I’m definitely not trying to spend more money than the cruiser is already worth. I just want more power to beat around town. Mainly on pavement and to pull my small landscape type trailer to go get odds and ends.

In other words I’m not going to put $10,000 into it.
 
Is it still automatic? A regear and/or manual swap may be more bang for your buck for the intended use.
 
Skreddy said:
Is it still automatic? A regear and/or manual swap may be more bang for your buck for the intended use.
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Yes. Still auto. I’ve started to lose a little power especially in acceleration, however, I think it may be bad/clogged catalytic converter? I’m going to try and delete to see if this is the problem with sluggish acceleration?
 
franklin40 said:
i hate to say it but if you can’t do the work yourself you’re already 10k in. any swap takes hours which will add up quickly if paying someone.

swapping in a 5 speed will be cheaper but still in the 3-4k range i’d wager.
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Thank you for the advice! I have someone who is willing to help me and very experienced and capable of engine swaps. Really good friend who loves to work for Beer!
 
that is helpful for sure. as you’ve got a fuel injected engine (3fe i’m assuming) you’ll likely have to stick with something fuel injected. the 350 has good power but isn’t going to be much more efficient that the 3fe. just more pep. the 2uz would be a reasonable swap if you can fine a salvage vehicle for the donor. piecing it together otherwise i hear is a pain to collect all the electeonics separately. there are some nice diesel swaps but fuel proxies dont make them quite as palatable as in the past. the mercedes m606 can make a ton of power and there are some adapter kits out there which make it reasonably simple. just have to find a donor car again. i have a 1hdt and love the power but these engines aren’t cheap. you could likely find a cheap cummins diesel. sounds like the best plan will be to find a donor vehicle with a good used engine.
 
Ls is the answer your budget isn't. If you can get the work done for beer maybe but what kind of job will it be while being drunk. Can you or your friend weld? Do you have room for months to do this ? Do either of you understand wiring and wire diagrams. Do you have mechanic tools and experience. Those are just a few things you will need.
Tommy
 
tmxmotorsports said:
Ls is the answer your budget isn't. If you can get the work done for beer maybe but what kind of job will it be while being drunk. Can you or your friend weld? Do you have room for months to do this ? Do either of you understand wiring and wire diagrams. Do you have mechanic tools and experience. Those are just a few things you will need.
Tommy
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Tommy,
All great advice! My friend builds muscle cars. He does commercial grading and finds cars on properties all the time and brings them back to life for profit! It’s not his business, however, he’s been doing it for 35+ years. He does it all in a shop that is located on his 30+ acres.

We don’t do the work drunk. Lol I do other things drunk! Ha.

If you are like my friend then I will give you the same compliment because what you all can do is pretty darn amazing.
 
franklin40 said:
i hate to say it but if you can’t do the work yourself you’re already 10k in. any swap takes hours which will add up quickly if paying someone.

swapping in a 5 speed will be cheaper but still in the 3-4k range i’d wager.
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New H55 is over $3 alone…
 
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