98 v8 extra cab lux

[hi-lex]

Hi everyone, I am newby to forums so will intro myself and project, hopefully post pics of my progress when I fig out how yo do it, I have 98 etra cab hilux ex RAC breakdown car, bright yellow 2inch body lift 15x9.5x30 mud diggers on beadlock look rims made by myself, just paid for my crown front cut from Asian auto parts in QLD, great guys to deal with, $2000 shipped to perth, cant go wrong for that price, hiluxs is currently 2.7 twincam petrol with 4spd auto (same auto type as v8 apparently) conversion looks easy but prob wont be, asis allways the case. hopefully pickup frontcut from perth this week then get stuck into it, cheers, Russ...

 

[goldy]

G'day Russ

I too am newby to forum, am looking at dropping a 1uz-fe into a 98 Prado. Mine has same 2.7 as yours but is backed by a 5 speed manual (W56).

Am keen to follow your progress, have not committed dollars yet, but 2.7 is blowing a bit of smoke and this is the family hack as well, so can't be off the road for too long.

Let us know how you go.
Cheers
Ian

 

[Pro]

$2000 for a front cut shipped from QLD?!

my engine tranny combo only cost me $2200 here in perth! damn it's amazing how cheap these engines are getting now!

 

[hi-lex]

Well the front cut finally arrived, started pulling out excess wires, god what a mess, Goldy if you need wiring diags for prado I have workshop manual and can copy for you. You think $2000 is cheap, if I lived in QLD its only $1500, 500 for freight to perth, what a bargain, tried to post pics but didnt work for me, will try later, sold my old motor $800, cheap but gets it off my hands and got money and still get to use care until I pull the 4cyl out, by BTW this forum rocks, so much info, its what made do the conversion, thanks guys...

 

[goldy]

Russ, thank you.
Wiring diagrams would be great. How will you send them?
If I could pick up a half cut for $1500, whew! would make it even more achieveable. What sort of mileage did your halfcut have? You say you sold your 2.7, where to, local wreckers or someone you knew wanted one?
This exchange is looking better and better. Hhmmm increased towing ability, not having to apologise for holding people up, sailing over the local sand dunes like they were made from asphalt. Lovely.

Ian

 

[hi-lex]

My old motor had 180k on it and ran sweet but terrible economy when towing because of having to drop back to 2nd gear to sit on 100kph, sold it to a mate to put in an older lux on gas cause his diesel is not econ enuf?, my cut had minor front damage but only broken fan and twisted radiator ,but only 79k, the other cut (me an a mate got one each to get discount on freight) had 117k but no damage, got em from Asian auto spares in slacks creek ph07 320 801 33 (hope its ok to mention names of bussinesses here) very helpful guys.

 

[hi-lex]

Hey pro240c, where did you get your cut from? the prices I got in perth were round $3500 mark, even $200 saving is still a saving seeing Im a tight arse, it payed my fuel money to peth to pick it up and some...

 

[Damo]

Damn them crazy japanese drivers!!!! Damaging our cars-to-be!! Hehe.

Did you get the wheels with it or did you put them on for ease of moving?

 

[hi-lex]

well its in the engine bay, very snug fit,doing engine mounts and sump at the moment, decided to remove 30mm from lower sump which will decrease capacity by about a litre, its the easyest way to do it until I get around to buying a crs one, pity I cant make the crown drag link fit as it would put it about level with the crossmember and sump wouldnt need mods, might do a measure tommorrow, gunna use crown mounts and just make a wedge adaptor between them and chassis mount, looks too easy, wiring went through factory hole, heater hoses needed minor mods an power steer needs one new flare on crown pipe (shortened) an will fit a treat, might av to get one of sideshow small filters if he shill has some to save mods to oil filt, will get some pics up tommorow

 

[hi-lex]

damo, I put the wheels on to move it, it was bandit strapped to a pallet when I picked it up

 

[hi-lex]

Im ova this cant seem to post anything 3rd try getting less words each time, pics, complete and running, well pics were b4 finish but nerly done

 

[Muzza_NZ]

Hi-lex,
From memory I used a 433 (or 334) oil filter (Ryco brand) which worked a treat on my Lux - It was off a 1.6L Daihatsu charade, I think. How are the clearances from your drivers side header to your steering box? And while I think about it, have you mounted your clutch slave cylinder yet? If not, just be very aware of the clearances between that and the exhaust - I didn't at first and had several go's at it.

Sump wise, I can send you pics and dimensions of my custom sump, but as mine is a '95 lux, the cross member and steering arm might be in a different location.

Good luck - mine is getting the exhaust put on today and goes for certification on December 13th.... fingers crossed.... my only real concern is heat shielding all clutch, brake, fuel lines etc. I've used braided heat wrap, but it looks a bit rough, anyone out there got any suggestions?

Muzz

 

[thefastj]

Ryco Z418 is the filter i use on mine.
thats the specified filter for the 4L V8.
considerably smaller than the original Toyota filter.

 

[hi-lex]

its runnin

I tried several times to post last night an kept getting errors an then tried to post pic and that didnt work either so I spat it, anyways its in and runing, made adapters to crown mounts for engine (basic) cut 20-5mm wedge outa sump to allow motor to sit flat and clear steering, mine is 2wd auto to start with an crown box is same family box so no mods to tailshaft, shifter or mounts, used orig rad as its alloy an doesnt get hot even without fan, car has 2in body lift which allowed me to sit motor nose high for sump clearance, got a lot of finishing off to do an then find an engineer to cert it, anyone in perth know of a good one? this was a really basic conversion and recomend it to anyone, these motors are so smooth, I used standard exhaust too as it was 2 1/4in from factory, nice an quiet til ya giv it a bootfull, he he, got spotted by the ranger today showin off, better control meself ,at least till its legal...

 

[hi-lex]

pics?

try pics again

 

[hi-lex]

the car itself

 

[Muzza_NZ]

running.... and damn its a handful

Nice ute there Hi-Lex.
Mine too is mobile, and I seem to struggle for traction in the first couple of gears...

Here's a pic FYI. I've added 4wd guards since this pic was taken and it may even be painted before christmas (haven't decided on colour yet)

Muzz

 

[hi-lex]

sweet ride, I know what you mean about the traction thing! even with 30" tall tyres and 3.7 gears ! gotta get me a limi an maybe 4.1 gears then my speedo will be spot on, thats my excuse anyway, (like it doesnt have enuf pickup anyway?) best thing is the cost, with selling my old motor on the cheap for $800 and price of front cut $2000, even allowing for all the little bits I havent even spent $1500!!!!

 

[Muzza_NZ]

Lads,
A quick update. My ute got certified on December 13th, and I've since put almost 2000km on it. Aside from a couple of small leaks in the sump, and an exhaust thats way too loud, its running bloody well.

Handling wise it does get a little skittish after about 160km/h, but that's reasonable to expect aye?.....

Hi-lex, have you managed to retain your A/C? - I'm definitely regretting pruning mine off.

Cheers,

Muzz

 

[hi-lex]

Yeah I did muzza, just picked up pipes the oyher day after having them tig welded, hope it all fits back together, I used bits of pipe from both crown and hilux and flared pipes to slip over each other and had local ally welder weld em back together, if they fit, me mate thats an a/c fitter is gunna gas it for me, did a trip on weekend for about 140km, stung it all the way there and drove sedately on way back and still managed 24mpg, might get 30 if driven easy all the time.