Another Newbie to the 1UZ world

[jas-E]

Hey everyone..
I currently live in the UK, and being from Kenya originally i love everything Toyota especially their engines! I am currently looking to build my next project, which is a 90series Landcruiser SWB with a 1UZ engine in it.

I work for a firm based in Northampton UK developing engines, and am looking to have my first V8 project involving my love of offroading!

Previous projects have been building a 205gti with a MI16 engine from a 405 (which i have just finished), rebuilding a 40series Landcruiser for off road use and upgrading and maintaining my 70 series SWB Landcruiser which i used for monthly offroad trials.

I have done alot of research on the 1UZ engine, and everywhere i look someone has always referred to this website. I really appreciate you letting me join, and will lurk around for a while before i post as im sure most of my questions have been asked and answered.

Look forward to joining the community

Thanks

Jas

 

[XR8tt]

Jas..
Post some more of your back ground and some pics of your builds..
yes we like our 1UZ but we appreciate any good builds..
I do anyway...
Welcome to forums.. VERY "international" forums...

 

[cribbj]

Jas, welcome to Lextreme, and as XR8TT said, please post up some pics of what you do; it sounds very interesting.

 

[jas-E]

Hey XR8tt and cribbj,

I moved to the UK about 10 years ago now, and while at uni bought my first 205 gti. Maintained that as best as i could and did loadsa research into doing the mi16 conversion, which is very common among 205 owners. Most people have now moved on to a gti6 conversion as that is a much newer engine. But i stuck to the mi16 because its an aluminium block as opposed to cast iron, and i wasnt too concerned about it being an older engine as i was going to rebuild it. So got one fairly cheap and rebuilt it all and have fitted it in the car and finally got it running about 2 months ago.
Unfortunately i dont have any pictures of that car at work but will post some up when im at home in the evening.

2 years ago i met up with some friends (from Kenya aswell) and we decided to enter an offroad charity event called Rhino Charge. The main event is held in Kenya and is th emost difficult competition iv seen. The location is kept secret until a couple of days before the event and its usually held in the thickest bush where theres hardly any cars ever been before. They set up a couple of check points, and the winner is the person who gets to each check point in the shortest distance (which is also the hardest!) We found out that there is a sister event in the UK which is much simpler as the terrain is not that difficult, but had more challenges to it to gain points. So we entered 2 years ago with my mates 80series landcruiser and my landrover series 3 hybrid (had a 3.5 v8 range rover engine, chassis and gearbox in it). I bought that car converted and just sorted out afew issues the previous owner was having and got it running spot on!

For the next year, my mates had already been working on a 40series landcruiser. They chopped up an 80series landcruiser and put the 40 body on that. Called it the VX40..!While helping them finish that me and another mate came across another 40 on ebay which had been stripped completely and the seller lost interest. We got it really cheap and started building that around my mates original chassis and engine set up. We got the best bits from 2 40s and built ours around that. Working only weekends, we managed to finish the car in about 3 months just in time for rhino charge 2008. The first time we drove the car was at the start of the event which was hilarious. During the event we had loadsa problems, but we managed to finish in one piece. I've attached some pics of the build and some from the event. (the red open top is ours which we painted military green and the single cab is the VX80)

Cheers,
Jas

(PS-sorry for the long post. Will put up some pics of the 205 gti at some point)

 

[XR8tt]

They look mean with wide tyres..

 

[Siddley]

Jas, I've got a bike carb conversion for an Mi16 engine, which I haven't gotten around to putting on ebay yet ;-)

 

[jas-E]

Jas, I've got a bike carb conversion for an Mi16 engine, which I haven't gotten around to putting on ebay yet ;-)

Hey Siddley,

Thanks for the offer mate - i did think about sticking webbers on it as i got offered some, but all i can think of doing right now is selling the Gti and getting myself a landcruiser to stick a 1UZ in. Think i've had enough fun with the mi and want to move away from french cars.

Thanks for the offer tho mate
Jas

 

[Siddley]

Well I'm hoping to get my 205 Gti6 track car finished and sell it to fund the build of another track car with a 1UZ engine. Small world, isn't it ?

 

[jas-E]

Well I'm hoping to get my 205 Gti6 track car finished and sell it to fund the build of another track car with a 1UZ engine. Small world, isn't it ?

Its defo a small world..especially on an international forum like this one compared to the 205gtidrivers forum..!

I've attached a few pics of the 205 gti..was a tight squeeze but got there ein the end..

Jas

 

[Siddley]

Very nice job you have done there Jas.

I'm not really into FWD cars, I ended up with the 205 just because it was very cheap - the motor was dead and the owner had run out of patience with it.
With the 205 already having a cage, adjustable suspension, big brakes and a bare metal respray I couldn't turn it down. I'm pretty good with engines so the damaged crank didn't worry me. In the end though I was offered a complete running GTi6 motor with all ancillaries really cheap, so I didn't bother to rebuild the Mi16.

I recently bought an MOT failure '94 LS400 for £100, so I already have a 1UZ ready for the next project. I'm not sure exactly what it will be, just that it will have a 1UZ engine....

 

[jas-E]

Hey Siddley,

Thanks for your comments. I got into 205s in my uni days, as you know they are quite quick cars for how much they cost and was a good car for me to learn from. But recently iv been moving away from it especially when i came across a video on youtube of a hilux with a 1UZ in it coming out of a mud hole!!

I was initially going to put a chevy 5.7 in the same landcruiser. I even bought one with a cracked cylinder head for £50, bought a set of camaro heads with the full intake and injection system with a view to rebuild it. But when i saw i could get a whole LS400 for about £400 in running condition it was a no brainer - so i've decided to sell the chevy bits as a package and get the 1UZ instead.

I came across a LS400 for £400, but was gutted as i dont have anywhere to keep it. So im going to have to sell sell sell and make some space to get the beasty. And hopefully get cracking real soon.

cheers
Jas