My SC400 will R.I.P..!!!!

[jibbby]

The only question I have is should I maintain and keep my SC400 exhaust system when the LS1 is in and hooked up?....Will that cross over effect flow with the LS1 motor or should I just go ahead and just run two straight pipe directly out the back with a couple of high flowing ovals?... My exhaust flows well for what it is now with the my 1uz-fe...Hmmm, any thoughts on that?

 

[traps1971]

and ls1 car is going to want 3'' exhaust for sure.

 

[jibbby]

That's what I was thinking Traps, 3" straights with Ovals........

So you do think my current 2.5" inch crossover high flow exhaust with straight thru mufflers on the rear will restrict the 5.7L high output LS1 engine? I was thinking I could get by with the good flowing 2.5" inch piping system......Oh well, I don't want exhaust restriction that's for sure.....

 

[jibbby]

LS1 buddy... I found one for you. Check your email. We can do this together. SC400 with LS1 LOL... LS1 with good pistons and rods plus 6 speed. A Procharger and intercooler will make this domestic beast roar. Perhaps u can nickname your car instead of Soarer name it Roarer.

Here is a 2000 Camero SS for about $2,500-$3,000

Lex, this actually isn't a bad deal at all as I looked over most of the yards in and around the Los Angeles areas today.......I think a found a couple of good deals worth checking out around the $3000-$4000 range... I want to keep it automatic as this one you found is a manual six speed... I am looking for a 1999 or newer Vette Ls1 and automatice tranny complete with ECU and mounts showing actual miles...Not easy......To my suprise, some of the automatic Vettes that I read about actually turned in some respectable track times... You can get them moving very well and they hold decent power as well.. I am not %100 sure if the Pontiac's and Camaro's share the exact same auto trannies as the Vette's do... I need to look into that..

 

[stevechumo]

Well if I can get an immediate 500whp powered Lexus SC400 for around $10,000USD I'll take it...
"Made up my mind, making a new start going to California with an aching in my heart" can anyone name that tune?

The SC300 with thicker head gasket and stock internals are boosted at 500 rwhp reliably. I believe the SC400 can do the same, even better. For the auto tranny, I think Boost Logic can rebuild it for about $3000 and it can handle monster power. Swapping isn't too hard, but I think working on the already know-how 1UZ is easier.

Don't worry about the lag, a proper sizing turbo system will make you happy.

 

[jibbby]

Steve, thanks but I've known what you just said for years...

When your sitting on 400whp of N/A engine power with the LS1 engine your looking at vantastic throttle response and of course great lowend torque... Easy to maintain and tune compared to boosted motors..Remember Steve I am not a turbo guru...I will probably overheat and blow the turbo and or motor with my luck..With the N/A LS1 that kind of power output would be adequate and fun to cruise around town in an SC4, then on race nights I would look to arm the nitrous for some real fast runs in my LS1 powered SC4.....That sounds just like what I am looking for and I would still be able to represent Lexus some what.....

To be honest, I've been farting around town for years with this 210whp 1uz..of mine long enough, however when you add another 100whp with the nitrous system the car becomes fun and spunky...but without the nos it just another average sportscar and I really don't even consider racing without the nitrous......How pathetic is that?


I will actually get decent gas mileage aswell around town with the naturally aspired 5.7L LS1 motor as apposed to a boosted smaller UZ or others, but most important no more tranny delema's or road blocks with this proposed swap which is the real underlining problem at hand...Then the beauty of it if I ever get around to boosting the LS1 my SC4 will really get nasty...


Steve, Boost logic trannies have their reported problems either with shift times or something else...Most people aren't that thrilled with them from my past reads.. I don't trust them, plus they have a hard time breaking 11 sec. period even with a ton of horsepower from all my reads... I could be mistaken on that comment, but I just don't think the Sc400 auto trannies are made to perform (built or not built)...That's my take and has always been my acheles heal in this SC400 of mine... Keep in mind I did have a built sc400 tranny with upped line pressure too and it still shifted like crap at times...

I tell you I would never consider bailing out on these rock solid 1uz-fe motors if there was an automatic transmission matchup that wouldn't break the bank or be a huge custom hassle.. Your looking at the Th400 like Lex swapped in his ride if you must go automitic and I am sure that swap would get tricky and costly too... Manual swaps your looking at the R154 and that has it's power limits and you also need to swap in the all the assessory clutch crap in an SC4... That swap would not be a cheap or easy either, and the V160 would definetely break the bank for sure... Been down that road Steve and it just doesn't appeal to me..

Thanks for the suggestions though.. Oh and I honestly think I can this swap done for far less then 10 grand...

 

[Fasteddie]

Jibby,

To be honest, I've been farting around town for years with this 210whp 1uz..of mine long enough, however when you add another 100whp with the nitrous system the car becomes fun and spunky...but without the nos it just another average sportscar and I really don't even consider racing without the nitrous......How pathetic is that?

yes, that "problem" you have to solve !...hahahaaa....

Maybe write down the several possibilties you see (LS1, built 1UZ, maybe even an other car?)...and think about what you really want...
From my experiences I can say that cars like the BMW M5 (E39 V8, 335rwhp) will solve a lot of your "problems"....but you will miss the turbo power...

If I were you i would consider a built 1UZ with a nicely matched single turbo, that makes 450 rwhp or so...and do a transmission upgrade (torque converter) and cool ! that transmission....
Should be possible within a budget...

But also agree on the LS1 route, but is this really as easy as people think ????

Good luck !

 

[jibbby]

Fast Eddie, the boosted high powered 1uz-fe is not the problem, it's mating that boosted 1uz-fe motor to an automatic tranny that can hold more then 400whp, shift efficently, be practical and hold up over time...Lexus auto trannies just aren't up to that task...

That is why I am going with this GM swap... Also it appears that an LS1 or LS2 swap in an SC400 has never been tried before...That's another insentive for me...

I actually decided to go with the LS2 motor and matching auto tranny instead of the LS1..It's clearly the better and more powerful choice of engines and can be purchased for nearly the same costs as the LS1's used... I am very jazzed up about this.......

 

[jibbby]

I will be looking to sell these high performance items in the next few months.. If nobody on this forum is interested look to see this stuff on Ebay shortly...

1) Dragon torque converter $800 new
2) injen intake snorkel, Rod millen pod filter, and fin inserts.. Complete intake $250 new
3) S&S Headers with down pipes for pure and clean bolt on for any SC400.. $900 with custom made down pipes..
4) Standard open end SC400 differential which is my old one.. Came with car...
5) Complete SC400 front and rear exhaust system which includes 4 high flowing resonator, 2.5 piping, magna flow center cat with high flowing Y...Megan N1 racing straight thru mufflers.. $500 new...
6) Dressed up and complete 1uz-fe that runs perfect and also a good working SC400 auto tranny... Driveshaft if good...
7) Apexi piggy back ECU complete...


If anyone is inerested in any of these parts just PM me with a reasonable offer.. It may take a few months before I am ready to part with this stuff as I am currently in the process of selling my house and making a move to another place with an actual garage to perform this swap...

 

[stevechumo]

I will be looking to sell these high performance items in the next few months.. If nobody on this forum is interested look to see this stuff on Ebay shortly...

1) Dragon torque converter $800 new
2) injen intake snorkel, Rod millen pod filter, and fin inserts.. Complete intake $250 new
3) S&S Headers with down pipes for pure and clean bolt on for any SC400.. $900 with custom made down pipes..
4) Standard open end SC400 differential which is my old one.. Came with car...
5) Complete SC400 front and rear exhaust system which includes 4 high flowing resonator, 2.5 piping, magna flow center cat with high flowing Y...Megan N1 racing straight thru mufflers.. $500 new...
6) Dressed up and complete 1uz-fe that runs perfect and also a good working SC400 auto tranny... Driveshaft if good...
7) Apexi piggy back ECU complete...


If anyone is inerested in any of these parts just PM me with a reasonable offer.. It may take a few months before I am ready to part with this stuff as I am currently in the process of selling my house and making a move to another place with an actual garage to perform this swap...

You mean you're selling the whole car?...Will you get a beat up SC body, swap the LS engine & tranny, and rebuild the SC body?

My car will be in the body shop tomorrow and will be very soon ready to have fun against your current SC...I guess I'll have to wait for your new project for awhile.

Good luck with your sales!!!

 

[jibbby]

Not selling the whole car Steve, just selling everything I won't need after the swap is complete... Just trying to raise some addition money to help with the swap costs and not clutter me casa up with these used car parts.....

Steve, post up a picture of your SC when you get it back... Your car looked good before you put it in the body shop, now it must look really good... Yeah, I will be out a sportcar for some time....

I already started to dis-assemble and do the measurements now... Starting to remove the exhaust, motor and tranny etc.. Ls2 on the way... My work space is a little suspect right now and that is really the only hang up...

I did the measurements of the stock rated 395hp LS2 motor and it should fit right in there, however, the shifter from the Gm tranny is not in the exact location I need...It's about 6-10 inches to far back... That is the only big problem I see with the swap...A custom welded shift adaptor will be in order and actually I will try and weld, cut and use the Sc400 tranny shifter hopefully as part of the adaptor fit so the in cabin will still share the same stock look.....

Working that out in my head now... The Ls2 headers may have some fitment issues too..I am looking at all the dimesion options of the prefabbed performance LS2 headers now.. There is chance I may have to have a special set made... We will see...

Some of the steering rack pinion stuff may get in the way of this swap also, but I think I am good....

I will take pics and start a seperate thread on this swap if anyone is interested in seeing if I can pull this off... It's going to fun and challenging...Or should I say the result should definetely be fun and worth it...

 

[cribbj]

Good luck with this swap, John. It should be quite a challenge, but I know you'll have a lot of help, and it's obvious you've been wanting an LSx motor for a long time.

 

[jibbby]

Good luck with this swap, John. It should be quite a challenge, but I know you'll have a lot of help, and it's obvious you've been wanting an LSx motor for a long time.

Thank you John, the LSx motors have always drawn my attention as you say, it's the power output they can produce and the availabilty of parts... Plus every race I lost in the past was usually to a LSx powered car of some kind.... I say if you can't beat them join them I guess....

 

[WDoherty]

jibby, if want want to save a large cost and don't mind some extra weight (iron block), go with a 6.0 truck engine, lq4 or lq9. They go on ebay with auto trannies, ecu, loom, a complete swap package for cheap, maybe you could find a combo like this for around 1800. Go with a 2001 up because i believe that's when they went with aluminum heads. They make big power with simple bolt ons, cam, intake, etc mid 400's. Plus they can take bigger heads than an ls1 than need at least a 4.00" bore size and make more power. Heads from the new 6.2 bolts on and are inexpensive, as does the intake (inexpenisive as well) from the g8 and your in the mid 500's range.
I just bring this up because this if you are concerned with budget this is a nice ls2 alternative (basically an iron block ls2) with lots of potential. Check out these articles.
http://www.carcraft.com/projectbuild/116_0704_lq4_short_block/index.html
http://www.carcraft.com/projectbuild/116_0704_lq4_short_block/index.html
http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/4-8-...SILVERADO_W0QQitemZ110241742831QQcmdZViewItem

 

[WDoherty]

or you could sell your car and put a nice down payment on a nice used gto, i hear they handle really well and weigh about the same as an sc (albeit uglier). And you would have 3 year old car problems vs. 16yo car problems.

 

[jibbby]

Hey WD...That's some good infomation you provided..Thanks...

To be honest though I really want to keep the front end of this SC4 of mine as light in weight as possible...I want it to be a solid racer...The only way to do that is keep the block and the heads alluminum.. Besides the mated automatic tranny that comes out of the newer Vettes are very appealing to me and are proven to perform even with 500whp or so... I just want the whole package which includes the motor with all assessories, tranny and ECU out of the same car... I also want to see it all running before I purchase.. I have one on hold for Monday but it's a long drive to go and see it.....

In regards to the 16 year old car.. I had discovered the source of the noises in my SC400 as one noise was an exhaust leak at the center cat, and the other a new wheel bearing that I had recently replaced... Don't know what's up with this bearing????

With new door guts, wood trim piece and a climate LCD screen the inside of my SC4 will be like new.. I still have perfect leather seats.. The body is still flawless, with no dings or dents.. New windshield, brakes are solid, Supra LCA's, and new electrical... So it's not as bad as original described it, and this car will be good enough to keep for the swap...

The LS2, tranny and ECU should run me around $4000USD... I think I can live with that... Thanks again for the iron block suggestion... Those iron block motors are definetely your best bang for the buck though...

 

[WDoherty]

are you sure your not needing to look at a gto drivetrain, corvette's have transaxles for weight distribution and their transmission are in the rear of the car.

http://www.plasmabunny.com/albums/C5/PB031074.sized.jpg

http://www.theraceforum.com/images/forum/3305-93-3.jpg

 

[stevechumo]

John,
How long do you think this new project will be? 4 months? It'll be interesting to see something new and unique. The quick way to save time is to source out the parts first while still trying to sell whatever that you'd like to sell.

 

[jibbby]

Steve, I think dropping in the LS2 engine and GM tranny, fabbing the motor and tranny mounts, fitting in a sized driveshaft, fitting in a set of LS2 performance headers and 3' straight exhaust should not be a problem for me and not take too much time. However, if any of the steering or rack compenents or suspension parts gets in the way, then that can take some time to work itself out....From the look of it and prior measurements taken it looks like a good tight doable fit and swap...I am very confident with the physical part of this swap.......It's hooking up all that electrical crap that may start to frusterate me and take time and help...Ignition, cluster, fuel system, and all the other little hangups that go with a swap like this... Using the GM ECU, wiring diagrams, etc, I would think eveything can be mapped out...

There are still a few question marks that I am not %100 sure about which also may take up more time...Like is my SC400 cooling system (radiator, flex fans) actually large enough to cool the 5.7l LS2 motor when pressed? Can my current walbro fuel pump and SC400 fuel system feed enough fuel to the motor when operating at fuel duty? I am fairly confident that both will be adequate for the N/A LS2.....

Oh, and also is the LSD Torsen Supra Diff. gearing going to work with the GM tranny? (I can answer that question with a little research). Find the Vette LSD gearing ratio and compare it with Supra TT auto differential gearing ratio, if it's close match it will work.. Once I get everything working and running just right after the swap, I will then proceed to hookup my current 150 shot nitrous system, add a piggy back ECU and fine tune... Project finished, car very fast...


I am hoping for no more then three or four months tops.. I will work hard fast and relentless on this project...

 

[jibbby]

are you sure your not needing to look at a gto drivetrain, corvette's have transaxles for weight distribution and their transmission are in the rear of the car.

http://www.plasmabunny.com/albums/C5/PB031074.sized.jpg

http://www.theraceforum.com/images/forum/3305-93-3.jpg

Good info.. WD... I've been looking at the LS1's and GM mated trannies and haven't gotten into the physical looks of the LS2 and mated tranny, I figured they were simular as I figured wrong.......I was going to the yards today to purchase and look over a few LS2 and GM mated drivetrains... Wow, this could be a big problem for the LS2's..If so back to the LS1 setups, or maybe I can still work with an LS2 motor and then mate that with a GTO, Firebird, or Camaro auto tranny... I know the newer Trailblazers comes with LS2 and the closely mated tranny but most are 4 wheel drive..... I should know alot more information after today... Man that sucks...