New guy with no Toyo/Lexus knowledge

[rover215]

Hi gang-
Like the title says, I'm new here and have very little knowledge of Toyotas (just a sprinkling of 4 bangers). I've always been a fan of swaps and keeping weight down. I have been a BMW fan/owner for 20 years (2 Bavarias, 320i, e21 323 with 2.7 stroker, 3 2002's, and an e12 528i).
My latest obsession is swapping in a 1UZ-FE into an e21 or e30 with a manual transmission. This will be a couple of years down the line to complete; I need to get a ton of info before delving into the project. I will be getting help from a friend or two who are much more experienced mechanics than I (very little experience). I have no illusions as to what this will take and the difficulties involved in such a project. I'm patient and willing to take a few lumps if I come across sounding like a dope. I'm all ears to those with experience, knowledge, and comments (hopefully constructive).

Firstly, I need to know more about the 1UZ engines and which would be best for my application. I want a bone stock powerplant. I think 250hp is PLENTY for a 2,500lb car. Plus, I like the reliability and (relative) ease of servicing a stock engine. I want it to pass all emissions in every state so I'll be running cats and whatever else that came stock with the engine. No chips, no mods. The exhaust will be the only thing custom. I'll stop here and see what y'all think. Thanks, everyone!

 

[cribbj]

The early generation 4.0l 1UZ is a simple engine with a bullet proof bottom end and no VVTi. It was built to be a low to medium RPM cruiser not a screamer, and its intake system reflects that. It has dual distributors, each sparking 4 cylinders. If you do nothing else, I'd suggest that you get rid of these distributors and their associated high tension leads, and go with a full crank triggered ignition system, preferably COP. All the triggering components are already there for the EFI, so converting the ignition is a doddle. The above would require a new standalone ECU, however the new MSIII's are more than capable of running the engine, particularly if you've already decided on a manual transmission. It should make for a nice clean swap this way, and you'll have semi-modern systems on the engine.

The next generation of 1UZ incorporated the COP ignition plus VVTi for the cams. It breathes better than the early generation, but also has a weaker bottom end. More expensive and less plentiful than the early generation, and probably still OK for your purposes.

The last generation of 1UZ was actually the 3UZ. Displacement was bumped to 4.3 liters and the VVTi system was upgraded slightly. Has the same weaker bottom end as the 2nd generation 1UZ.

The 1 & 3UZ engines use an aluminum block, so they're very lightweight for their power output. They were only available in the Lexus brand of cars here in the US.

In the past there were immobiliser issues when using mixed & matched late model 1 & 3UZ engines, but there are a couple clever guys here that have developed work arounds for that.


The 4.7 liter 2UZ engine uses a cast iron alloy block, so is quite a bit heavier than its 1 & 3UZ siblings, but is otherwise similar. This is the engine that Toyota used in its trucks for years. A very durable engine and a good base to work from for high boost turbocharging.

 

[Zuffen]

Welcome to Lextreme.

Don't worry about knowing little about the UZ series of engines as most of us were in the same position when we joined the Forum.

Spend a few hours (well days most likely) reading up on the engines and swaps that have been carried out and it will all make sense.

Have a read of the links in this Thread http://www.lextreme.com/forums/showthread.php?t=3765 as they cover almost all variants of the early engines.

Good luck with it as the little BMW's love V 8 swaps.