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engine swaps  Rating:  Rating
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 Posted: 11-18-2011 06:56 am
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JodyKerr
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Whereabouts are you located?

And if you're going to put an engine like that in make sure you find a good diff to support it. You may want to look at some of the late 90's pontiacs, they had trailing arm suspensions.

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 Posted: 11-18-2011 07:10 am
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Somebodystopme!!
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I live in Southern CA but come over to AZ quite often for work. I'm not the kind of guy that raggs on his ride whenever I'm behind the wheel but if the diff does give it up I have read on here where some have said that an S-10 would fit with some minor modifications.

 

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 Posted: 12-03-2011 09:00 pm
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Jensenman
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An S10 rear can be used, but when I built my rotary powered J-H from a retired SCCA IT car I found that a Mazda RX2/808/Mizer/GLC/RX3 rear axle is within 1" of the J-H axle. So I used a Mazda RX2 rear axle with a RX7 limited slip and also the RX7 rear disc brakes. You'd have to either fabricate upper brackets to use the two stock J-H arms or, as in my case, go with a 3 link setup with a Panhard rod. It's good to around 300 HP and is a good bit lighter than the S10 piece, plus it has a good aftermarket.

The 180 HP rotary has been fun, but I'm now leaning more and more toward V8 torque for hillclimbs. I keep looking hard at the Toyota 1UZFE quad overhead cam V8 from the Lexus LS400. Tough as nails (it is derived from a Toyota F1 project engine), cheap because the salvage yards despair of selling them, manual transmission conversions available, lighter than a comparable Big 3 cast iron lump (or even an LS1), much more powerful than a Rover V8.

And before anyone calls me a butcher, my other J-H is a restored JH5 with the 907 which I adore. :-) One of these days I will get a GT to restore as well.

 

Last edited on 12-03-2011 09:09 pm by Jensenman

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 Posted: 12-12-2011 03:18 pm
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superk83
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Those are really popular swaps for 2nd gen Supra guys... Fantastic motors! The Aussie crowd seem to adore them..

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 Posted: 03-26-2012 08:31 am
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Jensenman wrote: An S10 rear can be used, but when I built my rotary powered J-H from a retired SCCA IT car I found that a Mazda RX2/808/Mizer/GLC/RX3 rear axle is within 1" of the J-H axle. So I used a Mazda RX2 rear axle with a RX7 limited slip and also the RX7 rear disc brakes. You'd have to either fabricate upper brackets to use the two stock J-H arms or, as in my case, go with a 3 link setup with a Panhard rod. It's good to around 300 HP and is a good bit lighter than the S10 piece, plus it has a good aftermarket.

The 180 HP rotary has been fun, but I'm now leaning more and more toward V8 torque for hillclimbs. I keep looking hard at the Toyota 1UZFE quad overhead cam V8 from the Lexus LS400. Tough as nails (it is derived from a Toyota F1 project engine), cheap because the salvage yards despair of selling them, manual transmission conversions available, lighter than a comparable Big 3 cast iron lump (or even an LS1), much more powerful than a Rover V8.

And before anyone calls me a butcher, my other J-H is a restored JH5 with the 907 which I adore. :-) One of these days I will get a GT to restore as well.

 


Just found this thread, and I have to say, I'm with Jensenman 100%. . . The 1UZ-FE Lexus Quad-Cam 32 valve V8 is an awesome piece of equipment, although to fit one in a Jensen Healey, you need the rear sump engine from the SC400 Soarer, not the LS400 Celsior. How do I know ? I'm building one at the moment ! (see attached 'before' pic). Before the purist start howling about the unseemly violation of a perfectly good JH, I want to clarify, IT'S NOT ! This is a rusted out parts car, purchased to provide an ongoing supply of spares for my first love, a beautiful 907 engined Mk1 (1140-10028). Had the "Frankenhealey" plan not come up, this poor car's fate was to be raped for evey useable item removable from her dilapidated carcase, and then into the crusher, as an uneconomical repair. So, in effect, this terrible plan has really SAVED her. I have fitted an Extreme Performance moly flywheel, adapter bellhousing, and R150 5-speed manual, and am currently in the midst of fabricating stainless steel long primary headers. I will be fitting an entire rear axle from a Holden Commodore VL Turbo (disc brakes and interchangeable Borg Warner ratios, and upgrading the front rotors and calipers, probably LC, LX, or UC Torana look to be the closest options, and keep the same stud pattern as the rear. Then the fun starts, with the standard ECU (aftermarket ECU's make licensing difficult here) has 144 (count 'em !) wires into it ! Most of them are superfluous to this project, but, phew ! Anyway, I defend the decision to do this, and understand the enormity of the undertaking, so feel free to shout me down ! I hope this awful project doesn't sour you all against me, as I am amazed at the depth of knowledge on this board, and as a long term Healey owner, I don't doubt I will have occasion to beg advise for my Lotus engined car in the future.

Attachment: IMG_1134 - small.JPG (Downloaded 302 times)

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 Posted: 03-26-2012 04:10 pm
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Greg Fletcher
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Wow, that looks like quite a project! Please keep us updated on your progress, I'm really interested to see how this goes. How much does that engine weigh?

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 Posted: 03-26-2012 11:39 pm
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Thanks Greg, I will post updates as I progress, although they may not be that frequent. This project is progressing alongside a bare metal respray of my Mk1, and 3 very involved motorcycle builds . . . . so a little bit at a time ! The engine itself weighs 149 Kg, with oil, alternator, P/S pump (bin !) and A/C compressor (bin as well !), but without the flywheel and clutch. Once the clutch components arrive (a hybrid concoction of Landcruiser and Skyline R32 stuff . . .) I will weigh the whole issue with gearbox attached, for comparison with the JH drivetrain. This is probably a more meaningful number, I think. The engine will sit back as close to the firewall as practical, to keep the weight distribution as even as possible. I have corner scales for my race car, but as these are only rated to 200 Kg per corner, I may have to get clever if I want to build the Healey on them . . . . Although not heavy, the 1UZ is physically quite large for a small vapacity V8, being 90 degree V, with each bank sporting 2 belt driven OHC's and 4 valves per cyl. so just squeezing the width into the little JH engine bay is a bit of a challenge. Still, wouldn't be as much fun if it was easy !

Attachment: IMG_1133 - small.JPG (Downloaded 288 times)

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 Posted: 03-29-2012 10:38 am
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superk83
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That is a fantastic project! Please keep us updated... The 1uz is a brilliant piece of equipment. I may have missed it, but what trans are you using?

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 Posted: 03-29-2012 11:31 am
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Thanks for the support. The transmission is a 5 speed R150 from a 2006 Hilux WorkMate 2WD. This is mated to the 1UZ with a KP Racing adaptor bellhousing (they are a drift shop primarily, based in Thailand, but the bellhousing is brilliant quality !). The clutch is a hybrid affair, utilising a 10" Landcruiser disc for the spline match, and a D40 Navara or R32 Skyline HD pressure plate and release bearing to suit the bolt pattern on the Extreme Performance chrome moly flywheel. Time will tell how well this all works, but it has been done before with some success . . . . .

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 Posted: 12-01-2012 05:51 pm
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roverman
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Thank you Greg, for letting us discuss engine swaps here. I'm building a 74' Hemi Healey. As many others have mentioned here, this requires a ground-up approach, to execute successfully. The gen III, 6.1L hemi engine weighs 200 lbs additional, over the 907. Carefull component selection and placement, is required to maintain proper vehicle dynamics. The Huffaker fenders allow 5" more track width, much needed. Vette C5 torque tube and Boxster 6 speed , completes the drivetrain. The conceptual, photoshop rendition, is at "BritishV8forum", webbsite in the "Healey" section.  Happy Holidays everyone, roverrman.

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 Posted: 12-04-2012 01:03 am
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roverman wrote: Thank you Greg, for letting us discuss engine swaps here. I'm building a 74' Hemi Healey. As many others have mentioned here, this requires a ground-up approach, to execute successfully. The gen III, 6.1L hemi engine weighs 200 lbs additional, over the 907. Carefull component selection and placement, is required to maintain proper vehicle dynamics. The Huffaker fenders allow 5" more track width, much needed. Vette C5 torque tube and Boxster 6 speed , completes the drivetrain. The conceptual, photoshop rendition, is at "BritishV8forum", webbsite in the "Healey" section.  Happy Holidays everyone, roverrman.
Wow, now that IS an adventurous project, but the result will be awesome to drive. I'm not that familiar with American hardware (OK, I know the Boxster box isn't American . . ), but I love the torque tube as a principle. One of my early plans for my own car was Porsche 928S running gear complete, but was put off by a couple of things. A) Auto trans, as manuals are SO rare, and B) the ridiculous price of parts, even old second-hand junk, with Porsche stamped on it. Only advantage was 50:50 weight distribution with the front engine, rear transaxle gearbox and torque tube arrangemant. There would be secondary benefits to chassis rigidity, as most of the torque stress is diverted away from the monocoque, so the car isn't trying to wind itself into a spiral under heavy acceleration . . . However, that plan had to be dumped in favour of the current 1UZ-FE option. Yime will tell if it was the right decision ! Best of luck with your build Roverman, and keep us updated please ! (PS, Where are you based ? )

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 Posted: 12-04-2012 03:20 pm
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roverman
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Update>>I have several reasons, for the Vette C5 torque tube: strenght to weight, rubber coupled drive shaft at each end, and the rigid aluminum outer tube will add substantial torsional and beam strength to the highly flexible standard tub.Yes, there are many different, "smart" motors available now, but I wanted a "Hemi Healey". Yes, it's not a "real" Healey as some would say, but it's close enough for me. This engine will be just dumb enough, that I can work on it. This means Megasquirt III contol of ignition and (2) tbi's on an Edelbrock dual plane/quad manifold. Target is 450+ hp. at the wheels. I don't anticipate too much nodding-off, while piloting, in Riverside County. Cheers, roverman.

Last edited on 12-07-2012 05:46 pm by roverman

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 Posted: 12-04-2012 10:07 pm
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roverman wrote: Yes, there are many different, "smart" motors available now, but I wanted a "Hemi Healey". Yes, it's not a "real" Healey as some would say, but it's close enough for me. This engine will be just dumb enough, that I can work on it. This means Megasquirt III contol of ignition and (2) tbi's on an Edelbrock dual plane/quad manifold. Target is 450+ hp. at the wheels. I don't anticipate too much nodding-off, while piloting, in Riverside County. Cheers, roverman.
Mine should be about 100 HP down on yours at the wheels, but even that should keep me on my toes ! Wish I could go Megasquirt or Woolf 3D or similar, but registering anything modified with aftermarket ECUs here is a pain. Gotta do emissions tests etc, even though any pre '78 car is automatically exempt ! Please update progress periodically, I love these sorts of projects.

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 Posted: 02-09-2013 04:37 pm
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roverman
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I suggest a "peep" at the "BritishV8Forum", as there is a least one conversion, with your engine of choice. I believe in a TR7 ? As you may know, they have smaller engine bay, than our cars. Good Luck, roverman.

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 Posted: 10-21-2021 07:56 pm
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jensendriver123
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Hello Kurt,

Do you still live in San Anselmo? I visit from Reno from time to time and have been rebuilding a JH for the past year. Just thought it would be great to meet another JH person if you are there.

Richard

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 Posted: 10-21-2021 08:59 pm
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roverman
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Hi, who is Kurt ? This is Art of Salton Sea. I decided to go more "retro" with my JH. It has the Huffaker Racing body kit.
Kind of JH, could have been-car. 340 Dodge V8 = 100 less cu.in. than Interceptor and about 1,600lbs., less weight.
Cheers, Art.

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