PJSC300

Hey guys, I've been on these forums pretty much ever since I got my SC300, which is my first car. Their is an influential amount of information and all members seem very helpful. Well anyways, one night I decide to go drifting and one of my crank bearings went bad. At this point, I realized I might as well go turbo and was wondering if anybody knows any creditable shop in the Tampa Bay area to swap a 1jz in for me. Thanks again.

LoveSCs

iTrader: (2)

I'm not familiar with your region, but I can tell you that a 1JZ is worth it. It all depends on your power goals. 1JZ can get you to 550-600whp on pump. If you want more, you need to go e85. If you have the extra $1500, just go 2JZGTE. Anything else that you need to do to it (single turbo upgrade, intercooler kit, etc) are evenly priced across both motors. As far as paying someone to do the swap, it might cost you 5k-6k just in labor. You'd be better off buying another SC to daily drive while you learn and do the swap yourself. Then when the swap is done, just sell the extra SC

INTIMAZY

iTrader: (5)

Don't do a 1JZ swap.

They're bad.

I don't think anyone has ever covered this topic thoroughly, nor explored the pros and cons of a NA-T vs a 1JZ-GTE swap before but I have a feeling you shouldn't do it.

It must be really hard to swap a 1JZ into these cars,especially since these cars were never offered with that motor globally over the course of a few generations.

Just don't do it.

Don't become one of those guys.

Thread title aside, for some of us there is no substitute for an over-square, 9000rpm , yamaha-designed 6-pot. To me, it's simply the noise it makes that drew me to it. Want a cheap build? Buy another GE short block and beat on it until it hits 200k miles. If you don't have the technical know-how to swap a short block, I would argue a 1JZ-GTE swap is actually perfect for you. When sourced from a Soarer, it really is just a bolt-on upgrade for these cars.

I believe in you. You can do this.

PJSC300

I appreciate all the help guys. I found a shop called jamspeed performance that seems to be a reliable and creditable shop. They offer to do the full 1jz swap for $2200, as long as I provide the engine. I already have a w58 in my car. From you guys and my personal research I believe this is pretty reasonable.

LoveSCs

iTrader: (2)

I'm sorry, I mis-spoke. I guess the 5-6k that I suggested would include the motor. I was going off memory of what I read a while back. But yeah, $2200 really isn't too bad. Just make sure that you get all of the info from them for what it includes. If it doesn't include wiring harness extending, then you will need to make sure you get the motor from a Soarer as INTIMAZY said. Otherwise they will need to do wire harness work which is very time consuming (if done correctly by soldering, not butt splicing). Also, make sure that the motor that you are getting is rear sump (again, if from soarer, then no worries). Also, get pricing for replacing the water pump, timing belt, motor mounts, and rear main seal. People usually replace those before dropping it in.

KahnBB6

iTrader: (5)

^^ I also think they're a good swap. Cost-wise versus ultimate potential just comes down to style and what you ultimately want the car to do. Also the 1JZ-GTE VVT-i single turbo engine is a cool variant which is a bit different from the early non-VVT-i 1JZ-GTE twin parallel turbo engines (which most people upgrade to single turbo later but you can still do fun things *to a point* with the stock parallel turbos and even rebuild them with steel compressor wheels if you wish).

The early non-VVT-i version is the one that nearly bolts right in wiring and all (other than extending the harness). The only version of the later 1JZ-GTE VVT-i you do not want to buy is any version with a DBW throttle, such as a motorset from a Crown. Soarer, Chaser and Mark II 1JZ's should be fine but only the Soarer and MKIV Supra came with the correct oil pan so you will most likely need to swap one over from a 2JZ-GE and tap the factory un-machined oil drain area.

Personally a 1JZ-GTE VVT-i M/T engine set was my first choice for a swap. I couldn't justify it for my Cali car but I would have if it had made sense in my case.

Also, the non-VVT 1JZ-GTE shares many common factory service parts with the USDM 2JZ-GTE. The VVT-i version uses a few specific seals and parts that do not cross-reference to the 2JZ-GTE. All those 1JZ VVT-i specific service parts are readily obtainable in the USA, just not directly from any Toyota dealer in most cases. There are compatible parts cross-reference lists for both 1JZ engines available.

NA-T, 1JZ-GTE, 1JZ-GTE VVT-i, 2JZ-GTE or 2JZ-GTE VVT-i are all a matter of flavor, goal and cost. There isn't a wrong choice so long as you've done some research to understand which route may appeal to you most. All are great choices, just different.