Should I go down the 1UZ path or LS swap or a vehicle with and LS already or a whole dif path?
Posted by Interesting_Sir_742@reddit | projectcar | View on Reddit | 26 comments
I'm from San Diego CA and a friend of mine is selling me his 93 sc400 with only 70k miles for 3k, I want a project car, I want to be making more power, should I go down the route of the 1UZ or should I save up and go for a GM car that has the LS such G8 or gto and etc, what I'm trying to say what's the cheapest, 1UZ build or LS build and or did path, for example a G8 or a GTO is around 6k or 7k plus in my area, what do you guys think. I'm new to this scene I'm a beginner in this but I'm blessed to have a home shop where we can fabricate, weld, cut, grind and etc. my goal is 400 hp plus.
Every-Power-3172@reddit
go lq9 or lq4
unclestasiu@reddit
LS vehicle would be awesome, but they're not cheap unless you want a truck. Which is fine! Sloppy mechanics crap truck builds are great. I'm a huge 1UZ fan, so what I'd do is SC and slap a turbo on it as cheaply as possible. 400hp is realistic with a turbo and tuning. The motors are overbuilt for their use, and only start having issues at the 500hp ish range. (There are outliers that have hit 800+ on a stock long block, supposedly. Abnormal and I question some of their results.) It'll be ok with the A340 transmission, or you can swap a manual. Adapters are available for just about every trans. I just sold one for a W58. (Came in non-turbo MK3 and 4 Supras, among other cars. Also worked with W59, which was 4x4 Tacomas of the era.) Biggest pain is going to be integrating some sort of piggyback, or a standalone ECU. The 1UZ sounds fantastic and isn't the cookie cutter LS swap that everyone seems to do.
Now... There's a reason the LS is the cookie cutter meme. The motor itself is relatively cheap and tiny for its displacement, and it can make ludicrous power. If you can get past the lack of uniqueness, just get something, anything, and stab an LS in there with a turbo. Again, sloppy mechanics is prob the best intersection of cheap and repeatable when it comes to LS builds.
Syscrush@reddit
If you're not ready to put together a parts list on your own and price out the different options, then you're not ready for this project.
Interesting_Sir_742@reddit (OP)
Clearly I’m not if I’m on Reddit asking for help, what do you gain from typing this?
Syscrush@reddit
I have gotten in over my head multiple times with projects and I don't want you to repeat my mistakes.
Give this a read and see if it makes any sense to you:
https://www.reddit.com/r/projectcar/s/4UYXfxL4iV
Interesting_Sir_742@reddit (OP)
Sorry man for getting aggressive, I posted this in other car subreddit and I was beat to a pulp, sorry bro didn’t mean to get defensive
Syscrush@reddit
I get it! I didn't mean to come off as a dismissive gatekeeper. Still bros, bro.
Interesting_Sir_742@reddit (OP)
Thanks for the advice I’m definitely finna give it a read
716econoline@reddit
Making power is expensive. It would for sure be cheaper to start with a 400hp car, then try to make one. That being said, its hard to beat an ls and a hawg cam for a fun car.
RiftHunter4@reddit
What do you want to do with it?
The SC400 is more of a GT car than a sports car. There's a lot of support for the chassis since its a common drift car, but you'll put down a lot of money to get there.
The Pontiacs have support via Holden builds. The LS is more common to mod, but there's not a ton of Pontiac builds if you're looking to do visual mods too.
A Corvette would be the best of both worlds, but you pay for that.
Interesting_Sir_742@reddit (OP)
i was looking into corvettes around my area but the prices are out of my budget the average around here is 13k plus. if i get the sc400 i want to rip ass, im not really into drifting, and there's not really that Pontiacs in my area only a couple
RiftHunter4@reddit
You can build an SC to be fast, but I'd look into some specifics for the parts and power targets. The SC shares some parts with the Supra, and the SC300 came with an NA 2JZ, hence the hype and drifting. The SC400 is less popular because they are all autos, so you'd be looking at a manual conversion (assuming that's what you want).
If all you want is speed, an LS car of pretty much any variety will get you there for less. Pontiac and Corvette only a few options. Chevy put that engine into a LOT of vehicles and I've seen all of them get built for different things.
Big-Energy-3363@reddit
Don’t do a swap! Just buy the car with the engine you want. Swaps are usually difficult to sell, you will lose money on it
Interesting_Sir_742@reddit (OP)
What are you guys advice in choosing an LS, I know there’s the truck family side of LS, are those good as well for swapping them in projects, is it worth it? I know the engines cheaper than the sports oriented engines
6022E24@reddit
Swap in a 1gz. Toyota v12
Interesting_Sir_742@reddit (OP)
i wanna thank everyone who has been giving me advice, im sorry my title is wonky.
Poil336@reddit
I did a 1UZ swap in a MK3 Supra specifically because I didn't want to do an LS. I definitely should have gone LS. Fun car for what it was, but you'll spend a fortune trying to make the power of a stock 5.3 truck engine
Interesting_Sir_742@reddit (OP)
sounds awesome, im probably finna LS swap it or save up for something that has an LS
somethink@reddit
LS swapping a SC is pretty straightforward and a much easier engine to maintain since they're pretty common and are a single cam design( compared to the UZs 4) but if you can afford to get a GTO just go with that. It's a similar platform to the SC with a lot less to go wrong. The electronics on SCs are problematic since they attract rats and used soy in the production process, I loved my SC but I do not miss working on it.
Interesting_Sir_742@reddit (OP)
Gotcha man, I live near a canyon so you can imagine the rats having a field day on the sc400 if I got it
Aleutian_Solution@reddit
The LS will be way cheaper since it’s already in the car, meaning everything will work and the amount of work you will have to do is minimal. Just buy go-fast parts and enjoy. Just remember to replace the gaskets and bearings as you get into the engine.
Interesting_Sir_742@reddit (OP)
Thanks bro, what LS would you recommend, which one would be more beginner friendly or there’s no such thing as beginner friendly
Aleutian_Solution@reddit
They’ll all be about the same since they all have the same engine, but I know that the Caprice police cruisers came with a 6.0L and you can pick one up for around $5,000. Be warned though, they usually have a lot of miles being as that they were police cruisers. If you want looks, then you can’t go wrong with an SS, but those command a premium price. You can also get a 1500 Silverado that came with the LS if trucks are more your speed.
Interesting_Sir_742@reddit (OP)
Thanks again man, police cruisers didn’t even come to mind
RattyRatson@reddit
1UZ isn’t really budget friendly if you’re trying to make power. It can be done but the parts are much harder to find than for an LS.
That being said, it also sounds like you are in CA and will have the added headache of trying to make things smog legal.
Interesting_Sir_742@reddit (OP)
Thanks for the advice 💪