[Lumps!] Re: Lexus Lump

Interesting… I too was considering a Lexus V8 for my xjs - the
1UZFE - 4 litre quad cam.
A mate of mine imported a Toyota Soarer from Japan, and after driving that
I was pretty keen to have my car powered by that engine.
I did some crude measurements and I think that the intake setup was a
little bit too high to fit under the hood…
Not sure, but it would have been close. I was a bit scared by the whole
computer/wiring thing aswell - never done anything like that before.
Now I’ve got a 350 waiting for a supra 5-speed and an implant…
I could have got hold of the 1UZFE for about A$2500 from various importers
in Australia - pretty cheap really.

I have seen one conversion in the flesh (non jaguar) and was quite impressed
with the result. Silky smooth and refined. The 4.5l is the later one from
the Lexus landcruisers I think - or is that the 4.7… I cant remember now.
Anyways - I was offered a 4.5 for around $1700 including trans and
computers. The biggest hassle as I understand it is if you want to use the
Lexus auto. This is a fully electronic box and thus must have all the
original Lexus electronics to operate it. Most people discard this box for
something more common and then convert the engine to Motec / Autronic
managment (the original goes into limp mode when it realises that the Lexus
tranny isnt there).

There is a group in Sydney who are playing around with this engine quite a
bit. It is supposed to be one of the strongest V8’s around in stock trim and
thus is a good candidate for forced induction. I think Castlemaine Rod Shop
have some bellhousings out to mate it with other transmissions.

As you suggest, the biggest problem will be clearance. I havn’t completed
the mesurements as you have so it was interesting to hear that it could be a
problem. I guess I was basing it on the fact that the XK engine is fairly
tall. Still - with modified sump and engine mounts I think the problem could
probably be overcome.

My search at the moment is for a reasonable SIII that perhaps needs lumping.

Regards - Pat.

$1700 Australian? $884 USD That sounds amazingly cheap.

-jon-----Original Message-----
From: owner-lumps@jag-lovers.org [mailto:owner-lumps@jag-lovers.org]On
Behalf Of Patrick Sproule
Sent: Wednesday, November 21, 2001 11:08 AM
To: Dihon Tadic; lumps@jag-lovers.com
Subject: [Lumps!] Re: Lexus Lump

Interesting… I too was considering a Lexus V8 for my xjs - the
1UZFE - 4 litre quad cam.
A mate of mine imported a Toyota Soarer from Japan, and after driving that
I was pretty keen to have my car powered by that engine.
I did some crude measurements and I think that the intake setup was a
little bit too high to fit under the hood…
Not sure, but it would have been close. I was a bit scared by the whole
computer/wiring thing aswell - never done anything like that before.
Now I’ve got a 350 waiting for a supra 5-speed and an implant…
I could have got hold of the 1UZFE for about A$2500 from various importers
in Australia - pretty cheap really.

I have seen one conversion in the flesh (non jaguar) and was quite impressed
with the result. Silky smooth and refined. The 4.5l is the later one from
the Lexus landcruisers I think - or is that the 4.7… I cant remember now.
Anyways - I was offered a 4.5 for around $1700 including trans and
computers. The biggest hassle as I understand it is if you want to use the
Lexus auto. This is a fully electronic box and thus must have all the
original Lexus electronics to operate it. Most people discard this box for
something more common and then convert the engine to Motec / Autronic
managment (the original goes into limp mode when it realises that the Lexus
tranny isnt there).

There is a group in Sydney who are playing around with this engine quite a
bit. It is supposed to be one of the strongest V8’s around in stock trim and
thus is a good candidate for forced induction. I think Castlemaine Rod Shop
have some bellhousings out to mate it with other transmissions.

As you suggest, the biggest problem will be clearance. I havn’t completed
the mesurements as you have so it was interesting to hear that it could be a
problem. I guess I was basing it on the fact that the XK engine is fairly
tall. Still - with modified sump and engine mounts I think the problem could
probably be overcome.

My search at the moment is for a reasonable SIII that perhaps needs lumping.

Regards - Pat.

I have seen one conversion in the flesh (non jaguar) and was quite impressed
with the result. Silky smooth and refined. The 4.5l is the later one from
the Lexus landcruisers I think - or is that the 4.7…

It’s 4.7 which was put in the Toyota Land Cruisers/Lexus LX470.
Actually IIRC they had a 4.5 and THEN a 4.7, so you’ll want to check
the year on it. Now Lexus uses a 4.3L V8 for the LS/GS/SC 400 (now
LS/GS/SC430). The venerable I6 is 8 years old, yet still silky
smooth. My friend has one in his Toyota Supra Twin-Turbo… man does
that thing roar. Nicest sounding Jap engine I’ve ever heard.

I cant remember now.
Anyways - I was offered a 4.5 for around $1700 including trans and
computers. The biggest hassle as I understand it is if you want to use the
Lexus auto. This is a fully electronic box and thus must have all the
original Lexus electronics to operate it. Most people discard this box for
something more common and then convert the engine to Motec / Autronic
managment (the original goes into limp mode when it realises that the Lexus
tranny isnt there).

That IS an amazing price. Is it actually a 4.5 or a 4.7? As for the
tranny, I wouldn’t necessarily dismiss it, especially when faced with
the option of paying for a custom ECU. Those MoTeC units are high
quality but NOT cheap. If you can find a cheap custom ECU, tell me
where! What I would say would be pour over wiring diagrams and see
where you need to splice. Granted I know nothing on the subject of
Toyota electronics but with a little ingenuity it shouldn’t be too
bad.

There is a group in Sydney who are playing around with this engine quite a
bit. It is supposed to be one of the strongest V8’s around in stock trim and
thus is a good candidate for forced induction. I think Castlemaine Rod Shop
have some bellhousings out to mate it with other transmissions.

If you want to do forced induction of any significance then you’ll
need to lower the compression. My friend’s Supra TT has the stock
8.0:1 compression (all stock internals) and runs I think 22 psi of
boost. Over 90k miles, still runs great. On the stock compression
(which I believe is 10-11:1) you could only run a mild setup with
maybe 6 psi. However if you do run forced induction this would be a
good excuse to get a custom ECU (especially if you’ve got turbos so
the ECU can manage them), and as such you could attach something
else. I’m pretty sure that Toyota fitted manual trannies to a very
select number of SC400s. Regardless, you could have an adapter made
without too much trouble for say a GM unit.

My search at the moment is for a reasonable SIII that perhaps needs lumping.

Ahh, that is the fun part.

I doubt that you’d have much more of a problem with this swap than
any other unusual swap. I don’t know about the size of the Toyota V8,
but I’m pretty sure that it would fit. Plus they’re extremely strong
and reliable engines. The Toyota 4.0/4.5/4.7L V8 and 3.0L I6 are the
only two engines out of Japan that I REALLY like. The mounts would
have to be custom, as would just about everything else, but it IS
doable. However if you have reservations about how much time, effort,
and money you wish to put into this project you might want to
consider saving the engine for something else and do the good old
reliable (and tried & true) Chevy V8 in there.

Good luck, let us know what you decide.–
-Ted – Official Jag-Lovers Teenager
'82 XJS – 5.3L V12 '82 XJS – 0.0L V0 '98 Volvo S70
GLT – 2.5L I5 Turbo
http://dupuisent.mine.nu/cars/82xjs ← pics of my OLD car, not new one
New York City, NY AIM: FordCrusherGT

I have seen one conversion in the flesh (non jaguar) and was quite impressed
with the result. Silky smooth and refined. The 4.5l is the later one from
the Lexus landcruisers I think - or is that the 4.7… I cant remember now.
Anyways - I was offered a 4.5 for around $1700 including trans and
computers. The biggest hassle as I understand it is if you want to use the
Lexus auto. This is a fully electronic box and thus must have all the
original Lexus electronics to operate it. Most people discard this box for
something more common and then convert the engine to Motec / Autronic
managment (the original goes into limp mode when it realises that the Lexus
tranny isnt there).

There is a group in Sydney who are playing around with this engine quite a
bit. It is supposed to be one of the strongest V8’s around in stock trim and
thus is a good candidate for forced induction. I think Castlemaine Rod Shop
have some bellhousings out to mate it with other transmissions.

I was offered a 4 litre version a while back by a local guy who has a cobra
replica with one in it…
I didn’t see it but apparently it was turbocharged (or perhaps there was two).
I remember reading about some guys in Perth who have got one with twin
turbos - in a boat. They spend some BIG dollars on that if I recall
correctly.

My search at the moment is for a reasonable SIII that perhaps needs lumping.

I recently bought an excellent SIII ('83, resprayed last year) with a blown
head gasket…
The engine was already removed and partially dismantled - I ended up
rebuilding it - new pistons, valves, etc etc…
Anyway, it’s for sale if anyone is interested… I bought it with the
intent to fix it and sell it - to help fund my XJS project.

Dihon