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Long story short: wanted something reliable to drive while I overhaul my 13B-REW FB. There is an abandoned thread of someone else who may have done (or started) this swap but I figured my journey was worth posting!
It all started with an '85 GS in rough shape sporting a seized 12A. It was left for many years in a storage facility, who sold the car to me to cover the unpaid bills.
Got the car home and engine unstuck but it didn't run well. I think the side seals are stuck in the rotors.
Did the bodywork and paint but couldn't bring myself to spend the money to rebuild and refresh all the 12A stuff. Needed some parts for my Lexus IS300, and came across a wrecked Altezza widebody. Figured "why not?".
I sold the widebody kit and some misc parts. The driveline and parts for my IS cost me less than $500 in the end.
A month or two of odd days in the garage led to it firing up last week. Its running the stock Altezza ECU and managed to do so without any codes. Complete integration with the FB dash (used 12A coolant and pressure sensors). Tach worked without issue and just needed a toyota speedo cable w/ SQ adapter. Was a bit of a challenge to sort it all out but the fit is awesome and the shifter lines up perfectly. I modified the front subframe (engine clears steering linkage no problem), and built new body mounts for the J160 trans crossmember. Modified the header to clear the steering and had to get a little creative with the exhaust crossing over from the driver side. Custom driveshaft but nothing else spectacularly difficult. I would say it was done with medium effort, close to the 13B-REW swap with a bit more wiring.
Some fun bits include: custom engine mounts (90D polyurethane), an MR2 speedo cable that loops around the engine bay and a Scirocco radiator mounted upside down.
Just waiting on the driveshaft to take it for a rip, car needs the trim painted and reinstalled to be complete. Updates and driving impressions to come!
Pretty clean swap. Looks almost at home. Any work done on the engine? Looks like the N/A power is in the same ballpark as a 13b, out of the box. Maybe a little more, stock for stock.
Thanks! I did the timing belt, water pump, etc. but the engine is stock. Exhaust is less restrictive than the Altezza but I doubt that will make much difference. Roughly 210hp/160tq through the 6 speed trans should be enjoyable. Not a monster by any means, just hoping for long term reliability and fuel economy.
I have an S366-SXE (9180) and Turblown cast manifold waiting for my other FB. That one will be the trouble-maker!
that's really nice. i like the idea of the 3SGE ... lovely engines. i can't wait to see it up and running. are you closer than you indicated in your last update?
Thanks! The car was fully finished up in mid September but I forgot to post an update.
It passed our local safety inspection without any headaches and afterwards I had it qualified for collector vehicle status (cheap insurance and cool old-school license plates). I put some miles on it before the snow fell, it is a pretty smooth setup and handles great! It still has a fairly soft suspension but uses RB swaybars and Falken Azenis RT615K tires. For a cheap and simple setup it is surprising, it will toss you around good if you're not strapped in tight, haha.. I'd love to get it on a scale, It feels light so I don't suspect I have added any weight with the new engine + trans.
No issues with the engine/electronics so far but I do have a couple complaints: The biggest annoyance is that it sounds super raspy, but I'm sure a resonator will take care of that. The engine sounded much better in the donor car.
It does feel a bit underpowered but I have high expectations as my other FB is 13B-REW powered and makes around 300 at the wheels.
All in all, I am very pleased with the result. I just hope it is as reliable as I intended.
Here's a recent picture of the car, and the mounting points. It uses a factory front subframe that has been chopped up a bit for clearance and SC300 engine mounts. The trans sits on the stock Altezza crossmember, I just whipped up some new body mounts. The engine is fairly tall so the hood bracing was trimmed and engine was lifted until it just clears the skin.
The mounts landed almost exactly where the factory mounts do (on the crossmember)! I cut off the stock mounting plates and made new ones with 1/8" steel. You can kinda see it in the picture, sorry I dont have a closeup.
The mounts landed almost exactly where the factory mounts do (on the crossmember)! I cut off the stock mounting plates and made new ones with 1/8" steel. You can kinda see it in the picture, sorry I dont have a closeup.
ah , I think I see it now. It’s in front of the steering links. Can barely see it.
Long story short: wanted something reliable to drive while I overhaul my 13B-REW FB. There is an abandoned thread of someone else who may have done (or started) this swap but I figured my journey was worth posting!
It all started with an '85 GS in rough shape sporting a seized 12A. It was left for many years in a storage facility, who sold the car to me to cover the unpaid bills.
Got the car home and engine unstuck but it didn't run well. I think the side seals are stuck in the rotors.
Did the bodywork and paint but couldn't bring myself to spend the money to rebuild and refresh all the 12A stuff. Needed some parts for my Lexus IS300, and came across a wrecked Altezza widebody. Figured "why not?".
I sold the widebody kit and some misc parts. The driveline and parts for my IS cost me less than $500 in the end.
A month or two of odd days in the garage led to it firing up last week. Its running the stock Altezza ECU and managed to do so without any codes. Complete integration with the FB dash (used 12A coolant and pressure sensors). Tach worked without issue and just needed a toyota speedo cable w/ SQ adapter. Was a bit of a challenge to sort it all out but the fit is awesome and the shifter lines up perfectly. I modified the front subframe (engine clears steering linkage no problem), and built new body mounts for the J160 trans crossmember. Modified the header to clear the steering and had to get a little creative with the exhaust crossing over from the driver side. Custom driveshaft but nothing else spectacularly difficult. I would say it was done with medium effort, close to the 13B-REW swap with a bit more wiring.
Some fun bits include: custom engine mounts (90D polyurethane), an MR2 speedo cable that loops around the engine bay and a Scirocco radiator mounted upside down.
Just waiting on the driveshaft to take it for a rip, car needs the trim painted and reinstalled to be complete. Updates and driving impressions to come!
The car went to a new owner this spring, and I sent the original documentation went along with it. Unfortunately, I didn't keep a copy as I don't plan on doing this again!
The electrical was not difficult, especially once I found the Altezza diagrams. The self contained ECU package under the hood really helps, I felt like this went smoother than my 13B-REW / PowerFC swap!
