African Muscle Cars - Forum

AMC brothers and sisters

I would like to think of myself as a purist. I am not a supporter of a Chevy engine in a Ford or visa versa, ....etc.

I do have a bit of a dilemma in deciding what to do next though....

I recently fitted my 1984 Nissan Safari pick-up with a Nissan 280ZX EFI motor with GOTECH fuel management and a 5 speed gearbox. I have had more problems with the rather simple conversion than ever expected.... too many to name each one.
I am at whit's end with my Safari.

My wife came up with the idea I should get rid of the 280 engine and gearbox and get the Lexus V8 with its auto box as a replacement.
In her own words "ek wil so bietjie die teer oprol met hom".
This of course goes against my purist heart.......

Could I please have your opinion/s of what your thoughts are.
A few questions I have:

Does any of you have any experience with the Lexus V8's conversions?
Which one of the engines should I go for, the 1 UZ-FE-VVT-i with 5 speed auto box or 3UZ-FE-VVT-i with 6 speed auto box. (I am worried to overpower my standard Safari drivetrain)
Will the ratios of the Lexus gearbox suit my Safari diffs for good drivability?
Will I have good 4x4 capability?

A lot of questions....

AJ

Hey boet, I would realy go the lexus route if I have to.

Contact the following guys for a complete motor plus the G/Box and the original ECU plus the busman fuse box system. Leaves you with 6 wires to connect, they also do manual.

http://www.lexusv8solid.co.za/ last I checked was R17500.00 as mentioned above.

I convinced my Brother in law to fit a Lexus 1UZ V8 in his Toyota D/C 4x2, it had the KZTE Diesel and after having 2 cylinder heads fitted over the years he let the car stand for a couple of years. Anyway the complete conversion was done in November with autobox and Spitronics management and I must say after driving it it goes like a dream, runs very well and still has the diesel axle ratio which seems to suit the rations on the auto box. It is a bit loud but that will be changed soon. I would go the Lexus for sure

Thanks gents, I had a look and the gearbox ratios of the 4 speed Safari and the 5 and 6 speed auto Lexus. they are very similar. I do not foresee problems there.

Nissan Safari 4 speed box: Lexus Auto Box
1st 3.519:1 3.357:1
2nd 2.157:1 2.180:1
3rd 1.449:1 1.424:1
4th 1:1 1:1
5th ---- 0.753:1
6th ------ 0.667:1
Reverse 4.18:1 3.431:1

It seems I will have a slightly lower and stronger 1st gear and faster but weaker reverse.
The luxury of a sixth gear for cruising will be a great benefit on the way down to Kosi Bay.

How will I keep in 1st gear or second when doing 4x4 climbing or crawling, any ideas?

AJ

Chevy-SS-Stroker wrote:Thanks gents, I had a look and the gearbox ratios of the 4 speed Safari and the 5 and 6 speed auto Lexus. they are very similar. I do not foresee problems there.

Nissan Safari 4 speed box: Lexus Auto Box
1st 3.519:1 3.357:1
2nd 2.157:1 2.180:1
3rd 1.449:1 1.424:1
4th 1:1 1:1
5th ---- 0.753:1
6th ------ 0.667:1
Reverse 4.18:1 3.431:1

It seems I will have a slightly lower and stronger 1st gear and faster but weaker reverse.
The luxury of a sixth gear for cruising will be a great benefit on the way down to Kosi Bay.

How will I keep in 1st gear or second when doing 4x4 climbing or crawling, any ideas?

AJ

Good choice of engine & box, AJ

That's a longer 1st gear on the Lexus gearbox, by the way...

What do you use the Safari primarily for, I assume you went with the EFI to better the fuel consumption?

If you want to save your "purist heart", you can always opt for a Nissan VH45DE / VH41DE V8 from the Nissan / Infiniti Q45.

Either Nissan / Lexus, I don't think it will break the Safari axles.

But do your calculations carefully, after all is said and done, the conversion can be quite costly.

When determining if your Safari's final drive ratio would work well with the conversion, remember the size tyres you run also makes a huge difference.

Speak to Derek at V8 Solid as mentioned above. I'm using one of their pre-wired (with stock ECU) VVTi units in a new build - will post as we make progress

Thanks Garage, the V8 Solid guys come highly recommended by many others as well.

I will check them out.

AJ

Ja... I'm on the fence here.... A Toyota engine in a Nissan.... most of the Lexus units are cut outs or from Japan, as emissions controls are strict on catalic converter replacements, surely there must be a Simelar Nissan unit available?

Spitronics make there own shifter and you can hold it in gears for off roading,

No Similar Nissan V8 units in SA as the V8 was never sold here, only earlier imported Infinities in the 90's, very few though and recently when Infinity was brought in again by Nissan you have V8's but cost of the new ones you could rather buyt a brand new 7.0lt EFI LS V8 cheaper brand new.

In my opinion if you don't want to fit a GM or Ford V8 the Lexus is the way to go as for under R10k you get a motor and gear box and just over 250hp or more if you go for the later version.

It makes for a very nice driveable vehicle and is reliable. It is just a pity the GM LS V8's are not as easy to get for cheap prices as that would be an awesome option for any vehicle