1UZ vs. LSx

If I'm only shooting for 250-ish horsepower and care more about external dimensions, weight and cost, am I better off going with the Lexus, a Mega-squirt and a custom bellhousing adapter?

A 1UZ is smaller externally than an LSx? I find that hard to believe.

Yeah, Dimensionally the LSx is smaller. If you want only 250 hp, I'd look for a 4.8L LSx. They are 280-300 hp out of the box.

If you want a lot of 1UZ info to dig thru then try lextreme.com
There are plenty of people using the 1UZ or it variants to make that kind of power without anything special being done to the engines.

Deleted post duplicated info above or was incorrect...

It looks like they're actually pretty close, dimensionally. The 1UZ is a little shorter and a little wider.

Just got to thinking about this because I have a friend who is looking to do an NA Miata swap and I've seen 1UZs really cheap.

Looks like they are actually pretty close to each other. The 1UZ is wider by about an inch and a half, but that extra is higher up. Since most engine bays widen as you go up, that should not present a problem.

Unfortunately, that 1UZ does not have an intake, that makes it tough to see just how tall it will really be.

EDIT: There's at least 1 running 1UZ powered Miata running around, Wreck Racing brought it to the Challenge a while back. http://wreckracing.gatech.edu/

I want to say there is a kit available from somewhere in Oz.

With an intake on, still looks really close on dimensions to the LSxseses. For your hp needs I think this comes down to a budget issue - what can you find that's the most complete for the least amount. I've heard that the accessories can drive up the cost of a cheap LS - then again, it's not impossible to fab up some brackets and make it work -- time vs $$$.

I would put a Ford 302 in the mix as well.

MrJoshua wrote: I would put a Ford 302 in the mix as well.

Ding ding ding, winner! It's the smallest dimensionally (with a carb anyway), the cheapest (with trans, accessories, etc), and you only need 280HP.

Weight wise I have heard that the Ford motors are iron but thin wall and similar in weight?

Assuming 302 means the old 5.0 motor?

of course the truck based 5.3? LS is fairly good on price also

Weight is a whole other can o worms - with no consistent data and a metric ass-ton of variables like with accessories vs bare vs with transmission, iron block vs alloy...

I suspect an LSx/t56 will outweigh a 1uzfe/w58 or a 5.0/T-5 by 60-90 lbs. LSx will give you 50hp over your goal with no mods, 1uzfe will hit it and the 5.0 will need a tweak or two (e/f cam or better heads will do it).

Cheapest is 5.0 t5, next is probably 4.8/5.3 iron LSx with t5, and the uzfe/swap trans and LSx/t56 will be about even in cost.

If you go with the later 1uz, the intake is lower. It doesn't have that box thing that sticks up.

I see 1uz's in the local pick-n-pull ($150 engines) junk yard from time to time in good shape, but the only lsx I've ever seen there had parts missing and 275,000 hard truck miles on it. But the adapter kit to use a manual transmission with the 1uz will cost you $1000 or so. Unless you make your own plate and source the hydraulics and such yourself. You can save a few hundred bucks that way.

This topic interests me. I have always had a bit of a love affair with the 1uz and it cheap goodness. The lack of manual sucks but I bought a w58 for 75 bucks and there is a swap kit with flywheel (these are the worst part of the manual swap BTW) for 750. That puts me at not much more than a junkyard (around here anyway) T5 and less than half of a T56....

I was able to get a bellhousing and flywheel for My 1UZ from australia for about $200. That was alomst 10 years ago (from castlemain rod shop) and it mates a 1UZ to the fairly easy to find GM style Muncie manuals... The flywheel was very heavy but took a standard Chevy clutch assembly. I went another route and made a button flywheel to take a triple plate Tilton (behind the original 1UZ flexplate) along with direct acting hydralics in the bellhousing.

stafford1500 wrote: I was able to get a bellhousing and flywheel for My 1UZ from australia for about $200. That was alomst 10 years ago (from castlemain rod shop) and it mates a 1UZ to the fairly easy to find GM style Muncie manuals... The flywheel was very heavy but took a standard Chevy clutch assembly. I went another route and made a button flywheel to take a triple plate Tilton (behind the original 1UZ flexplate) along with direct acting hydralics in the bellhousing.

Those prices sure have gone up!!

http://www.rodshop.com.au/trans_conversions/bh/bh-106a.htm

$515 (AUS$ not US$) for the bellhousing, $750 for the flywheel, etc. The bare bones kit is $1564! (Again, AUS$)

@singleslammer: I would be really interested in the source for the $750 swap kit.. any idea where that was? Thanks!

In reply to dculberson:

I don't know whether it's the one singleslammer was referring to, but at exactly $750 (for the Wxx transmission, $1000 for the Rxx trans, not that I have any idea what that means) it'd be quite a coincidence.

http://www.1uzfeswapkit.com/Complete-kits_c7.htm

Maybe the Toyota R154 and related transmissions?

Yeah, I've thought about this.

http://www.ebay.com/itm/1uz-1uzfe-toyota-Bellhousing-w58-gearbox-FREE-SHIP-/280931244969?pt=Motors_Car_Truck_Parts_Accessories&hash=item4168ce9ba9&vxp=mtr

It is the w58 (small Toyota supra tyranny from NA mk3) and r154 (Turbo mk3 supra). I bought a w58 for 75 dollars. There is an r154 on the bay for 500 shipped. The R had a variant in the trucks too. It is an aisin unit that is super tough. Other variants used in Jeeps, ax15, and GM products, solstice and Colorado.

http://www.xatracing.com/lexus1uz.html

Another 1uz option. A little cheaper but I have read nothing about this one. The option above is the one I was initially referring to.

In reply to Curmudgeon:

That is a new one to me.

For $485 that's not a bad deal. There's a guy here in the Great Satan doing a billet steel flywheel which I think I'd trust more than a Thai version if I missed a shift at 5k.

http://www.lextreme.com/forums/showthread.php?t=13940

EDIT: He's not showing the billet steel piece any more, only a billet aluminum and a modified 3G steel one.

EDIT TO THE EDIT: If you go to 'kits', he offers the billet steel FW as a $325 option.