1JZ Engine Swap into '89 Supra

cre · 10-20-2009, 07:49 AM

The least expensive swap you'll find for the MKIII will be the 7M-GTE. The 1JZ requires a LOT of work (trying to scare you here... is it working? j/k, read on)... some people would argue that the 2JZ requires less effort (I think it might be about the same). If you're not doing the swap yourself, I HIGHLY recommend avoiding the 1JZ swap. I've heard a lot of horror stories about hiring performance shops to do that swap for a number of reasons including lack of documentation, the need for a modified wiring harness, a number of different and hard to source (if you don't know where to look) parts and so on... most will charge you out the nose just because it's unfamiliar territory.

Now I do know there are some shops out there who know damned well what all is involved and have actually done such swaps before; But unless you're dealing with one of those shops, stick with something that was available stock in the US.

1JZ's are GREAT engines though and if you're doing the swap yourself and have the place and time and extra recources to cope with any hangups (see: MONEY) then absolutely go for it! In this case I very strongly recommend you wait until you can find a full front clip though... it'll have the harness, subframe (if you need to swap it so the motor mounts are compatible), a beefier transmission (the N/A's auto and manual transmission are not as robust) and ECU. There are a lot of people who have done this swap with great results and they're usually more than happy to help out... but only if you ask.

10-20-2009, 07:49 AM	#3
cre Toyota Racing Development Join Date: Apr 2007 Posts: 5,038	The least expensive swap you'll find for the MKIII will be the 7M-GTE. The 1JZ requires a LOT of work (trying to scare you here... is it working? j/k, read on)... some people would argue that the 2JZ requires less effort (I think it might be about the same). If you're not doing the swap yourself, I HIGHLY recommend avoiding the 1JZ swap. I've heard a lot of horror stories about hiring performance shops to do that swap for a number of reasons including lack of documentation, the need for a modified wiring harness, a number of different and hard to source (if you don't know where to look) parts and so on... most will charge you out the nose just because it's unfamiliar territory. Now I do know there are some shops out there who know damned well what all is involved and have actually done such swaps before; But unless you're dealing with one of those shops, stick with something that was available stock in the US. 1JZ's are GREAT engines though and if you're doing the swap yourself and have the place and time and extra recources to cope with any hangups (see: MONEY) then absolutely go for it! In this case I very strongly recommend you wait until you can find a full front clip though... it'll have the harness, subframe (if you need to swap it so the motor mounts are compatible), a beefier transmission (the N/A's auto and manual transmission are not as robust) and ECU. There are a lot of people who have done this swap with great results and they're usually more than happy to help out... but only if you ask.