Chevy V8's in Toyota 4x4's
 

I wonder how people can take out the original 20R/22R engines out of their Toyota 4x4's and put in the 305's, 327's and 350 V8's in them, I think it's cool that they do that, I know that the 20R/22R's are tough engines without alot of horsepower but would the Chevy engines be as reliable?

Those old Chev small blocks run and run and run........... I pulled apart an old 283 I had; with my fingers one piston had about 3/32" of slop. That motor was a running motor leaving no continuous trail of blue but a tad when ya punched it and held it, and never left me stranded. They also don't have the head problem that plagued toyota 4 bangers.

Those little 4 poppers may be good, but nuthin compared to a v8. I think the Checy combos are just so plentiful that those are swapped in, and plus I'm sure there are lots of aftermarket kits to throw a GM setup in there. Same deal with street rods and the 350/350 or 350/400 combo. Just so plentiful and cheap.

In the Seattle-Tacoma area, I noticed that alot of those older Toyota 4x4's they have for sale would have the 305's, 327's and 350's in those trucks, I wonder if there's a way to convert a 350 but still keep the manual transmission, plenty of those Toyota's with Chevy V8's have automatics.

I dont know which motor my yota has, but if I did do a V8 swap Id do a good swap...a 302 ;)

I have never heard of putting a V-8 in a Toyota pickup, probably too heavy, but the old Landcruiser SUV is a different story. Most of the surviving ones have Chevy small block conversions because the original Toyota I-6 was so underpowered and not worth the cost of rebuilding.

Jim

Check out http://www.advanceadapters.com oh how I wish they would sponsor FTE.... :(

I agree, only 120-125bhp horses from its big 6 cylinder engine and the vehicle weighs like 4000-4500 pounds, I think that V8's go better with the LandCruisers than the old 6 cylinders, did the old LandCruisers come with factory power steering/brakes and automatic transmission.

One time I saw a '93 Toyota 4x4 Pickup with a 305 V8 and a 350 Turbo Transmission at a car lot, I don't remember how much they wanted for it but it was a nice truck.

I worked with a guy back in the early '80s who had a Chevy-powered Toyota 4X4 pickup, there were quite a few of them running around town at the time, as well as some V8-powered Landcrushers. A friend bought a Landcrusher that someone had swapped in the big GMC V6, I think they were 305 CID. The engine is so big, it looks like a V8 till you start counting spark plugs. Weighs a bunch. I would go for the 302 like Mustangfreak says. Much lighter than a Chevy, no dist-to-firewall interference problems, and, it's a FORD! -TD

If you get the 302 for your Toyota pickup, can you still keep your manual transmission or do you have to change it into an automatic?

I don't know if the Toyota trans is strong enough to handle the torque of the V8, or if there is even an adapter for it to mate to the Ford engine. Matt gave a link to Advance Adapters a few posts back, but I haven't looked at it yet. You might have to use a Ford transmission, but the choice of manual or auto is up to you, and your finances.

Yes, Advance Adapters makes mounts and bellhousings to fit a Ford or cheesy engine into toyotas.

I remember seeing a 1979 Toyota 4x4 Pickup with a 454 engine bored over to a 468 ci V8, that truck was huge!

hooker headers made a kit to put the s/b chevy in, its a easy swap and works great, people have been chevyizing the crusheres since the mid 70's the old i6 in the crusher had a lot of parts very close to the old 235 blue flame chevy i6 to start with, but was very weak in the piston ring area and would smoke early on.
the swap makes a very reliable combo, just have to be easy on the trans for personal safety , i've never done a ford into toy yet would not mind seeing one done and run