Im getting tired of the twin cam engine and plan to run a buick 3.8L , I am wondering if anyone has done this swap and what are the hard parts of the swap to make easy.
Thanks.................KEV

That is a pretty heavy motor compared to Zuk....even the kick!! it is 180-200 hp stock....if you get like a 85 231...what are you going to do for a case?? I dont think the sammi case will hold up to the new HP and Torque!!

If you dont think the samurai T.case will hold up ,What case do you think would work better?
Stock samurai case are tuff shit , But yes i agree for the mods that I will be doing to the engine, it will produce some big numbers , there aint no hope for the stock case.

any case seems like a better match than a sammy case.

i'm going to a d300 in january and i'm only swapping in 1.6.

[ 10-16-2001: Message edited by: poppyseed ]

one thing for sure,you'll have the pleasure of working on it alot and driving it less---I think <IMG SRC="smilies/biggrin.gif" border="0">

Have to agree with Bobaki on this one. The 16v has all the power you need for wheeling, and keeps it light and dependable. If you want more power go to a store where the "fast and the furious" shop.

The whole reason I bought a sami was to get away from that yankee junk. When our club first started Bobaki was the one of the only ones with a Jap rig out of about twelve, now theres no yankee rigs left! We all got sick of watching him wheel the piss out of it with hardly any maintenance between rounds. One summer he did the entire con 5-6 weekends in a row with no maintenance!!! My Scout never did that!

I agree with the 16v!!! I did this conversion this summer....and what a world of difference!! After i did it, I was able to PASS people with no problems going UP to the CON!!! It has plenty of power for the zuk!

Originally posted by KEVZUKI:
<STRONG>Im getting tired of the twin cam engine and plan to run a buick 3.8L
Thanks.................KEV</STRONG>

Maybe you should just sell your Samurai and buy a CJ? <IMG SRC="smilies/biggrin.gif" border="0">

Originally posted by KEVZUKI:
<STRONG>Im getting tired of the twin cam engine and plan to run a buick 3.8L , I am wondering if anyone has done this swap and what are the hard parts of the swap to make easy.
Thanks.................KEV</STRONG>
I DID A 3.8 SWAP ABOUT 4 YEARS AGO AND IT RUINED THE TRUCK. made it way to nose heavy and it don't fit good at all. you'll have to get shorty headers cause the passenger side manifold won't work!!!!. if i was gonna swap another, i definitely do the ford 2.8 v-6 and c-4 tranny swap. it's cheap, it's easy, and you're t- case will handle it. and it's around 130 to 150 hp. they are great little motors. my .02 is don't do the 3.8 if you're gonna wheel it.

samazuki hit it on the head - I was thinking it would be nose heavy,you confirmed it-the only thing I need more power for is to get to the con not to get through-my 1.6 does much better and the 16v1.6 should make up for the toy axels,toy dual tcases,and 35mtr's <IMG SRC="smilies/biggrin.gif" border="0">
I've put 50k miles on the thing,as a daily driver. <IMG SRC="smilies/biggrin.gif" border="0"> <IMG SRC="smilies/bounce2.gif" border="0">

and a 2.0 tracker 'll be tit's <IMG SRC="smilies/biggrin.gif" border="0">

Originally posted by bobaki:
<STRONG>samazuki hit it on the head - I was thinking it would be nose heavy,you confirmed it-the only thing I need more power for is to get to the con not to get through-my 1.6 does much better and the 16v1.6 should make up for the toy axels,toy dual tcases,and 35mtr's <IMG SRC="smilies/biggrin.gif" border="0">
I've put 50k miles on the thing,as a daily driver. <IMG SRC="smilies/biggrin.gif" border="0"> <IMG SRC="smilies/bounce2.gif" border="0"></STRONG>


Look at this bobaki changes status to wheeler and now he can write full sentences!
<IMG SRC="smilies/bounce.gif" border="0"> <IMG SRC="smilies/bounce2.gif" border="0">

[ 10-16-2001: Message edited by: RudeZuk ]

Originally posted by scwafish:
<STRONG>One summer he did the entire con 5-6 weekends in a row with no maintenance!!! My Scout never did that!</STRONG>
<font color="yellow">I hear that! I wheel in Memphis pretty much every weekend with a group of guys who all run Jeep CJs. (There's one guy running a sammy, but he's been swapping in 37" Boggers and Dana 44s all summer, so he don't count).

One of the jeeps constantly overheats, a good friend of mine blows her seals every time it gets on the interstae and the diffs heat up, and the fourth... Well, his runs fine - but he's got $40K in it, had it since it was new in 77, and the only oringial part on it is the steering wheel (Really!), so he's in a whole new league from the rest of us.

Only problem my Toy has had all year was a locking hub not engaging. Pulled it, wiped it clean right there on the trail, and threw it back on... and I was good to go.</font>

I am running a 3.8 (231) olds engine right now in my zuk. There is no doubt that it is a heavy motor, But there is tons of power to drag the extra weight.I ran a stock motor for a season and then put in a 12a rotary. The rotary was a good little motor for the power to weight ratio, but It didn't last to long out in the mud. I am running a TH350 trans and a stock zuk transfer case. I haven't had any trouble with the transfer case at all other than mounts. If your looking for a cheap engine with good power I think it is a good swap. I found a 3.8 turbo charged motor and I am thinking of puting it in next. Good luck.

<IMG SRC="smilies/biggrin.gif" border="0"> how nice of you to notice Shanesan <IMG SRC="smilies/biggrin.gif" border="0">

Thank you very much zuk99 thats what i wanted to hear , A personal experiance.To all you other guys I respect your opinions but I aint a rock crawler , Im a Mud bogger.
I have the twin cam and when i get goin hard in a bogg the bottom end just isnt there.For you guys runnin rocks a small engine is great , But i need a strong bottom end motor.
Samazuki , What kind of headers did you use?
Anyone else with opinnions on trannys T.cases ect.?
Thanks......................KEV

interesting <IMG SRC="smilies/biggrin.gif" border="0">

Originally posted by KEVZUKI:
<STRONG>Thank you very much zuk99 thats what i wanted to hear , A personal experiance.To all you other guys I respect your opinions but I aint a rock crawler , Im a Mud bogger.
I have the twin cam and when i get goin hard in a bogg the bottom end just isnt there.For you guys runnin rocks a small engine is great , But i need a strong bottom end motor.
Samazuki , What kind of headers did you use?
Anyone else with opinnions on trannys T.cases ect.?
Thanks......................KEV</STRONG>

Hey man... I had the twin cam and I used a tracker bottom end and that gave me all the tourque I needed... I think it's a good setup.. as for you saying the sammy cases are strong... I have to strongly disagree. With my twincam in the mud I went through three transfercases in two years... they can't take the abuse.. just my personal experience though... 3.8 sounds like a lot of work.

Mine has a 3.8L buick, the TH350 auto tranny, and an Advance Adapters (expensive) piece to mate to a 'Yota transfercase. I'm also running 'Yota axles. What I like about this set-up is I can go with a Marlin reduction kit in the transfercase later on if I need more crawl. Or if decide to go all out and stretch the truck I'll have the option of running dual cases.

BTW Anyone know if there are any fuel-injection kits for the 3.8, or which if any stock EFI unit will work with this motor?

Originally posted by KEVZUKI:
<STRONG>Thank you very much zuk99 thats what i wanted to hear , A personal experiance.To all you other guys I respect your opinions but I aint a rock crawler , Im a Mud bogger.
I have the twin cam and when i get goin hard in a bogg the bottom end just isnt there.For you guys runnin rocks a small engine is great , But i need a strong bottom end motor.
Samazuki , What kind of headers did you use?
Anyone else with opinnions on trannys T.cases ect.?
Thanks......................KEV</STRONG>

o.k if you're determined to do it. i actually used a chevy 229 v-6. it's very similiar in size & weight but with 1 distinct advantage. it's the same on the back of the motor as a chevy small block. so u can use anything from behind a small block for tranny t-case. i'd use a granny 4 speed (sm420,sm465) with a marrried 205 case and you'll be bulletproof & short to that point in the drivtrain. as for headers, i used blockhugger shorty headers from summit. they had em fer the chevy 229 and buick 231. the 229 was found primarily in 1980 e caminos an caprice's. post pics whatever u do.

Hahaha , Dont think im bein a dick or somthin. Im comin into some $$$$$ and i like to try different things.I like 85Lwbzuk idea on the TH350 and toy T.C.
Thanks.............KEV

Originally posted by 85LWBZuk:
<STRONG>Mine has a 3.8L buick, the TH350 auto tranny, and an Advance Adapters (expensive) piece to mate to a 'Yota transfercase. I'm also running 'Yota axles. What I like about this set-up is I can go with a Marlin reduction kit in the transfercase later on if I need more crawl. Or if decide to go all out and stretch the truck I'll have the option of running dual cases.

BTW Anyone know if there are any fuel-injection kits for the 3.8, or which if any stock EFI unit will work with this motor?</STRONG>

what he said <IMG SRC="smilies/biggrin.gif" border="0"> that sounds sweet!

Ray you have a single tcase?
if so what's the lenght of your rear d-shaft also assuming this is a short w/base also did you sell the 85lwb?

<IMG SRC="smilies/biggrin.gif" border="0"> <IMG SRC="smilies/biggrin.gif" border="0">

<font color="yellow">
Here's a link (http://www.off-road.com/toyota/buick_v6_swap.html) to an article on putting a buick 6 into a Toyota. Might help a little, or maybe not. Good info on the engine in any case.

However, as far as I know, he never finished the swap. Don't know why though.</font>

heres what i know,,,,a few years ago when mud racing was real big around here,there was a zuk with 35 boggs and had a buick 231. it had a supercharger. it set the track record that has never been broken. that lil 6 banger would run 200ft of mud in like 2 seconds. not even the big chevys with 600+ cubic inches and nitro couldnt hang with that lil zuki. i say go for it man. the guy had like 5 grand in the whole rig,and would out run guys with $20,000 engines

I have only one suggestion for you, keep the offset diffs, use quadratrach dana44's and run a dana18? I love the offset especially in heavy mud where centered rear diffs like to get hung up, even if its too deep at least you only have to dig one rut for the pot to go thru.
the 3.8 buick is only 400lbs, not that much more really, move the battery to the back to help out that nose heavy feeling. I would avoid the larger trannys because of weight, an sm465 is a real heavy piece of gear. maybe a car 4-speed and some deep t-case gears later? or if an auto maybe a th-200 instead? they are strong enough for the little v-6.
good luck.

Bobaki, sorry to take so long to reply. Yes it is a single transfercase. The rear driveshaft measures approx. 21" from face to face (you know, everything has a face end and an a#s end). It's a CV style shaft.
I didn't want to comment on the LWB for fear of jinxing the deal but it is in fact sold to very nice fellow from Tulsa, Oklahoma. He runs with a bunch of hardcore Jeepers and tells me they're not impressed. Trust me, they'll be blown away when he starts outclimbing them.

they usually go from unimpressed to belligerent <IMG SRC="smilies/biggrin.gif" border="0"> <IMG SRC="smilies/bounce2.gif" border="0">

I think it will work fine! I have a 4.3 V-6 in my Sammy that I ran around with stock axles and stock T-case my only problem was the small ass U-Joints, and I wanted bigger tires than 33's. So right now I'm installing a Turbo 300 with the adapter for the toy T-case and I'm also running Land Cruiser axles.
With 35 15.50 TSL/SX's.
Scott