Hi there,

im facing that age old samurai dilemma, not enough power.....

I have an original efi 1.3 that looks ok, but just doesnt cut it on any of the hills around my house.....and im talking pavement, i have to downshift to first gear to cross a viaduct with one passenger.

So im wondering, is it cheaper in the long run to upgrade my 90k mile beater with some headers etc.......

Or should i look for a low mileage 1.6 8v or 16v?

Price and reliability are my main concerns.

I would appreciate any advice

A cheap install would be to get a 1.6 8 valve and bolt your 1.3 head and injection on it.

Better would be 16 valve but then you need to do a harness ect.

Mike

Part of my problem is im not a mechanic, so i would be paying my local shop to do any work.  IM hoping to stay under 2k for the whole thing.  How much actual work is involved in the engine swap in hours?

I've read that the wiring harness can be sent out and comes back in a much simplified version, maybe to trail tough....i forget the name of the outift that does it.

Its too bad my truck has the vortec 8 instead of the 6 or i could just wreck it and have a great donor for a v-6....:-)

 I was considering putting 1.6 head8v on my 1.3 but I'm concerned about lowering the compression too much. Should I have the head shaved down? Can I use a performance cam for a 1.3? Where do I get a distributer adapter? I just bought a toyota carb an it runs great. I'd like to stay carbed.

Have you done any regearing? I don't see it in the signature but with those big tires that would be the easiest.

I got a 1.6/8v for $100 after buying a tracker pulling the motor and EFI then sold the rest!! But I still need to re gear.

 I'd love to regear the t-case but don't have 400-600$ was thinking about using the track-kick 3rd members but my local yard only has one tracker. Its a 1.6 8v an I can probably get the head for $50 bucks. If I took the third member out of the front I'd still need to find one for the rear. Right?

If you want more power don't waste your time trying to build up the 1.3. You will spend more on it than a motor swap and you won't be satisfied. Installing the 5.13 3rd members (both are fronts) will be an improvement and are cheaper than the 6:5:1 transfercase gears but overall the TC gears are the best bang for the $$$.

Some of this is dependant on your tire size and what you expect to do with it. (daily driver, crawler, occasional off roader)

T case gears are the best way if your motor is sound. You can get a complete kit for under $500 shipped and the case only weighs 25 lbs.

You can get front/rear gears for about $4-500, but then you have to set them up. That is an art in itself and requires some special tools.

Even with a 1.6, gears are a must. Just doing the head will cost as much as gears by the time you are done.

Smaller tires, gearing or a motor???

As an owner of many Samurais for over 20 years, I can tell you that you need some gearing.  Get a 4:1 t-case at a minimum.  It will do wonders for pushing those larger tires.  The 1600 will not really help until the gearing is correct for the tire size.  If you can save up a liittle more, get the TG 6.5 gears and a case cradle.

Here is some of the best reading you can do to help you understand gearing.

 http://trailtough.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=60:gears&catid=36:techinfo&Itemid=60


                                                                                   Tux...

just a thought but you might be able to get a 1.6L 8V running motor pretty cheap at a junk yard, sell the 1.3 and use the money to rebuild the 1.6 8v and then just drop the motor in. In this swap you can keep your intake and exhaust the same which will cut down the cost of a big swap and just buy the adapter plate for the trans, the new motor mounts, and maybe an external fuell pump and your set.

Here is some of the best reading you can do to help you understand gearing.

 http://trailtough.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=60:gears&catid=36:techinfo&Itemid=60


                                                                                   Tux...

I think that piece by Trail Tough is a little overstated.  

If you stay with 32" tires and below, just reducing the gearing at the t-case will be fine.  I've got several Samurais that only have the t-case reduction gears and I've run them for 10+ years without any real problems with the stock driveshafts or t-case mounts.  I even use the stock rubber transfer mounts.  The key is to beef up the t-case arms for 4:1/5:1 cases and running a cradle for the 6:1 cases.  Works just fine.

Like most businesses TT has to set the bar high so that they don't receive flack or worse for advice given. I tend to agree with you Jonny. My intent for the post was more of an informative nature.

Either way depending on how the Samurai is to be driven the 1.6 is a better option.

6:5:1 TC gears & a Zor cradle would round out the package nicely.

Along with all of the other necessities this would still be within the posters budget and I'm pretty sure alot of this could be done by him as well.... JMO

                                                                                  Tux...

 I've got 31x10.5x15s Bfgs an do 90% of my driving on the road with stock gears and 2" exhaust I get about 30mpg would I lose some of that if the engines revving higher. Plus I don't know what you guys do for work but $500 bucks is a lot of money to put in a 20 something year old truck with 120000 miles on it.