So, in my mind my Challenge TE27 Corolla will be simply unbelievable with a 1uzfe installed. There are a number of these kinds of swaps on the ole interwebz. For a fellow (maybe me) who isn't comfortable with modern electrical systems how hard will it be to get the Lexus engine running in a 70s vehicle. The donor car I'm currently eyeing is a 1997 LS400. Is the ECU and engine harness simple enough, or will the ECU be interconnected to a bazillion other things in the car.
The secondary question would be does it make sense to Megasquirt it instead, keeping mind I have to do this on a Challenge budget?
Megasquirt plus the related electronics you'd need (EDIS ignition, etc.) will cost $200-$300. So, it's a little tough, though certainly not impossible, to fit that in a Challenge budget.
I'm not that familiar with the LS400 wiring, but being that it's OBDII, it will probably want to see wheel speed or transmission speed, a working evap system, O2 sensors, etc. No telling how much of that stuff can be scrapped before it goes into limp mode.
If you do go Megasquirt, I think there are some really solid gains to be had through better tuning of ignition and fuel maps vs OEM. Especially if you have mild upgrades like intake and headers/exhaust. That said, Megasquirt will take a pretty good chunk of time to implement.
If it were me, and I just wanted the easiest possible engine management, I'd probably just try to find an earlier LS400/SC400 and use the OEM ECU and wiring harness. That said, I could be way off base and maybe the later OBDII ones aren't that hard to fool into working or just don't care much about most of those peripheral systems (ie: their absence won't trigger limp mode).
Try the uz-swap forums. They put them in RN Trucks and I'm pretty sure they use the stock ECU, so it can't be that bad. The ECU does talk to a lot of things. I think there's like 10 or 20 computers on my cars.
In reply to Dr. Hess:
And there's the rub, so many computers and knowing which can be easily removed. I've got a line on a $250 LS400, but I'm leery of getting it before I figure out if I can handle the control issues.
JohnyHachi6 wrote:
Megasquirt plus the related electronics you'd need (EDIS ignition, etc.) will cost $200-$300.
At this point, I wouldn't use EDIS - an MS2 can handle the stock ignition pretty well with the Zeal add on daughterboard. Or you could use a MicroSquirt if you don't want to run the idle control valve. They're not the easiest engine to MegaSquirt, but they're not the hardest, either.
Engine swaps to an EFI engine are pretty tough for the electron-challenged. I've done 4AG 20v's both ways: Megasquirt and factory ECU. I think they both are about as much work. I think that given the choice, I would go factory ECU just so I don't have to tune it, as long as I wasn't changing a NA motor to a turbo or something. If you can get the factory 1uz ECU to work, that would be smoothest. Unless you're planning on spinning it to 8K, I don't think there's any more power to be had over the factory tune.
I have 2 motor swaps ongoing or in planning stages now: 1NZFE plus turbo into a Europa (going Megasquirt with that) and a 3SGTE into a RAV4 (planning factory ECU for that).
