angus

iTrader: (4)

Ok, here is my dilemma, any input is welcome as I am trying to decide what to do.

I should preface this by saying I HATE RHD and will NOT drive one on LHD roads.

I currently have a 99 GS400 which I have modded and fixed all the stupid little GS problems.

I want to swap to a 2JZ-GTE VVTi

I will be purchasing a complete Aristo with GTE soon and originally the plan was to strip the aristo, swap the engine into the 400 and part the rest out.

BUT - now I have seen that there are people out there who have done LHD swaps to the RHD aristo so I am wondering if it'll be less work to just do a LHD conversion.

Things to ponder:

Pros of swapping my 400:

My car is basically setup just the way I want it, except too slow.

By the time I part out what's left of the aristo, I should be ahead vs. just buying a swap + I won't be missing anything.

I'll end up with lots of spare parts

Cons = none that I can really think of except more work

PROS of LHD swapping the aristo:

- possibly less work ( maybe way more)

- lower miles on aristo chassis

CONS of LHD swapping the aristo:

- NO sunroof

- Less insurance value ( JDM cars here are worthless)

- possibly running into and having to fix all the stupid little GS problems that I already fixed in my 400.

SO - what do you guys think?

driftdan

Since when does the sunroof have anything to do with an engine swap? Is this a real post? I am really confused..

Constructive Edit:
Just pull the 1UZ and put in the 2JZ

ThomasGS4

iTrader: (19)

Put the 2JZ in the GS400, case closed.

nyc80rick

I had to read that part several times to understand what he meant. I'm guessing he was talking about putting the firewall etc... onto the aristo to make it lhd which if I'm correct would say thats the craziest thing I've heard in a while in that case the aristo doesn't have a sunroof . why would you spend all that time and energy instead of just swapping a motor in the car you own now. you are thinking too far into this and are getting over your head before you even start.


I'm not giving any advice on this because i think you need to start from square one with your research

angus

iTrader: (4)

Sorry, to clarify most of the aristos for sale around here have no sunroof so I would lose that if doing a LHD swap to the aristo.

Basically everyone here seems to think that the engine swap will be less work than the LHD swap?

I mean it looks like dash, pedals and steering rack and I did see someone post that the firewalls were the same - although I would have to confirm that.

NorthStyle

iTrader: (16)

I'm with them... it'll be more work and more time-consuming to do a RHD to LHD swap than it would be to just do an engine swap. Also, why even buy the Aristo if you ThomasGS4 said) just swap your GS400? Dunno, it just seems like more trouble than it'd be worth.

nyc80rick

Like I said please please please do your research. You are not thinking far enough into whats ahead of you if you try and turn the rhd to lhd. the firewall is definitely not the same how do you plan on moving the steering over drilling a hole I think not. if the you have to modify/bend heater core pipe on the turbo side when just doing a gte swap that shows the firewall is different. Also the front floorboards are also different I know this because I wanted aristo floor mats and the fronts don't work also the dash, center console, front door panels and the list goes on and on will need to be changed. Like it has been said in this thread a few times swap the motor or in all honesty leave the car alone because with your lack of wanting to do research this sounds like it will be a never ending project.

angus

iTrader: (4)

I want to start by saying that your opinion is welcome and appreciated - thank you.

It's funny because it's responses like yours that led me to my career of 20+ years. I had almost the EXACT words thrown at me in 1992 when I went to local dealerships asking for wiring diagrams so I could swap engines in various (then pretty new) cars - guess what? NOW everyone does it.

I just bought the Aristo, I have 2 GS400's (one which I am considering swapping - and YES, I've researched that swap).

Contrary to your opinion I have WELL thought out the possibilities and parts required for the LHD swap, I'd most likely buy a wrecked GS that is hit in the rear - major parts I'd need are a dash, console, column (the RHD one might not be different) "maybe" part of the firewall, the crossmember with steering rack - Door panels are not different, the switch panel is all. The door wiring to the doors is different so that'l be interesting, most likely some modding the harness for the front doors so it'll swap L>R.

I was just looking for opinions, LHD to RHD and vice versa are something I have seen done in person and yeah it doesn't look like it'll be easy but is WELL within my scope of abilities.

As I said, there are people who have done it to an Aristo and I can't find much info other than that.

One big issue I have is it seems like everyone with a GTE swap loses the traction control and possibly ABS and those are important to me since it rains here a lot and this car may be driven by other people, making it potentially dangerous.

You're probably correct - for the average backyard mechanic, a RHD to LHD swap seems like a big deal - maybe even impossible - the reality is that to any bodyman, cutting and welding the firewall is a bit of a chore but nothing special (actually you would typically take it apart at the factory seams and put it back).

In any case I'm still not convinced the firewall is different, the heater core is just reversed in the RHD car - hence why you need to bend the heater pipe for the engine swap ( if you park the 2 cars side by side you will see, and also on the left side the AC line goes into the firewall in EXACTLY the same spot in both cars. Also the floor boards ARE NOT different 100% - I just read what you said and went outside and swapped floor mats between the Aristo and GS400 - SAME shape except for pedal cutouts.

So is it easier to swap the motor and make it run (forsaking ABS and VSC) ? - YES

Is it easier to swap the motor and get the VSC, ABS and E-shift working, which means potentially swapping the ENTIRE car harness and modding it to fit the LHD car - OR do a LHD swap to the Aristo? It is still food for thought.

BTW - this IS a part of my research.

Thanks again everyone!

iToaster

Getting E-shift working shouldn't be a concern in a GS 400, it should be plug and play.

The VSC and TRAC seem difficult to get working because the forum recommendation is to use the Aristo VSC/TRAC/ABS computer. The ABS will work plug and play with the Aristo VSC ECU and zero point calibration can be done for the VSC, but it still won't work. I looked into in with Techstream and found that the VSC computer from the Aristo wants to talk to the ARS computer on the Aristo for the rear steering. I might have found out a solution to this by purchasing a VSC computer from another RHD country (e.g. United Kingdom) because the part numbers are the same, but they didn't come with ARS. Unfortunately, the car was totaled before I could get my hands on one of them to test the hypothesis.

My guess is that the firewall is probably quite different, given how the brake actuator and battery are setup in the GS, along with the separate compartment for the wiper motor. The swap is ridiculously easy to do (marginally less in a 400 because of the AC lines being different), I did mine in my driveway and had it driving in 2 days.

angus

iTrader: (4)

OK - NOW were are getting somewhere!

The E-shift I have seen working now in a few GTE swaps so I am not as worried - it looks like the swap will work better if I swap the Aristo shifter into the 400 as well - I have read the pinouts here: http://wilbo666.pbworks.com/w/page/4...ngine%20Wiring

So It doesn't seem like a big deal the E-shift needs an input to engage manual mode and then input to the up/down pins to shift (apparently all aristo ECU's have the E-shift function, just some cars lack the option).

It seems I have read your post somewhere where you talk about this rear steering in the aristo (I have not personally seen a 4WS Aristo) and there are quite a few in my town.

The V300 Aristo I currently have is not 4WS. So I wonder if it has the VSC unit I need?

I have pretty much abandoned the RHD to LHD swap idea.

BUT - I was thinking that since I have the entire functioning Aristo - what about swapping the entire car harness and ALL modules? Obviously this will require modification to parts of the harness, possibly extending dash wires front door wires etc. but if the wiring and modules were to be completely swapped over - the systems should work just as they did in the Aristo.

Seems like a lot of trouble - maybe I should just buy a racelogic box huh...

ericherm1

iTrader: (4)

Why not just try to find a LHD Aristo from Taiwan, Middle East, and a couple places in Europe?

Then you won't have to swap anything.... Would really hard to find and possibly fairly expensive to import but hey it saves the blood sweat and tears.

cdiiwu

are you talking about finding an aristo that someone did work on to swap over to lhd??? because if youre not, theres no such thing as a lhd aristo. They were only made for the japanese market so theyre all rhd

ericherm1

iTrader: (4)

Wrong, It maybe re-badged as a GS but retains the 2JZ-GTE motor making it basically an Aristo but LHD. They were sold in Taiwan and Saudi Arabia/ Dubai. Trouble is finding one then shipping it over.
I just purchased a power folding mirror switch bezel LHD meant for the Taiwan market. I have parts sheets posted in the 2GS section. I do my research before I spout off, maybe others should to.

If your going to argue semantics between the namesake then please use a different thread.

My purpose was to inform the OP has options of not having to do the conversion and they are out there. With enough time patience and money one can procure one of these gems.

budgetvip

Would definitely be willing to trade my lhd gs300 stuff for rhd aristo stuff