Possible to Swap VVT-i Engine in Older SC400?

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Nov 2, 2008 | 09:31 PM
  #1  
Did a search, but couldn't find any relevant information on it.

Anyway, is it possible to swap out the old '92 SC400 V8 for the "newer" 98+ VVT-i engine? If so, what would it entail or where can I find information on what it would entail?

In case you're wondering, I don't have any desire to swap out for the supra engine, I don't want a track car that does the 1/4 in 10 seconds, just a nice daily driver. Once my stock V8 gets too many miles I'd like to replace it with a similar engine, and the VVT-i's seem sweet!

Thanks
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Nov 2, 2008 | 11:18 PM
  #2  
if you swap it in, you have to be prepared to swap everything that goes with it, new tranny, new read end, new ecu, new intake, etc. This type of swap will probably run around $4000+ all things considered, and thats assuming you do the work yourself. If you have a shop do it, that price could easily double.

Given enough time, the parts will eventually come down in price, but for now it would probably end up being cheaper just to buy a 98+.
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Nov 5, 2008 | 09:02 PM
  #3  
i have all the parts needed and am doing this swap (should be starting the car this week). i have a 95 sc400 and swapped a 98 sc400 eng, tranny,fuel pump,diff,axles,all ecu's, wire harnesses(in and out) and still counting... will post pics soon...
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Nov 6, 2008 | 06:40 AM
  #4  
Seems like a waste of time to me as you could probably buy a 2uz and swap that in. And then tuning a vvti will be a real pain. your ecu will constantly fight your tune.
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Nov 6, 2008 | 07:44 AM
  #5  
yeah especially since lextreme made some mounts for it. I think i'd much rather spend the money on the 4.7 block.
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Nov 6, 2008 | 08:18 AM
  #6  
Yeah, I mean pretty much the swap comes down to a cost-to-benefit ratio. An increase of 40 HP for several thousand dollars just isn't worth it from a tuner's POV. You could run a low boost supercharger and make double that power without having to do all the extra work of changing the tranny, rear diff, and ecu.

Honestly if all you're after is the refinement of the vvti and 5 spd, it would just make sense to buy a 98+ and be done with it. Engine swaps are a pain in the a**. They're costly and can leave your car stuck in a garage for months.
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Nov 9, 2008 | 01:37 AM
  #7  
Not quite. If you have a complete engine, tranny, and ECU, and things that go with this 98 engine, you can get the car running in 2 days. If you can do it yourself, $1000 or a little more is already saved right there.
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Nov 9, 2008 | 01:41 AM
  #8  
Just look for a 98+.. it'll be much less of a hassle. They are getting cheaper now too. I just checked out a 99 SC4 w/blk interior and 140k miles for $5k. It had a salvage title which was why I passed, but it was almost completely straight.
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Nov 9, 2008 | 06:40 AM
  #9  
You might just be better off freshening up the motor you have.

If you were to rebuild your motor, have some head work done, throw in a super charger you would probably make more power than the vvti for the same amount of money and have a brand new motor with 0 miles on it, not one you picked up that they say only has 20k on it.
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