Late model v6 swap

Truck: 1980 mazda b2000 with a dead engine. Best friend's first truck.

Purpose: bring back to life. For a daily.

Idea: buy wrecked mustang/camaro/truck at copart, and use entire drivetrain for swap.

Budget: little as possible.

Goals: 300hp at tbe crank, dead nuts reliable, 30mpg, able to be completed by me.

So, the main choices we are thinking about are the lfx from the camaro, and the 3.7 from the 11 up mustang. I know theres others out there, and i dont know what they are.

What should we be worried about? Im thinking that we may not be able to do it at all due to all the electronics, but im not certain. We would want to retain the drivetrain in as close to stock configuration as possible, so no megasquirt, etc.

What are the electronics looking like? Thats the biggest hurdle in my head. Engine mounts, exhaust, etc is just cutting and welding. Fuel system is easy. But electronics? Dunno.

Most of the 300hp V6s don't have direct injection, so Megasquirt should be able to take care of them. The tuning of any of the variable timing components might leave some area under the curve out of a transplanted solution.

The LFX is direct injected, while the Ford 3.7 isn't, so electronics may be a bit more difficult with the LFX. Direct injection may have different fuel system requirements as well.

When using newer OEM ecu and such you'll also have to consider whatever sort of immobilizer system the computer has. Most of them have a way around it but something to think about while you're planning. A car stereo shop that installs remote starts is a good source for info if you do need to bypass (trick) the immobilizer.

Most of the direct injection engines i've messed with have your basic fuel pump in the tank and that feeds a mechanical high pressure pump mounted on the engine. Grab the in-tank pump from your donor and some minor fab work to the truck's tank to install it and you should be good to go.

The only other thing that that i know that might need some investigation is CAN line. If the original ECU uses CAN line communication it may not want to cooperate with out all of the other modules it's supposed to be talking to.

In reply to appliance_racer:

Exactly. How do i find out what all the engine needs to run as far as canbus and such? The nuts and bolts are pretty straightforward to me. The 1s and 0s, in the other hand, baffle me in newer cars.

As a related threadjack, i registered with copart today....

The 3.5 in my new Transit is right around 300hp, and in the van the ecu doesn't have a ton of unnecessary nannies that can't be turned off since everything is an option.

The lfx doesn't seem all that hard of a swap if you have the room. There's already solutions for the ecu out there.

Have you considered the gm lv3 4.3 v6? Its only a few years old and still pushrod. Its supposedly smaller than then the lfx as well. Info

And,

In b4 "why not ls swap..."

Dusterbd13 wrote: As a related threadjack, i registered with copart today....

Just understand the Copart fees. I have been playing with IAA and here are real samples.
$375 bid results in $508 after fees.
$1,300 -> $1,588
$1,975 -> $2,533

In my case, the fees were not a surprise and my purchases were still good values, just know going into it that a $375 bid really means you'll need a check for $508.

Speaking of check...know how and when you have to pay. For me, IAA requires a certified bank check (or wire transfer) by Thurs on a Tues auction. Any later and there are fees. Cars also have be picked up by Mon from this Tuesday auction or they'll hit you with daily storage fees.

In reply to Dusterbd13:

I'm not sure how to find out about the CAN lines as all the software is oem specific. I've been thinking of a similar project. I'm thinking if I can find a running and hopefully driving donor, I would ground the CAN line and see if the thing still runs right. I'm sure the engine will start and run but my concern is with it be in some sort of limp mode because the ecu is not seeing wheel speed or steering angle etc. If the vehicle is CAN line equipped there will likely be a CAN line terminal in the diagnostic port.

My other thought is to buy a donor vehicle with a known solution, i.e something like the ford control pack. That adds unwanted $$$ to the project but it's an emergency plan b.

John Welsh wrote:

Dusterbd13 wrote: As a related threadjack, i registered with copart today....

Just understand the Copart fees. I have been playing with IAA and here are real samples. $375 bid results in $508 after fees. $1,300 -> $1,588 $1,975 -> $2,533 In my case, the fees were not a surprise and my purchases were still good values, just know going into it that a $375 bid really means you'll need a check for $508. Speaking of check...know how and when you have to pay. For me, IAA requires a certified bank check (or wire transfer) by Thurs on a Tues auction. Any later and there are fees. Cars also have be picked up by Mon from this Tuesday auction or they'll hit you with daily storage fees.

Totally tangental but I would love a GRM article on the different types of car auction sites IAA, Copart, Dashub, Govdeals and how to find good deals, who can buy, what to be aware of etc

It feels like a very GRM thing to do/place to shop but there is a lot of unknowns for me about it

In reply to Jaynen:

Don't forget GSA auctions. They usually have lower milage cars and they're usually govt leases. You can even buy a blackhawk helicopter lol