daily driver on its last leg

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dodgeboy

dodgeboy

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my daily driver is just about done for,i inherited my dads 93 isuzu pickup when he past away april 2010 it had blown a head gasket and sat for about 6 yrs i had the head redone and got it back together and running this past summer ive already put almost 8k miles on it driving it for work the little 2.6 4 banger has 250k on it the rest of the trk is in great shape(it spent its entire life in central fla b4 i got it) im thinking about doing a swap to a v6 maybe a v8 i dont think anybody makes swap kits for these so it will have to all be hand fabricated my ? is what engine should i use. i have a 318 im not using or should i go with a dare i say it a gm setup.give me some ideas her people
 
I,d use the 318 if you have everything available for the swap.Have you checked with Engine Swaps?They might carry something you need.:D
 
Since a daily driver, you might consider if gas goes to $5/gal in a few years. Then you will miss your 4 cyl. I had an 82 Chevy S-10 pickup that got 39 mpg hwy. It was typical era GM junk (mirrors fell off, handles broke), but since the first year of the S-10 and a shortage of GM 4 cyls, they put an Isuzu engine in it. That was the best part of the truck. I would save the 318 for another time.
 
That 2.6L engine is an interference engine with a balance shaft. They are not exactly cheap to overhaul, but if you don't let the timing belt break it is not too bad. The transmission is usually ok if the oil has been changed occasionally.

But you want to know about swaps. I have done a lot of swaps over the past 4 decades, some good & some stupid along the way. Before there was an internet there was no way to look and see if anybody else had tried the same thing...

A 350 chebby has been put in those trucks before. Since the LA mopar has similar properties it probably can be crammed in there as well. After a lot of swaps I have learned to look for which end of the engine the sump/distributor are on as the biggest clue. In the case of the isuzu pickup / 350 - a stock pan fits & the GM distributor clears.

http://www.cardomain.com/ride/426188/1992-isuzu-regular-cab

That guy used the GM iron manifolds that went above the plugs, we have similar manifolds available. He used the TH350, so a torqueflite will fit.

Good luck with your project.

B.
 
Or you can find someone selling an Isuzu 2.2L diesel engine and drop it in. Slow but it gets 40mpg and runs forever.
 
i thought about the dsl swap also but havent been able to locate one yet
 
Not the biggest GM fan, but those LS engines sure make nice swaps. A 5.3 out of a truck would be nice....my dad purchased an 05 GTO 6.0L/6spd new, and it was a lot of fun as well. Whats nice is they make the harnesses etc for those. It got 28mpg on the highway, and had 400hp. I miss that car lol.
 
Ok, here's my 2 cents.....lol
I may be in the minority here, but I would recommend finding another isuzu or similar GM 4-banger and go that route. An Isuzu truck isn't the most exciting vehicle, please-no offense. Second, if this is a daily driver, wouldn't you rather get much better mpg?

I view my vehicles in two different categories.
1. The fun cars - '68 Road Runner, '75 Scamp
2. The daily drivers - '06 Fusion, '05 Elantra (both 4 cyl.)

I've driven older Mopars as drivers years ago, and some were V-8's.
For now, it's 4 bangers.....
 
I also agree with roadrunnerh, I'd fix the 4cyl and concentrate on putting time/money into something that is a little more "fun", but you mentioned a swap so I thought I'd throw my opinion in lol. I sit at work and daydream about stuff like this all day!
 
The possibilities are pretty much endless.

If you grab the transmission too, you can drop just about anything in that truck.

This engine is a 2.5L (4D56) Intercooled Turbo Diesel, Mitsubishi. The Intercooled versions of the 2.5 output some very impressive numbers

S5001237.jpg


Not exactly common here in the USA, but you can source the one from a junked truck/van/suv up in Canada, or if you happen to have a 2.3L (4D55) you can swap in the rotating assembly from a 2.5L (they share the same engine block). The 2.3L was used in a few trucks here in the states in the 80's. And was also used in some Industrial Equipment too.

Mazda B-series trucks, Ford Rangers, and Dodge D50's ran the 2.3L I had a 2.5L in my D50 and most of my parts had to come from London (where the engine is still in use)


Or if you want a Small Block (and have 4WD and want to keep it) Grab the Automatic Transmission from a Dodge D50... The 3-Speed Auto was a Torqueflite 904 and the Overdrive was an A500. Swap your guts from the D50 Trans into it's small block counterpart (you'll find the little D50 4x4 version has heavier internals than the small block rwd version)

That's what I did here, my D50 originally had a 904, So I gutted the 904 and swapped the guts into a Small Block Case and bolted my Transfer Case on, and then squeezed a 273 under the hood

SANY0218.jpg
 
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