LUVTruck.com

What v6 swap is common in a 79 LUV? I wanna upgrade from the 1.8, details would be sweet

the buick 3.8/4.1 and the chevy 4.3 are fairly common. ive seen the 2.8/3.1/3.4 done before. also seen a couple ford v6s used.

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"but its that gut feeling of you're drawn to what feels right for yourself and what you're passionate about..."

Or you could use a 3.2L or 3.5L Quad cam Isuzu V6.


Ive seen more than one Nissan VG30 in mini trucks too.


The 4L alloy toyota V8 is a good conversion too.


Best thing about the above are no of them are pushrod motors.


Cheers, Bob.

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Current project, 1979 KB Isuzu Ute.

Daily driver, '86 Rodeo Spacecab.
Chasing parts for Isuzu Impulse.

I would say if you are going far enough to modify that much, might as well throw in a crate tree-fiddy and make it reaal fun.

Just my .02
-Austin

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1975 Chevy LUV Rockabilly Stepside:
Satin Black, V-8 Traditionally Named "Dean"

All I have to say is.....Toyota 4.7L V8 with a TRD super charger

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'80 Luv 4x4, 3" BL, 1.5" SL, 32/36, 2.25" exhaust...and fuzzy dice.
'95 Toyota 4Runner Limited 5-Speed.

The V-6 swap is a easy one. You have plenty of room, basically just fab the mounts and add your elect. to it. The 350 conversion is not too bad, but you need to worry about the placement as far as room goes.

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Certified pilots, looking down on people since 1903.

Never mind.. just a stupid thought. Nothing common.

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75 Luv, 350 V8, TH350, Camaro rearend. New 1975 Luv Step side. Stock for now.
Grandmaster of the "Shade Tree" way.. I can't see the yard for all the cars. Come on down and we will sit on the porch and watch the grass grow.

I have nothing but praise for the Buick 3.8 and 4.1 V-6. Those were some happy days for me. But realisticly, i would opt for the 4.3 Chevy. The Buick had it's time but now, it's becoming more obscure. The 3.8 came in even and odd-fire configurations which meant that they have 2 different distributors. A stock H.E.I. even-fire vacuum advance distributor had only a 2 and a half year production run. Aftermarket distributors can cost more than a used engine. Aftermarket performance parts for the Buick V-6 are getting rare and rather expensive.
Chevy 4.3 motors are easy to find, parts are cheaper than the Buick. And it has a slightly larger displacement.

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Previous setup: 4.1 Buick V-6/TH 350
Current setup: 400 Small Block Chevy V-8/TH 350
9" ford rear end/short bed/blue
What do Water, Electricity and Humans have in common... They all travel the path of least resistance.

We had a similar thing with the "buick" V6 3.8L that got used down here. It was a big deal when it was introduced, the previous model Commodore was powered by the RB30 Nissan motor.

It was different to the US motor but the same design. For starters no distributor, it was ECU and 3 coil packs.
The early series I motors had a different crank for manual and auto.
The later series II motors had other stuff changed
The last series "ecotech" with sequential injection (and ECM controlled trans) was totally redesigned and basically nothing interchanges.

There was also a factory supercharged motor offered.

Theres a big hot up sceen here for the 3.8L. You can get an off the shelf 4.2L stroker kit, off the shelf turbo or supercharger kits.

They can get them to crack down the quarter and its surprising how much of it is still factory gear.


Bob.

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Current project, 1979 KB Isuzu Ute.

Daily driver, '86 Rodeo Spacecab.
Chasing parts for Isuzu Impulse.

Rodeo I think you thinking of a different engine, the one you are describing was used here (and still is btw) in Buicks, Pontiacs, and the SS Monte Carlo too iirc, it's a Gen II/III GM v6, the one that Blue is refering to is a earlier Buick made V6 that was used in the 70's and 80's(right?)

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'80 Luv 4x4, 3" BL, 1.5" SL, 32/36, 2.25" exhaust...and fuzzy dice.
'95 Toyota 4Runner Limited 5-Speed.

Up to mid year of 77, the 3.8 odd-fire. Mid 77 thru 79 was the 3.8 even-fire. 80 thru 84 was the 4.1 even-fire. The 4.1 was computer controlled so most opted to use an earlier even-fire distributor from 77-79. Production changes for the 3.8 made it impossible to swap heads and intakes. But later 3.8 and 4.1 heads and intakes could be swapped. The 4.1 came with a spread bore manifold that was a direct fit to the 3.8. Getting a carb that worked was the problem. The stock 450 Q-jet was computer controlled so it was useless.
There were earlier production versions of the Buick odd-fire motor and even when Jeep bought the tooling from Buick. But those engines were of smaller displacement and points type ignition.
Generally when the Buick V-6 is mentioned, it's usually the motor design after Buick bought back the design from Jeep.

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Previous setup: 4.1 Buick V-6/TH 350
Current setup: 400 Small Block Chevy V-8/TH 350
9" ford rear end/short bed/blue
What do Water, Electricity and Humans have in common... They all travel the path of least resistance.

Not sure which motor. Possibly a bit of both. The even fire but at the 3.8L capacity.

They first came out in 89. So it would be somewhere around 87 or maybe a bit earlier that they got the design and went to work.

The motor was basically imported in fully knocked down form and built up here. Things like exhaust manifolds and flywheels were made here, im not sure on the alloy castings, inlet and sump and the like.

With the addition of Delco 808 EFI they were quite a power plant when they came out.

Heres a link, the models the V6 came out in are getting old now and they are commonly bought and used for retro tech conversions. http://www.v6conversions.com.au/

Heres a link if you want to know what a Commodore is;
http://www.fastlane.com.au/holden-history/commodore-classics.htm

I was reading a write up on the "buick V6" in a magazine we get here called "street machine". It explained the whats and whys. Cant find any similar info on the net at the moment.


Cheers, Bob.

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Current project, 1979 KB Isuzu Ute.

Daily driver, '86 Rodeo Spacecab.
Chasing parts for Isuzu Impulse.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/GM_3800_engine

Here's a link that gives a rundown of the Buick V-6. There used to be a book that covered all kinds of V-6 engines. I had one a while back. Half of the book was dedicated to the Buick V-6 and it was the leading authority on performance mods. It went into great detail of the work done by Smokey Yunick and also Kenne Bell. For a while, the Buick V-6 looked like the motor of the future. V-8 motors were looked upon as choked down dinosaurs that no place in the modern world of automobiles. Luckily for the V-8, computer controlled technology actually helped keep it alive. Along with the fact that performance enthusiasts would do what was needed to run fast.
Here in the U.S.A., the Buick V-6 was morphed to the front wheel drive configuration which pushed it out of reach for most hot rodding. So with basically a 10 year production run, the Buick had 3 major production changes that limited the interchangeability of parts. Even though millions of motors were produced, many have hit the scrap yard. It wasn't a good era for vehicles in the U.S. Complicated, vacuum operated emissions control components didn't help with longevity.
So with now with modern computer controlled engines, i'd have to think that the 4.3 Chevy is the current V-6 motor to use as a platform. Retro fit the computer to the project or scrap the system and run a carb and basic distributor.

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Previous setup: 4.1 Buick V-6/TH 350
Current setup: 400 Small Block Chevy V-8/TH 350
9" ford rear end/short bed/blue
What do Water, Electricity and Humans have in common... They all travel the path of least resistance.