help me decide

Hey guys just wanna see everyone's opinion on what is the cheapest and easiest motor swap but still gives enough performance gain. Normally i wouldn't go cheap but my funds are lacking as of now.

-is $10,000 cheap, or are you trying to do an engine swap for $63?

-no engine swap is easy, period.

-how much is enough performance, 150hp, 600hp?


solved, you have no money, do not do an engine swap, save your money and buy a performance car.


maybe you were confused, you bought a truck, not a performance car, your vehicle is designed to haul a load, not ass.

let me say that once more, these are trucks with 80hp, enough to move the truck and a small load, they will never be fast

just my opinion

I understand that its a truck i am looking for a project to keep me busy not broke is all. I just am new to this shit and i thought i should see what all you guys thought. I only have a budget of like 300 a month foe this so i don't know if a swap is for me but do the mods like a weber or pacesetter give much gain? Im not looking for a race car i just want a lil quicker truck. That's all. Thanks for the reply non the less.

Cheapest would be to drive it and hunt down parts for a 302 swap. Once you have all your parts gathered, assemble, troubleshoot (if you run into issues) and then drive.

Pacesetter is about $160, Weber around $300 that alone is a running 302 and possibly a t 5 with some time spent searching. Then you need motor mounts, a hydraulic clutch conversion kit and a custom cut drive shaft. A little bit of fab work, some time spent wiring and plenty more horsepower without needing to modify the motor from stock. It all depends on your finances and skill set.

So how much gain will the weber and pacebetter give i know a guy who will sell me both for 100 and i don't wanna waste my time or money if its not worth my while.

a header and a weber, at best +10hp (probably more like 5),but thats a 12% power increase for $100 sounds like a deal to me.

i'll spend that other money for you too...$200 left over, plus $300 next month, buy a nitrous oxide kit, add another 30hp to your package, now you've added 50% over stock, all the way to 120hp. then start to save, soon you will need pistons, rings, a new head........

or, take that $300 a month and buy a $5,000 v8 dakota, it will be faster than the old mazda can ever be.

if you dead set on a v8 swap, the 302 ford is the answer. with enough searching you should be able to gather the necessary parts(engine, trans, rad) for easily under a $1000. we have no idea what your skill level is in fabricating, welding, mechanics, so it is impossible to know if you can pull this off. if you have to have a shop take care of any of those skills, you are going to spend more like $3-4000

(sorry this link will eventually become useless, but for now you can see it).
DO THAT!

or

THAT (if you like turbos)

or


THAT (if you like rotors)

or


THAT if you want to do a little turbo but all the work has been done.

Man... NZ is FULL of weird and wonderful B2000's

for around $1000 you could buy a good working engine out of a Kia Sportage 95-2002. You will have to figure out the wiring from the EFI and get custom lines made for the power steering and AC. That'll put you into the 150 hp range and get you better mileage. A member over on Mazdatrucking.com by the name of silent dawn has done this before.

These engines bolt onto our transmissions and use the same motor mounts.

Ok so on the kia idea and i know this sounds crazy but any way to carb it? For simplicity. I know it doesn't really make sence but i just figured id ask. And if so is it worth it?

Carbing the Kia would be a real waste of money and time I'd think. If you're going to go that route, I'd just 302 the truck.

My swap experience: I spent more than I probably should have for only a slight power upgrade, but I do have a bit more of an odd set up vs. most. I purchased a Bongo 1.8l 12 valve engine from Canada that had already been in a B, with the MSII set up. I spent $1,500 on the engine/ECU and another $500 or so to get the rest right, (electric fan, Walbro 255 fuel pump, Innovate AFR, bits and pieces). If I had it all to do over again, I might would go with the Kia or the 302...probably a carbbed 302.

My advice would be this: If the truck runs great as it is, keep it as it is. Put your money into making it look the way you want, I.E. lowered, bagged, painted, w/e. And put some money toward a different vehicle for speed.

Most anything you do with the truck, especially the stock motor, you're going to be disappointed looking for speed vs. dollars. I did the header, webber and exhaust route (I went Holley), and didn't gain much seat of the pants speed. My lil bongo is better but not a whole lot, (you have to get'r up in the upper RPM's and I don't drive like that...it's a truck not a Miata).

Even the 302 swap is going to cost some serious money. You'd have to source a good running 302, and that's probably going to be in the $1000+ range, get a bigger radiator, more $$$, shorty water pump, $300+, trans that's good, $300-$500, 5.0 motor mounts, $50-$100, LTD oil pan, and whole lot of small bits and pieces that will run the $$$ up more than you'd think.

Kia swap is a whole lot of pieces as well including finding a good running engine, preferably with low miles, which depending on where you live will cost you between $300-$1000, and still have a lot of other things to change costing you more and more...EFI fuel pump, electric fan, exhaust, etc. etc.

If you've got a good running truck in which the motor is not on its last leg, keep the old motor running as long as you can. Cheapest, most reliable option. Low and slow is the motto in these things. Enjoy the look of the people staring at your ride as you ride by casually chillin


Oh yeah, I said if I had to do over again I'd have gone 302. Correction, what I really should have done was have the old engine's valve seats redone and if that didn't clear up my smoke then have the block rebuilt. I also should have went straight with a Weber kit instead of piecing together the Holley, cuz I still had as much money without some of the features of the kit, involved. I'd probably still have A/C too .