3.8 v6 questions

[suzukigav]

hey, i just bought a vp 3.8 and manual 5 speed gear box to go in my sierra 92wt. was wondering if any one who has done this conversion has any tips on what to look out for so that i'm not re inventing the wheel.

any help would be great...

[grimbo]

sell them and don't do it.

[VR Rodeo]

PM Duncan off here he did it, but his was more of a truggy. Drove pretty well though.

http://www.outerlimits4x4.com/ftopic790 ... highlight=

[brendan_h]

the engine and box would probably outweigh the car

ballence off car- gone to shit and wouldnt suit offroad driving anymore

power-be fun for a while till you relise its costing you too much to fix broken diffs, axels ect

if you want to go fast mabe drop that v6 in and make a drag zook. put a 9inch behind it get custom shafts made and supercharge the fawker

edit- piss the tcase off if your going to drag it

[flaxton]

if u have a boat use it as an anchor and get a actual engine for it

[mnemonix]

Plenty of solid advice here.
The correct answer (as above) is: Ditch the motor for something more suitable. You're creating an overweight tractor, not a driveable offroad toy.

What makes you think you NEED a 3.8commode powered zook?

[mrRocky]

the motor needs to be mounted as far back toward the firewall as possible otherwise you wont have room for any type of fan or radiator.
You may also need to remove the metal where the bonnet latch goes, thus requiring the need for bonnet pins or another type of latching setup.
Dont forget the 3.8 needs alot of cooling so you need to fit a big radiator.
For engine mounts i would use the marks adaptors ones designed for a hilux 3.8 conversion and modify them to suit. You may alson need to cut the inner gaurd section a bit so the exhaust fits.

[Dozoor]

Plenty of solid advice here.
The correct answer (as above) is: Ditch the motor for something more suitable. You're creating an overweight tractor, not a driveable offroad toy.

What makes you think you NEED a 3.8commode powered zook?

uMmm your giving the advice wheres your proof ?

sell them and don't do it.

Reasons ?

the engine and box would probably outweigh the car

ballence off car- gone to shit and wouldnt suit offroad driving anymore

power-be fun for a while till you relise its costing you too much to fix broken diffs, axels ect

if you want to go fast mabe drop that v6 in and make a drag zook. put a 9inch behind it get custom shafts made and supercharge the fawker

edit- piss the tcase off if your going to drag it

Another brilliant post ,
And where is your info comming from youv;e done it ?
you have more info then his original post such as the wheelbase tire size ect that he is intending to use ?

if u have a boat use it as an anchor and get a actual engine for it

And another , your experience in this is ?

your obviously a top competition winner and know these things ?



Why would he want to do It ?

because hes after more power torque ,
He wants to buy bits at the corner shop for two figure sums , not four figure sums from some singular importer.
he may want to do comps -- of which there are several competitive v6
powered zooks pisanis , murphys, otis ect
But of course you clowns are all top competitors and can explian
all the tech he needs to biuld a vehicle for his unique needs.

The biggest piece of tech in your responses was it will be an over wieght
tractor or a boat anchor.

Mine hit the scales at 1350 kg
I chose not to use the suzuki chassis i used Range rover chass 3.8 v6 ,Th700 auto ,LT230 transfer as well .

Paul pisani rig used the zook chassis ,but he did a lot of laminating to the chassis , 3.8 v6 Th700 auto,lux transfers and ran gq diffs .

Mad fab, "Murphs" runs 3.8 c4, lux transfers .

Depends on what you want to do with it , mine wasn,t lifted but was built to clear 38s , would do over the ton get there quick , had four wheel disks
biult for a 2000 odd kg car so it stopped on a dime, and cornered exellent.

Sure the conversion is not for every one ,
But you won,t have to worry about the others , you,ll be wheeling while there still doing the trip there


Thanks goes to VR rodeo for some info .


Most of the guys that posted inovative tech here are gone only the tunnel vision crew remain.

[r0ck_m0nkey]

I chose not to use the suzuki chassis i used Range rover chass 3.8 v6 ,Th700 auto ,LT230 transfer as well .

So basically you have a modified Range Rover and trying to compare it to a Suzuki?

[Dozoor]

I chose not to use the suzuki chassis i used Range rover chass 3.8 v6 ,Th700 auto ,LT230 transfer as well .

So basically you have a modified Range Rover and trying to compare it to a Suzuki?

This is a great question you have read the whole post and come up with one sentence to quote well done .
So do you have first hand info on the v6 conversion ?
If not why did you respond to this thread ?
Have you driven a v6 converted zook ?
Have you looked and completed a conversion like any of those mentioned in my post ?

What tech can you ADD ?

The guy asked a specific question i gave three different approachs
to the problem.

[grimbo]

to expand on mine for dozoor. Because the 3.8 is a large and heavy engine it will upset the balance in a SWB Sierra. You will have to do alot of work to make the chassis strong enough to handle it. Then you have to worry about all the other driveline components that will also need strengthening. things like axles, diffs, brakes, drive shafts, engine mounts, gearbox mounts. then you have to try and fit it and a sufficient cooling system. Then you have to worry about the extra power in a very short wheelbase making it an absolute pig to drive. On top of that you have all the legal worries of trying to get it engineered.

The examples you gave of Pauls LWB are not exactly relevant. Firstly his was a LWB, his was a substantially modified vehicle already, thirdly he has major fabrication skills and wouldn't have just an bought an engine and then the first thing he would ask on a forum was " Now what?".

A Commodore V6 is not a smart engine to put into a light swb vehicle like a Sierra. If you want more power put a Vitara engine in or change your gearing or buy a vehicle more suited to an engine like that.

[spamwell]

would have to be a seriously modified rig to cope with it, first post brings a standard sierra other than motor to mind

possible outcome

[r0ck_m0nkey]

So do you have first hand info on the v6 conversion ?
If not why did you respond to this thread ?

Where is your experience? You have a V6 powered Range Rover and somehow think it's relevant to a Suzuki.

[Dozoor]

So do you have first hand info on the v6 conversion ?
If not why did you respond to this thread ?

Where is your experience? You have a V6 powered Range Rover and somehow think it's relevant to a Suzuki.

I offered different ways to go about doing a decent conversion that will work .
you have no experience in this subject where is your tech you are not adding to the thread why do you keep posting here ?

Bring it im sick of pack attidude in this section of ol .

[grimbo]

pack attitude or maybe common sense?

Sometimes an idea is just a bad idea. J

ust because alot of people agree doesn't it is pack attitude.

[Dozoor]

to expand on mine for dozoor. Because the 3.8 is a large and heavy engine it will upset the balance in a SWB Sierra. You will have to do alot of work to make the chassis strong enough to handle it. Then you have to worry about all the other driveline components that will also need strengthening. things like axles, diffs, brakes, drive shafts, engine mounts, gearbox mounts. then you have to try and fit it and a sufficient cooling system. Then you have to worry about the extra power in a very short wheelbase making it an absolute pig to drive. On top of that you have all the legal worries of trying to get it engineered.

The examples you gave of Pauls LWB are not exactly relevant. Firstly his was a LWB, his was a substantially modified vehicle already, thirdly he has major fabrication skills and wouldn't have just an bought an engine and then the first thing he would ask on a forum was " Now what?".

A Commodore V6 is not a smart engine to put into a light swb vehicle like a Sierra. If you want more power put a Vitara engine in or change your gearing or buy a vehicle more suited to an engine like that.

Buy a vehicle more suited to the engine ,
and what does this achieve ? an addition in wieght ?
your going backwards , the idea of putting a larger motor in a smaller vehicle is a better power to weight ratio ,
Most people with exeption of several that dominate this section of ol,
usally end up extending wheelbase changing diffs ect .
You guys are stuck in a void stick with the vehicles YOU like but don,t jam
it down ever body elses throat , if your setups where the best you lot would have dominated the comp scene since the advent of the sun.
But you don,t you are just 4wds like the rest of us .

Now what do you now of cooling one have you done it ?
Do you have a working knowledge of where to modify the tunnel for such
a conversion did you sugest he may want to rethink the manual box .
or address the problem with air locks in the v6 cooling system.

Why make the thread a friggen mess with usless posts that have not addressed the problems ,if your first post had done the above it might have been good.

[danssurf82]

buy a vitara motor and finished

if u really want a v6 buy a hilux and go to the toyota threads.

[PhillT]

Power to weight ratio of the cast iron 3.8 L v's the Suzuki all alloy 3.2L
if the dollars are available makes it a no-brainer.

[mrRocky]

just do it, i reckon wheelstands in a swb would be cool
But i would stick with the zook chassie as the others are generally too heavy, just strengthen the zook one.

http://www.outerlimits4x4.com/ftopic160 ... ied+maruti

[flaxton]

i actualy use a commo engine to anchor my boat does a good job nice and heavey and oh so cheap when it rusts away i just go get another one ...hahahahah .. its just a bad choice of engine unless u wanna put it in a "truggy" keep it a light manuverable rig like a zuk is ment to be or go get a hilux with a v6 in it already and drive that would work better and probly b cheaper as well

[Santos]

suzukigav

i too am against this, but check with an engineer if its even remotely legal in nsw, the other thing is several v6 suzukis appear on ebay continously on ebay, the same ones going from owner to owner, if one pops up, make the effot to go see it before you start (heck buy it and save the headache)

[NIK]

Hey mate I cant offer 1st hand experience but pm me and I can intruduce you to a guy in bero that has an engineered v6 + auto in a zook.
Yes it is a lwb but the transfer is in the stock location (Im pretty sure). This was with zook diffs and it survived well (dont know how).
Im sure he would be glad to show you the ins and outs and give you advise based on actual experience..
Nik

[ajsr]

Although I don't entirely agree that a 3.8 V6 would be a good engine option for a zook,I do however agree with Doozer that at least give the poor bloke some educated replies to his question or don' answer.
You may not agree with what he wants to do ,but some of the replies above are just wankers spilling out shit.
Ive driven a v6 powered T700 zook ( not engineered I might add) a mate owns, the car flies , It wasn't my cup of tea and I belive it would be better with a 4cyl but he loves it and the way it drives. It is quite a capable car although I belive it is a little heavy in the front but probably not much worse than a zook with a 1.6, arb bar and a 9000lb winch.
He has broken very little in the way of drive line components ( all sierra tc and diffs I think) which suprises me but I guess it just shows if you don't drive like a tool shit can last.

Personally I'll be going a 1.6 carb motor when my 1.3 gives up mainly because they are easy and i'm lazy

[grimbo]

to expand on mine for dozoor. Because the 3.8 is a large and heavy engine it will upset the balance in a SWB Sierra. You will have to do alot of work to make the chassis strong enough to handle it. Then you have to worry about all the other driveline components that will also need strengthening. things like axles, diffs, brakes, drive shafts, engine mounts, gearbox mounts. then you have to try and fit it and a sufficient cooling system. Then you have to worry about the extra power in a very short wheelbase making it an absolute pig to drive. On top of that you have all the legal worries of trying to get it engineered.

The examples you gave of Pauls LWB are not exactly relevant. Firstly his was a LWB, his was a substantially modified vehicle already, thirdly he has major fabrication skills and wouldn't have just an bought an engine and then the first thing he would ask on a forum was " Now what?".

A Commodore V6 is not a smart engine to put into a light swb vehicle like a Sierra. If you want more power put a Vitara engine in or change your gearing or buy a vehicle more suited to an engine like that.

Buy a vehicle more suited to the engine ,
and what does this achieve ? an addition in wieght ?
your going backwards , the idea of putting a larger motor in a smaller vehicle is a better power to weight ratio ,
Most people with exeption of several that dominate this section of ol,
usally end up extending wheelbase changing diffs ect .
You guys are stuck in a void stick with the vehicles YOU like but don,t jam
it down ever body elses throat , if your setups where the best you lot would have dominated the comp scene since the advent of the sun.
But you don,t you are just 4wds like the rest of us .

Now what do you now of cooling one have you done it ?
Do you have a working knowledge of where to modify the tunnel for such
a conversion did you sugest he may want to rethink the manual box .
or address the problem with air locks in the v6 cooling system.

Why make the thread a friggen mess with usless posts that have not addressed the problems ,if your first post had done the above it might have been good.

haven't done it myself but have driven them and have known people who have them. Have also seen two buildups started with this type of build only to be stopped because they weren't going to be a viable option.

Who says comp is the be all and end all of 4wding. Why does that have to be the definition of a true 4wder or whatever the hell you are on about.

So if we now give actual reasons for why not to do it, that still isn't good enough for you? You are the only one making this thread a friggin mess with your sooky la la comments because people think it is a bad idea.

As I said before sometimes ideas are bad ideas regardless whether you have done them your self or not. I've never made a mustard flavoured birthday cake, but I reckon it would taste awful.

Did you not read my bit about say going with a Vitara engine. Or you could go with another engine like a 4agze or perhaps a SR20. More power is fine but as I said to horror I don't think a V6 engine from a Commodore is a good way to do it.

But hey that must be all very upsetting to you so sue me.

[NIK]

original quesiton..
hey, i just bought a vp 3.8 and manual 5 speed gear box to go in my sierra 92wt. was wondering if any one who has done this conversion has any tips on what to look out for so that i'm not re inventing the wheel.

any help would be great...

how much help is in this thread?

Maybe its not a good idea to some for whatever reason but instead of smart a$$ comments how about actual tech info?
Fair enuogh there isnt much info in the original question but how about some reasons for your answers.
Nik

[r0ck_m0nkey]

So do you have first hand info on the v6 conversion ?
If not why did you respond to this thread ?

Where is your experience? You have a V6 powered Range Rover and somehow think it's relevant to a Suzuki.

I offered different ways to go about doing a decent conversion that will work .

Sticking a V6 into a Range Rover has absolutely no relevance to doing the modification to a Suzuki, so how is it a relevant option?

Buy a vehicle more suited to the engine ,
and what does this achieve ? an addition in wieght ?
your going backwards ,

But isn't this what you have done? So you're saying it was a bad idea?

[joeblow]

i don't like 3.8's, and a rangie with a zook body is not warming my undies either. they are a dinosour engine, are heavy, and many engineers won't go near one. if you really really want a v6 why not think about a zook h20 or h25 v6? all alloy, great choice of trans and would be a nicer job, and engineers might be more favourable towards that conversion, i know mine is.

[flyinwall]

have you thaught about the nissan vg 20 (2lt) or vg 30 (3lt) i think they are alloy motors so you can keep the weight down a little bit more

[Dozoor]

So do you have first hand info on the v6 conversion ?
If not why did you respond to this thread ?

Where is your experience? You have a V6 powered Range Rover and somehow think it's relevant to a Suzuki.

I offered different ways to go about doing a decent conversion that will work .

Sticking a V6 into a Range Rover has absolutely no relevance to doing the modification to a Suzuki, so how is it a relevant option?

As stated previously i offered three examples of different ways to do this conversion .
we looked at the standard chassis option and we opted for better suspension and braking and steering in one hit.
And once agian offer some Tech or refrian from posting .

Buy a vehicle more suited to the engine ,
and what does this achieve ? an addition in wieght ?
your going backwards ,

But isn't this what you have done? So you're saying it was a bad idea?

Notice the question mark , don,t quote replies to other posts .

[Dozoor]

haven't done it myself but have driven them and have known people who have them. Have also seen two buildups started with this type of build only to be stopped because they weren't going to be a viable option.

Who says comp is the be all and end all of 4wding. Why does that have to be the definition of a true 4wder or whatever the hell you are on about.

So if we now give actual reasons for why not to do it, that still isn't good enough for you? You are the only one making this thread a friggin mess with your sooky la la comments because people think it is a bad idea.

As I said before sometimes ideas are bad ideas regardless whether you have done them your self or not. I've never made a mustard flavoured birthday cake, but I reckon it would taste awful.

Did you not read my bit about say going with a Vitara engine. Or you could go with another engine like a 4agze or perhaps a SR20. More power is fine but as I said to horror I don't think a V6 engine from a Commodore is a good way to do it.

But hey that must be all very upsetting to you so sue me.

Does the original post state he wants a choice of engines no.
He has an engine.