So me and my two sons decided to build a truck...

Disclaimer: This is a long read...pictures attached below

I love my Yota's, so that's what we went with. We were going to go with a Ford SB (331 Stroker), but some of my online friends convinced me to go all Toyota; so the 1JZGTE mated to a R154 transmission was the route we went.

The JZ was a very low-mile specimen out of a Soarer. It had the long (remote shifter) version of the R154 which I later learned from the inter webs was too long to go in my truck. Well, I can tell you that it went in PERFECTLY! The new shifter location is EXACTLY where I wanted it to be. So luck was on our side there.

We started with a real nice, real clean West Coast 1988 Toyota. It already had a static drop that was done well and 4WD fenders and NO RUST! The previous owner started his vision of painting it Blitz Black, we liked the look so that was our first order of business. My oldest son learned how to do body work and paint...and did it all himself. It isn't perfect, but man--this Dad was impressed! He was just 9 when he did that (looked pretty cool in his little paint suit and respirator) and despite the imperfections, I was beyond proud. Now that he's a little older, he wants to clean it up. I told him to go for it.

Next step was to do our homework, research the parts we need and learn that this isn't going to be cheap or easy (at least for me who had no previous experience with anything other than a domestic V8's.) Here's my list of things that I bought for those of you who may want to do something like this:

1JZGTE w/ R154 trans
2JZ water pump (the 1jz pump has a hydrostatic fan and won't fit)
Engine wiring harness (plug and play)
Spartan Locker (cuz the 8" rear end my truck had needs to spin BOTH tires)
Billet Driveshaft (you're going to need to have a driveshaft made)
Engine and trans mounts (unless you're a fabricator)
Exhaust piping and flange (I went with 2.5 w/ no cats)
Intercooler and IC piping
C/A intake of your choosing
New hoses/ belts as necessary (I did what's referred to as an S2000 mod and minimized the extra stuff I wasn't going to use: P/S pump, AC)
New Radiator and electric fan (plus the switch to control it)
New Fuel tank (recommended)
Fuel pump (I went with the Aeromotive Phantom kit...awesome if you haven't ever looked at it)
AFPR (I used Aeromotive for this too)...not required, but I plan to go Single turbo and upgrade cams and injectors in the future, so I wanted adjustability.

Next was prepping everything, swapping out the water pump, hooking up the new harness after pulling out the old one, measuring everything multiple times, etc. I wished it wasn't 20 below in my garage over the winter; otherwise I would've spent more time cleaning up my engine bay between pulling the 22r and dropping in the 1JZ.

I also had to cut the trans tunnel for the new shifter location and then weld up the old spot.

Dropping in the motor wasn't ridiculous; however, know that it's a TIGHT fit!!! I had help with this and ended up having to pull it twice because of different things. I hear that the 89 and newer have some extra room in the bay. I literally have less than .5" at the firewall and about an inch between the front and the radiator.

Instead of messing around with all of the adapters to get my old gauges working and get my speedo to communicate with the electronic R154, I decided to spend the money and get an all digital dash that had all of the necessary gauges along with a GPS speedometer. I'm glad I did that--and I think it looks badass. It's a lot cleaner than when I had all of the mechanical gauges and that monster tach. I have a digital boost gauge down by the dimmer switch too.

Next was to put in some bolstered seats, 4 point harnesses and some stereo components. I don't use the stereo much, because the sound of the turbos and BOV make better music IMHO.

Another little thing that I did was run the exhaust out of side of the bed on the driver's side. I'm glad I did that because it makes everything sound better when I'm driving.

We did a bunch of other little things too, like change out the factory lights to clears, dumped the old sealed beams for HID projectors.

I'm still trying to sort out some of the wiring--like i said, no expert here. I kept some of the factory harness so that I could run lights and all of that type of stuff but am struggling with a few items:

Hazard lights (front and rear) and headlights work, but corner lights (blinkers) and brake lights don't. I know I have my work cut out for me on those items. If I can't get it figured out this weekend, I may need to take it to an expert. It's been kicking my butt for two weeks now.

If there are any wiring gurus out there and willing to chat I would truly appreciate it!

Also..anyone out there thinking of doing something like this know a couple of things:

If me and my kids can do it, you certainly can. Stick with it, because it'll frustrate the hell out of you. If I can ever be of assistance with questions, don't hesitate to ask!

Enjoy and thanks for reading!

 

Where did u get the mounts? And the 1jz engine plugged right in?

 

Very nice like the finish , make it a sleeper

 

siiiiik!

im currently on the ground floor of my build. gonna swap in a 7mge. N/A for now. then when all the bugs worked out, plan to go single-snail power!