535ia + 1UZFE Lexus v8

nelson9879 · Post by **nelson9879** » May 23, 2012 11:37 PM

As per the link they can take over 360lb ft of torque by the looks.

I thought this was the case, but you had me worried for a second there.

http://www.rx7club.com/showthread.php?t=679163

francois19 · Post by **francois19** » Jul 01, 2012 6:59 AM

i'm busy with a 4.0 litre lexus conversion in a 1988 520i!! here in south africa they have done a few of these conversions on e 36's, on e 30's and e 46's, but i have not yet heard of one done on a e 28!! i'm using the lexus automatic gearbox as the 520 was an automatic! the engine and gearbox are fitted! both fit very nicely, only problem is brake booster and steering box, i had to remove both!! the brake booster will probably be moved to behind the headlight! the biggest problem is steering, i'm busy fitting a powersteering rack from a VW polo (south african). good luck on the conversion!!

1st 5er · Post by **1st 5er** » Jul 01, 2012 1:52 PM

So, when does the build begin?

I'm subscribed.

Cooperman · Post by **Cooperman** » Jul 02, 2012 9:01 AM

I definitely want to see the build. Good luck.

nelson9879 · Post by **nelson9879** » Jul 11, 2012 9:31 PM

francois19 - I thought about keeping the auto as my car was originally an auto as well, but I figured for a few extra $$ up front I might as well swap to manual, it helps not to have the "luxury" (make that lazy) torque converter i think. but good luck fella, and upload some pics.

I have the hydraulic brake and power steering set up in my car so no issue with boosters etc, the engine fits in and sits 50mm off the firewall (good space for heater hoses and AC lines running into the car... yes I am keeping the AC) and the shifter comes up in the perfect position with the S5 rx7 box.

I dont have to move the steering box, but eventually I will look to change to a rack set up for better feel on the wheel.

Build has started, i will upload some pictures soon, just getting the engine and box together first, the adapter plates and clutch set up etc and I have to build it all from scratch so it is taking a bit of time and work commitments etc... blah blah

will update soon guys, sorry for the delay.

nelson9879 · Post by **nelson9879** » Aug 13, 2012 10:56 PM

http://www.cardomain.com/gallery/15909578

http://www.cardomain.com/gallery/15909577

Still cant understand how to post a picture...

Post by **Nebraska_e28** » Aug 13, 2012 11:39 PM

Like this:

Actually it's a tad tricky with the source page links to your pictures. Appended to the end of your image location was a ?v=1 I had to remove that from the link & then you're able to post them as pics as per the instructions on the forum of how to post pics.

Essentially to post a pic, you need to link to your picture (the url must end in .jpg for this to work) & then enclose it like so (but remove the extra spaces I added.

davintosh · Post by **davintosh** » Aug 13, 2012 11:42 PM

nelson9879 wrote:http://www.cardomain.com/gallery/15909578

http://www.cardomain.com/gallery/15909577

Still cant understand how to post a picture...

When copying the image url from a site like CarDomain it usually ends up with some extra garbage on the end of it; just delete everything that follows the .jpg filename extension and put the

tags around it.

nelson9879 · Post by **nelson9879** » Aug 15, 2012 2:51 AM

sweet, cheers guys i will do, should have a few more to upload this weekend... adapter is all sorted and trial fitting to see if i have any issues with bumping into existing car bits.

J-aec · Post by **J-aec** » Aug 15, 2012 6:22 AM

Nice...

Was wondering, why not go with the tried and true method and stick w/ the r154 trans? Or better yet the v160?

http://www.quantum-auto.com/index.html or I'm pretty sure there are some NZ businesses that make adapter plates.

Not knockin' on the RX7 box. Just wonderin'. Good luck with your build!

nelson9879 · Post by **nelson9879** » Aug 15, 2012 7:14 AM

Hi, yes r154 and V160 or V161 would be awesome... and there are lots of places I can buy adapter plates in NZ for these boxes.

91 turbo Rx7 5 Speed - $500
R154 - $2500
V160/161 - $5000
Adapter plate for R154 V160 - $600 (Cast bellhousing adapter)

Toyota W box, minumum $1000 and anyones guess what condition it will be in... W series adapter plate $395 or Bellhousing type adapter $695

The rx7 box is low km, and off a stock 91 turbo so will be in good shape. And easier to modify the shifter position than a toyota box.

The decision was simply price and availability my friend

nelson9879 · Post by **nelson9879** » Aug 15, 2012 11:38 PM

I have been playing in the shop and got a bit closer... here is the modded up shifter mechanism on the rx7 box, I have not done the final welding yet as I will fit it this saturday to get all the bits mounting to the factory holes in the cars sheetmetal. looks prettier for once the interior goes back in as well.

Lathe set up to make the flywheel about 10pounds... LIGHT

Flywheel getting whipped into shape... already drilled and ring gear will come courtesy of the automatics flexiplate.

Up on the hoist finally

A few shots of the adapterplate

http://www.cardomain.com/gallery/15913619#

Boxes standing tall... have pulled it down and put it back together with all new bearings, so easy, its a panel...

http://www.cardomain.com/gallery/15913633#

nelson9879 · Post by **nelson9879** » Aug 15, 2012 11:40 PM

still cant make it work... im a bit retarded with computers i guess

Post by **mooseheadm5** » Aug 15, 2012 11:40 PM

Nice adapter ring!

nelson9879 · Post by **nelson9879** » Aug 16, 2012 12:08 AM

Thanks mate, yeah the series 5 rx7 box bolts right up to it, will be all toyota forward of the adapter and all mazda behind it for ease of parts and stuff.

nelson9879 · Post by **nelson9879** » Aug 16, 2012 12:32 AM

Hey while I am in this far, does anyone know if there is a rack and pinion set up I could fab on? does E39 fit? looking for something that works out of the box, dont want to muck about a lot, but if there is something that someone has used before that I can easly weld on, doesnt even need to be power assisted

Any ideas?

francois19 · Post by **francois19** » Aug 16, 2012 3:39 AM

i used a powersteering rack from a VW polo classic!! works better than expected, actually a lot quicker and better feel than the old steering box!! you have to use a front wheel drive's steering rack!! the e34 and e30 rack WON'T work, not sure about the e34!!! the tie rod ends on a e28 is on the back of the wheel (if you understand what i mean) and on the e36 and e30 on the front!!!

nelson9879 · Post by **nelson9879** » Aug 16, 2012 4:47 AM

Sweet, so how much mucking about is there to get the VW polo unit to work? Im guessing it doesnt bolt in, you need to change the ends and stuff about?

If its too hard i will just focus on the engine for now and then change the steering around later

francois19 · Post by **francois19** » Aug 16, 2012 5:28 AM

it actually went in pretty easy, welded 2 brackets on the rear of the cross member, had to shorten the 2 steering arms, but the tie rod ends on the polo is the same as on the bmw, so just bolt on!! the only problem with the rack setup is that there is no space for an exhaust pipe to exit on the side of the engin where your "main body" of the rack is (the piece that connects to your steering column)! i just modified that side's manifold and took the exhaust underneath the engin between the gap of the sump and cross member!! so both pipes exits on the one side of the engin, worked out pretty well! i'll post some pictures when i get a chance that will explain it better! i've got no bump steer issues with my setup!!

nelson9879 · Post by **nelson9879** » Aug 16, 2012 5:41 AM

sweet i will have a look into it, what year and do you have a chassis code for the polo i could use? cheers

francois19 · Post by **francois19** » Aug 16, 2012 6:04 AM

unfortunately i don't know the chassis code, but it was a 1994-1999 polo shape!!

nelson9879 · Post by **nelson9879** » Aug 18, 2012 12:40 AM

nelson9879 · Post by **nelson9879** » Aug 18, 2012 12:41 AM

nelson9879 · Post by **nelson9879** » Aug 18, 2012 12:51 AM

I will be buggered if i can sus that image posting out... my address bar doesnt get the .jpg post file name, I tried adding it, but it doesnt work. so here are the links to the cardomain gallery.

Engine and box together and in the hole... not in its final position but its in there and today now working on lining up everything, its gonna be a tighter fit than i thought, that steering box is HUGE when you really look at it, will have to look at some log type headers, not the best but we will see once its sitting back another 120mm or so, going to move the heater switch and push the motor right back up against the firewall... will be hitting it hard this week and next week should have the camera in the workshop for some good progress.

5 days and no interruptions... still here we are so far

http://www.cardomain.com/gallery/15915766#

http://www.cardomain.com/gallery/15915765#

http://www.cardomain.com/gallery/15915763#

http://www.cardomain.com/gallery/15915773#

http://www.cardomain.com/gallery/15915772#

http://www.cardomain.com/gallery/15915768#

nelson9879 · Post by **nelson9879** » Oct 03, 2012 9:42 PM

Well it was a tighter tit than I thought it would be... my advice if anyone is looking at doing this conversion is.

1, Convert to rack and pinion steering first.

Thats all really, the engine went in no worries, i had to mess about with my hydraulic booster set up (which i knew i would anyway), I used an Auto radiator and run the powersteering pump off the 1uz (1200Max PSI so compatible with the BMW hydraulic set up) through the radiator iol cooler (that used to be for the auto box) and around to the Gas 'bomb'. the system works really well and my braking is great, overall the system holds just under 2 liters of powersterring fluid so plenty incase of a leak.

I kept the steering box and managed to customise my headers around it... not something I would waste time on again, I think between the extractors and exhaust i have 4 full days just making it fit and not knock with safe clearances incase of engine shift.

I have made all the mounts so that the car can be put back to standard in the future if so desired... dont think i will but you never know.

I started her up for the first time after a few starter motor issues 2 nights ago... will put up some video on youtube over the weekend and drop the links in here.

Just chasing gremlins at the moment, there is a power steering leak from one of the fittings and cleaning up the wiring and mounting the comuter... I will have to take it to an auto electrician to get the temp gauge and rev counter working as I have no clue how to do that myself... a resistor inline i would guess but some things i find its easier to pay a professional - electrics is one.

The factory computer was a really easy wire up to be honest, and everything you need to cut out for running the auto box was on Lextreme forum so that was cool.

I havent driven her yet as the powersteering leak is the hydraulic system and runs the brakes... dont want to be caught without brakes

Sounds nice with just a single flowmaster 40 on the rear of the exhaust, but i think driving it around i will want to shut it up a bit more, so will look into a muffler half way down the car.

Sorry no picture right now, been working overseas last 4 weeks and just getting home now and back into it.

what i thought would be 3 months is now 7... typical with this type of project

Check in after the weekend and i should have some new pics and some video up.

cheers

Dubs · Post by **Dubs** » Dec 13, 2017 8:58 PM

MyE28.com

MyE28.com

535ia + 1UZFE Lexus v8

Re: 535ia + 1UZFE Lexus v8