So I've had my ute for 6 years now and the A series is getting a bit tired. I've done tons of motor swaps in my 510's and although I thought about keeping the A series I just don't really care for them. So I keep thinking a VG30 would be rad as it would sound beast and since it's a truck it doesn't have to handle like it's on rails it would be fun to do the VG swap. What do you guys think about the added weight? Don't care about fuel economy either. I work 1 mile from my house and don't take it on road trips. This is my work horse.

I weighed a long VG30et with turbo and flywheel but no clutch assembly, no alternator and no a/c compressor at 151kgs. That's reasonably light for a v6.

It's a swap that's been done many times (though obviously not as common as other swaps like the SR20 swap into 1200 or the CA18DET swap). Use a Maxima or Mercury Villager oil pan which fits in the 1200

VG30 in 1200 engine bay



VG

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So I've gotten to this point with motor swaps, swayed by my fabricator friend, that once you start getting into the 350-375lb zone you might as well go with a V8. A 5.0 Ford is very compact and with aluminum heads, manifold and other bits they can be brought down to 390lbs. Also factor in the gearbox which only weighs 78lbs. All the turbo plumbing and intercooler ads more weight than one thinks. Mildly tuned they're 300 hp and will last 200,000 miles.

A-series aren't particularly powerful so I get that. I vote for whatever you find cheap. Anything with 150 whp or more will make it scoot nicely. Given the propensity of 400+ hp modern cars on the road trying to make it stupid fast would be pointless. On a street car the 100lb difference between various motors doesn't matter, as if one would notice the difference in transient handling while negotiating the left turn lane at 33mph.

I like six cylinder engines from from an exhaust note standpoint but I personally I like to be different so I'd want something unique; 5 cylinder, Subaru flat 4 (to wide) or one of the big four cylinder engines 2.4-2.6 over bored to as large as it will go, I think a couple of them can be bored to near 3.0.

Cant beat the retro look, silky smooth sound of the...
https://encrypted-tbn0.gstatic.com/ima ... pD4IgoulHA00iEwPYmwUHPwLw

They are a compact light little engine with bullet proof snout bottom end

https://s14-eu5.ixquick.com/cgi-bin/se ... 31923a0a5814cd27a1f29e4c7

Not sure but the vg bell might be avail for the world class borg warner T5
especially the stumpy version from the S-10 only weighs 35kg and ultra
close ratio gearsets are cheapest of all for these 5 speeds.
They were available for the L28et and would fit better in a datto.

Subaru OHC will fit, the DOHC is too wide. Dunno if the Subaru transaxle will fit the 1200, but if you put a spool in it, it can be used as a RWD gearbox

I hear you on the might as well go V8 although I don't care for the v8 sound (unless its the new mustang 350 with the flat plane crank) I'll just stick with the VG since I love the sound.

When I get to the swap I'll try and start a thread. maybe within the next year or two.

I looked into making mine different and you can be as different as you want depending how handy you are and how deep your pockets are... It also depends on where you live to how hard it will be to get engineered, NSW is a nightmare for different reasons but just because it gets a cert they can still defect you... guilty till proven otherwise.

Consider the VQ instead of the VG. It's lighter and makes twice the HP, and is very common engine. The hardest part of the VQ is custom exhaust is needed due to the twin cam heads being wider. And it comes standard with 6-speed gearbox

VG30E (SOHC) 160-179 hp
VQ30DE (DOHC) 235-289 hp

VQ Engine Swap

I have a VQ and VG I borrowed a certified load cell from work. It's accurate to +/- lbs. We will see how light the VQ is. Seems massive!

I also have a L20 a SR20DET and a KA24E going to weigh them all.