Dallas (stinkbug) has also put heavy American iron in an Isuzu, albeit a V-6 (4.3L?). If I recall, he posted once what his SMOG-LEGAL swap ending up costing in parts alone. Very Honest, Very sobering. But, sobriety is highly overated. Good luck

My thoughts of a Ford V8 in an Isuzu? I have no preference between Ford or Chevy. They both have very proven track records. And both are easy to work on. The only problem I have is, the bellhousing on a Ford is larger and would require more firewall space. And the distributor is in the rear on a Ford. Also requiring to place the engine farther forward. Not as big a problem with the Chevy V8. I have also found that Ford parts are a tad bit more expesive. Again, I love both engines. Just more trouble for the Ford to be installed.

After posting the last post, I got to thinking about something. I have a friend that once installed a 289 engine in his Chevy LUV pickup. Must have been 15 years ago. And he had to cut the entire firewall out of the truck and have a new one fabed in about 10" back. He had more money in the new firewall than the whole truck was worth. But let me also add, this truck would scoot afterwards. He could lift the front tires from the ground off the start.

I don't think the 302 can be done for under $3000. The 3.4 definitely could be...

To do it my way, you'd spend freaking MONTHS fabbing up brackets... any sane person would look to the Explorer/SN95 front accessory dress, which would run you about $750 (less if you're a gifted parts hound). The LT1/LS1 and its very compact accessories is a much easier swap IMHO. Either setup will require you to mount your radiator in front of the front bulkhead and do a bit of clearance work on the back of the grill.

Tranny setup my way will cost you $500 and another coupla months, assuming access to a decent shop with a large mill (CNC not required)... and then you'll need anothr $250 for the clutch/pressure plate setup (more adapting, but that's the parts-hound discount price there. Much easier to spend more!). Probably plan on a mostly-replaced/rebuilt cluthc hydraulic setup to swing the longer clutch fork through a longer arc (plan on a ballpark of $200).

Note -- I am generally optimistic on parts prices. This is a by-product of my:
1.) willingness to scrounge hard at the junkyard an adapt/fabricate things to fit my needs
2.) commitment to my fifth ammendment right not to incriminate myself (my wife reads this forum at times!)

Randii

Just don't paint it YELLOW!!! <img src="/forums/images/graemlins/lol.gif" alt="" /> <img src="/forums/images/graemlins/bird.gif" alt="" /> <img src="/forums/images/graemlins/nana.gif" alt="" />

you absolutely must do the v8!

it will be tough, maybe get pretty expensive, but it would be worth it. I dont think it will be a job that only takes a few weekends, so downtime will increase.

what tranny is behind it? did that engine/tranhy combo come in any 4x4s? what t-case did that vehicle have? you gotta start finding things like this out. of course there are lots of tranny options if the BH stayed the same as the truck versions. t-18 for manual and c4 for autos for example.

adapters are really expensive, remember that.

hope im being some what coherent <img src="/forums/images/graemlins/shiner.gif" alt="" />

paul

I am not sure as to which Isuzu this kit is for, but some of the work may be already done.

Ultimate Customs in Canada has a Engine Mount kit for the 5.0L engine.

Use the products link, ya should be able to find it from there.

From the look of the site, I'm going to guess the design is intended for the Isuzu P'up. That should allow for cross-platform usage though I would think. The only question is what years and what engines are they coming from. Maybe I'll have to ask and see what I can bastardize into an '86 Trooper. <img src="/forums/images/graemlins/lol.gif" alt="" />

Last year I emailed them 3 times about the 5.0 kit and they never did reply. Don't know what is up with them.

Not to be pessimistic here, but I would go for the 3.4 bolt up.. Sounds wayyy easier/more realistic (you will be working on this outside after all). I am keeping my eye open for a v6 trooper for just the same swap, but am waiting for a nice deal. You will be killing your evenings and weekends for a year with the V8!!! just my $.02.
Good luck either way!

JD