Good info,
It looks like the American made ECU was flash but not the early OBD II Japanese ones.
The turbo and other swaps will be much easier with a programmable ECU of the later cars eliminating the need for piggybacks such as the Emanage.

How far up in years will my 1990 4-speed tranny fit the 24v DOHC motor? This does sound like a better Idea, but as far as I can see, more expensive, having to buy the turbo's and gadgets seperately, I found a 1992 VR-4 with turbo's and all for $1,990, it has 26K miles on it. Any more suggestion would be great, Thx

This is a reply to the Cammed difference in the 3000GT motor and the Monty motor:


What exactly is the major reason in the difference in the "3000GT Motor" not being cammed good for the monty? The reason why I ask is because when I look up replacement motors the "3000GT, Montero and the Diamante" all fall within that category for the 3.0L 24v DOHC..Does it really make a difference? Thanks in Advance!! <img src="/forums/images/graemlins/smile.gif" alt="" />

The 3.0 12V cams in the trucks are 4deg milder than in a car as well as being a bit more advanced. I have both in my Diamante and my Mighty max. The Diamante has more power everywhere from idle on up.
The 3.0 DOHC has about 75 ft-lb more than the SOHC truck and 50 more than the car. It also gets 4-6 mpg better economy.
I personally will use car cams every time. They just perform better. Now if you drive in such a way that you never rev past 2 grand then the truck cams might have value.
I think most of us drive on a road at least once in awile and rev past 2 grand. If you argue that you lug up a hill at 1000 revs, well the DOHC out torques a 12V easily there too.

Thanks Oldcolt, what do you think about this? Does it really matter? In other words, would it be easier or just go with my original plan, Just wondering,just deal with the 3000GT motor or get a Monty 3.0L DOHC and add the turbo's? Thx in Advance!! p.S. I want your input too FrankR........

In most cases you probably wouldn't know the difference. You would notice better power with the car cams at higher rpms and on the highway in kickdown acceleration from cruise throttle. If you tow, you'd want the truck cams.

My suggestion was based on my belief that a truck engine would be easier to find and cost less, but if you can find one with all the extras for that price, so much the better. I think the VR4 engine had a nitrided crankshaft... an advantage if you plan to build a lot of boost. Either way you go, you'll probably have to source some parts from the other variant... if you buy the truck engine, you'll have to buy the turbo stuff.... if you buy the VR4 engine, you'll likely have to buy some longitudinal engine parts.

Frank

Actually I prefer the car cams for towing, much more torque in the 3-4K range.
The Montero never got the 3.0 DOHC, they got a 3.5 DOHC. If you get one of these with its wiring, try it as is. It may be enough power for you. It is close to 100 ft lb more torque than what is in your Montero now.
Any of the later SOHC 24 valve engines are not a bad choice either.

Thanks for the info, For what I can see, it's going to be much cheaper and reasonable to buy the VR4 engine with all the goodies rather that the truck motor and add them. What I want is more acceleration at times but also more torgue for climbing. I am not wanting to pull down a building or anything, just a little more power to climb up some steep hills when off roading on the trails at "Telico" mountains in Tennessee with out any problems, so my understanding is just the fact of having the 24V DOHC will do enough for me for the climbing and just rely on the turbo boost only for speed since the turbo's don't do squat at 1k rpm and under.