toyota chinook motor upgrade/modification

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chuckd

New member
I've got a 1983 toyota chinook 4x4 truck which has been really good to me, the only thing is that it is a real slug on the highway and it gets pretty bad mileage (probably about 12 - 14 mpg on the highway). I was thinking about rebuilding the motor (oversize the pistons and cam) and changing it to fuel injection, although I am not very familiar with toyotas and the fuel injection setup doesn't seem easy to come by. I've also considered changing the motor out completly, maybe to a V8 (overkill?) or maybe a V6. I would like to keep the stock axels, transfer case, and possibly the manual 5 speed transmission (since they are all in good working order). But, I wouldn't mind having an auto transmission. I would like the truck to be able to keep about 60 mph on a typical steep highway uphill grade, currently it will struggle to keep 50. On a flat and level, the truck will do around 60 - 65, I would like it to maybe keep 70 - 75 on a flat highway. Any suggestions?

Thanks,
Chuck
 
Fergie

Fergie

Expedition Leader
Chuck,

What year is your Chinook? Does it have the 18R or 20R engine?

An easy upgrade would be to use a 22R engine, with a 20R head on it. This way you don't have to upgrade to a fuel injected system.

The other, more involved way would be to swap in a 3RZ 4cyl FI engine. The 3RZ was the direction I was heading when I had my Chinook. This swap is much more involved, but you'd end up with plenty of power, a very reliable and readily available engine, and much better fuel mileage.

I would register on the Chinook Owners Group on Yahoo, as well as toyotamotorhomes.com and even the Marlin Crawler website(3rz swap info).

G
 
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chuckd

New member
Oh yeah, I should have said that it has a 22R motor in it. Thanks for the reply, I will look into the 3rz swap. What is the benefit of using a 20R head.... bigger valves, taller cam?

Thanks,
Chuck
 
O

Ozarker

Well-known member
I had a girl friend that had one, she was hot and it was a dog, LOL. I still like'em, the campers that is. Would a diesel work as an option? I liked seeing a 4.3 suggested too.
 
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SteveG

Adventurer
A TBI 4.3L would be a great engine for that swap. GM's TBI is simple, economical and easy to install. I say go for it. The 700r4 would also work well.

Best of all, you should be able to find a complete donor vehicle for really cheap.

Oh, and. 4x4 Chinook... rad.
 
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chuckd

New member
chinook001.jpg

telluride.jpg

Yeah, it's been a pretty cool truck....in some ways, not so cool in others. I'm not very sure on the history of the truck.
Thanks for the suggestions. The 4.3 TBI sounds like a good option. If I wanted to use the stock manual trans. I suppose that there would be an adapter plate available? I would probably need to fabricate some motor mounts? The 700r4 route seems like a good option, I'm kinda tired of shifting gears.
 
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shortbus4x4

Expedition Leader
Look at Downey Offroad, Advance Adaptors, and there are others for a 4.3 swap. I think it would be almost bolt in. You could use a 700R4 adapted to the Toy T-case or a newer stock Toy 5 speed adpated to the 4.3. Downey has lots of info on this swap. You have lots of different options if you choose an engine swap.

A diesel would be cool but with the price of diesel and the cost of an engine I think you would be money ahead to stick with gas.
 
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Deleted member 9101

Guest
SteveG said:
A TBI 4.3L would be a great engine for that swap. GM's TBI is simple, economical and easy to install. I say go for it. The 700r4 would also work well.

Best of all, you should be able to find a complete donor vehicle for really cheap.

Oh, and. 4x4 Chinook... rad.
Click to expand...

That would be my choice... or a 350 .. either one will get the job done.
 
frgtwn

frgtwn

Adventurer
Has Downey Offroad come back to life? They went out of business in July 09. I have not heard anything since.

Dale
 
N

nely

Adventurer
Downey offroad is outa business. Advanced adapters has bolt in or weld in kits for the chevy conversions into the early toyotas with adapters to the transmissions. Advanced adapters has everything youd need.

The easiest thing would probably be to buy a 4wd blazer to get the everything youd need for the swap off the vehicle. You could use your transmission or use the one in the blazer. Either k5 for your v8 swap or s10 for v6.

Sent from my SGH-T959 using Tapatalk
 
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shortbus4x4

Expedition Leader
Sorry to hear about Downey. Back when I had my 80's Toyota PU's they were the bomb when it came to cool Toyota stuff.
 
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