Suzuki 4WD Club of Victoria

Hi Guys,
A complex question. Does anyone know of a place/mechanic that will do a 1.6 conversion for a sierra 1.3?

A mate of mine is not particularly mechanical but loves his Suzuki 4wdriving. He's quite happy to spend a fair price for a good reliable job.
His 1.3 is pretty tired and due for new rings etc so he has asked me to do some research. btw. he has 6.5 transfer gears.

Option A - get a 1.6 block and bolt it in with a conversion kit to mate with existing 5 speed.

Option B - Complete 1.6 efi conversion.

Option c - Complete 1.6 efi with Auto conversion

Option D - rebuild/replace his 1.3

Melbourne area but prepared to transport vehicle for the right job.
I also appreciate that this might be something that only mechanically minded enthusiasts do to their own cars.
Any suggestions or advice would be greatly appreciated.
Thanks

Hi Letterbox,

Due to the high cost of labour, most club members are inclined to perform engine conversions themselves, so it’s a bit hard to recommend anyone that we have actually used for engine swap duties.

As a general rule of thumb for a workshop, labour cost seems to be in the region of $1,000 per day.

Looking at your options you have proposed, I would suggest costs could be as follows:

Option A - get a 1.6 block and bolt it in with a conversion kit to mate with existing 5 speed
This should be pretty simple for a workshop to do. There is also a sump swamp required.
Labour Estimate of 1 day ($1,000)
Note: pretty easy job to do at home.

Option B - Complete 1.6 efi conversion
This is a bigger job due to the addition of wiring, computer install, efi tank and plumbing.
Labour Estimate of 1 – 2 days ($1,000 - $2,000).
Note: harder job to do at home. Could include cutting and welding for tank install. Lots of wiring to be done.

Option C - Complete 1.6 efi with Auto conversion
Bigger job again due to having to deal with transmission cross members, transmission to trans tunnel body clearance issues, even more complex wiring issues.
Labour Estimate of 2 – 3 days ($2,000 - $3,000)
Note: harder job to do at home. Definately cutting and welding for transmission install. Even more wiring to be done.

Option D - rebuild/replace his 1.3
Smallest of the jobs, but there are no gains to be had – i.e. a better outcome would come from the 1.6 block.
Note: pretty easy job to do at home.

All of the above costs imply BYO parts.

Pass on these sorts of cost details to your mate – you might find your Option list reduces a bit.

Two Melbourne workshops that club members deal with on pretty regular occasions are Suzi World (Suzuki Parts Wrecker) in Heidelberg West and Total Traction Drivelines in Moorabbin. Both these shops could be worthwhile contacting to discuss your plans and confirm that my dollar guestimates above are close to being accurate.

Notes:
1. If the car is only ever going to be used for road duties so you are not concerned with carb issues when driving on side angles, you might find all the performance you need in the 1.6 block swap (option A).
2. If the car is going to go offroad, and you can afford it, then the 1.6L EFI with auto is the best choice. But while you are at it – consider upgrading to Power Steering at the same time.

If you want to come out and see how some of your different Option’d vehicles perform – I would suggest coming along to a club trip for a look-see. We have a few cars running around with Vitara EFIs, Vitara Carbs and a mix of 3 and 4 speed autos for comparison.

Hope that helps.

Cheers.
Greg

Greg,
thankyou for the detailed reply.
I'll pass the info on and let him decide what he'd like to do.

Ralph

Hey Ralph being in the game I would say that Greg's estimates are pretty close but are on the lean side for costings. Fabrication and conversions take a long time. I would love to see someone do option B in 1-2 Days. I would say most workshops wouldn't be seeing the lower end of $3000 for a job like that.

If you guys were to do the things like install the tank, run new EFI lines, run wiring for the new fuel pump, source exhaust manifolds, then i think this would save a lot on labour. It may even pay to get someone like joeblow from auszookers to build a plug and play wiring loom for the ECU wiring. I think he only charges around $400-500 for this, Again this would save time. Things like supplying oils, filters, getting the airbox all mounted up ready to go and ECU mounted are all things most average backyarders can handle. This would all save labour costs.Also buying things like the 1.6 conversion kits from BenT on auszookers or from low range offroad in the states will also save time and money. It's not worth reinventing the wheel when someone has already done it.

If you can go to a workshop and say look I can supply:

Plug and play wiring loom
EFI tank mounting and pump wiring run to engine bay,
ECU mounted and ready to plug in
Engine conversion kit inc engine mounts, gearbox adapters, spacers etc
Fresh motor and gearbox

Then I think you'd probably be getting into the realm of the $1000-2000 mark for labour. Everyone underestimates how long these things take, i took 3 years to do my engine conversion! .

Good motor, ecu, loom and box - $2000 max
EFI tank and pump - up to $300
EFI plug and plug loom - $500
Conversion kit - $300
Labour - $2000
Micellaneous oils, filters, bolts, steel, efi line, wiring, $500-600 before you know it.

TOTAL: $5700 nearing the top end....

I say go ahead and do it yourself. Before I ever had a 4wd (which was about 12 months ago) the most mechanical I ever got was the Oil change every 10,000km on my falcon.
I used to think putting transfer case gears in was going to be a big job and since then have almost ripped apart one entire sierra and put it back together again.
Granted there are still a few things that I am scratching my head on but the guys on this forum and google are a huge help.
I still have much to learn and by no means would call myself a mechanical genius but once I get my sierra back together which should only be another weekend or 2 I will be making plans to do the 1.6 EFI and Auto conversion also.