1991 auto Vitara as donor vehicle

[davidsuzuki]

Found a 1991 auto Vitara with 280,000km on it for $700.
Considering buying it as a donor and mating the G16B motor to my Sierra 5sp manual using an adapter plate. Suziworld quoted me 1800-1900 to recondition the motor. What do you guys reckon, reasonable plan?

[jonfromhamilton]

Is a 91 vitara a g16b or g16a?

[davidsuzuki]

According to redbook and carpoint its a G16B Mpfi

[christover1]

Australian LWB were all efi.

[gwagensteve]

91 would be the very first of the LWB. No problem, just an observation. If it's SWB It's carby, which makes the auto a 3 speed and the whole thing less desirable.

However, I won't endorse a "cheap" rebuild on a G series motor (or in fact, any motor) I'd suggest the motor will have about 30K life after rebuilding, tops. A quality rebuild would cost far more than $1800 (more like $4K+). Getting a whole EFI vitara donor for $700 is great value for lots of reasons other than the bottom end. If the motor is tired, then look to a low km Baleno donor. A 100k (or less) Baleno is still very cheap and the motor will have heaps of life left in it. I'd do anything to avoid pulling factory built G16B down. I don't think they are ever trouble free once they've been apart.

As an aside, if you are looking for this swap to be legal/engineered, you need to ensure the donor motor is the same age or newer than your car. Not sure how old your car is but I thought it was newer than 91.

Steve.

[davidsuzuki]

I was planning to keep the car legal and possibly engineered, so the donor will have to be 1995 or later then.
From reading a few build threads the Baleno conversion sounds more complex than what I want to take on.
I wonder what sort of performance I could get from a well rebuilt G16A, with just a carburetor? It appeals to me because the conversion is simple and I will be able to do it in a short time at my friends workshop. Anyone driven a G16A carby'ed Sierra? I did find a few posts on an American forum endorsing this setup. Some even claimed the low end torque is better than a G16B.

[jonfromhamilton]

baleno easy
not sure about auto however

[christover1]

I think Steve meant the Vit might be worth buying for all the bits needed for a conversion,
then a good motor can be sourced from A Baleno of correct year later.
But I could be mistaken..

[gwagensteve]

Correct. However, if the fuel injection (and therefore computer and manifolds) are from a 1991 vitara, the swap still won't be legal even if the bottom end of the motor is from a 1995 Baleno. You could approach an engineer for in principle approval- emissions requirements might not have changed between 1991 and 1995, but the general rule is always same year or newer for an engine swap. In theory you'd have to prove via a test that the finished car still meets 1995 emissions.

Carby G16a's are disappointing. They have more torque by at the expense of revs (they are just a stroked g13) and I think the last year for the g16a was 1994, so a whole swap won't necessarily be legal either.

You could swap your head/manifolds onto a g16 bottom end, which would retain all your existing emissions equipment, but see my notes about longevity once an engine has been broken open. Also, a 1.3 head has smaller valves which is good for torque but kills top end even more. This would still need engineering in any case due to the capacity/power increase and because the g16 variant was never used in a Sierra.

Steve.

[davidsuzuki]

Ok,
What about a low km's Baleno combined with G13BB injection etc. Would that work?
Suzistore WA perform this conversion on a regular basis, but I think they usually use a G16B from a Vitara not a Baleno.

http://www.suzistore.com.au/index.php?o ... Itemid=502