79 performance

[79hilux]

I have a 79 4x4 truck with a new engine and a tri-y header. the engine is otherwise stock, and is somthing of a turtle in it's current trim. I'm trying to weigh the options about performance, and have recently obtained a weber 32-36 which I will install shortly. I am looking at a few ideas including; porting and polishing my 20R head and sticking it on a bored out 22R short block, the LC engineering supercharger, or perhaps a 4.3L GM V-6 swap. I have known several people who have messed around with V-8 swaps, and I don't want to spend that much time trying to keep it from overheating. Any input from those of you with experiance is helpful.

[Aktunka]

Keeping a v8 cool in those things is not hard as long as you are willing to buy a good radiator. I would also recommend doing an electric fan as well. Anyhow, the v8 swap is very much like the swap for the 4.3, and you are going to want to spend some money on a good radiator if you do that still anyhow.

I guess that the truck being a turtle would depend on your definition of a turtle hehe. When I had my trucks, I found that a weber carb and header were all the power I could ever need. Don't get me wrong, it wasn't a speed demon or anything, but the power was there and I had the known reliability of it being a toyota engine. And the 20r is more than capable of giving you enough power to do whatever you might want to do offroad as well. Anyways, you could also check Northwest Offroad Specialties and Downey as well for some other 4x4 performance options. Good luck.

[Rycam]

Why spend $4000 on 4.3 or bigger on $2000 truck? I am in the same boat as you with my '84 4x4. These trucks sre slow because they are from a different era...but they seem to run forever! I do love when it rains as I am able to drive the same speeds (within reason), as I always do...passing all manner of cars and trucks.

If using all the power you want is for asphalt, that is fine, but offroad, there are many other areas of improvement to make your rig more capable besides horsepower.

More power to you whatever you decide.

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