KL-ZE from GW5R into BJ nearly complete!

[Sleepy Gonzalez]

Possibly the first Australian KL-ZE swapped BJ?

I was required to use an engine of the same year range as my car, which meant a GW5R or TA5P chassis. GW5R would be easiest, but is quite hard to find. I just happened to stumble across one bought by Allmaz, who cut it for me. Very happy with their service.

Unfortunately, I didn't have the time or money to clean up the engine bay and thoroughly clean up the engine and make it look pretty(it was a bit yukky looking for it's age).

[IMG][/IMG]

I had some much appreciated help from friends with the heavy stuff, but was on my own for the wiring. Could not believe how long that took! AWD, auto transmission, multi speed cooling fans, climate control etc = LOTS of wires. And no diagrams... But since I had a front cut, very little cutting or splicing was needed since I could just transfer wires between plugs. So no tuning issues from dodgy mix and match hack jobs like many North Americans have to do. The only system not working yet is the air conditioning, as I can't yet afford the custom pipes needed.

The V6 is much smoother than the I4 even with the AWR mounts in. Sounds better too. No fart can raspiness with the stock headers and Racing Beat cat-back. The power increase is significant everywhere, but it's the top end where it really feels quick. It's a very smooth, progressive increase of acceleration with rpm that feels just right for the car. At last, the power seems to match the handling well now, and I have no plans for any further power upgrades, maybe just an LSD to help cope with corners and wet weather.

I recently had the privilege to drive a 760whp supercharged Maloo. The acceleration was HUUUGE! Anywhere in the rev range. I'm sure the owner gets a great deal of satisfaction from it, but to me felt kind of pointless for a street car that never sees a racetrack. The gear ratios didn't seem to make sense for road legal speeds. Alot of useless power. Strangely uninspiring and hasn't taken the shine off my relatively feeble project one bit.

Does anyone know where I can get parts for this thing? Russia, Japan and NZ have some, but very little. It's hard to find GW5R specific parts. For example, the distributor has a seperate ignition coil. I haven't seen that on a KL yet. The PCM is a KLS8, not the KL31 or KL36 etc I keep seeing.

I will start a for sale thread soon for the FP parts, and some left over GE/GF/GW parts.

[phunkdust]

Good lord that's even more cramped than the BA!

What did that cost from Allmaz?

[rodhog]

looks just like in a GF or GW 626 or even a GE they all looked cramped

Love it. That's true sleeper style and in fact true euro style too.

200Ps of KL in what 1200Kg or less That's the way. the LSD wil lbe well worth it.

I use to have acess to a Mazdaspeed import Auto MX-6 and a convert Manual the LSD in manual is really needed. due to the way the power comes on it's not massive or urgent and you can control the thortle in the wet but you find it better with the LSD as you don't have to feather it in the wet goign hard around a corner - lets say on race track and you cna put it down earlier, much more then with turbo because it is so much more smoother and flat

[Sleepy Gonzalez]

$3,200 for the front cut and $200 for the MX6 manual gearbox/FW/clutch (No 2 mount bracket had a stuck/snapped bolt in it that ate an ezi-out and 3 drill bits. Eventually gave up and modified the bracket). They also sent a box of random nuts and bolts, which was useful. Merv was patient and helpful and I would recommend Allmaz.

It does look like the GW5R, except I didn't need the bulky brackets for the ignition coil, fuel filter and charcoal canister, so I just mounted the coil on the BJ battery mount. Very convenient and more simple and tidy.

I was wondering about a twin turbo kit with a pair of GT15s or similar, but having driven it now I think that would be almost pointless for my current street use. For motorways or drag racing, sure, but not for the corners. An LSD would be much more useful, and maybe a slightly shorter final drive. ie MX3 gearbox with a Quaiffe. This would would give a bit more punch and match the old shifting speeds, which is fine, since the new higher redline still doesn't quite make 60kph in 1st or 100kph in 2nd gear. But definitely an LSD.

[phunkdust]

Yeah Allmaz is great I've bought quite a few bits and pieces off them.

I have a BA V6 and thinking about what I might do when the motor gets too tired... the body is in really nice condition and I love the shape of the car so thinking about if it would be worth taking it down to Allmaz and having them throw a KL-ZE in it

[Cosmo Dude]

Looks like fun... How heavy does it handle?

[marcs_sp20]

Crikey!

Hows the car handle with a heap more power?

[Sleepy Gonzalez]

Haven't really chucked it around too hard yet, but it handles fine. In fact, it feels excellent. But then anything would after driving a Daihatsu Sirion for 2 months. I'm lovin it!

Anyway, some extra weight over the driven wheels isn't such a bad thing when trying to get more power down.

[Noble323]

Originally Posted by phunkdust

Good lord that's even more cramped than the BA!

After owning 3 hardtop V6's - i say the 94-98 astina V6 are still more crapped than this !

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Honestly this engine really suits these cars, at least theres some space (abit) near the firewall is, some next to the battery and looks heaps next to the modd plate is ...

And if you dont believe how bad the V6 astinas are

here : lol (Dont drop anything in the engine bay or you'll loose it - lol)




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So the BJ Conversion is AWD ? If so .. Congratz - thats already a massive job there !!!!!

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[Rupewrecht]

Just awesome!

[Sleepy Gonzalez]

Still front drive, so power understeer is much more of an issue now, even in the dry with R1Rs. NOT looking forward to driving in the rain! AWD is possible, but way too big a project for me. I just used an MX6 manual gearbox.

[rodhog]

quick swap to a probe gives you the same box with 4.3 final over the 4.11
easier to find normally.

power understeer is something a lsd can help along with but also having your front end setup with more castor can do alot for it.

[Sleepy Gonzalez]

Air conditioning completed by Cairns Car Air Conditioning today. No custom parts needed! He just bent the pipes I had into position and poked them through existing gaps. Thankfully, I got the wiring right and it worked first time.

So the engine swap is now complete.

[Clean_Cookie]

Sick.

[nomad]

Awesome job!!!

[Rupewrecht]

Congrats! You must be pretty happy.

[Sleepy Gonzalez]

Thanks. It was a HUGE relief and sense of satisfaction to get this project complete.

It does feel good to have such a unique car, even if it's not much faster, but it is definitely a more enjoyable drive now. More power, smoother, and I just love the sound it makes.