Taco build!!!
 

Now that I have the thumbs up from the good people of the GM mid-size truck group. So this will by my official build thread and I look forward to getting advice from some serious enthusiast and hearing what you all have to say! Admin can delete my other thread "not sure if this belongs".

Little back ground: I'm 24, did 4 years in the army before starting college at LSU and majoring in Mechanical Engineering. I'm now a junior and trying to make it in the automotive/performance industry. The build will take some time being that I have a full course load, intern, and working on the tiger racing formula race car. I'll post as many pics as I can and even some of the formula car just for kicks.

Build plan: Truck is a 2007 Toyota Tacoma. Exterior-silver single cab with black bumpers and steel wheels. Interior- grey with bench seat no power windows or locks. Drivetrain- 2.7L inline 4 with 5 speed manual.

I plan to add a Chevy V8 with 6 speed manual, bucket racing seats, minor audio upgrade, disk brake conversions in rear, rim and tire package, and minor stuff here and there.

So I have a 5.3L iron block V8 not sure the model name but it's from a 2002 silverado.
I was initially going to use this but decided against the auto trans and Iron block.
The advantage of using a single cab Tacoma is weight savings and sleeper look.
The taco weights 3450 and which is great for a truck but I don't need to add a ton more weight if I want to be competitive with cars. So I decided to ditch the initial swap.

I'm on a budget but I also like to do things
right. I couldn't imagine dropping an engine the may or may not run into the truck and find out it doesn't.
So I just ordered a LH6 short block. This is a aluminum 5.3 truck motor which will save me about 60-80lbs. I picked it up for $250 and will have it bored over.
I'm not really familiar with these engines but I'm trying to research as much as possible. I want to try and stay away from after market parts unless required or worth the price.
So that being said I want to maybe use stock rotating assembly maybe out of a LQ9 or LQ4.
Also need to get an oil pan that will give me the best clearance. I'm thinking a LS2 pan.
Not sure about what I am going to do up top as far as heads, intake, TB, and fuel rails. Going to do more research.

I'll post pics soon.

Sounds like a fun project! That aluminum block will save you over 100 pounds. Looking forward to seeing this one go together.

Cool~!
Search for some of the s-10 v8 builds. There will be a lot of info there about some of the challenges of stuffing a v8 into a small truck.
The oil pan off of a Hummer 5.3 is what a lot of the dime guys are using for clearance.

I'm still considering an s10 swap and can offer a few cliff notes.
You will run into problems with:
Air Condtioning - You will need a way to control the compressor as well as the cooling system fans (if you want stock like operation) so you will need detailed info on both the 5.3 and the taco. you're going to have to repin some stuff. maybe alot.
Cruise control - same thing.
Speedo - I'm not sure what is offered here. My '92 hardbody (that I was considering for a transplant) had a mechanical speedo. At any rate, it's something to consider.
Brakes - if the taco has abs, that will be out the window. the stock computer will need verification from the velocity sensor as well as the wheel speed sensors in order to verify a skid condition... since you're disabling the stock speedo, that correlation will be defunct.
Fuel - you'll have to make accommodations for the fuel pressure and quantity. I'm not sure what the Toy is capable of, so maybe an inline fuel pump is in order, or maybe retro an in-tank pump?
Cooling - You'll need a larger radiator... make sure you have adequate space to relocate the supports, because you're going to need...
Clearance - It's a tight fit, so maybe electric push fans in lieu of pull type? Mechanical is no-go unless you fab up a custom fan shroud... and that's if you even have room. You may also need alternate accessory drive system. The dime guys have issues with squeezing the a/c compressor by the frame rail. Power steering may also come into play with your gig. Oh, steering-to-exhaust may be an issue too.

The reason the s10 conversions are as popular as they are, is that you can still utilize almost all of the electrical gizmos/controls with minimum headache since they're still built on the same gm platform. I'd love to see the swap, personally. I just know that I wouldn't have the time to devote to such an undertaking... hell, I'm lucky if I have time to wash the dog.

:popcorn:

Sounds neat. Seen one with a V8 here too.

I'm not really familiar with these engines but I'm trying to research as much as possible. I want to try and stay away from after market parts unless required or worth the price.
So that being said I want to maybe use stock rotating assembly maybe out of a LQ9 or LQ4.
Also need to get an oil pan that will give me the best clearance. I'm thinking a LS2 pan.???