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92 Amigo 4WD V6 Auto

3K views 10 replies 5 participants last post by  Howscome That 
#1 ·
I found a 92 Amigo in Atlanta and made a deal, opened the garage door before leaving home. I bought a pink Amigo and drove it home with a paper bag on my head with two eye holes cut in it. Ran it straight in the garage and jerked the door down before anyone could see it.

The engine was weak and smoked. Long story short I got a V6 4WD Rodeo with Automatic Trans. Cut both vehicles in half and welded the best halves together.
 

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#2 ·
That is AWESOME! Nice work.
 
#5 ·
Howscome That said:
Paul, thank you! I see you have a cammed up 3.4 v6. My amigo could use a little more steam. Did the comp cams make a difference?
Different beast - mine is the GM v6 - a bigger version of the GM 2.8 and 3.1 motors that came in earlier model zu's - you have what looks like the Isuzu 3.2. Not sure what, if any, aftermarket cams and goodies there are for that motor. Most folks seem to keep them pretty stock and try to let the breathe a little easier and maybe run an electric fan (if they aren't electric already).

If you were able to find some 4.77 gears for the diffs, that may give you some oomph back.
 
#6 ·
Thanks for the advice. The 4.77's would help some. Right now it has 4.56 gears so it isn't terrible, The 3.2 feels like it has another 50hp over the original 2.6. Anything I do would just be for extra performance. I am looking at other drive trains combos like 3.5-liter V-6 accura engine makes right at 300hp or the VR6 toyota engines have about 285hp. is compact but may only be packaged as a transverse front drive. For some reason I always avoid electronics swaping. I'm not good at that at all. If you have some input on a high power all aluminum engine drive train package I would like to hear about it. I could hang this body from the ceiling and buy a strong running donor vehicle with everything intact and start cutting modifying and switching chassis/frames to set it down on. The Transmission in this Rodeo/Amigo has a weak pump and hesitates when putting it into gear so it may be on the way out. Rebuilding that is $2500 that could be spent towards the right donor car or truck. It would be fun to watch an Amigo smoke all four mudders Lol
 
#7 ·
The OBD1 (91-95 IIRC) 1uzfe 4.0 v8 lexus motor is one that has been swapped a few times. Not sure on weight but it's probably not much of a weight penalty. And you get 250-260 hp and lb-ft out of it. If I was going to attempt it, the motor-trans-case option I'd probably go for is the 1uz and attached A341 auto, cut down the output shaft a few inches and mate it up to a toyota t100 transfer case and stock adapter. There are probably more expensive adapters and transfer cases out there you could use, but this would be the all factory parts version.

Another one that was done a few times way back in the day was the 4.9l caddy v8 from the early 90s, but they are getting long in the tooth and not quite as plentiful. Those are only 200 hp but 275lb-ft with a flat torque curve and probably no heavier than your current motor, and could be mated to a 700r4 and almost any chevy pass drop t-case.
 
#8 ·
Outstanding. You must be one heck of a welder. If I was to weld that together, the first bump I hit it would probably break apart.
 
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#11 ·
Thanks, I am sure other people have done it before, there are a lot of smart guys on this forum. I have done collision work for years and it is easier for me to do a clip job of cutting and welding than to change full drive train and then the wiring involved is the hardest part!
 
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