• Hey Guest!
    British Car Forum has been supporting enthusiasts for over 25 years by providing a great place to share our love for British cars. You can support our efforts by upgrading your membership for less than the dues of most car clubs. There are some perks with a member upgrade!
    **Upgrade Now**
    (PS: Upgraded members don't see this banner, nor will you see the Google ads that appear on the site.)
Tips
Tips

Engine swap

Share this page

H

Herc65

Freshman Member
Offline
With all the expense of rebuilding a motor for a TR250, has anyone looked into a straight engine & tranny swap. Such as a straight six out of a toyota supra. Aside from the originallity loss. The performance would be greatly improved.
Does anyone have the weight of the 2.5 liter motor?
No mine is not in need of rebuild yet but the holes under the battery ie cancer, are getting to the point of removing engine and cutting out old and welding in new. Preferably a piece made to fit but if cannot find new metal will make my own piece. Since the motor will be out, wellllll you know how the story goes from there.
 
If you hunger for more power, why not hang a blower on your existing lump ? Moss sells a kit for the TR6, which would probably fit a 250; and likely enhance the value of the car rather than decrease it.
 
Nooo. Do it to a TR4 or a 6, not a 250.

You'll need the rear diff and new half-shafts as well as the engine and tranny. Engine istr is about 425lbs, if I remember correct, about the same as a 302.
 
Herc, welcome to the forum!

It's not hard to get about 150 HP from a TR250 2.5 six. Further modifications render it not the greatest street engine. But I can tell you, 150HP in a TR250's original platform (i.e., with period-correct systems) is pretty darn fast. Tire smoker, no problemo!

If you want significantly more power, major and disastrous modification to the original car is needed for every system: brakes; electrics; front and rear suspension; differential; axles; gearbox; cooling system; etc., etc., all must be upgraded. After that is completed, your formerly rare and beautiful Triumph TR250 is ruined and maybe lost forever. Such radical modifications are difficult and expensive to reverse.

On the other hand, if you're heck-bent for excessive power and simply must have it, try to utilize period-specific performance parts and modifications that were available when the car was new. There's lots of stuff out there and plenty of advice on how to do it. It's better than ruining a perfectly good TR250.

Whether we like the concept or not, these cars are not unlike works of art. As such, we are merely the temporary keepers, preserving the cars for future admirers to drive and enjoy. With this in mind, it's very important to keep the cars as original as practicable.

Good luck, please let us know how it goes.
 
With the potential loss of value and cost of making the change I don't see where this engine would be out of the price range.

https://www.crateenginedepot.com/store/LS...61-P929C53.aspx

The biggest thing with an engine change is all the little things that take time and money, much of each.

The vast majority of these projects seem to end up cobbled together or in the weeds out behind the house until they rot down. Then all the money is lost.
 
There was an MG, a TD I think, at the Hellertown PA show, that had a BMW engine installed. Maybe someone (toyrruss, scott hower, or TRDejaVu) have better recollection than me. But it seemed like a lot of work and made the car less appealing to many in the hobby in my mind. I would try to keep the TR250 a TR250.
 
Hi Herc, welcome to the forum.

I haven't seen a Toyota 6-cylinder swap, although that would be quite a neat conversion. There is a member of this forum who is putting a BMW M3 motor into his TR6 ... he is doing a beautiful job at it as well (can't think of his ID right now)

Here is a link to a site with many different LBC engine swaps ... might give you some ideas: www.britishv8.org

Bottom line, remember it is your car and you can do what you want to it. Good luck and please keep us posted with your progress.

Matt
 
I wouldn't even do it to my TR6. These cars are only going to get more scarce and valuable over the years and that swap will only hurt the value. Your TR250 is in a very small group headed for Healey status soon. If you don't care about that, fine, do whatever makes you happy.

If not a purist, I have a driver for the fun of it, but I want it to be safe and run well, so I'll do modern updates and consider mine to be a "resto-mod".
 
I dont think I will do an engine swap just trying to get a feel for what all the options are. I love the way the car sounds now and the power is acceptable, but a little more usually doesnt hurt too much.
 
Don't do it. I believe you will regret it in the future. If you want the Toyota drive train, buy a Toyota and use it as a daily driver.
The mods you would have to make for a Supra engine would be very time consuming, expensive, and depreciating to the value of your car.
Preserve what you have and enjoy.
 
Back
Top