I had posted about this like 5 years ago, but the thread I linked to in JNC is gone by my own doing and the pics are gone too, thanks to webshots. Anyways not much had happened since then anyways other than the usual rust repair and body work. Also swapped in a different drivetrain. Still not complete, but figured I'd put up a couple pics.
Before
Now
First time doing base/clear and turned out pretty good for a garage job.
98' drivetrain and auto trans. Would have liked a stick, but there are no direct fit transmissions that came on US market cars. It's going to be the wife's dog hauler so probably just as well it's an auto. There is possibly an oil leak from one of the head gaskets (motor has 150k) so if that the case, may drop on DOHC heads. That's one of the nice things about the 6G7x motors is there is a lot of interchangeability.
The most unusual engine swap of the day might have been found under the hood of this second generation Toyota Corolla wagon. It wasn’t powered by a 4A-GE, 3S-GE or a Toyota motor of any sort. That’s a 2.5-liter Mitsubishi V6. I wasn’t even sure what kind of engine I was looking at until I spoke with the owner.