Will 20v JDMs become scarce?

[stu4u3]

I'm probably going to attempt a swap early next year, but it got me thinking.

Since most of these engines come out of cars that are 1991 through 1998, this is making the engines 11 - 18 years old.

Although they are still readily available, when will they start to dwindle? What will we do when the supply runs out? Other than rebuilding a 4AGE, what would be another option for a relatively easy swap?

[mr220v]

The "sweet spot" for japanese engines tends to be around 10-17 years old. Past 17 years, finding motors that don't need a rebuild gets to be more difficult. You'll notice that finding a nice/lower mileage jdm 16v 4age is getting tough.

The 20v was made though 1999. My guess would be that cheap motors remain available through 2018, but sometime after start to increase a bit in price.

This is going to be a problem for all A series motors eventually as they left production in 1999. The Blacktop actually stayed around a little longer than the last of the 7afe's.

For future swappers, this may mean more people start looking at S, ZZ series and AZ series motors. For existing 20v's and GZE's, rebuilding rather than replacing will become more common.

With the interchangeability of A series components, and the fact that toyota continues to produce C50/c52 compatible gearboxes, it should be relatively easy and inexpensive to keep 20v's on the road for a long time.

[stu4u3]

I figured you would respond mr220v, you probably know the most about 20v swaps.

Everything you said makes sense. One more question though. Since these engines haven't been produced in 11-18 years, how are they still arriving in the states? Wouldn't they have been pulled from the japanese cars starting around 1994-95?

[mr220v]

They were produced from 92-99. Back in 94-95, the 20v would have been a very rare motor in the US. The first silvertop I know of was swapped into a mk1 around 1998. I did my first one in 2002. Pulling a 20v in 95 would have meant you were pulling a motor from a basically brand new vehicle. The Japanese don't keep cars as long as we do, but they don't quite scrap them right off the showroom floor.

6-12 years seems to be about how long they keep them. At 10 years, we start to get flooded with the things, so they get about as cheap as they are going to get. How cheap they get will depend on how much demand there is in the US market and if there is a car that the motor actually fits in. Since the 20v was only sold in Japan, there really isn't that much demand outside of Japan except for people doing swaps. I suspect there's just enough enthusiast demand for them that they end up getting imported rather than scrapped outright. Something like a 1szfe probably goes straight to scrap.

[wagonis]

Originally Posted by mr220v

For future swappers, this may mean more people start looking at S, ZZ series and AZ series motors. For existing 20v's and GZE's, rebuilding rather than replacing will become more common.

Hm...Lotus massaged 2ZZ-GE engine in a MKI...hm

[mr220v]

^There's one 2zzge mk1 out there.

I know of 4 beams mk1's in the making.

[wagonis]

Ooooohhhh...what about a 2ZZ-GE MKII? I was thinking of a swap, that would be a nice one.

[mr220v]

A gen3 3sge swap would be cheaper. 185hp for both motors, but the gen3 bolts in, has more torque, and can be had for under $1000 vs $3000.

[wagonis]

True true