By Tim Odell
Toyotas of the late ’70s through mid ’90s win my heart by being well-engineered, still interesting and (most importantly) full of common interfaces across models. That’s engineer speak for “it just bolts up”. Specifically, dropping any of the G-series sixes into a HiLux is a remarkably straightforward affair…until such time as you want to register it in smog-conscious California.
Today’s example is likely a few years long weekends away from smiting the desk of a BAR employee with your documented swap, but it is a running, driving Cressida with the engine and transmission from a Lexus LS400 up front. My cursory understanding of the 1UZ is it’s incredibly well engineered and reliable, but generally not very user-friendly to work on. The seller “needs it gone this week”, as he’s lost interest in the project but refuses to entertain any offers below a $1500 asking price. Curious to see how that works out for him…
1985 Toyota Cressida 1UZ V8 Swap – SFBay Craigslist
Jeff Glucker 
William Byrd