Which jimny engine is best?

Alright everybody i've decided im definatly going to buy a jimny as my everyday car and for a bit of fun greenlaning, shooting and do the occasional pay and play day.

My buget is around £2000 maybe £2500 but id like to know which is the best engine to go for (1298 / 1328 / vvt ) and what ill roughly get for my £££???

hi there the 1328cc is a stronger engine in my eyes and is a twin cam16v were the 1298cc is singal cam still 16v tho And u dont need to worry about the cam belt on the 1328cc has its chain driven from inside the engine away from the mud and water.but i still think the 1298cc is a good engine. and bear in mind the tax class from y reg on tax for year is £215.and be4 y reg its £125 for year .hope this helpsB)

second cam - £80 a year - bargain!

as to which engine you get depends on whether you want a soft top or a hard top as the earlier engine was still used in the softtop for a few years after the hard top moved to the twin cam

Hard top as he says, after 2001 for cam chain lump... thats whhdst id head for.

However, you will have more choice for your budget at a y plate ish one with a few mods... save you a lot of cash and cheaper tax.... its a toss up to be honest.

id like to say thanks and cheers for the help guys big jimny realy is a good helpful friendly fourm.
I definatly want a hard top, so will prob go for the twin cam engine especialy if everyone rekons its stronger, as im going to be doing a 40-50 mile a day commute into birmingham so want the strength and reliability. i might have a little less choice in my budget and slightly more expensive tax but you cant win all the time.

Seriously though, see if you can get one with some basic mids...

heres a quick price list..

lift 2-3"? £300-400?

Extended hoses £60?

Castor correction £100?

Panhard Rods £200

Tyres £300?

it massivly mounts up, thats a basic list if you wanted to lift it and some approx prices.. Depending on what you want to do to it it may be much more cost effective to buy a "modified" one, i wish i did now! They go for the same sort of money as standard ones.

Half the fun is fitting stuff and making it your own but now if i was to do it again, id buy one with the above done and put the other money into protection/winch/transfer upgrade or similar.

hth gaz.

Go for 1328cc Hard top if you plan to use your jimny offroad avoid cars with abs. Your £2500 should buy a pristine car with very low miles!

If you search a bit harder you can get a 2000 jimny on a w,x plate with the 1328 engine AND the cheap road tax. They changed to the 1328 engine in some hard top cars early/mid 2000 but the tax didn't go up until April 2001.

My X plate hardtop is one of the first 1328 twin cam engines.

Cheaper tax, but comes with more rust, the later ones were galvanised, but still rust badly underneath if neglected. (seen a couple much later than mine very rusty underneath from unwashed mud and salt)

Is it possible to "drop" a twin cam engine into a car originally fitted with a single cam? If so what would need to be done? And what benefits would you find?

Cheers

I would have thought it would be easier and probably cheaper to buy one with the twin cam fitted?

v8dougie wrote: Is it possible to "drop" a twin cam engine into a car originally fitted with a single cam? If so what would need to be done? And what benefits would you find?

Cheers

the only benefit is a cam chain rather than a cam belt
If you're gonna go to the hassle of an engine change fit a G16B engine from a vitara, swift or baleno and you get a 1.6 with more torque - Martin does a fitting kit on here

I have the early 1.3 and its done 128k and still going strong - copes with 31" tyres and powering two alternators a roll cage and a hefty steel winch bumper without too many problems