If you had a 1968, rust free, 94.5% stock FJ-40 that had a thrown a rod, what would you do?
A. Fix the engine assuming that it is indeed “fixable”?
B. Drop in a snappy reconditioned 1F that has been built by a mechanic with a solid background in Toyota engines with all new Toyota fixin’s?
C. Replace the 1F with squeaky clean rebuilt 2F from MAF?
D. Other?
What would you do if you had a $3k budget? I’ll pull and install the engine no matter what route I choose. I have a pile of stuff on my plate right now and don’t really feel like piddlin’ around and doing a DIY job of rebuilding so I’ll farm out the rebuilding work of option “A” above.
I’m a “purist” or hover around “purist” status. I’d like to retain that snapshot in time look of the ’68. However I do have realist tendencies and acknowledge the plusses by dropping in a 2F. After all it was the lack-o-lube of the F that started this all in the first place imo.
I plan on keeping the 40 for a while. If I do sell it, would the fact that the engine was replaced with a 2F matter for a collector? This won’t be a trail rig for a long time…
Thank you all in advance for your pearls of wisdom. Here's a pic of my junk to refresh memories.
