New to the fj game... wanted to say hello! (1 Viewer)

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Joined
Sep 1, 2015
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Location
Nevada
Good evening fellas,
I am purchasing my first fj40. I am new to the Toyota 4x4 scene, but have owned my fair share of old corollas. I will get pics of the fj eventually, but what I know about it: owner said it is a 1973. It has a chevy 3 speed trans upgrade, and some sort of weird diff upgrades. It is missing the top, but I have found one locally it has some slight rust damage behind the front seat but not as bad as some of the corolla's ive owned lol. To the point: It runs, but leaks oil like a sieve (from multiple places) and has a slight miss. What are the best options? I have lightly searched the forums, and found some good info, but not all of what I was looking for. Can I take the 2F out, and throw a 3fe longblock in? Will the 2f intake bolt to the 3fe head? from what I have read, the 2f exhaust will bolt to the 3fe with no issues.
Last question, is $1700 a goof price to pay for a 6.5/10 fj40?

Anyway, thanks for your time!
 
Welcome;

Firstly, before someone else says this, please call her a 40 or an FJ40; an FJ is the new thing called an FJ Cruiser we get over here in automatic, petrol (Gas) guise with independent front suspension and so-on and so-forth...

The price being OK or not OK depends on your goals - I would look no further if it has a chev gearbox and non-standard diffs, unless it was an upgrade from another Land Cruiser, but others may not find that a problem.

As far as fitting the 3F-E in, if you're doing that, keep the EFI, which does involve either quite a bit of electrical, or quite a bit of money getting an auto-elec to wire it up. If you're up for a challenge, put the 3F-E head on the 2F block, it's more or less bolt-on and you keep the low-end torque of the 2F and get EFI to boot. I can't comment on things from the 2F bolting onto the 3F block.

If/when you get a 40, the first things to focus on are steering and brakes, then other drivetrain, then body last.

Could you say some more about what your goals are, and where you're looking to go with a 40 - if you're looking for the basis for a rock buggy, the chev/whatever else running gear probably isn't an issue. If you're looking to go back to original, I'd pass. Some pics would help to put a better idea of value on it.

Hopefully some of this is relevant/useful!

Lastly, the official welcome to MUD salute :flipoff2: (nothing personal, it's just the done thing; most of us on here got this once upon a time)
 
find out why it misses and where the leaks are and see what it needs to fix it before you throw your money at it .whats an fj ?
 
Need pics to assess condition. '73 should be the F engine, not 2F, unless someone has swapped in a later 2F at some point. A slight miss could be simple or it could be major. The Chebby sm465 is a popular gearbox upgrade but that is a 4 speed unit. Any swapped-in Chebby 3 speed would be a downgrade IMO. Not sure why that was done. Diff upgrades? Be more specific. Rust behind the front seat is not that common. Often by the time rust starts to form there the rest of the truck has rotted away. Could it be that this truck has had lots of exterior rust repairs already? How's the rear sill? How about the sides under the doors? Those are your most common rust areas. You live in the Land Cruiser promised land of Nevada where 'cruisers are plentiful and relatively cheap and condition is normally better than anywhere else in the US. If I were you, I'd be picky as hell about what I bought. $1,700 is cheap for a 40, no doubt, but I would like to think you can find something in much better shape than what you describe for not much more money. Again, we need pics. Good luck!
 
That you guys for te replies. My apologies for calling it an fj. This would mostly be a snow vehicle/ something to give my friends jeeps a run for their money. I don't know much about 4x4 stuff so when he was describing to me what has been done to it, I was having trouble following. I saw it in person but was unable to snap pics due to a phone issue. The seams and wheels wells appeared to be in great shape. I called it a 2f because that's what he called it, but its probably an F and he wa shift mistaken. I will get pics asap. For all I inow im even wrong in the year lol. This thing is not original. It doesnt have doors or a hard top, but I can get those for almost nothing. Like I said I dont know kuch about this kind of stuff but bare with me. He said it has a spring over locked read end. Whatever that means lol. The reason I would like to throw a 3fe in it is because I can get a running one from my friend (who owns a tow yard) for abut $150. I would like to get it running and driving before this winter reat starts so my poor jetta and Corolla don't have to drive at 4k elevstion through the snow. Which means Id need to throw all the carb stuff back on as there's no way I could convert to fuel injection Before then. Anyway, I'll call him today and ask for pictures. You're right about this being the cruiser promised land. I've seen 5 fj60's since I moved here 2 weeks ago. 2 of them are on my street!
 
"Spring over" means that the leaf springs have been relocated to over top of the axles instead of the factory configuration with the axles on top of the springs. This is equivalent to a 4" lift +/-. Locked rear means that a mechanism has been installed in the rear differential to effectively lock both rear wheels together so that they both equally contribute to forward motion of the vehicle. This is helpful in low traction situations. How the locker actuates is what distinguishes the type of locker you have. Some actuate mechanically, some by air pressure and others electronically. A mechanical locker is not a street friendly as the other types. I'm not sure if a 2F intake will match up to a 3FE head. Most folks that swap in 3FE's do so to get the benefit that FI offers, so they keep the 3FE stuff on there. I'm sure there are answers to this question here on MUD. You just have to search and/or ask.
 
The Chebby sm465 is a popular gearbox upgrade but that is a 4 speed unit. Any swapped-in Chebby 3 speed would be a downgrade IMO. Good luck!

In reality you are correct about the SM465. But, for several years I drove a pickup with that trans. It is driven as a three speed (2-4) since the first gear is a super low "granny" stump puller gear, which is good for getting a very heavy load moving, or when you need to crawl. It is an extremely strong truck trans and not fast shifting like many other transmissions.

Don
 
if its from the southwest, body/frame should be in decent shape ... sounds like its a bit of a frankenstein i.e. not a stock fj40 ... be careful ... most folks here can all tell you stories about previous owner "improvements" to their trucks ... can get expensive in a hurry to fix/remove ... good news is you shouldn't have any trouble finding parts ... maybe your goal should be to get it in good running condition, drive it for awhile, i.e. get to know it, then decide what needs to be changed ... looking forward to seeing pictures ... welcome to Mud ... good and knowledgeable people here, from all over the world ...
:cheers:
 
Im not too worried about parts. Im somewhat of a junkyard dog. Found a 2fe in my home town's junkyard. Impounded for driving without a license so I know it runs :) also, thinking about picking this up as a parts source for $500. The owner said he will get me pictures tomorrow. For now all I have is this crappy shot of it. (Blue one is parts vehicle) red one is the vehicle in question.
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Winnie, I actually intend to focus on what you just said. Id like to drop another F series engine in it and get it running well before worrying about body work. As long as the body is in decent shape I mean. Not going to focus on the engine if the car is going to break in half due to frame rust haha!
 
Welcome!
Prepare for the addiction and immersion into a great vehicle line...

and really great folks on this forum...

:flipoff2:
 

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