First off. Ih8mud is awesome.
A few years ago I owned a 2003 v8 4runner limited. Wheeled it in colorado. Loved it. Unfortunately, I had to get rid of it. We needed third row. Bought 100 series….. it felt WAY too big. I always wanted an 80, but I really didn’t like the I-6, so I never bought one. Then I stumbled upon this site …….
I found this 40th at a shady used car lot. Motor was blown and the interior was nearly trashed. Perfect, time for a 2uz 4.7l v8. That was 12 months ago. I’ve done some engine conversions on bmw’s, but this is the first Toyota I have EVER worked on. I struggled for 9 months (on and off) trying to get the vvti motor to work. I was unsuccessful. I finally gave up and just put the non-vvti motor in.
I have got roughly 3500 miles on the conversion. Zero problems with the conversion…… except for the oil cooler line that leaked. Im getting ~15mpg in 20deg weather with winter gas. I am expecting to get ~17 when it warms up.
Quick summary:
1997 40th anniversary w/ lockers.
4.7L 2uz V8 (20k mile motor) from an 04 tundra.
Wiring harness / dme from an 01 tundra.
A343f transmission (96 cruiser) modified with A340 (04 tundra) parts. MANY thanks to Toojayzee!
Motor / trans shifted 6" forward.
Modified headers, oe cats, custom piping to back.
Exterior:
Replaced windshield. Fixed rust at upper roof edge. Fixed water leak into cabin.
Some new flares, mud flaps.
A lot of misc. items were missing.
Interior:
Removed the entire interior. Cleaned, cleaned, and did some more cleaning.
New wood trim on interior.
Got matching 40th leather 3rd row seats.
Drivetrain:
Rebuilt front axles with new bearings ect.
New front brakes w/ 100 series pads.
OME low lift kit.
New rear ebrake assembly. New rear brakes.
Enough chatting, on to the pics.
FINISHED PROJECT: (well, as of today)
Below is the story on how i got here.
DECONSTRUCTION:
Motor out.
Power wash engine bay.
Remove entire interior including carpet.
Clean seats, panels, carpet, and everything else.
Modify trans tunnel.
PURCHASING (round one - vvti):
Buy a LOT of stuff. The first motor i purchased was actually an '04 NON-VVTI that was advertised as an '05.
Repurchase an '05 VVTI motor. Purchase a 40k mile a750f. Purchase A TON of misc. parts that did not come with the motor.
RECONSTRUCTION (round one - vvti):
Custom motor mounts. Utilized 80 rubber mounts, fabed up plate and arm.
Modify trans support, with the 750 mounted 6" forward, the 100 transfer lever fit perfect in the stock location.
Modify oe headers. New custom stainless exhaust utilizing oe cats.
Shorten / lengthen driveshafts.
Lots of plumbing.
LOTS of wiring.
RECONSIDER ( a 6 month period of time):
I had produced an xl spreadsheet to cover all the electrical connectors for the 80 and the vvti. This was a LOT of evenings. Ultimately, i missed something and it didnt run. Here is a sample page from my 16 page document.
Six months went by. Not much progress. I really needed this truck done. I was sitting there, hoving over the engine bay with 600 pages of wiring laid out across the shop. I had no clue what to do next. I looked over and saw that non-vvti motor sitting there. I threw in the towel.
RE-RECONSTRUCTION (round two, non-vvti)
The next night, I yanked the vvti out. I was pretty bummed that i wouldnt have an a750f, but ...... at least i could drive it. I went and bought an a343f out of a 96 cruiser (seeing i sold my old one) and began work. I followed toojayzees thread and swaped the planitary, oil pump, speend sensor and valve body off the 04 tundra a340e tranny.
RE-PURCHASING:
I took a bath on selling the vvti parts, but i guess thats part of the learning process. (The buyer seemed like a real standup guy, he is here on the forums. To be honest, i am a bit envious that he will have the a750f. )
re-bought electronics, dme, evap and throttle body for an 01 tundra and swapped over the harnesses. Everything went together smoothly. Time to drop it in.
Fitted the motor / trans. reworked the trans lines, shifter linkage, made a transfer case lever adapter, reworked the exhaust. Now the wiring. I am not sure if it was "the rejuvination" of my spirits or what. But I found a lot of mistakes from my first try. Regardless, this time it started first try.
Added some splash guards to the exhaust (pre-cat) down pipes. they go over and out of the frame. i was concerned about water getting sprayed onto the downpipes, so i built some removabel shields.
And the rest (as they say) is history.
Cheers, Jason
TO DO:
Cruise- I did replace all the resistors and rewired cruise...... still no workie. Cruise light just blinks at me.
Tach - already bought a signal converter. need to mount and wire. shouldnt be too tough.
A/C - not happy with the routing of the lines, looking to re-do.
Glove box - tuck wires and mount glove box.
Air box - box out area for air filter.
A few years ago I owned a 2003 v8 4runner limited. Wheeled it in colorado. Loved it. Unfortunately, I had to get rid of it. We needed third row. Bought 100 series….. it felt WAY too big. I always wanted an 80, but I really didn’t like the I-6, so I never bought one. Then I stumbled upon this site …….
I found this 40th at a shady used car lot. Motor was blown and the interior was nearly trashed. Perfect, time for a 2uz 4.7l v8. That was 12 months ago. I’ve done some engine conversions on bmw’s, but this is the first Toyota I have EVER worked on. I struggled for 9 months (on and off) trying to get the vvti motor to work. I was unsuccessful. I finally gave up and just put the non-vvti motor in.
I have got roughly 3500 miles on the conversion. Zero problems with the conversion…… except for the oil cooler line that leaked. Im getting ~15mpg in 20deg weather with winter gas. I am expecting to get ~17 when it warms up.
Quick summary:
1997 40th anniversary w/ lockers.
4.7L 2uz V8 (20k mile motor) from an 04 tundra.
Wiring harness / dme from an 01 tundra.
A343f transmission (96 cruiser) modified with A340 (04 tundra) parts. MANY thanks to Toojayzee!
Motor / trans shifted 6" forward.
Modified headers, oe cats, custom piping to back.
Exterior:
Replaced windshield. Fixed rust at upper roof edge. Fixed water leak into cabin.
Some new flares, mud flaps.
A lot of misc. items were missing.
Interior:
Removed the entire interior. Cleaned, cleaned, and did some more cleaning.
New wood trim on interior.
Got matching 40th leather 3rd row seats.
Drivetrain:
Rebuilt front axles with new bearings ect.
New front brakes w/ 100 series pads.
OME low lift kit.
New rear ebrake assembly. New rear brakes.
Enough chatting, on to the pics.
FINISHED PROJECT: (well, as of today)
Below is the story on how i got here.
DECONSTRUCTION:
Motor out.
Power wash engine bay.
Remove entire interior including carpet.
Clean seats, panels, carpet, and everything else.
Modify trans tunnel.
PURCHASING (round one - vvti):
Buy a LOT of stuff. The first motor i purchased was actually an '04 NON-VVTI that was advertised as an '05.
Repurchase an '05 VVTI motor. Purchase a 40k mile a750f. Purchase A TON of misc. parts that did not come with the motor.
RECONSTRUCTION (round one - vvti):
Custom motor mounts. Utilized 80 rubber mounts, fabed up plate and arm.
Modify trans support, with the 750 mounted 6" forward, the 100 transfer lever fit perfect in the stock location.
Modify oe headers. New custom stainless exhaust utilizing oe cats.
Shorten / lengthen driveshafts.
Lots of plumbing.
LOTS of wiring.
RECONSIDER ( a 6 month period of time):
I had produced an xl spreadsheet to cover all the electrical connectors for the 80 and the vvti. This was a LOT of evenings. Ultimately, i missed something and it didnt run. Here is a sample page from my 16 page document.
Six months went by. Not much progress. I really needed this truck done. I was sitting there, hoving over the engine bay with 600 pages of wiring laid out across the shop. I had no clue what to do next. I looked over and saw that non-vvti motor sitting there. I threw in the towel.
RE-RECONSTRUCTION (round two, non-vvti)
The next night, I yanked the vvti out. I was pretty bummed that i wouldnt have an a750f, but ...... at least i could drive it. I went and bought an a343f out of a 96 cruiser (seeing i sold my old one) and began work. I followed toojayzees thread and swaped the planitary, oil pump, speend sensor and valve body off the 04 tundra a340e tranny.
RE-PURCHASING:
I took a bath on selling the vvti parts, but i guess thats part of the learning process. (The buyer seemed like a real standup guy, he is here on the forums. To be honest, i am a bit envious that he will have the a750f. )
re-bought electronics, dme, evap and throttle body for an 01 tundra and swapped over the harnesses. Everything went together smoothly. Time to drop it in.
Fitted the motor / trans. reworked the trans lines, shifter linkage, made a transfer case lever adapter, reworked the exhaust. Now the wiring. I am not sure if it was "the rejuvination" of my spirits or what. But I found a lot of mistakes from my first try. Regardless, this time it started first try.
Added some splash guards to the exhaust (pre-cat) down pipes. they go over and out of the frame. i was concerned about water getting sprayed onto the downpipes, so i built some removabel shields.
And the rest (as they say) is history.
Cheers, Jason
TO DO:
Cruise- I did replace all the resistors and rewired cruise...... still no workie. Cruise light just blinks at me.
Tach - already bought a signal converter. need to mount and wire. shouldnt be too tough.
A/C - not happy with the routing of the lines, looking to re-do.
Glove box - tuck wires and mount glove box.
Air box - box out area for air filter.
Last edited:
. I8HMUD should have some sort of award for this kind of stuff
