Builds 1987 FJ60 Restoration + 5.3 Vortec Swap
- Thread starter suppjoe
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- fj60 ls swap restoration
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Definitely keep the stock body wiring. My recommendation is to buy a new wiring harness for the engine management, that will keep things simple and having new wiring is a plus rather than attempting to strip out the unneeded stuff from the donor harness and coordinating that with the PCM changes. But it’s not cheap, IIRC it cost me about a grand. For me it was well worth it. I got mine from Pacific Fabrication and it comes with a nice Bussman fuse block that’s easy to integrate.
285/75r16s are great, but I don’t think there’s anything such thing as a “Consensus” when it comes to tires!
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- #26
Appreciate the response my man. I agree it would be easier to just buy a new harness but since I don’t have any concept of time/value I think I may reloom the harness with the snazzy split loom stuff (have a bunch kicking around the shop) and purge unnecessary wires - sorta like how I did my cressida. Very good to know that keeping the standard Toyota wiring is the norm though. That would be a huge headache.
NCFJ
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Keep the OEM wiring for everything BUT motor and trans
Keep the OEM wiring to the AC compressor
Keep the OEM wiring to the starter solenoid
Keep the OEM wiring alternator to fuse block/battery
Replace large gauge charging cable alternator to battery
Replace ALL large gauge battery cables
Wire motor as a stand alone entity, right back to the battery. Fuse/relay box will control everything to do with motor/trans. You'll need to interface with OEM harness for IGN power and brake circuit
Keep all added extras to a stand alone system as well with as little interface with OEM system as possible. Bussman fuse/relay blocks are a great addition to facilitate this. Much of what we add electrically require Batt power, Ign power, ground and dash lights. Batt and Grnd are straight forward. To get IGN and dash lights I run Batt power (fused) to two relays and fire them with a tap from the OEM IGN circuit and dash light circuit. Thus pulling only mili amps from the OEM circuits. You can do the same in the back with the back up lights if you add extra lamps.
Keep the OEM wiring to the AC compressor
Keep the OEM wiring to the starter solenoid
Keep the OEM wiring alternator to fuse block/battery
Replace large gauge charging cable alternator to battery
Replace ALL large gauge battery cables
Wire motor as a stand alone entity, right back to the battery. Fuse/relay box will control everything to do with motor/trans. You'll need to interface with OEM harness for IGN power and brake circuit
Keep all added extras to a stand alone system as well with as little interface with OEM system as possible. Bussman fuse/relay blocks are a great addition to facilitate this. Much of what we add electrically require Batt power, Ign power, ground and dash lights. Batt and Grnd are straight forward. To get IGN and dash lights I run Batt power (fused) to two relays and fire them with a tap from the OEM IGN circuit and dash light circuit. Thus pulling only mili amps from the OEM circuits. You can do the same in the back with the back up lights if you add extra lamps.
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- #28
Very helpful stuff, I should be diving into some of the wiring this weekend provided I finish paint.
If you have the donor engine harness, it is not difficult to rework. Just follow the lt1swap.com directions. Bryan will reprogram your ECC with your details for gearing, trans, tires etc for $75.
I did this on my last project and had no issues. I only suggest this because you said you had the time. You will need about a 4 x 8 sheet of plywood work area. I took my time because I knew it would be easy to mess up if I didn’t stick to it start to finish. Took me a little over eight hours. Probably would only take four of the second time. I would also suggest deleting the mass airflow (MAF) and using an idle air temp (IAT) sensor instead. Makes it easier and cheaper to route the intake tube and filter. Also, replace the knock sensors before you put the front back together. They go bad, and are a pain to change once everything is installed. They are under the intake.
Last suggestion—- use the temp sender from your 2F. It will need to be retapped to fit in the rear of the passenger head, but there is enough material on it to grind off the threads and retap it. Then your stock temp gauge will work and read correctly
I did this on my last project and had no issues. I only suggest this because you said you had the time. You will need about a 4 x 8 sheet of plywood work area. I took my time because I knew it would be easy to mess up if I didn’t stick to it start to finish. Took me a little over eight hours. Probably would only take four of the second time. I would also suggest deleting the mass airflow (MAF) and using an idle air temp (IAT) sensor instead. Makes it easier and cheaper to route the intake tube and filter. Also, replace the knock sensors before you put the front back together. They go bad, and are a pain to change once everything is installed. They are under the intake.
Last suggestion—- use the temp sender from your 2F. It will need to be retapped to fit in the rear of the passenger head, but there is enough material on it to grind off the threads and retap it. Then your stock temp gauge will work and read correctly
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- #31
Thanks for the advice, hadn’t even thought about the temp sender yet!
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- #33
You may have noticed I didn’t post photos of the hood/valance panel. That’s because they developed some serious sags in the paint so I sanded and repainted them!
I’ll be getting into the weeds of getting this thing wired shortly so I’ll report back soon! I’ve decided on using some 20 pin molex connectors to marry where the harness was cut coming out of the firewall.
I’ll be getting into the weeds of getting this thing wired shortly so I’ll report back soon! I’ve decided on using some 20 pin molex connectors to marry where the harness was cut coming out of the firewall.
looks great. I'm researching installing the 5.3 right now. Which transfercse mount did you use? or did you make it?
Which headers are those?
Which headers are those?
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- #35
I made the crossmember myself and just lined it up on the Toyota rubber mount. The headers are probably eBay - I found them on Facebook marketplace haha
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- #36
Started figuring out the wiring, didn’t make it as far as I’d like though. Got the fuse box mounted which took some doing. I also got the big battery/starter/alternator wiring sorted.
I also installed the Lokar shifter (huge PITA). I went for the 16” version. Gonna be sweet once it’s done!
I also installed the Lokar shifter (huge PITA). I went for the 16” version. Gonna be sweet once it’s done!
Which model Lokar shifter? Does it come with gear pattern on the knob? Can you post pic of it installed so we can see the floor install?
Thanks Joe. Good work!
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- #40
Been a while since my last update, hoping to have a the engine running by tomorrow! Only a little bit more to do with regard to wiring.
HELP: the original harness for the driver side of the engine bay was cut out and lost - if anyone has an actual schematic for what comes out of that side of the firewall it would be greatly appreciated. I can hunt them down but it would be nice to have a diagram to follow.
HELP: the original harness for the driver side of the engine bay was cut out and lost - if anyone has an actual schematic for what comes out of that side of the firewall it would be greatly appreciated. I can hunt them down but it would be nice to have a diagram to follow.
