1992 FJ80 6.0 Vortec Engine Swap

[geologic]

So it seems you went with the stock throttle cable, show us how you converted this to cable or did this LS already have one that fit with the stock pedal and cable set up? Did you ever consider the 2010 camaro stock exhaust manifolds that are used in FJ40 LS conversions? I've heard that a winch under load will burn up the side mount battery terminals on an optima, are these batteries your using tested for that? I respect what you've done and hope to do it to my 80 after you prove it out, did you consider using the GM tcase? Thank you for sharing this thread with us, I'm doing an LS swap on my 1976 40 series now, 5.3/auto 2006 mated to 60 split case built by Georg, Valley Hybrids.

 

[clanlino]

So it seems you went with the stock throttle cable, show us how you converted this to cable or did this LS already have one that fit with the stock pedal and cable set up? Did you ever consider the 2010 camaro stock exhaust manifolds that are used in FJ40 LS conversions? I've heard that a winch under load will burn up the side mount battery terminals on an optima, are these batteries your using tested for that? I respect what you've done and hope to do it to my 80 after you prove it out, did you consider using the GM tcase? Thank you for sharing this thread with us, I'm doing an LS swap on my 1976 40 series now, 5.3/auto 2006 mated to 60 split case built by Georg, Valley Hybrids.

We changed the throttle body to and older model that was driven by wire to get it to work. The batteries are badass; the guys at the shop use them in their personal vehicles and other projects and have proven to be reliable, though, lightweight, and compact...

No other transfer case was considered at the time as money was the limiting factor... otherwise I would've done wonders
and gone with a full Atlas setup... or something else...

The headers we're using are Doug's... we had to do some modificaciones to make them fit snug around the block and have enough clearance from the frame.

Here are some shots of the progress of the air filter box...

Thank you for your encouragement!

 

[clanlino]

Here are the pictures of the shifter... it shifts very nicen but we had to add a little hump to the center console... we also have the battery control switch installed there...

Once is finished I might upholster the center console and attach my Land Rover cup holders next to the hump...

 

[RockJock82]

Atlas is a good idea but they don't make an offset version... I thought about that many times... Wish they did. Northwest fab is going to make a black box soon that could take the place of the 1400$ adapter and add 2.72:1 to the low range

 

[geologic]

Wow, great response and nice work on the shifter/console

 

[clanlino]

These are some more pictures of the latest progress on the airbox...

Before

After

Fully sealed and watertight

The intake is almost done... (sorry about all the glare)

We're still tinkering with the front drive shaft... the clearance with the transmission oil pan wasn't ideal, so we are going to custom make one... is a work in progress

That's all folks!

Carlos

 

[clanlino]

Atlas is a good idea but they don't make an offset version... I thought about that many times... Wish they did. Northwest fab is going to make a black box soon that could take the place of the 1400$ adapter and add 2.72:1 to the low range

That's good to know... just one more option for future builds... or upgrades??

 

[Arya Ebrahimi]

What did you end up doing for a wiring harness? Did the Mark's harness work?

 

[cme4lyt]

We changed the throttle body to and older model that was driven by wire to get it to work. The batteries are badass; the guys at the shop use them in their personal vehicles and other projects and have proven to be reliable, though, lightweight, and compact...
View attachment 1000112

No other transfer case was considered at the time as money was the limiting factor... otherwise I would've done wonders
and gone with a full Atlas setup... or something else...

The headers we're using are Doug's and JBA... we had to do some modificaciones to make them fit snug around the block and have enough clearance from the frame.

View attachment 1000112

Here are some shots of the progress of the air filter box...

View attachment 1000113View attachment 1000112View attachment 1000116

Thank you for your encouragement!

Please post the exact part numbers of the Dougs and JBA headers that you are using !

Thanks !!!!

 

[clanlino]

What did you end up doing for a wiring harness? Did the Mark's harness work?

No it did not... I messed up a lot of things by buying the wrong parts :/

We ended up using Painless Wiring... they were extremely helpful and it worked great.

 

[clanlino]

Please post the exact part numbers of the Dougs and JBA headers that you are using !

Thanks !!!!

I took this picture of the CA compliant sticker... I believe we ended up using Dougs headers... I will get you the right part number soon... I think the JBAs were to close to the frame....

 

[geologic]

Nice metal fabrication, are you using a side to side tank radiator for your LS, advanced adapters recommends these

 

[SNLC]

I bet you love the engine. I have a 5.7L vortec in mine and once you go v8 you never go back!

I have some of the same issues. Front driveline is super close to the trans pan. To close to do a DC shaft. I have 4" of lift. I am part time with an FJ60 spit case. But need to run in 4wd a lot in the winter at speed. When I do I get bad vibes. There is a sweet spot though, I am going to find the sweet spot and then I am cut & turning my front axle. I don't see many other options for front driveline noise/vibes with the 4L60e besides a bunch of castor correct items which I refuse to use! I also have exhaust manifold issues. Stock manifolds dump onto the frame rail on one side and I dislike it. Are the headers you have pictured above custom? I have almost bought JBA cat backs but they are not block huggers. I am having a hard time finding block huggers for the 5.7L as it has different ports then all the other gen1's and is also not the same as the LS or newer engines. I kind of gave up and just decided to keep my lame set up until the engine blows and I go 5.3L or 6L. By the way, I have an LQ9 in an 2001 3/4ton. I bought it new and it has 200,000 on it now. I had to do the alt and starter recently but otherwise have done nothing but good regular maintenance to it since new. It has towed a lot in it's life. Burns very little oil and runs strong as can be still. I just did a 1,100 mile road trip in it two weeks ago with a 1,000lbs motor in the bed. Chevies are plenty reliable.

If you have not done it you might look into a custom tune on the 4L60e. I am pretty sure I have one on mine, I didn't do the swap. I have other Chevy trucks like the 01 with a 4L80e and one with a 4L60e. Neither performs even close to the same as the 4L60e in my Cruiser. What it does is downshifts when you let off the throttle. So there is no coast which I have found a lot of the Chevy trannies really want to coast a lot. For example there is a slight downslope on the street to my house. Speed limit is 35mph. In the Chevy trucks they want to coast on this downslope and I have to tap the brakes a few times or the truck will coast to over 35mph. Now in the Cruiser, it will not coast at all and downshifts when I let off the throttle on the same slope. This is awesome as it doesn't require me to touch the brakes. I have also noticed a big difference on much steeper grades as well as off-road.

Cheers

 

[clanlino]

Please post the exact part numbers of the Dougs and JBA headers that you are using !

We cheked today and we in fact used JBA's... the guys at the shop ended up cutting the collector and changing the angle of it for proper fitment...

The exact part number is coming soon

Thanks !!!!

My PO did it. He had to fab a little piece so it would mount on the crossmember. Seems to work alright.

I bet you love the engine. I have a 5.7L vortec in mine and once you go v8 you never go back!

I have some of the same issues. Front driveline is super close to the trans pan. To close to do a DC shaft. I have 4" of lift. I am part time with an FJ60 spit case. But need to run in 4wd a lot in the winter at speed. When I do I get bad vibes. There is a sweet spot though, I am going to find the sweet spot and then I am cut & turning my front axle. I don't see many other options for front driveline noise/vibes with the 4L60e besides a bunch of castor correct items which I refuse to use! I also have exhaust manifold issues. Stock manifolds dump onto the frame rail on one side and I dislike it. Are the headers you have pictured above custom? I have almost bought JBA cat backs but they are not block huggers. I am having a hard time finding block huggers for the 5.7L as it has different ports then all the other gen1's and is also not the same as the LS or newer engines. I kind of gave up and just decided to keep my lame set up until the engine blows and I go 5.3L or 6L. By the way, I have an LQ9 in an 2001 3/4ton. I bought it new and it has 200,000 on it now. I had to do the alt and starter recently but otherwise have done nothing but good regular maintenance to it since new. It has towed a lot in it's life. Burns very little oil and runs strong as can be still. I just did a 1,100 mile road trip in it two weeks ago with a 1,000lbs motor in the bed. Chevies are plenty reliable.

If you have not done it you might look into a custom tune on the 4L60e. I am pretty sure I have one on mine, I didn't do the swap. I have other Chevy trucks like the 01 with a 4L80e and one with a 4L60e. Neither performs even close to the same as the 4L60e in my Cruiser. What it does is downshifts when you let off the throttle. So there is no coast which I have found a lot of the Chevy trannies really want to coast a lot. For example there is a slight downslope on the street to my house. Speed limit is 35mph. In the Chevy trucks they want to coast on this downslope and I have to tap the brakes a few times or the truck will coast to over 35mph. Now in the Cruiser, it will not coast at all and downshifts when I let off the throttle on the same slope. This is awesome as it doesn't require me to touch the brakes. I have also noticed a big difference on much steeper grades as well as off-road.

Cheers

Thank you for your encouraging post!
We are working on pretty much inverting the drive shaft for better clearance. Don't know yet if we're using the stock of fabricating one. We'll figure it out this week...

I'm confident that I made the right decision with this engine/transmission combo. There will always be a million different combinations that one could go with, but this one worked for me

Once my rig is done I'll drive it for a while before thinking into upgrading more things, but I'm keeping in mind the transmission tunning idea...

Carlos

 

[RockJock82]

Just flip the driveshaft if your not using a CV shaft

 

[clanlino]

Nice metal fabrication, are you using a side to side tank radiator for your LS, advanced adapters recommends these

Yes we are... I don't think I'll have any issues with the radiator and other upgraded parts of the cooling system

 

[clanlino]

Just flip the driveshaft if your not using a CV shaft

Jonathan, is that what you did on yours? Did you have any issues with the slip yoke?

 

[RockJock82]

On rigs that are not >4inches of lift yes. There are no issues with flipping the driveshaft unless your running a CV front shaft

 

[clanlino]

Got me a "TEQ" badge and cup holders...

I also changed the battery terminals to some nicer and more practical ones... the cables will look better and will go straight down...

 

[clanlino]

Got my battery box, air intake, and intake box back from powder coating... and couldn't be happier with the results! ☺