Out of curiosity:
- How did you handle the immobilizer on the FTE ECU or was yours not immobilized?
- You mentioned installing a plug for a Unichip. Did you ever get the truck tuned or are you still rocking the OEM tune?
Thanks for the kind words mate - i've benefitted hugely from reading others build threads and hoped to pass that some benefit on.
Jonathan Thrashlux who built my conversion harness also provided an ECU with the immo removed. This was a perfect scenario because I got the engine + trans as a set, but did not have a workable harness or ECU.
My experience with Jonathan was good, and was roughly a 2 month turnaround from me shipping my original 1FZ harness to him, to receiving the ready-to-rip FTE conversion harness.
Jonathan added in the wiring for UniChip when building the harness - this is an option he offers. I did need to source my own UniChip bridge board to run un-tuned. I am currently still running without a tune, and may never tune it unless i start feeling wild - the FTE runs excellent, and less stress on the motor means more reliability. That's my current mindset at least.
I hear you and that's definitely the way to go if you're happy with the motor (but still have the option to easily throw in a Unichip in the future should the need ever arise). I suppose keeping it stock or close is also good news for the tranny.
That's probably how I'd approach it too. I've been reading a lot of good things about Jonathan and his work. If I'm ever in a position to attempt this swap, he's probably who I'd go with for the loom
Man, we have been so crazy busy this year with a new house, renovating and selling the old one, and new jobs, I don't think I'll have chance to get the 80 to the mountain West till Dec or even next year. I'll hit you up when we do, would love to cruise.
I've been driving the 80 quite a bit recently with since my daily is on loan to a family member who is in town for the month, and the 100 series is in need of brake master cylinder and accumulator assembly. It's been a joy and the FTE actually tows pretty well.
