1VD-FTV in LC200 (1 Viewer)

[Dime is Money]

Looking for some guidance on the feasibility of a potential project.

I can get a brand new or low mileage 1VD-FTV and virtually everything off of a 2011 LC to include the ECU, transmission, wiring and fuel systems etc at almost no cost to me. So it begs the question, is it worth tackling a huge project to stick this powertrain in a 200 series? I don't own a LC yet. Previously I've been looking at a new 4runner but a Land Cruiser has always enticed me. With this opportunity to make one completely unique with a 1VD I wouldn't hesitate to dish out the cash (as long as it was reasonable). My only concern is the complications of completing the swap.
Ideally I want to put it in a 2016 LC. While I am all for robustness and practicality, I do enjoy modern car luxuries and want a combination of both for a daily driver. I am leaning towards a '16 because of it being the latest interior and exterior design, but still $25,000 cheaper than buying a brand new '18. Potential issues that I can think of right off the bat is the wiring. I am going to want to retain all the instrument cluster and entertainment features from the host vehicle and I'm not sure how integrated that is with the original ECU. Does anyone know if it would be as easy as keeping the host vehicle's dash harness and just splicing it into the engine harness/ECU? Additionally, I feel like the saving grace in the project is that the 2011 and 2016 chassis are very similar and the donor is LHD as well, but that's me assuming everything is exactly the same between the two models. Can someone confirm or deny this?

My experience comes from working on old Datsuns to include motor swaps but nothing that is OBD II or older, so I'm hoping to lean on someone with a lot of knowledge that can lead me in the right direction.

 

[TonyP]

No, not worth it. The 3UR is a more than competent powerplant.

 

[Tapage]

I would like to have tons of time and the donnor vehicle side to side with your target platform .. and still will be PITA ..

You can't take a project like this one thinking in any kind of budget if you wanna make it right to the happy end ..

 

[indycole]

If you're serious about this I'd suggest asking @orangefj45 when Rubithon is over.

 

[cruiseroutfit]

Quite the conversion, I'd love to see it done. Having spent a great deal of time driving both, the major selling point of the 1VDFTV over the 3UR is going to be economy. Side by side drag, the 3UR wins. Maintenance costs, I think the 3UR wins. You can buy a grip of gasoline with the conversion close not to mention effort. Integrating the ECU, exhaust, mounting under the hood, etc would take a great deal of hacking, fabbing and tweaking. I'd buy the gas and spend that time doing a cool trip

 

[Climbingnut]

It's a great motor, but man, that's a lot to mess with. My biggest question is how would it handle emissions standards in the USA?

 

[LandCruisinMy93]

If it were me and I could get all of that at virtually no cost to me, you better bet your kids college fund I'd do it. Heck, if you can get all of that virtually cost free there is a place in Bend that can likely do the work and it would probably cost $10-12k for them to do it right.

Your biggest cost doing it yourself is going to be the vehicle and the time. I'm sure the swap can be done since the engine is already offered in the 200 overseas. If you want to make life easier you buy the wiring harnessses that already exist, compare all instrumentation and do the plug and play. You may need to make motor mounts and make or move the transmission mount but thst would likely be the biggest fab work if at all.

I don't know, I'm not you and I don't want to delude you into thinking anyone can do it themselves. I just started thinking last week that if I could sell my 03 sequoia, 11 Camry and my Mercedes Diesel swapped 80 series land cruiser, I would like to build a 1vd 2nd gen sequoia. The cost of the parts you can get at next to nothing are what would be prohibitive in any other circumstance for me.

I say follow that dream, and if you decide against it pass the savings on to someone who would make good use of it .

 

[linuxgod]

Why do you want a diesel?

The 3UR-FE puts out quite a bit of torque. If your goal is power, for $10k you'd be better served swapping in 4:88 gears and adding a Magnuson supercharger. That also keeps you supportable in the US - assuming you get the 1VD-FTV working you're going to have a helluva time sourcing parts for any repairs.

I know you said you could get the engine, ECU, etc for free but I suspect you'll spend a lot to get this actually working. And once you do, I don't know that you'll be able to register it or use it on-highway as the 1VD-FTV isn't EPA approved for the US (but I've never tried it so I don't really know).

 

[krice118]

Anyone else curious as to how someone has access to a free 1VD-FTV and ECU etc?

 

[linuxgod]

Wrecked and declared totalled, I assume. Maybe rear-ended or T-boned? Or stolen and don't want to sell it because the VIN is on the block?

OP is quiet so I assume just posting and we'll never hear from them again

 

[Dime is Money]

I appreciate all the feedback guys. I'm going to keep spearheading the project as much as I can before I'm too deep into it. Right now I'm not in the United States. When I get back is when I'll start looking for a 200 and then figure out the swap. If it doesn't work out then I guess I'm still left with a nice LC200, right?

 

[linuxgod]

@Dime is Money, if you can make this work I'll be interested to watch. Wish I could've purchased a diesel LC in the US. I definitely don't have the skills to try this kinda swap

If you need the digital FSMs for US and non-US vehicles let me know. Won't help with everything but with enough analysis you might be able to determine everything that's different