2f or not 2F?

[Full Throttle 500]

Of course for right now I have to keep this little 2F up and running till I have everything. That seems to be getting costly by itself. It started running horrible last night after I spent two weekends on it, got it running ok and now she wants more attention and my money spent on her.

Kind of like being married with kids.

 

[gregnash]

I am on an extremely tight budget. My first reason is not the until cost but the cost and availability of parts later. The second reason is I use the truck as a daily driver. Third being I priced out all of the performance parts for the 2f and wold be close to 7 grand in just the engine, still have a 2F, have to run it on race fuel blend and still be under 200hp. A LS has twice the torque and almost three times the HP for less than half the cost. More dependability and close to 18 mpg with a proper tune. Keeping the budget in mind, as much as I did not want to I will be switching to an automatic. A LS to Toyota trans adapter is 1500 to 1800. A 4l65E to Toyota transfer case adapter is 800.
If I stay standard I would have to go to a 5 speed to gain what I am looking for. I don't go into just the rocks and hills. I go into the nice Texas black gumbo which requires wheel speed. This was another factor.
To keep the budget in check I am looking for a Chevy with a 4l65E transmission that runs and drives. This gives me everything I need for the swap minus the adapters and engine mount kit.
The ultimate swap would be to put my body on a 97 or newer FJ80, but that opens a whole new can of worms I don't want to get into.
Back to the 6.0, I found that most of the vehicles with the tray I need are SS models, Escalade, Hummer and these are not cheap. Then I found if I look for a chevy or gmc truck with the 6.0 that is not an HD I will get everything I need.
The other option is to get a 4 wheel drive chevy and use a NP205 transfer case, this will give me a right hand drop Tcase that is gear driven.

As far as benefits of a LS. The aftermarket parts are abundant. They have gotten cheaper, as low as 500 with a harness. If you get a LS1 you are looking at 320 to 350 horsepower stock. You can put an LS6 stock cam with lifters in one, keep your torque band low, and be at 400 to 415hp with a proper tune. You can find LS6 cams on ebay that guys pull out of their car as soon as warranty is up and the cam is still good.

Also if you go with an all aluminum LS you will cut down on the weight. Like any swap, there is alot of work involved. But what I have found on this forum there are alot of guys willing to help were they can.

Thanks for the information and sorry to divert from your thread. I have been contemplating a thread that has information like this simply for "theorycraft" for those of us that like to get all our ducks in a row prior to pulling the trigger. There is TONS of information on this forum with regards to the different swaps people have done but the main thing that I have been looking at is the realization the Toyota high hp/torque swaps are fairly few and far between simply because the parts availability requires special ordering or advanced purchase rarity. This coupled with the advancements that Chevy/GMC have made with regards to the reliability of the engines and their "fleet vehicle" status makes for things that even the elitist can possibly sway.

 

[gregnash]

Of course for right now I have to keep this little 2F up and running till I have everything. That seems to be getting costly by itself. It started running horrible last night after I spent two weekends on it, got it running ok and now she wants more attention and my money spent on her.

Kind of like being married with kids.

Oh yeah a never ending story for these trucks, especially if they are like mine which had a very spotty and undocumented history. Mine's had an indiscriminant clunk from the front passenger side since I bought it. Could never figure out where it was coming from... That was until last night when I went to remove the front wheel so I could install my new SkyJacker M95 shocks. Well..... found that the military wrap on the main leaf is completely busted, had I jacked the truck up any further the shackle would have just been swinging loosely. Luckily she popped right back to where she has been for the last 3yrs so now I got to figure when the hell I am going to have time to pull apart the front end (was planning on mid September but gonna have to happen sooner now) and replace with the springs I have laying around (also praying I don't run into the same issues as with the rears).

In the long run, I think the wife and kids might be cheaper!

 

[Full Throttle 500]

You haven't diverted the thread. Once I have found everything I am going to do a thread on the build with were I find the parts along with the install, fabrication work, the refabrication work from the screw ups that are bound to happen.
I did find out the suspension should be the first upgrade, so on a good note you have a head start on me @gregnash

 

[gregnash]

LOL thanks for trying to make me feel better. Ultimately my "suspension upgrade" turned into more of just a refresh at the moment.