So, due to a request from a Mud member I'm going to start a build thread on this swap I am currently working on. I haven't done a build thread on other swaps so bear with me I might not post what people are interested in. I do have some pictures, but I don't seem to take the ones that are interesting to others so please let me know if there is something someone wants to see.
There is quite a bit of backstory with this 62 so I'll try to paraphrase as much as possible so people don't get bored. About 8 years ago I purchased this FJ62 from Rock Springs. I saw it advertised for the right price and I had to go look, well the look turned into a purchase once I saw the condition of the body since everything I see around here has rusty wheel wells etc.... It was a pretty stock 62 with a high mileage 3FE a OME lift and a ARB bumper. I brought it back home and drove it a bit trying to decide what to do with it. I was telling a friend of mine about it, who had never had a Cruiser before, and he decided to buy it from me. During the first year the Cruiser ran into some engine and transmission problems so he decided to pull the motor and rebuild it and add an H55F. He got it running just in time to move to Northern Idaho where he drove it around for a few years without any problems. His only complaint was the poor gas mileage, so this is where the diesel came into play.
He decided he wanted a 4bd1t or 2t since it seemed to be the best and cheapest 4 cyl swap at the time. Well I started looking locally and found an old Isuzu box truck that was for sale. It was cheap due to the fact that it blew loads of black smoke and wouldn't go about 35mph. The nice this was it started, idled perfectly and there were no unusual noises, plus it felt smooth while driving. So, after further investigation I found that the turbo had seized causing the drive-ability problems. So, now I have a box truck in my yard that needed to drive 700 miles to Northern Idaho but needed repair work before it could get there. Since this was going to go into his FJ62 he didn't want to waste time and money with purchasing the factory turbo since it wasn't be best fit for increasing power etc... so we did some research and found that the HE221 was a good replacement and should work great in his 62. So, he and I purchased all the parts and components for the swap and he made cleared his schedule to come down, help install, then drive the box truck back home.
So all this happened to be in the winter and the temps around my place were just below zero during the week he decided to come down. I didn't have a big enough shop to pull in a box truck so all the work we had to do was in the snow and the cold. We pulled out shop lights to help us while we worked at night since he was on a time frame. So, before he arrived I got everything pulled apart and ready. I ran into a broken exhaust manifold bolt on the rear of the motor during dis-assembly which I ended up drilling and running a coil cert, but in the end that didn't work very well since I didn't have great access to the location so the hole ended up over enlarged for the 8mm coil cert. Needless to say that is something I am going to have to deal with now Argh. Anyway, he showed up on the expected day and we had 2 days to install this turbo and get him on the road. Everything went pretty well in the end, it actually took us 2.5 days, but he at least still left the day he expected, only in the afternoon. So with the new turbo installed, and the short test run, he took off. We didn't change any fuel settings etc... but he was able to cruise at 65 and it ran great. Since he left so late he ended up driving through Dillon Mt. right around midnight, he said the temps were around -20, and he was having a hard time keeping the windshield clear, but besides that it was running great. He ended up making it home in the early hours of the morning just in time for work the next day.
So now that he had the motor it was time for the swap, well at the same time I had another friend that was having issues with his 2F and wanted to do a 3FE swap in his 40. Well, what better time. They met up and made the trade, my friend from Seattle installed the 3FE and is happy with the motor and swap.
So, now the FJ62 has no motor, the OME springs were swapped out for HFS kit and it was time to source the parts for the swap. A few pieces were orderd ie. Advanced Adapter Economy kit, but for the most part it sat waiting. During that time I had purchase two HJ47's from Australia, one for myself and one to sell. Well, my friend decided he wanted to buy one if the 47's so to make that easier for him I took the 62 as part trade and that is where it has sat for the past year.
Now it's come time to finish the swap. I have other projects I am working on at the same time so don't expect a fast swap, but It'll get done.
Did I say I was going to paraphrase? lol
Pictures coming soon, just need to get them uploaded.
There is quite a bit of backstory with this 62 so I'll try to paraphrase as much as possible so people don't get bored. About 8 years ago I purchased this FJ62 from Rock Springs. I saw it advertised for the right price and I had to go look, well the look turned into a purchase once I saw the condition of the body since everything I see around here has rusty wheel wells etc.... It was a pretty stock 62 with a high mileage 3FE a OME lift and a ARB bumper. I brought it back home and drove it a bit trying to decide what to do with it. I was telling a friend of mine about it, who had never had a Cruiser before, and he decided to buy it from me. During the first year the Cruiser ran into some engine and transmission problems so he decided to pull the motor and rebuild it and add an H55F. He got it running just in time to move to Northern Idaho where he drove it around for a few years without any problems. His only complaint was the poor gas mileage, so this is where the diesel came into play.
He decided he wanted a 4bd1t or 2t since it seemed to be the best and cheapest 4 cyl swap at the time. Well I started looking locally and found an old Isuzu box truck that was for sale. It was cheap due to the fact that it blew loads of black smoke and wouldn't go about 35mph. The nice this was it started, idled perfectly and there were no unusual noises, plus it felt smooth while driving. So, after further investigation I found that the turbo had seized causing the drive-ability problems. So, now I have a box truck in my yard that needed to drive 700 miles to Northern Idaho but needed repair work before it could get there. Since this was going to go into his FJ62 he didn't want to waste time and money with purchasing the factory turbo since it wasn't be best fit for increasing power etc... so we did some research and found that the HE221 was a good replacement and should work great in his 62. So, he and I purchased all the parts and components for the swap and he made cleared his schedule to come down, help install, then drive the box truck back home.
So all this happened to be in the winter and the temps around my place were just below zero during the week he decided to come down. I didn't have a big enough shop to pull in a box truck so all the work we had to do was in the snow and the cold. We pulled out shop lights to help us while we worked at night since he was on a time frame. So, before he arrived I got everything pulled apart and ready. I ran into a broken exhaust manifold bolt on the rear of the motor during dis-assembly which I ended up drilling and running a coil cert, but in the end that didn't work very well since I didn't have great access to the location so the hole ended up over enlarged for the 8mm coil cert. Needless to say that is something I am going to have to deal with now Argh. Anyway, he showed up on the expected day and we had 2 days to install this turbo and get him on the road. Everything went pretty well in the end, it actually took us 2.5 days, but he at least still left the day he expected, only in the afternoon. So with the new turbo installed, and the short test run, he took off. We didn't change any fuel settings etc... but he was able to cruise at 65 and it ran great. Since he left so late he ended up driving through Dillon Mt. right around midnight, he said the temps were around -20, and he was having a hard time keeping the windshield clear, but besides that it was running great. He ended up making it home in the early hours of the morning just in time for work the next day.
So now that he had the motor it was time for the swap, well at the same time I had another friend that was having issues with his 2F and wanted to do a 3FE swap in his 40. Well, what better time. They met up and made the trade, my friend from Seattle installed the 3FE and is happy with the motor and swap.
So, now the FJ62 has no motor, the OME springs were swapped out for HFS kit and it was time to source the parts for the swap. A few pieces were orderd ie. Advanced Adapter Economy kit, but for the most part it sat waiting. During that time I had purchase two HJ47's from Australia, one for myself and one to sell. Well, my friend decided he wanted to buy one if the 47's so to make that easier for him I took the 62 as part trade and that is where it has sat for the past year.
Now it's come time to finish the swap. I have other projects I am working on at the same time so don't expect a fast swap, but It'll get done.
Did I say I was going to paraphrase? lol
Pictures coming soon, just need to get them uploaded.
