Build 6.0 Vortec LQ9 - FJ60 Engine Swap - Old Blue's Heart Transplant

[yukon721]

Thought I’d share my inspiration for this build. (I’m away from my project and bored) While i enjoy just about anyone’s version of a FJ60, This is what keeps me awake at night scheming on making it a reality. For me..... this is perfection. Your version may differ.

Build continues every Tuesday-Thursday for an ....... undetermined amount of time.

 

[yukon721]

Motor Alignment week

There’s a 6.0 in my landcruiser.

When someone tells you, its a project - they mean it. Aligning the motor to sit correctly is a chore to say the least. I’m sure there are easier ways, but im doing it with a cherry picker and jack.

Things to align - Where do I start.

Level left to right - Check

Front driveline /oil pan clearance - Check (in theory)

Transfer case /shift lever to floor board clearance. - Check

 

[yukon721]

Rear transfer case flange to rear differential flange distance. This varies depending who ya ask. But for me the sweet spot seems to be 37 1/4 “

Motor angle - again varies a tad. Mine is 3 degrees.

From the front frame center point to center of motor I am 3/4” torwards the driverside.

For my GM motor mounts the center hole hits in line with the end of the shock tower on each side.

Camaro exhaust manifolds dump
Out roughly 2” above frame rails. So no clearance worries.

Clearance from bump stop to axel - 6”
Clearance from front left corner of oil pan to axel. Damn near the same. I’d like it a bit higher, but tough to do in order to clear the hood. May play with it a little more.

I’m doing this with the front clip off. It does make it chalanging trying to find hood clearance to motor. While i did take a couple measurements before the hood came off, in reality if ya ever looked under a FJ hood it isnt exactly flat. Has plenty of suport rails, con-caves upwards in the middle, etc. i had to stare at the underside of the hood for a good time and measure and mock up over the motor using string and front radiator housing (whatever that whole unit is called that houses headlights, grill, etc.

Easier ways? Probably. But helped me.

Bottomed out the cherry picker against the frame to get the motor back far enough to meet my rear flange distance and had to use a block of wood to shim it further.

Side note- not necesary. If you run into this, the motor is too high. Lowered mine about 1 1/2” and then didnt need the block and motor could go back just fine.

 

[yukon721]

They say to place motor back as far as you can go. For me I’d say i have roughly 2-3” from back of heads to firewall. So I’m not all the way back but it seems where its happy.

Theres some garbage in the way. ie. Rear heater hose lines. Get em out of the way. Re-route later if need be.

Also i had brake lines that sit on top of frame that gave me issues trying to get the motor sitting properly. Removed the clips and bent them by hand (gently) to allow me a bit of room. Once seated they can go back.

Also fuel lines will be right near exhaust manifold output. They’ll be replaced and re-routed.

Think that covers most of it. Plan on aligning and re-aligning about a dozen times. Patience will be key. There may be blood. But it’ll get there. Wood blocks for shims will be needed to keep it sitting where ya want if its moving around on a cherry picker.

2 days and a few censored non linguistically challanging comments and its sitting how I like it.

On to bracket fabrication. Utilizing the tried and true carboard /glue gun method to mock up.

Kinda looks something like this. Altho final version will have more angles than anticipated once cardboard theory turns into metal.

Metal mock up mount. Seems like it’ll work.
I’d love to say I got brackets welded on and motor sitting, but it didnt happen this week. It was way more time consuming than I thought it would be. But getting closer!

Side note - if ya got a keen set of eyes and are a stickler for perfection you’ll notice the remnants of my old motor brackets. Not to worry, they’ll be cleaned up once motor comes out and final brackets are welded on. Firewall will have to be painted as well.

 

[samc2447]

Nice work. Looks like you're making great progress.

 

[cruisermatt]

Nice, before you you burn those mounts in for good make sure you can get a socket on the rear-most passenger-side spark plug, my motor is about 2” farther back from yours (I dented my firewall on the passenger side) so you should be good but I’d still check.

Also, I’d recommend lifting your transfer case up a touch so that it’s outputs are both perpendicular to level. Less stress on front upper u-joint.

 

[NCFJ]

Also, I’d recommend lifting your transfer case up a touch so that it’s outputs are both perpendicular to level. Less stress on front upper u-joint.

That would be plumb

 

[cruisermatt]

That would be plumb

You’re right. No coffee yet today

 

[ZGMikey]

There may be blood

More like "There WILL be blood."

Enjoying reading this...as I begin to try to figure out how to convince my wife that my LC needs a V8.

 

[gilamonster]

So, did some years of 60's have the eyelet type front shock mount or did I miss something? Mine has post mounts on top, I thought they all did.

 

[yukon721]

Nice, before you you burn those mounts in for good make sure you can get a socket on the rear-most passenger-side spark plug, my motor is about 2” farther back from yours (I dented my firewall on the passenger side) so you should be good but I’d still check.

Also, I’d recommend lifting your transfer case up a touch so that it’s outputs are both perpendicular to level. Less stress on front upper u-joint.

I dont remember any spark plug issues, but I will double check. As fas as transfer case. That 3 degree angle on the motor runs all the way to the transfer case. Are you saying run the motor at 0 degrees? If I jack the transfer up to zero then motor is at zero. I was under the assumption motor should be at a slight angle from front to rear. Nothing is getting welded to frame for a couple weeks as the truck has to be moved to a neighbors shop down the road so plenty of time to get it all correct.

 

[cruisermatt]

I dont remember any spark plug issues, but I will double check. As fas as transfer case. That 3 degree angle on the motor runs all the way to the transfer case. Are you saying run the motor at 0 degrees? If I jack the transfer up to zero then motor is at zero. I was under the assumption motor should be at a slight angle from front to rear. Nothing is getting welded to frame for a couple weeks as the truck has to be moved to a neighbors shop down the road so plenty of time to get it all correct.

Yes.

 

[yukon721]

So, did some years of 60's have the eyelet type front shock mount or did I miss something? Mine has post mounts on top, I thought they all did.

Hmm. Not sure if there were variations. Dont have a good pic of mine but you can prob make em out on the previous photos where I painted the frame.

 

[yukon721]

More like "There WILL be blood."

Enjoying reading this...as I begin to try to figure out how to convince my wife that my LC needs a V8.

I used the “cheaper than a new truck” approach. May work for you as well. Haha

 

[gilamonster]

Hmm. Not sure if there were variations. Dont have a good pic of mine but you can prob make em out on the previous photos where I painted the frame.

You can see your's has the eyelet type top mounts, that's what made me wonder.

 

[yukon721]

You can see your's has the eyelet type top mounts, that's what made me wonder.

Yeah. I thought they all looked like that. But may be variances. Mine is an 87, couldnt say for other years.

 

[yukon721]

Decided to take a break this week. Had more important things to manage.

Had some things at the office to take care of.

And promised my daughter we’d go camping. Not that she understands what a promise is. But a promise is promise.

Turning wrenches continues next week.

 

[yukon721]

What happened this week. Well not much to report. A bit of grinding, cutting, welding, etc. Finished Motor Brackets and Crossmember. Motor should be in its final resting place and bolted in on Saturday. Did manage to get some sanding / painting done to the front clip Which took a bit of time. Its not interesting, but all part of the process. Pics aren’t great, but ya get the jist.

As mentioned previously I had spray cans made to match exact color and can say its spot on. Link in previous post. I bought four cans + 4 cans of clear - which will get ya the front, 2 fenders and firewall if used mindfully. I’d say 5 if ya wanna go wild. 6 if ya plan on doing the underside of the hood. Which I do. So Looks like I’ll be ordering another can of each.

Have some more pics on Saturday once the motors finally resting and bolted up.

Quick Tip: If ya don’t want to repaint your whole truck - skip this step. Painting the engine bay may make ya realize the inside looks better than the outside.

 

[TrekkerOverlanding]

Awesome progress, now that I have my 4.8L installed I’m starting to wonder if the 6.0L wouldn’t have been better! It’ll be a huge difference over the 2f.

 

[yukon721]

Motor is in its final resting place and bolted in. Man that took some time. Naturally i forgot to take pics. Will get some up soon. Until then, here are the motor mounts burned into place. Went with 1/4” plate. Should survive a runaway freight train. In theory.

Sidenote: if you are gonna run GM Motor Mounts, the front of the fabricated bracket should land somewhere in between the two stock frame rail holes behind the shock tower. My brackets are the exact width of the motor mount itself. Which lands ya right about 6” wide. I’m throwing this out there to save others motor alignment time. This seems to be the happy spot for mine. At least for the 6.0 with GM motor mounts.

You’ll notice each side is a bit different. This is to offset the motor 3/4” (approx) to the driveside. If ya aren’t savvy with welding/bending/cutting metal these may be a little difficult to make. If not, I’d recommend buying pre-made ones if ya can find em. I had some help from a friend on these. The price of a bottle of Jack was well worth it.

And access to a plasma cutter is priceless.

As mentioned before keen eyes will pick up old FJ bracket reminents. They’re gone now. A better set of eyes will pick up the box of Kerosene under the plasma cutter. Yeah...... ..

Lesson of the Day - be sure to check under your feet when borrowing a shop. If I survive long enough to drive it I’ll be happy.