A first attempt at restoring a 78 FJ40

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I'd talk to myron watson and see how full his plate is and what he thinks of sdalvaging yours verse a transplant. When Jeff and I were in his shop last he was redoing a 73 engine for, I think, $2300?
 
After you buy the motor and adapter kit plus the install you will have that much in a V8 swap. Just rebuild the 2F. But what do I know?
 
Used 2f and forget about it.
 
My .02.....

If you are not putting an automatic in I see no reason to go with a v8. I say this because.....if your looking for speed ur not going to get it with the 4 speed tranny......and I would not put a v8 in without doing an automatic. Agree with bodean, after you buy the adapters, and everything else you need to install it. Your going to be looking at a good bit of money. Not to mention a good bit of heartache if ur doing it yourself.

If ur planning on a trail rig by all means do it!!!! If not I would rebuild the 2f.

Basically I would not install a v8 without installing an auto tranny. This would give great highway gearing along with great crawling ability.
 
If you are trying to restore it as your thread name implies then get your 2f rebuilt or buy a used one.

If ya want to have some fun with it put a nice V8 in it. It will be around the same amount money anyway... Keep in mind it's a money pit ..if a hi hp v8 will put a smile on your face then do it. If a rebuilt 2f puts a smile on your face then do that. If you put a v8 in it , put the most powerful stock one you can find. Saves ya money later when you decide to upgrade motor.

My 2cents
 
My 02 cents... if you want a swap you can handle get a used 2F and call it!

For a V8 your going to have to do alot paying for work or do homework before.

If you find a used 2F buy it, install it & make sure it runs well- then I would used some $$$ and buy affordable fuel injection. JROB and I both run it & I would say it & disk brakes are running neck, and neck for best upgrades.

But I will say a V8 sounds sweet;)
 
I've got a line on a good F series motor cheap but not sure I would recommend that swap in your position. What have you done to isolate the problem on your motor? Valve/head work is not too bad if that's where the problem is. If it's rings and mains then a full rebuild or motor swap with a known good 2F is the way to go.

We need to know compression numbers both wet and dry, oil consumption, condition of the plugs, exhaust pipe/card trick results, and vacuum numbers if you can get them. Let's start there and see where it takes us.
 
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Moses has spoken! You can bank on that advice!
 
Thanks for all of the advice. My plan is to rebuild or stay with a 2F. If I get a fast and loud V8 it will be in a muscle car or rat rod. From what I looked at the cost usually ends up about the same after all of the adapters and headaches of making the switch.

Bossman, I actually bought a compression tester a while back, but I have never done it before and didn't want to jack anything up. I would really appreciate it if someone could help me do the compression test and exahust pipe trick (never heard of this one), or at least give me good guidance to not mess it up and get inaccurate numbers.
 
Start by pulling all the plugs keeping track of which hole each came out of. Take a good pic of each plug so we can judge the condition and color of each. Disconnect the fuel line and coil wire before moving on to the compression check.

Screw your compression tester into the first hole and get someone to turn the motor over 3 to 4 turns and record the compression reading. Do exactly the same for each hole. Next, put a small amount of oil in each hole before screwing the compression tester in. Just a half dozen drops should be all you need. Repeat the compression test for each cyl doing this and record the readings. If the results go up considerably it is an indication of ring/cyl wear.

Put everything back together and start the motor. While the motor is still warming up take something like a playing card or business card and fold it in half. Hold the fold against the bottom edge if the tailpipe. Does the card pulse away from the tailpipe consistently or does it get sucked up into the pipe? If it gets pulled up into the pipe it is an indication of valve problems. Repeat the test once the motor warms up.

These simple tests will tell us a lot about the condition of your motor. Best results will be had if the motor is tuned up and the carb and valves are adjusted properly. Let us know what you find.
 
Start by pulling all the plugs keeping track of which hole each came out of. Take a good pic of each plug so we can judge the condition and color of each. Disconnect the fuel line and coil wire before moving on to the compression check.

Screw your compression tester into the first hole and get someone to turn the motor over 3 to 4 turns and record the compression reading. Do exactly the same for each hole. Next, put a small amount of oil in each hole before screwing the compression tester in. Just a half dozen drops should be all you need. Repeat the compression test for each cyl doing this and record the readings. If the results go up considerably it is an indication of ring/cyl wear.

Put everything back together and start the motor. While the motor is still warming up take something like a playing card or business card and fold it in half. Hold the fold against the bottom edge if the tailpipe. Does the card pulse away from the tailpipe consistently or does it get sucked up into the pipe? If it gets pulled up into the pipe it is an indication of valve problems. Repeat the test once the motor warms up.

These simple tests will tell us a lot about the condition of your motor. Best results will be had if the motor is tuned up and the carb and valves are adjusted properly. Let us know what you find.

Or take it to Myron....
 
"I" think I am funny :D

Bossman lost me at "put it all back together"

Was it reconnecting the fuel line, coil wire, or spark plugs that was too much for you? :)
 
wngrog said:
"I" think I am funny :D

Bossman lost me at "hello"

Fixed!
 
Do you disconnect the fuel line at the carb? Sorry, I am a newb.
 
Tank side of the fuel pump.
 
Damn that sounds good!
 

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