Basics of swapping a tacoma (3.4 v6) to FJ40?

[vtcruiser60]

What did you end up with?

I bought a 74 40 series from a Mud guy out of Portland, ME and have been making slow progress all summer.

At the time I was looking at a fairly rust free 40 series posted on the board, sans engine. The owner wanted about $2500 as I remember, which after a motor swap would have drained my budget.

If you are looking for a build up project send a note to Rabid on the board.

 

[VTFJ40]

I bought a 74 40 series from a Mud guy out of Portland, ME and have been making slow progress all summer.

At the time I was looking at a fairly rust free 40 series posted on the board, sans engine. The owner wanted about $2500 as I remember, which after a motor swap would have drained my budget.

Was thinkin of unloading my 77 SBC/4speed drivetrain, is why I asked.

If you are looking for a build up project send a note to Rabid on the board.

Dan, what are you selling?

 

[rabid]

I have a pretty clean 60, but I think it is spoken for. Wally has a few builders right now, but you would have to be ambitious. I just passed on three from NY because I have no place to put them.

 

[pjohnson]

I had no idea that a wiring harness was so expensive....seriously, that may kill the deal right there for me. Supposedly, I can yoke any and all wiring from the donor Tacoma for this build, but offroadsolutions.com seriously cautions against going that route when mating a 3.4 to a landcruiser.

I also called Marlin and talked through the build with them. As always goals are important to consider first. I want a reliable driver for light off roading, not crawling. I also have budget in mind to build up a FJ40 and can't get too crazy. Here is how the prices mount up for this swap:

96 Tacoma donor 3.4L engine and 5spd tranny (all wiring included) = $500
V6 Single 4.70 Crawler Unit from marlin = 1200 (Much less if I supply the tcase and gear the box myself)
Custom driveshafts = $600 EST
83-85 Minitruck axles = $500 EST

I could be off on the driveshaft and axle estimates...but that is the pshizzel at the moment.

You would only need a rear axle for the centered output as the single crawler unit is pass side front output. You wouldn't have to get a 4.7 gear in the t-case either. You could run the stock 2.23, although it doesn't give you a very good low range.

Offroadsolutions are pretty knowledgeable, but remember, they are a vendor. Whether it's a LC or an older mini-truck, the work is basically the same. You might have to rewire the LC to get a full set of guages. There are a LOT of people who have done swaps of newer efi motors of all kinds using the oem wiring. It's not impossible, just a challenge.

For the purpose you describe, light wheeling and DD, the 3.4/5sp should meet your needs adequately.

Phil

Edit: Doh! - I should have read the entire thread before I posted.... oh, well. Info is still good though.

 

[Jetboy]

I think this sounds like a pretty good idea. I see no reason that a fj40 body and frame would be heavier than a 3rd gen 4runner. I doubt its even close. I love the 3.4 in my 4runner. I'd take one in my cruiser. Plus you could go with the auto and put the engine foreward as much as possible and be able to run dual cases and still have a rear driveshaft.

I'd be interested to see any dyno run comparisons between a tbi 350 and a 3.4 to see how much real difference there is.

 

[Fast Eddy]

I'd be interested to see any dyno run comparisons between a tbi 350 and a 3.4 to see how much real difference there is.

Back to the 'no replacement for displacement' comment, the 5.7l will have about 1.7x as much hp and torque. By simply extending the stroke you get a 6.4l (which you can also buy in a crate) you get about 1.9x the power for a very slight increase in cost.

Since the 350 is available in a 4-bolt main version that can pretty easily take 750 hp, any talk of supercharging the 3.4l is kinda silly.

Anything you can do the the 3.4l you can also do to the 6.4l for about the same price and get 1.9x the hp at the end of the day.

If you have a line on a free-or-so 3.4l, that's a good deal, and it would make a pretty cool swap, IMO, but it doesn't compare to a SBC unless it's way cheap or free.

 

[bustanutley]

It would be a waste to go to all the work of putting a 5rz into a cruiser, when you could have a 2uzfe instead. The cost difference is negligible once all is said and done. Thats what i'm going to do anyway

 

[PappaSmurf]

Where do you get a 2UZFE out of? Also, I think Rusty-tlc has it right. I had a buddy that built an early Bronco (you know the ones that people always accidentally promote to Scout II status) anyway he put a built 302 in it. We went playing in the dessert and I went through a wash that was maybe 3 inches deep. ON PURPOSE I stopped with my rear tires in the wash and put her in first. The thing would haul down the street but couldn't even crawl out of that 3" hole. I wheeled a '40 from age 6 'till I lost her to my folks divorce when I was about 23. I know how to use a clutch.

I'll be danged if that thing couldn't crawl itself out of that tiny hole. Finally had to spin the tires to get out. So you know what you can do with your 1000 hp revver? You may be able to get lots of hp with forced induction at 4,000 rpm but Displacement wins in torque every time.

Why do I always wear the pants of controversy? That's it I'm only talking about happy flowers and butterflies from now on!