Considering a V8 swap...got questions

[NCFJ]

I may be about as bias as the come but more than my affection for modern motors is my affection for "Run what you brung". That is the beauty of building trucks and cars, it's yours, build it how you like. Don't like it, change it again until you do!

OK Boomer, really?

"It is better to remain quiet and be thought a fool than to open your mouth (type) and remove all doubt"

 

[Elbert]

What do you not like about the Toyota 5 speed and a 5.3 combo? I have been contemplating this as an option when the 2F dies. Could be a long time.

I have the 5.7 vortec and toyota 5speed, which of course requires an adapter between the transmission and the engine. I think the GM auto transmission is a better choice over the manual transmission. (1) performance of the auto transmission (2) no adapter between transmission and engine (3) ease of install & setup (4) the toyota 5 speed does not really have a large enough "over-drive" (5th) gear that mates well with the torque curve of the gm engine. Yes if you run the toyota OEM transfer case you will need an adapter between the transmission and transfer case, but from what I've read those are basically trouble free. Yes you will need to have good cooling for the auto transmission too.

There are some people who seem to think that only manual transmissions are worthy....I have a different view.

 

[NookShneer]

Builds - Gen IV LS/NV4500 Swap

Hey guys, I've mostly been lurking on this board for about a year now but figured it's time to start a build thread. I picked up my first FJ60 last year and over the past 10 months have been picking away at an LS swap. I come from a background of sportscars and road racing and am very...

forum.ih8mud.com

Doug at Wellsorted did this build and it looks very well executed in person

 

[Beerfix]

If you are going to run pavement or just gravel roads etc....then a carb would work, but if you are going to do more aggressive trails (what a 60 can do) then fuel injection is the way to go.

Yeah, because everyone knows all those 40-60 series Land Cruisers, 1st gen 4Runners, Toyota pickups, and thousands of Willys/Jeeps were absolutely totally worthless on aggressive trails because they had carburetors.
Really people??

 

[tmxmotorsports]

Wow this thread is awesome! Just run whatever you want to not like all the engine swaps haven't been done before ie. Carb, Tbi, Tpi, ls, propane, diesel, 4 cylinder , 6 cylinder, 8 cylinder haven't seen a viper v10 engine in a 60 before i am sure it can ne done would be cool to see an 871 blower sticking through the hood to. All comes down to its your 60 your money and your time pick what you want and roll with it.
Tommy

 

[FJ Noob]

Wow this thread is awesome! Just run whatever you want to .....

I just asked some pointed questions about drivetrain combos. The rest of it is free for you enjoyment...you're welcome.

Maybe I could find a salvage Tesla...

 

[Elbert]

Yeah, because everyone knows all those 40-60 series Land Cruisers, 1st gen 4Runners, Toyota pickups, and thousands of Willys/Jeeps were absolutely totally worthless on aggressive trails because they had carburetors.
Really people??

Fuel injection is by far, better off-road than carbs (and in general across the board...fuel injection is better). Now if you would like to read my mind on a one-liner and then extrapolate from that...I guess you can. Your words above ..."totally worthless", which is not what I said.

Maybe you might want to explain to us novices why the world left carbs back in the mid to late 80's. and how with fuel injection the engine does not suffer from fuel starvation at various angles of approach or decent. You might also want to explain why the current known automotive universe essentially is fuel injection and has been so for numerous decades. Or how fuel injection is by far, more fuel efficient.

If you want to keep your Carbed I6 for life and you think thats great...have fun. This thread is about engine swaps, if you want to debate the merits of fuel injection vs. carb for off-road use....maybe that deserves a separate thread, where you can illuminate us on the merits of your logic there.

Since bias ply belted tires were so great back in the day...why should we ever run radials. Since the corded phone was great why the need for cell phones, since the 4cyl was the greatest, why would I ever want/need a V8. Since air tools are great, why would I ever want / use battery powered tools. Answer = innovation, increase in performance, increase in utility, increase in efficiency, increase in productivity, increase in quality/standards/engineering. Did anyone say back in the day, that these tools/devices/items were crap/garbage, no. Improvements have come along that have numerous impacts for their segment, fuel injection is exactly one of those.

More than a few threads out there on where people are adapting fuel injection to the old-school I-6 for some reason.

Everyone knows.....carbs are King and never to consider improvement!

Sorry to muddy up this thread....I will not waste everyone's time further by responding to things outside the focus of this thread while in this thread.

 

[GeologistFelix]

Only sort of related, but what am I doing wrong with the search engine? When I started searching "V8 swaps" and multiple variations related to V8 swaps, NONE of yall's threads came up

If you want to find stuff on Mud, there's only really one good way to do it:

1. Go directly to google.

2. Search for the following:
[Thing you're looking for] "60-series wagons" site:forum.ih8mud.com

For example, if you type " V8 Swap "60-series wagons" site:forum.ih8mud.com " you get the following results: v8 swap "60-series wagons" site:forum.ih8mud.com - Google Search

3. Try adding specific words/phrases with/without quote marks to narrow and broaden your search. 'Vortec' is a good one, "5.3" could be useful, 'H55' or 'H55f' or 'NV4500' can all be useful depending on your specific goal, and also pay attention to the dates on threads, since something from 2003 talking about an adapter which doesn't exist any more won't help!

 

[Beerfix]

Fuel injection is by far, better off-road than carbs (and in general across the board...fuel injection is better). Now if you would like to read my mind on a one-liner and then extrapolate from that...I guess you can. Your words above ..."totally worthless", which is not what I said.
<SNIP>

I don't believe anyone need argue the merits of either, they both work well. So in hoping that we can get back on track for the sake of the thread, I'll quote the OP in post #1

"I'm not interested in an LS swap. I'd prefer manual trans and a carb."

 

[FJ Noob]

QUESTION FOR THE LS GUYS...

For the sake of discussion...with a late 90s to mid-2000s LS, what kind of performance are you experiencing? Meaning, driving feel compares to _______ , mpg is around ______, etc.

Even some of the earliest LSs are 100+ hp & ft/lbs compared to the 2F. What does that feel like in an FJ60? Do you feel like at some point the engine doesn't matter because the 60 design is holding it back?

*I understand nobody owns an FJ60 for the mpg, but most everything in this thread has been based on personal preference. Just trying to get some kind of actual metric.

 

[Elbert]

a reasonably fair comparison on a 5.3 swap is a GM 1500 pickup or GM SUV. A V8 swap makes the truck fun to drive, it actually has power, you can pass someone, you can actually accelerate up a hill, or even stay up with traffic on the interstate.

*** I'm sure there are people in your area or general area that have a V8 swapped truck, why not fish around over in the NC state club-house and find someone there, and ask them to show you around and take you for a test drive so you can get feedback first hand. See clubhouse link at the top of this screen, if you don't already know how to get over to that area. Ask (in person) what their issues are / were and look around and take notes/pictures. Better yet...ask the person what if anything they would do different.

NC- Olde North State Cruisers

forum.ih8mud.com

 

[tmxmotorsports]

I have one here doing some other work to it . Lq4 cam swap (409hp)nv4500 4.11 gears 205 tcase currie 9inch had 32 moving up to bigger tires and different suspension along with a list of other things...

 

[onemanarmy]

Why not a run of the mill carbed 5.7 with an adapter to the 4 speed, just to get the project going? One adapter is all you need. Then upgrade as needed/wanted. Get some 33x10.5 tires and you can cruise at 70 all day. MPG won't be the best, but so what. Upgrade to an EFI kit and OD box or H55 as time and money allow.

 

[White Stripe]

A 5.3 or 4.8 stock LS will make it have the power of a modern suv. It will not be a rocket, but faster than a new 4runner. Fuel mileage will be 12MPG around town if your romping on it a lot. On the highway you should get around 15MPG.

 

[FJ Noob]

Why not a run of the mill carbed 5.7 with an adapter to the 4 speed, just to get the project going? One adapter is all you need. Then upgrade as needed/wanted. Get some 33x10.5 tires and you can cruise at 70 all day. MPG won't be the best, but so what. Upgrade to an EFI kit and OD box or H55 as time and money allow.

That was the initial idea, but as you can see, it has opened a big can of worms!

 

[tmxmotorsports]

That was the initial idea, but as you can see, it has opened a big can of worms!

More like rabbit hole

 

[klinetime574]

Interesting information in here, just kicked back and read it all.

@FJ Noob in your situation it sounds like a carb’d 350 is the way to go, especially considering your FIL’s experience. I’ve been to Big Bend a couple times. Drove my 60 once and then my Tundra. I would have had zero problems doing what my Tundra did off-road and vice versa. (Speaking fuel bowl off camber stuff.)

Personal preference, but I’d leave the stock axles, transmission, and transfer case. I really like the fact you can leave those alone and just bolt the engine to the transmission with an adapter. Less work. Less parts to acquire.

Have fun with it. Side pipes, blower through the hood, etc.

 

[FJACS]

Atlas LL8 with an H55?

 

[FJ Noob]

Interesting information in here, just kicked back and read it all.

@FJ Noob in your situation it sounds like a carb’d 350 is the way to go, especially considering your FIL’s experience. I’ve been to Big Bend a couple times. Drove my 60 once and then my Tundra. I would have had zero problems doing what my Tundra did off-road and vice versa. (Speaking fuel bowl off camber stuff.)

Personal preference, but I’d leave the stock axles, transmission, and transfer case. I really like the fact you can leave those alone and just bolt the engine to the transmission with an adapter. Less work. Less parts to acquire.

Have fun with it. Side pipes, blower through the hood, etc.

I’ve often wondered if double racing stripes on an FJ60 would be too much.

 

[cruisermatt]

QUESTION FOR THE LS GUYS...

For the sake of discussion...with a late 90s to mid-2000s LS, what kind of performance are you experiencing? Meaning, driving feel compares to _______ , mpg is around ______, etc.

Even some of the earliest LSs are 100+ hp & ft/lbs compared to the 2F. What does that feel like in an FJ60? Do you feel like at some point the engine doesn't matter because the 60 design is holding it back?

*I understand nobody owns an FJ60 for the mpg, but most everything in this thread has been based on personal preference. Just trying to get some kind of actual metric.

I think MPG is more dependent on tire size, driving style, gearing, vehicle weight then the actual motor unless we're talking big efficient diesels.
The most I have seen has been about 16-17 but I was trying for it, I removed my 35" tires for 30", watched my RPMs, acceleration, etc.
Typically i'm getting 10-12 like a normal Cruiser but with way more power so I'm fine with that.

As for the power and driving feel its like driving a new truck basically. It's not fast but you don't ever have to plan your highway merges, you can drive in the left lane, go up hills in higher gears, etc. That being said make sure your steering, suspension, everything is tight because most 60's aren't tight enough to cruise at 85mph.

I like what I read @White Stripe wrote some time back and that was don't do a swap unless you are either going to double your power or double your fuel economy. a stock carb or TBI 350 just wont do either they just won't. You could build up a SBC 350 with a big carb, cam, heads etc to make 350-400 hp or do a $300 LQ9 6.0 from the junkyard and do the same thing. I know you're tired of hearing LS, LS, LS, but it just is the way.

OK Boomer, really?

"It is better to remain quiet and be thought a fool than to open your mouth (type) and remove all doubt"

the joke ->
your head