Cummins engine conversion, or Body conversion? (1 Viewer)

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Scottb

Scottb

Joined
Mar 13, 2004
Threads
33
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Location
Lakewood, CO.
I want an FJ60 with a 6bt Cummins in it, or a powerful V8. I was thinking it might be easier to put the body of an FJ60/62 on my 1998 Dodge Cummins truck rather than doing a motor swap.

Or, maybe putting an FJ60/62 on like a, Chevy Escalade chassis.

Opinions greatly appreciated.

I need more room for the family, I don't have lots of money (selling Harley for this project) and I want plenty of power for the hills here in Colorado.
 
buy a Bronco or fzj80
 
No thanks on the Bronco, and the fxj80, I do not like the narrow leg room.
 
I think a 60 body on a full size truck will look goofy and have zero resale value. I'd stick with putting the engine in the 60. There is no way any part of this swap is 'cheap' - read up on some of the similar swap jobs on Mud.
 
Thanks, Steve. I do have my daily driver Dodge now I could use, just need a donor 60/62.
 
Scottb said:
No thanks on the Bronco, and the fxj80, I do not like the narrow leg room.
Click to expand...


I don't think the FZJ80 has narrower leg room than a 60.

60 body on an Escalade Chassis seems strange but might be cool (IFS and weak tie rods though), seems like a Tahoe or truck chassis would be cheaper and plentiful than a Caddilac you're gonna toss the body anyhow.

I think there's a lot more to your question though, if you're gonna run 35s or bigger I'd swap the 60 body onto the Dodge frame as the width and strength of the Danas would be weird with 33s or smaller. I would also think the 12V Cummins would be a reasonable job for the lack of computers compared to the 24V. Most have to SOA to fit the 4bt or 6bt, then you're running 35s minimum anyhow, then you're buying chromo axles and birfs to handle the power and tires but most end up swapping in tons that are already under the Dodge. That's pretty much all I know but I also recognize I don't know enough to complete either swap myself.
 
I sat in my friends fj80 and did not like the tranny tunnel so close. I have only been in one fj60, and it did not seem to near as bad, I could be wrong though. I would like to run the dana60, dana80 axles like what is in my truck now. I would be using the tranny and t-case from the donor also.

If I found a wrecked Escalade, I would maybe just pull the engine and tranny, t-case, for the donor. The Escalade is suppose to have the 340HP engine compared to some of the trucks and Tahoe's. I want to run at least 35, or 37 inch tires.
 
Scottb said:
I want an FJ60 with a 6bt Cummins in it, or a powerful V8. I was thinking it might be easier to put the body of an FJ60/62 on my 1998 Dodge Cummins truck rather than doing a motor swap.

Or, maybe putting an FJ60/62 on like a, Chevy Escalade chassis.

Opinions greatly appreciated.

I need more room for the family, I don't have lots of money (selling Harley for this project) and I want plenty of power for the hills here in Colorado.
Click to expand...

If you have to ask a question like this....

The FJ60 has a beefier frame, better axles and steering than do the GM400/800 chassis. Plus the FJ chassis is fairly flat in comparison to the GM frames. The wheelbase is different, it would look ghetto and likely never fit right to begin with - rather than just weld on new engine mount stands. GM IFS is not known for being particularly sturdy.

Same goes for the frame of the Dodge (in addition to being incredibly ghetto). You would likely be in for a huge amount of fabrication to get the FJ60 body to fit on a Dodge frame cleanly.

I think your best bet is to buy a newer FZJ or V8 equipped SUV since you (by your own admission) don't have lots of money and view an engine swap as more difficult than a frame swap. FJ60s and 62s are going for more money around here than do newer FJs, Tahoes, Expeditions and Suburbans. You can pick up a 2000's Tahoe or Expedition for under $4k in fairly decent shape. FJ 60s that don't pass smog are going for that around here.
 
Best part of the Landcruiser is chassis? you would throw
that and put IFS up under? doesn't make sense. I can see the dodge thing, but like others say good
luck getting out to look right without a ton of fabrication.Don't have lots of money eh? that's relative. But in that case stay away from any "project"... my two pesos
 
I would be using a dana60 and dana70 axles no matter want chassis I was running.
I have done an engine swap years ago. Ramjet 350 into a FJ40, NV4500 trans, Atlas case with a dana60 front dana70 rear. This build cost me around $30k with me doing all the fab work. I might just sell my 98' Dodge Cummins and look for an FJ60/62 already with a good V8/tranny conversion. If I sell my truck, I should be able to come up with about $10k. This might be the easiest way to go, and maybe the cheapest.
 
just buy a swapped fj60/62 with a chevy v8. I have seen them go from $10k-20k depending on the amount of work done on the rig.
 
Good call... the 4bt swaps seem to come up for sale quite often too if you like the Cummins...
 
landcruiserjunky said:
I would definitely lean towards the engine in the 60/62 body.
Click to expand...

What he said. Scroll down in this thread and you'll see why.

https://forum.ih8mud.com/threads/6-6-duramax-conversion-question.233789/

62duramax-jpg.437722
 
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