Engine Conversions? (1 Viewer)

[mooker82]

I am looking at an 82 FJ60 with a 4 speed. The truck has no motor in it currently. What options do I have that would be easy and cheap. Finding another Cruiser motor around here is hard to do. If I went 350 would it be easier to adapt it to the factory 4 speed or convert it to a turbo 350 trans then adapt that to the cruiser Tcase. This will be a trail beater.

 

[Cruiserdrew]

If it's truely a "trail beater" just find a good 2F and drop it in. It will be way cheaper and less hassle in the long run. www.cruiserparts.net sells used motors with some sort of warrenty. You might also put an ad in "wanted".

I'm all for Chevy 350 power, but the conversion will cost you more time and $ than a good 2F. The low speed, low rev, high torque charastics of the 2F are hard to beat-perfect for trail use.

 

[Fearnofish!]

I have been thinkin about the inevitable... the death of my 2f. I woudld resurect my 60 with a 6.2L diesel. NO questions asked the best bang for the buck and super easy to work on. Oh sure the 5.7L vortec would be a good choice but who has that kind of money for a 60?
Keep us posted. Fish

 

[Tapage]

I thought the the diference in the engine swap is the price and condition opf your new ( proyect ) engtine .. Think about this .. you buy a 350 TBI . ? or MPFI .. ? a lost of sensors and electronical parts to install ( buy if is necesary ) in the other way you have you reliable 2F engine ..

The size of your wallet is the key .. !

 

[mooker82]

My wallet is cheap on this project if I go with it. $300 for the truck. SOA for the lift. Then $$ for the motor. I want to have less than $2500 total invested in it. I plan on selling parts off of it to help fund the project.

 

[vtcruiser60]

Have some experience here with used 2F's....just trying to help.

A solid working 2F will run you $600-1500 with something like 80-200k on the engine. These are often available on this board, as well as through reliable places like cruiserparts.net (Ask for James). You definately want to observe the motor running before purchasing from an unknown source, including a compression test done by you or a trusted other. Trust me, I purchased a motor last year without testing it myself and it arrived with a cracked block. I trusted, when I should have known better.

You can screw around with free motors, (See https://forum.ih8mud.com/showthread.php?t=55293) from well intentioned cruiserheads, but will spend unknown hours on strange problems, including missing parts. In the end, you are better off with a working 2F....preferably from someone with a wrecked rig or doing a diesel conversion.

Also...if you want to spend some change, think about buying new as well. I recently priced out a short block and cylinder head from toyotaworld.com. I was surprised to see the parts come in around 2k. Now, you would need new gaskets and a head regrind kit, which would add some....but that is not too bad for a brand new motor. But...you don't get the emissions gear, manifolds, carb, dizzy, etc. These add up too.

V8 conversions, as I understand them, can run 3500-6000k depending on the motor and how much wrenching you do yourself.

Let us know what you decide upon.