Guinea Pig - new owner (1 Viewer)

[MMTB]

Hello folks.

I'm the new owner of a 73 FJ55. Bought it sight unseen on eBay from an enthusiast.

My intention is to bring the truck up to a very high level of finish. I will re-power it with a modern-ish Land Cruiser engine so it's more useful and fun to drive.

Currently I'm leaning towards the set-up used on the FJ Company SEMA 2106 FJ43 (see link below).
Other considerations are a 2UZ V8 or a 1HD-FT. I'd like a 5 speed behind the engine.

My question the the community is, does anyone know of someone who's dropped a 1FZ / H151F into a 55?

I'm all ears.

1982 FJ43 For Sale - Matte White - FJ43-108916

 

[MMTB]

If anyone is interested here's a link to my new lady friend ...

1973 Toyota Land Cruiser | eBay

 

[Nottajeep]

There's a good reason why hardly anyone drops in a 1FZ.

I would rather have a 2F

Beautiful truck! Keep it all Toyota

 

[MMTB]

Can you give me more than that please?

 

[MMTB]

Thanks guys. It will be kept all Toyota. I'm a fussy bugger when it comes to that stuff. Planning to use it mainly on road. Does a TBI on my original F give you a nice driver? Power okay? Do you benefit by putting a different transmission behind it? Remember... I'm NEW ! Thanks

 

[MMTB]

Thank you for your input and generous reply. I'd like to keep this truck all Toyota, but thought it would benefit from more hp, power steering and disc brakes. The FJ company 1FZ / 5 speed installation seemed like a good solution. Can I get your thoughts on this? Thanks.

 

[Hank Tank]

Congrats on the new Lady @MMTB . For what it's worth I have a stock 2F motor with a Weber carb and it runs like a champ. Personally, I'm a fan of keeping it stock because it actually works quite well on/off-road. Fortunately I don't have to deal with CA smog tests so I get where you're coming from. Good luck and...

 

[MMTB]

Thanks Hank. Nice gloves bro! My truck has the F engine. Is a 2F upgrade worthwhile in your opinion? Open to all ideas!

 

[Nottajeep]

What's your budget and then we can throw out some engine swap ideas?

 

[Peters Moose]

Nice truck. Really like the seafoam green.
Clean rig!!

 

[MMTB]

What's your budget and then we can throw out some engine swap ideas?

I'm open to all ideas regardless of cost Jason. Gas or diesel. Thanks

 

[MMTB]

Nice truck. Really like the seafoam green.
Clean rig!!

Thanks. Looking forward to seeing it. I'm like a kid waiting for Christmas morning.

 

[MMTB]

Best recommendation I can give you is wait until you get it in hand and drive it a little bit. Then figure out where you think it is deficient.

To me, the F and 2F when they are running nice work well. I would toss a TBI unit on top of one of them. I would also look at turbo addition if power is deficient... they can be done "relatively" cheap. $200 turbo some exhaust work and tubing to the carb/tbi.

For power steering, I have only two recommendations: Scout PS box or FJ60 PS box. I would not recommend factory LC or the minitruck conversion as they leave another link for slop.

Thanks! Great info and guidance.

 

[scrapdaddy]

MMTB,

Welcome to the group, I look forward to see your progress, but let me throw a fly in your soup. I think no one has mentioned the roof rust you have, because they know it's going to be a can of worms. I'll assume you're not familiar with 55's problem areas and that yours has one of the bad spots. The gutter and roof are hard to get to, but the A pillar is a real challenge. Several years ago we had a member try to fix that area and while welding in new metal, caught the headliner on fire, buried it to the ground. The right way is to remove the headliner and insulation, which means the glass and rubber seals need to come out and they're probably old, brittle and might break. New rubber is EXPENSIVE and some pieces are not available.

It's a big issue that will need to be addressed in the near future and why it was sold. Your wagon is well worth the trouble to get it right, but I would seriously consider doing the body work before any motor swaps, the roof is going to get worse real quick.

Please don't take me as a Dr. Doom & Gloom, I would much rather turn a blind eye to it and think the paint just has some bubbles in it, but I know better and would hate to see such a nice wagon be ruined.

Best of luck with it!

 

[MMTB]

MMTB,

Welcome to the group, I look forward to see your progress, but let me throw a fly in your soup. I think no one has mentioned the roof rust you have, because they know it's going to be a can of worms. I'll assume you're not familiar with 55's problem areas and that yours has one of the bad spots. The gutter and roof are hard to get to, but the A pillar is a real challenge. Several years ago we had a member try to fix that area and while welding in new metal, caught the headliner on fire, buried it to the ground. The right way is to remove the headliner and insulation, which means the glass and rubber seals need to come out and they're probably old, brittle and might break. New rubber is EXPENSIVE and some pieces are not available.

It's a big issue that will need to be addressed in the near future and why it was sold. Your wagon is well worth the trouble to get it right, but I would seriously consider doing the body work before any motor swaps, the roof is going to get worse real quick.

Please don't take me as a Dr. Doom & Gloom, I would much rather turn a blind eye to it and think the paint just has some bubbles in it, but I know better and would hate to see such a nice wagon be ruined.

Best of luck with it!

Thanks for that info! I appreciate and welcome frankness. The roof work has already been scheduled into my favorite body shop. The previous owner recently changed the headliner and told me there was no visible rust on the underside. I'll know whats-what in a few weeks. Just bought a fancy digital paint meter to see if/where there is filler. I've given myself a generous budget to get this 55 right. It's a car for life. Thanks

 

[scrapdaddy]

Good! One thing on the "no rust on the underside", you won't see any because there's a cavity or pocket of sorts that doesn't allow you to get to the roof/gutter metal from the inside other than a small slit. If they decide to remove the headliner, I would recommend spraying a rust stop product up in there. Check out their progress often, it's a good way to learn of the problem areas.

 

[MMTB]

Thanks. I have a panelbeater who can come and do the repair at my place. Sounds like that might be a better options. Cheers

 

[onemanarmy]

If it were mine, I'd fix the roof rust ( and all other rust)

Then get a later (1980 or newer) 2F and convert it to a 2FE (fuel injected 2F using Toyota parts). Then install a H55 5 speed transmission.

All of this has been documented here on this site. The 60 series section will have tons of info on the 2FE conversion and 5 speed swap.

 

[PabloCruise]

Congrats on your new Pig!

It looks like you are trying to pull together many ideas, and seeking input from the group.

If you do not have your Pig yet, wait until you have driven it for a while before commiting to anything.

Will you be daily driving it? Nothing can form your priorities like driving her every day...

If you have roof rot, think about that seriously. Fixing it now might be a priority. It will also mean sacrificing pretty paint to correct. And it will be $$$...

I know what you mean about wanting to upgrade drivetrain, and there is credence to keeping it in the 1F or 2F realm as well...

If you want to get some ideas, take a look at this Pig: POTM October - FJ55-100

Good luck! Not sure what your budget is, but if she runs, you can take your time. Reading here is free...

 

[Hank Tank]

Thanks Hank. Nice gloves bro! My truck has the F engine. Is a 2F upgrade worthwhile in your opinion? Open to all ideas!

I've never driven the F, so I can't really say. All I know is that my 2F is adequate if you run stock size tires. It's not super fast but it has plenty of power to scoot around town and crawl up mountains.