Been on the mountain all week, working on the $&!@ barn and thinking about the fj. Anyway, anyone have experience with old timey 6 banger hp increase? Shaved head, bore out, cam, headers, intake, etc. when I was a kid we did all kindsa goofy stuff to get a couple hp. Thinking about ways to squeeze a little more out of it without a different engine. These 2f’s are a relatively simple engine. Basically a 235 Chevy. Overhauled a couple 235’s decades ago. Any experiences with fj ya wanna own up to?
Increase 2f horsepower (1 Viewer)
- Thread starter Azcowboy
- Start date
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I'm going to suggest that you'll learn more by following the rabbit holes of old threads than by asking anew. Here's a starting point.
forum.ih8mud.com
"best" 2F
I have been searching for the last hour to see what the main differences between 2F's... So far I have come up with 86 and newer have "lightened" pieces and are flat tops. 79 and newer have holes drilled in the block for PS. Other than that, That is about all the info I have...
forum.ih8mud.com
FJ forum is over here: FJ Cruiser - https://forum.ih8mud.com/forums/fj-cruiser.41/ 
40's are in this section. But as mentioned above please search or look in the Faqs. This has been covered multiple times.
40's are in this section. But as mentioned above please search or look in the Faqs. This has been covered multiple times.
brian
SILVER Star
it's that pesky four main bearing design that sorta throws a wrench into the works.
Living in the Past
SILVER Star
Every engine has it's sweet spot. One of the limiting factors is having the right gear in the transmission. After being sure I had good compression and possible FE would look at everything from the transmission back. An OD would be high on the list then match diff gears to tires.
macdaddy59
SILVER Star
Cam at Mosley motors has all of your answers.
- Thread starter
- #7
Thank you Brian, living in the past, and macdaddy.
Have great compression, but don’t plan on any transmission or gear work. Where I live is about a 4000’ climb from the valley and over 3000’ on up to the top. On the crookedest road in North America. Just day dreaming while doing other things and remembering back when guys had tricks to increase performance on old 6’s and using some to get this fj up and down the mountain. I think I’ll work on the gasser for awhile. It has lotsa hp.
Have great compression, but don’t plan on any transmission or gear work. Where I live is about a 4000’ climb from the valley and over 3000’ on up to the top. On the crookedest road in North America. Just day dreaming while doing other things and remembering back when guys had tricks to increase performance on old 6’s and using some to get this fj up and down the mountain. I think I’ll work on the gasser for awhile. It has lotsa hp.
LS swap
Probably cheaper than one of those Mosley setups depending on how much work you can do yourself
Probably cheaper than one of those Mosley setups depending on how much work you can do yourself
I would suggest replacing the carb with a Sniper EFI and changing out the distributor to add vacuum advance and electronic ignition (Pertronix is the simplest in my opinion).
TBI (EFI) really woke up my 2F and transformed it. It didn't fix fundamental gearing issues, but it made my '40 competitive in traffic and much less of a chore for those stuck behind me. The driveability gains were more important than any horsepower gains.
- Thread starter
- #12
Fuel injection is one thing I’m real interested in, and would like to know more about on fj’s. Do the conversions work ok? Easy enough to install?With extreme elevation changes and some real cold winter weather I think it would be a groovy addition. Had some bad experience with throttle body conversion on a 429 ford years ago. It refused to work with the seat tank in a 76 4x4, like they said it would. I assume they’ve made some improvements since then.
The distributor is going away soon, no matter what else. I don’t have much desire to install a v8. Im used to working on extreme hp big blocks. Looking forward to something a little easier to deal with. Not as easy as a vw, but still easy. Seen guys do it with great results. Just not interested.
Don’t deal with a lot of traffic here. Even in town. See a lotta bikes and sports cars on this road in warm weather but they go by fast.
Again, thanks for the info. Much appreciated.
The distributor is going away soon, no matter what else. I don’t have much desire to install a v8. Im used to working on extreme hp big blocks. Looking forward to something a little easier to deal with. Not as easy as a vw, but still easy. Seen guys do it with great results. Just not interested.
Don’t deal with a lot of traffic here. Even in town. See a lotta bikes and sports cars on this road in warm weather but they go by fast.
Again, thanks for the info. Much appreciated.
Yes lots of the sniper fuel injection threads here. You can get complete kits that make it super easy
Living in the Past
SILVER Star
There was a high altitude 40 series around this time.
How fast are you wanting to going while climbing on winding roads? On my 68 would run in second and keep the RPM. Adding the four speed was huge allowed third to do the same thing but a little faster. FE if done right will help altitude but if your looking to drive 70 up steep hills would think long and hard before putting a ton of money into a 2F.
How fast are you wanting to going while climbing on winding roads? On my 68 would run in second and keep the RPM. Adding the four speed was huge allowed third to do the same thing but a little faster. FE if done right will help altitude but if your looking to drive 70 up steep hills would think long and hard before putting a ton of money into a 2F.
- Thread starter
- #15
Like I said, we live 2 1/2 miles off the crookedest road in North America. And it rises about 6700’ from the gila valley. Its 40 miles to town and about 3000’ elev difference. Takes about 1 1/2 hours. The other way is 60 miles to alpine and another 3000’ rise. Takes about 2 hours. Around 500 curves. It’s called the Coronado trail. Want this rig to putt into town and up to alpine and to hunt a little. Probably do ok bone stock. But I like to tinker with things and want it real dependable. If it’ll cruise 60-65 on the highway and handle the road mentioned we will be very happy.
mill the head to get the compression up, talk to Tacoma Cams in Washington state about their 250 cam for the 2F. put a six into one header on it, desmog, and add a Holley sniper EFI. If you decide to take the engine out of the vehicle instead of only pulling the head, balance the rotating assembly as they were not close from the factory. get a four speed / split transfer case from a 60 and you would be good for your situation for years to come.
You can add a supercharger with a sniper efi setup. Get a used supercharger off of a 3800 Buick and a custom pulley.
Living in the Past
SILVER Star
Are you talking 60-65 while climbing? On the flat a none stock should be able to do that. Been been since the seventies I had a carburetor engine I had to start in the cold.
Maybe a few hunting trips Now any 40 I have with a carburetor is parked in an insulated garage. Always above freezing. But I rarely drive a 40 in the cold. Fuel injection is the way to go if you park outside. I have a 3FE from a FJ62 I picked up cheap. Previous owner installed a V8. That may go into my 65 FJ45 since anywhere in AZ it's emissions exempt. Have a FJ62 and other than the power robbing A440F automatic transmission it's a great engine. But also have a 84 2F out of a FJ45 in Australia. That may win out since it a simple engine with no electronics. Something nice about being to have a few tools and be able to get an engine running. While never had a issue with reliability of modern Toyota engines if the ECU says engine not running your not going anywhere.
- Thread starter
- #20
60-65 on a nice flat highway. The Coronado trail part of US191 is a 15-35 mph highway at best in most places. 5-10 mph on a lot of the curves. If you haven’t driven the trail it’s hard to impress on folks what this road is like. There’s one straight stretch you might go 65 for a mile or so. And most of 191 it is quite steep. Stock like it is will work. But I wouldn’t mind a little more power. The county I live in doesn’t have emission checks. We get some very cold temps in the winter. I’ve seen -18 on the porch. No heated garage up here. Under a barn is as good as it gets. Off grid with solar power so block heaters ain’t an option unless you want to fire up a generator.
