Leveling my engine conversion FJ80

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Very nice! I like the idea of the Duramax diesel in the 80 so I'll keep my ears peeled.

Nice job on your I5 conversion, wish I can take that beast for a test drive! I am curious however, as to what kind of power/mileage would come out my 80 with this type of conversion. I'd say fully loaded with gear, I'm somewhere around 6850 lbs, running 315s and 4.56 gears. Having a lighter front end is a nice bonus to say the least.
 
I don't know if you have thought about it, but you could place a measured amount of weight on the front bumper until your rig was level again and then you would know how much differance there is between the old engine/trans. and the new set up...

just a thought......:popcorn:

goodluck....
 
The I5 is drive by wire, right (no throttle cable)? How did you handle it? Swap the throttle pedal or convert to a throttlebody with a cable?

Great job on this swap. This is a very viable option for us 60/62 guys. With less total starting curb weight than the 80s the power/weight ratio should be even better.
 
TT,

Well done!

I've been toying with the idea of using the GM 4200 instead of doing the head gasket on my 1FZE and possibly using the I5 in a 40. I'm wondering how difficult you think it would be to keep these swaps emissions compliant (as I am in Commie-fornia)?
 
Moby said:
The I5 is drive by wire, right (no throttle cable)? How did you handle it? Swap the throttle pedal or convert to a throttlebody with a cable?

Great job on this swap. This is a very viable option for us 60/62 guys. With less total starting curb weight than the 80s the power/weight ratio should be even better.
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Great question. Since the early 00's, all the GM truck engines have gone ETC (Electronic Throttle Control) and the Atlas 3/5/3/7/4/2L are no exceptions. The tech had originally advocated switching back to a throttle cable and retaining the stock accelerator pedal assembly. However, we did finally agree to use ETC and I'm very glad we did. I talked the salvage company that sold us the engine into supplying an electronic accelerator pedal. It took some effort to get it mounted (although finding/de-looming the right body harness to hook them up was the biggest issue), but the pay-off was low-pain tuning and great throttle tip-in and control. Because we essentially retained the 'stock' throttle body, ECU-PCM, transmission control-- the truck runs like a factory truck (although a 1000# lighter factory truck). The seamless transmission shifting is great-- makes the stock 3FE/Toyota auto set-up seem relatively crude. No matter what the throttle position, speed and RPMs, you always feel like you are in the "RIGHT" gear-- none of the hunting and lugging and sluggish shifting. Shifts are fast and smooth.

Obviously I like the swap a lot-- I think it would be great for FJ60/65 series for exactly that reason.
 
Sasquatch said:
TT,

Well done!

I've been toying with the idea of using the GM 4200 instead of doing the head gasket on my 1FZE and possibly using the I5 in a 40. I'm wondering how difficult you think it would be to keep these swaps emissions compliant (as I am in Commie-fornia)?
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We bought a complete drivetrain pull from the wrecked low-miles H3, so had a pretty intact motor, harness, transmission, T/C, PCM system to work with. That included manifolds and cats. For that reason, we didn't have to scrounge parts much to get the swap completed. We also retained the stock tuning, for the most part, of the PCM.

I have not had emissions tested, as it's not required where I live, but would bet A LOT that it would easily pass the nearby urban emissions requirements. The next time I bring it down out of the mountains, I'll probably pay the $15 just to run it through one of the emissions test centers to get the data. I'm really curious to see how it is... if I do that I'll post the CO, HC, NOx numbers for comparison.
The H3 (despite environmental protestations) is a very clean emissions powertrain-- should pass CA emissions fine, as the H3 was a 50-state truck.


In the heavier FZJ, I'd opt for 4200 too. (There was a nice one on Ebay the other day for a $495 BIN, so they are not expensive-- especially compared to the factory parts for the 1FZ.). I-5 in a '40 would be sweet.
 
Nicest Hummer H3 I've ever seen! :D
great work and pretty nice alternative engine mod.
would you post up some detail pictures of your seat bracket mounts and how you did that? thanks
 
Do you have an estimation of what this cost in time and money?
 
FirstToy said:
Nicest Hummer H3 I've ever seen! :D
great work and pretty nice alternative engine mod.
would you post up some detail pictures of your seat bracket mounts and how you did that? thanks
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I need to get some photos of the engine mounts and seat mounts, as well. I'll post them on the album with the other conversion pics when I get some time.

The Saab seats we put in there work well-- a lot of other seats are too wide, with too tall a base, to fit well in that location keeping the console in place. The tan seats we settled on are a leather material with a texture to them. The Lexus seats in the 2nd and 3rd row positions are similar color, but with a smoother texture to them. It as a "don't care" on the texture for a work truck. We gave brief consideration to trying to use the Saab second-row seats, too, but the hardware would have been really tough to match-- too much fab. We found the Lexus seats and they are great in there.
 
reverie said:
Do you have an estimation of what this cost in time and money?
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I'll have to go back and check to see how much time we'd have put in on the drivetrain swap. We had a lot of extra time for things like the seat swap, but for the engine conversion itself was pretty straightforward. The most time-consuming thing was actually pulling the 3FE and getting the engine bay cleaned up and dressed for the installation. We did also fab a shroud for the cooling fan-- the Atlas has a mechanical cooling fan which was perfect for our installation-- we didn't have to source and wire after-market electric fans.

Rough costs for the big items (I'm sure I'm forgetting some stuff):
Engine/transmission/harness (low miles) $1500 + $200 freight
Mark's adapter for 4L60 to Toyota TC -about $900 (currency fluctuations have affected this-- from Oz)
HP Tuners license/SW to tune a GM gas engine -about $500
Hummer fuel pump and sender for Toyota tank. $150
Lines, parts, shop supplies. est $250
Hummer e-pedal and shifter

We got a cherry engine/transmission, and paid more to get a pretty new one. I regularly see low miles Atlas engines for $400-600 BIN on Ebay. They will mate to a late model 4L60 or 4L70. We did replace the stock Toyota transmission (which was getting a little 'clunky' at 240,000 miles.) during this conversion.
 
Thanks.

So all told, about $3500 + time for a person with shop and skills.
Anyone know what machine work and parts are for a 3FE or 1FZ? (assuming new pistons)

It seems I've read on here it runs about $3000, but I'm not sure.

Great build!
 
reverie said:
Thanks.

So all told, about $3500 + time for a person with shop and skills.
Anyone know what machine work and parts are for a 3FE or 1FZ? (assuming new pistons)

It seems I've read on here it runs about $3000, but I'm not sure.

Great build!
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I'd think you could consider that a "not-to-exceed" number, especially if you go with the 4.2L I-6. It looks like they sold at least 10X more of the 4.2L, as they were used in Trailblazers, Envoys, Rainiers, etc that sold much higher volumes than the H3. Car-part.com shows hundreds of 4.2L's online, with lots priced in the $400-800 range. $750 should buy a really good example.

The 4.2L in a FZJ80 would be a nice combo, between the power bump and the weight savings.
 
great conversion, clean work. i like this one quite a bit, especially since it looks oem to the untrained eye. and imho, that's how all conversions should look.

may i ask what you do for a living if this is just "a hobby"?!

props!

georg @ valley hybrids
 
Thread jack, but how did you install a P-R-N-D-3-2-1 shifter? Is that out of a 100 series cruiser? The reason I ask is that I'm going to be installing a drivetrain with that same shift pattern, rather than the standard P-R-N-D-2-1 shifter that is currently in there. I understand you used the actual shift linkage from the H3 to get the correct sensor spacing, but how did you handle the in-cab component of it?

Thanks!
-Phil
 
TwoTonic said:
Embedded software development-- for the consumer and networking markets.

Not as much fun as putting newer petrol motors into old trucks and cars, though.
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Excellent!
When are we gonna get to see a youtube vid (with audio) of your Land Hummer firing up? :D
 
AppleTech said:
Thread jack, but how did you install a P-R-N-D-3-2-1 shifter? Is that out of a 100 series cruiser? The reason I ask is that I'm going to be installing a drivetrain with that same shift pattern, rather than the standard P-R-N-D-2-1 shifter that is currently in there. I understand you used the actual shift linkage from the H3 to get the correct sensor spacing, but how did you handle the in-cab component of it?

Thanks!
-Phil
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91-92 had a P R N D 3 2 1 shifter pattern
 
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