rusty_tlc
Dain Bramaged Member
For what its worth the original F was built under license from GMC, it is essentially a Chevy straight six. GMC gave up the design and Toyota kept it evolving it into the 2F and later the 3FE. Both versions were just polishing a turd, it may be shiny but it is still a POS power plant for a road driven vehicle. Toyota still makes the 2F but it is only used in fork lifts etc. If you want to stick with Toyota and want a drop in I would look at one of the OEM 40 series Toyota diesel engines. If you want to stray from Toyota I would look at the 12BT swap, very common swap, lots of kits available and a popular engine so spare parts aren't a problem.Hi Dan,
I get it! I am still toying (pun) with the idea of a 350. Someone in another post pointed out the advantages, namely wide availability of parts and repairability). However, I don't have the chops to do a swap with the welding and fab needed for the the 350 though. I also don't have a 350 block. I can't imagine I'd get a 350 in there for less than $5K. Douglas said his last 78 2F rebuild was about $3500 and I would still want EFI, RV Cam, 9:1 or better compression, etc.
Add to the financial and technical roadblocks the fact that I am not keen to un-Toyota my Toyota. I am a bit of a purest in that sense. I believe the thing that makes the Fj40 (and other TLCs) great is the engineering (as reverse engineered as much of it is!) Toyota put behind it. IF I ever do a swap, it will probably remain Toyota... Like a 1HD-FT, auto trans and t-case from an Aussie 80... The only other thing I might consider doing, if I were to go off the Toyota res would be a Cummins R28 and gut all the innards for aftermarket stuff... six speed auto, axle assemblies, Atlas, 3 and 4 link suspension, etc.
I know that all of this is in the eye of the beholder... Some would say that I will lose the Toyota purity with new wheels, bigger tires, lockers, and other aftermarkets. So I say to each his own!
