New FJ40 owner (2 Viewers)

[handcannon]

This is just my personal opinion, but if that 74 motor is sound (compression, oil pressure, etc, you might see if they will do a compression check right there) I'd go for it. They are tractor motors, very simple, and will run for many hundreds of thousand miles IF they were properly cared for. If it needs rebuilt the F parts are getting harder to come by if a rebore is needed.

Don

 

[HodTay]

I visited the swap meet at Valley Hybrids today, drove the potential donor FJ40 and visited with lots of proud owners of various Land Cruisers. I'm more confused than before I went. The 74 donor rig drove like a tractor. Couldn't hear any bad noises from the engine and the transmission shifted and sounded okay but the engine ran poorly and the clutch was weak. I didn't expect much from a rig that was just turned over to a vendor for a conversion/restoration but I got to thinking about the costs to put the 74's F engine back in better running condition and the potential hidden costs. The vendor mentioned that $1500 might be the price for all the running gear being removed for the conversion and I'd have to add install and repair costs onto that.

Most of the rigs were sporting conversions and there was one project FJ40 that looked good to me with a small block chevy mounted inside. I think I'm game to try a small block chevy engine conversion with a transmission that gives optimal performance for a retired guy making milk runs to town and road trips to various trail heads along the West Coast. I'll mention that the Land Cruiser windfall interrupted my PCT nobo thru hike attempt. The FJ40 is hampering my desire to get back on the trail. I stopped at mile 270.

I want to determine what conversion parts to look for for a small block V8 and a suitable manual transmission with possibly an overdrive that will handle off-roading conditions but also give decent performance on the road. I see lots of name dropping for various transmission and engine combos but the names mean little to me (example - H55). How do I learn what's what and what I should be on the lookout for?

I still haven't ruled out the donor parts from the 74 but I was kind of wowed by some of the conversion stuff I saw.

Thanks for any input you might have.

 

[FJ404345]

Nice Truck !

 

[broth9640]

Buy the stuff, make an offer and see. Personally I would drop the engine and tranny in yourself. Not that difficult to do. 1500 to be back on the road ain't half bad. A conversion is going to cost you a lot more than that. Get it going for cheap then plot your next move carefully. Enjoy it! Nice ride!

 

[ginmtb]

Btw I have a 74 with the transition engine and yes it drives like a tractor. At 60 mph I'm at 3,000 rpms and it is loud. I get just under 13 mpg. 4 speed transmission.

But love it! Would overdrive be nice? Sure thing, but if you ever plan on selling (I know, blasphemy!), original Toyota is the way to go.

 

[handcannon]

Thanks for the feedback on the 74 40 drivetrain. The big question from me would be, how are your mechanical abilities? An answer to that, to me, would give an answer to what path you should take. If you have any mechanical abilities, especially the ability and willingness to learn more, I would consider the 74 drivetrain. The reason being that the 4 speed trans and transfer case would be a good base for future upgrades (2F or ?), but at a much lower price than originally listed (because of the motor and clutch condition). IF, the motor was in real good running condition the $1500 asking price might be close (clutch rpr is easy and reasonably inexpensive when the motor is already out).

If you are not mechanically inclined, or interested, I would look for a good used 2F and have that installed onto the 3 speed, as that would get you on the road and to the DMV right away. Whichever way you go, get it running ASAP and drive it. Driving it will give you a feel for what your likes are, and what you will eventually want to do. Putting in a 2F would be quick and easy. Going the 74 drivetrain route wouldn't take much longer as it would be an almost bolt it affair.

I personally prefer a four speed after having a 3 speed, but that is just me. If you end up doing more highway driving then one option would be the H55 Toyota 5 speed OD trans. Another would be to stick with the Toyota 4 speed, put a Ranger OD on the front of it, and swap to a different motor. The Ranger OD can be configured to be the adapter from the Toyota trans bolt pattern to whatever standard type of motor you decide to use. The cost of an adapter can go towards the Ranger, and you would gain an OD gear, which would also give you the ability to have eight forward gears (with a 4 speed) in each 2 and 4 wheel drive high, and also eight forward in 4 wheel low. This would be real important if you decide to go the diesel route (my plans).

There are so many possibilities that it would take a book to touch on all of them. Whatever your decision keep us posted. You have an unusually nice base to start from, and you have a lot of interested buddies here on Mud.

Don