New to the Game - Potential FJ60/62 Build

[AngryJames]

Hello All,

My Lovely wife has given me the Green Light (More like Yellow Light), to get a second vehicle and bring it up to snuff if you will. I have always wanted a Cruiser, and I feel the FJ60/62. would be a great addition. I have just started my research, and really am just trying to get a "budget" going. I also understand how these vehicle builds can go, as the same wife thought it would be best to get rid of my previous build before our little one came along, (89 Supra, for the curious minds). Our situation has since improved in the bank account, but we are still trying to keep it "reasonable".

I will give you a little of what I am thinking. This vehicle may turn into a "sudo" daily driver for me, as we both work from home for the most part. But when I do drive it I want it to be economical, yet, fun (punchy). With that, I am thinking of swapping for a more modern engine, from my little research, people seem to gravitate towards, an LS 350 swap of sort. I think that may be a good fit. Thoughts? What motors have you used (if any), in lieu of originals?

I would like to "modernize" as much as I can, also give it a 2-3" lift (sufficient?). Looking to get an aggressive look out of it as well. There will also be the occasional mud/ off-road runs. I am sure looking through these forums will give me lots of ideas, and what not. But any advice, or tips you may be able to give would be great. Things like, other than Buying the actual cruiser, where one would start? (I am sure this depends, on the condition). Links to your threads, with your pictures and specs also help, as I have come to realize navigating some forums can be a rigorous task.

 

[FJACS]

Best bet price and time wise is to buy one with an engine already swapped, lift and accessories done. That way you can use it right away and spend your time playing with your kid.

Look in the classifieds here, trucks like I described come up every so often. You’ll spend more building it yourself.

 

[mattressking]

There are tons of threads out there that delve into every question you have....start reading threads and see what you like and what roadblocks people run into, most popular swap is LS-based due to availability of parts and power. Read the 'what have you done' thread and just start clicking on people's build threads, it becomes a dangerous worm hole.

Once you actually have a truck....then you can drive it and see what needs improvement....until then it is all speculation.

 

[Randy88FJ62]

Sounds like you want a GX470 with the V8 and enough rows for all the kids after practice. These suck gas and parts can get expensive as they are getting rare and hard to find. A V8 swap if you do it will be at least 6k plus a donor truck which are running around 7k up. You are looking at 15k minimum with 15 mpgs. No air bags etc.

 

[John Staton]

I would buy something already swapped. Its like a swimming pool...you can find a guy who has put way more $$ into one than he could ever get out of it and you can benefit from that......there are a lot of guys that can raise there hands on that one.

 

[Gretsch]

I'll second (or third this), at least for the lift part. If I had it to do again I would have found a truck with a lift already done. Not so much for the lift part but to replace my tired worn out stocker springs and bushings. There is a definite balance of having it done already and having it done right. "Done right" is subjective and at the time I purchased my truck I wanted one I could do this to myself to know it was done correctly with no shortcuts taken. What I realize now is that putting springs on these is just something you have to do and unless doing SOA conversions or other trick stuff, there does not seems to be much to it. You'll be tweaking even a stock truck so fixing someone's poor lift job would just be another task on the task list, made easier by already having all the parts. Two and a half years into ownership the bag of money I am waiting on to fall out of the sky to fund such a thing has not shown up and I still have yet to do the lift. Having a truck with that out of the way would have been a better plan than how I did it. Hindsight is 20/20. Good news is when I do tackle that job I will have a good baseline on how it changes the truck and will be better equipped to handle issues that arise as a result.

I know nothing of V8 swaps and am too much a purist (and too broke) to deal with such a thing. To me if a V8 swap is required, I have the wrong vehicle. But I think finding one with that done would be smart if that's what you are into. You will find plenty of other ways to spend your time (and money) on these vehicles even without doing the V8 swap yourself. GL and HTH.

 

[g-man]

You found the right forum. This forum alone is a great resource for restoring or just getting a LC going again. Look in the FAQ's section for "engine builds" as well as frequent upgrades to get ideas. Use the search function at the top right of the screen on any specific questions before posting them. Also in the classified section there are vehicles for sale here: FJ60 | FJ62 | BJ60 | HJ61

 

[TheNeek]

I built / am building my truck. I really get a kick out of the process so it keeps me happy and out of trouble. I agree with some folks that getting some of major mods done by purchasing a truck with them already installed is a good way to go. Depends on what kind of modification skill you have.