OM617 or small block 350 in fj40 (1 Viewer)

[Nillaraifer]

Alright so for some background on my build I blew the chevy 350 I had in my fj40 a couple years back and am hoping to have the time to finally get it running again here soon since I graduate next month and being away at school has been taking all my time. So after I blew the 350 I decided to use this opportunity to swap in the drivetrain I wanted for better low gearing, so I bought a 350 sm420 that someone had pulled out of there fj40. I am planning on putting a gear drive Toyota pickup tcase with 4.7 gears behind that and am still gathering parts for the axle swap now.
Since I have been away at school without the cruiser to work on I have plenty of time to plan what parts and what the plan is. I originally was just going to put another 350 in because it already had the mounts and I am somewhat familiar with the engine and working on it. I originally was planning on getting 5.7 vortec and finding a sm420 to mate to it but the entire drivetrain I could use came up for a good deal so I was going to fuel inject it and put a electric fan in because to make it more reliable than my previous 350 which had troubles with overheating at slow speeds and occasionally trouble starting.
I go back and forth on if I want to use the 350 or not because I know I had trouble with the last one overheating but I had a mechanical fan and no fan shroud. The guy I bought the drivetrain from I think had some problems with it running hot though even with a big aluminum radiator and electrical fan. I have considered some other engines like the 4.3 vortec for a little while but I keep considering the om617. My plan is to have a cruiser that I can reliably drive around town and up into the mountains to camp and wheel and be able to make it through the Rubicon or Moab. I have researched people installing the om617 in fj40s quite a bit and my main worry with it is doing all the work to put one in and then feeling like there is not enough power. I don't need a ton of power but it is nice to have some. I want something I can put in and setup then not worry about and enjoy for a while.
Sorry for the long post but if anyone has any input on if one would be better than the other for my desired use I would really appreciate it. Or if there is a different engine you think is better I am always open to suggestions. The current shelter in place has given me plenty of time to research.

 

[Clutchee]

Keep it simple. Replace the 350 with another that you have. Run a Holley sniper FI system on it. For cooling, keep it mechanical and add a shroud, that’s where the overheating is coming from. My old 40 had a 327 w turbo 400, Orion combo, ran it around Moab and other places no issues.
Keep it simple, thus it will allow you to use the 40 more and also not recreate the wheel.

 

[B y r o n]

How much money have you got to spend? How much time have you got to do your conversion? Do you have the skills to do the conversion you want? Answer these questions and you may find the path you need to follow. I forgot to mention how much time do you have set aside to complete this conversion vs how much time will each conversion take?

 

[Downey]

If you are going to keep/drive the rig for years I sure think you'd be much happier with a very fresh 4.8 or 5.3 Chevy fuel injected engine from a reliable wrecking yard. With the GM 4L60E auto trans you'd have a lower 1st gear than a Landcruiser 3 Spd or 4 Spd has, plus you'd have an overdrive high gear, and you wouldn't have to tolerate the down sides of an SM420.

 

[Nillaraifer]

Yeah time and money is always a factor. I might be better off just going with the 350 cause I know I can at least get it back on the road quite a bit sooner and any money I save by going with the engine I already have I can put toward the fuel injection or start gathering parts for a power steering conversion.

 

[Downey]

^^^^^10-4

 

[reddingcruiser]

If you are going to keep/drive the rig for years I sure think you'd be much happier with a very fresh 4.8 or 5.3 Chevy fuel injected engine from a reliable wrecking yard. With the GM 4L60E auto trans you'd have a lower 1st gear than a Landcruiser 3 Spd or 4 Spd has, plus you'd have an overdrive high gear, and you wouldn't have to tolerate the down sides of an SM420.

Absolutely!!!!!

I'm old enough to get the thought process that makes someone nostalgic enough want to stick with a Gen I or II SBC, but no matter how you slice it, it's a 65 year old platform. Save the money you planned on ADDING fuel injection to a 350 and run go with the 5.3. It that already has REAL fuel injection and gets better MPG.

LSX Innovations makes adapters that will let you put the 5.3 in the same spot using you existing SBC motor mounts for about $45. Yeah there's other stuff you need to do and buy, but at least you are gaining 21st century technology.

 

[Nillaraifer]

If you are going to keep/drive the rig for years I sure think you'd be much happier with a very fresh 4.8 or 5.3 Chevy fuel injected engine from a reliable wrecking yard. With the GM 4L60E auto trans you'd have a lower 1st gear than a Landcruiser 3 Spd or 4 Spd has, plus you'd have an overdrive high gear, and you wouldn't have to tolerate the down sides of an SM420.

I'll probably look for one of those 4.8 or 5.3 chevy engines but I already have the sm420 and a adapter to mate a Toyota gear drive tcase and the 4.7 gears and I don't necessarily want to switch to an auto so I will probably stick with sm420. Only thing I am worried about is figuring out the wiring to get the newer engine to run right. Is it overly complicated to get the wiring to work for these.

 

[cruisermatt]

Only thing I am worried about is figuring out the wiring to get the newer engine to run right. Is it overly complicated to get the wiring to work for these.

No it is super easy. Either with the stock GM setup or with aftermarket EFI (Id recommend the new Holley Terminator X setup after dealing with about a dozen swaps)

 

[Nillaraifer]

No it is super easy. Either with the stock GM setup or with aftermarket EFI (Id recommend the new Holley Terminator X setup after dealing with about a dozen swaps)

Awesome. Looks like I might end up with at least one other second drivetrain worth of parts sitting on the garage floor by the time the land cruiser is running oh well maybe I'll have to pick up a roller to drop them into

 

[daner]

Some people are happy listening to Freebird /Stairway to Heaven/Garth Brooks over and over and never get tired of it....others like music that isn’t so mainstream....Personally, I ll take an OM617 over a small block any time, but then again, I can’t listen to Stairway any more.

 

[Nillaraifer]

Okay so I thought I had a final idea of how the build was going to go and since I currently am not with the truck and the busy season just starting at my work getting enough time off to go do the work is looking like it won't come around till the end of summer, like maybe October . So I figured I contact a few shops near where the truck is to see how much it would be to at least get it into one piece so I could tow it up and finish the small stuff here. I just sent an email today and a couple of the shops that have already replied about it being something they could do mentioned they had worries concerning power and gearing. One place was just worried about the hybrid rear axle being a weak link and the other was worried about the axles and the tcase being able to hold up to the power and gearing this setup would have with the ls and low gears. Some of the main reasons I was going to go with the ls style v8 was because of simplicity since it had a 350 before and is going to a chevy transmission, reliability and cost. I have not picked up a rear axle yet so just changing that for a shortened 14 bolt is not a big deal but I have the sm420, tcase adapter and 4.7 gears for the tcase so I would prefer to use those. I am going to call tomorrow so I can discuss in more detail the build and get a better idea of what they think, but if going with a gen3 chevy v8 is going to mean breaking parts often or needing to spend quite a bit of money to add some beef to the tcase, and both axles I feel like I might just get an adapter to mate a less powerful engine to the transmission and tcase I am planning. This has me looking at the Mercedes diesels again and now even possibly a 2f. I have never driven a land cruiser with a 2f since mine had a 350 when I bought it, but I have driven my grandmas bone stock fj62 which correct me if I am wrong but I believe has the 3fe. I know the 2f isn't going to be any where near a power house but I figure people have been driving land cruisers around reliably with them for a long time and with the low end torque I hear about plus the low gearing I am planning it should do pretty well offroad. I can get a running one off craigslist right now and I would probably eventually put an efi kit on it. I figure I can either just install it and run it till it goes or check it out and possibly rebuild it before installing it. I know the purest might like to hear this but does anyone have any input on either the Mercedes diesel or a 2f now.

 

[badsamaritan]

If you search for my username I did a swap to a 5.3/sm420 from a 283sbc/sm420. I changed very little to do make that swap work and loved it. You can find mounts that place your 5.3 in the exact same place your 350 was. Everything is very simple after that. I used BD turnkey engines so my harness was already modded but the harness isn't hard at all to mod

 

[mattcamp]

I have a 5.3 and love it, though mine has a 4l65e behind it. I think its a great engine. If you do a 5.3 don't use a truck oil pan though, they are too deep and cause clearance headaches with the front driveshaft.

 

[SnodawgFJ40]

Personally, I would just stick with the 350. It may be 65 year old technology but it is very good reliable technology. That's why it was around for years. Sure , everybody wants an LS these days. Great platform with awesome technology . But that adds a little more to your plate for things you need to do. Keep it simple since you are talking about having little time to work on it or paying someone else to do it.