Paralysis by Analysis - Best engine / trans combination question

[Daniel McMenomy]

Hi All,

I have been scouring the forms, and there are a lot of opinions and options, and I'm getting "Paralysis by Analysis" and want to continue moving my FJ40 project forward.


My question:

I purchased a 76 fj40 for my wife to restore that prior owner put a 74 carbureted 350 mated up to the standard 4 speed. I pulled the FJ apart to restore it, and now I'm putting it back together. When I started cleaning the 350, I saw that the block has a crack about an inch below the heads, so the engine is shot. Nice! My wife now has some health issues and wants me to change it over to an automatic, and since everything is apart, now is the best time to make this change.

I will say this was never purchased to be a rock crawler, just a fun, reliable vehicle for my wife to drive, and maybe take off-roading occasionally.

So my question is, if you were in my place, what engine / trans combination would you use with not breaking the bank, and easy to source?

 

[B y r o n]

Go to Advance Adapters and search their site.

 

[mattressking]

Put a 350 back in it unless you want to cut the mounts off and go to stock or another engine. 350 is the cheapest/easiest.

 

[Fjtdi]

https://m.facebook.com/marketplace/item/277745411313019/

You just need the adapter for your transfer case. The tune and adapter are $2k alone. Great deal.

 

[White Stripe]

Maybe a 5.3lm7 with a 4l60e and a psi harness? Will be a short driveshaft.

 

[Toyoland66]

That’s the downside to adapting most of the autos, the adapters are long

 

[Living in the Past]

No one has mentioned it but a 80 series 1ZF would be nice. But mated to an automatic you run out of room for a rear driveshaft and need to modify the tub. Your really need to look at a eight cylinder or four cylinder diesel. Years ago I bougth a Fairey overdrive that was mated to 350 automatic. The guy was a highschool shop teacher that I think had his students did the work for him. Project never got finished and he was selling parts off. Because it was easier to separate the adapter with the transfer case he left it attached. This was an old adapter. Only good thing about it was it was very skinny compaired to newer adapters. Which seems to be an issue running a V8 with an automatic transmission. What's gained by the short V8 is taken up with transfer case adapter. Then the automatic transmission is quite a bit longer than the manual transmission. Not sure if running a factory mated transfer case with a centered output would be a better option. Early FJ40s had a centered diff on the rear axle. Most likely need custom inner axle shaft. Or a none Toyota axle. Mini trucks and 4Runners axles are centered but diff is much smaller.

 

[pb4ugo]

IDK, what options are out there, but I'd probably try to stay with the sbc and adapt something with an OD auto tranny. The tranny choices should be somewhat plentiful. The length of the drive line is going to be the issue. You may have to move the engine forward a bit. The problem with a centered rear-end and centered rear output t/case is the height of the output in relation to the rear-end. It will have a steep driveshaft and likely a double cardon joint. Centering the stk 40 rear-end is relatively easy and inexpensive.

 

[Daniel McMenomy]

Thanks, everyone for the response. I have a question for White Stripe about the LM7 5.3 with a 4l60e and a psi harness. This vortex configuration is mentioned a lot in the form, and if I go this route, will this require a change in engine position from where the original SBC was located? How about the computer for this engine, will the psi harness come with that, or should this come from the donner? As for the 4L60e conversion, have you done one of these conversions, and what would you do differently?

Thanks,

 

[squeezer]

Purist tendencies aside pick your tranny first and then run whatever engine is mated to it. Almost all modern v8’s can make more horsepower than you can use in a 40. Transmission dynamics however make a huge difference. Have an F150 with a 10 speed auto and when I get in my Hundy with the five speed it feels like something is broken. Not sure what the shortest good (5 speed minimum) auto is but that where a guy should start.

 

[Toyoland66]

The options all have pros and cons but ultimate in my opinion would be a 2uz/a750 and t-case from a 03-07 100 series. No adapters needed and offset t-case, downside is the size of the engine (width) and less aftermarket support (harnesses etc) compared to a LS.

 

[sogncab]

Instead of a GM smallblock, what about shoving a GM 4.3 V6 as forward as you can to get the tranny and tcase to fit?

Buys you a few inches anyways.

I had an S10 with a 4.3 and a NV3500, that was a really great combo.

 

[Scota4570]

Why not restore it to original configuration? With the quality of work in the photo, you could have a $60K+ vehicle.

 

[pjohnson]

^^^ This is a good idea ^^^^

There's even a thread where someone did just that.

 

[sogncab]

Why not restore it to original configuration?

Wants a torque converter.

How long is the automatic in a 60?