Perky Pig, The Diesel 55

[Jonsey]

Now everyone that knows 55s knows they were all petrol from the factory, FJ models only. while that is true not every 55 was sold new as a petrol.
Here in Australia you could ask some dealers nicely and they'd get you a brand spanking new 55 and as soon as it hit the lot rip the F/2F out and slot in a Perkins 247 Deisel engine!
And here one is, a original Perkins powered pig in all its glory!!!

 

[White Stripe]

Cool! Ambulance doors are awesome.

 

[cult45]

Cool! Plans?

 

[Vossie]

a shame it wasnt an H, but thats the purist in me talking still great to see a pig with any diesel in it

 

[chappohj47]

I have seen one of those before a few years back looks familiar. Perkins diesels are great motors especially air cooled ones

 

[stumpofj40]

That's great! I once saw an Australian dealer advert from way back in the day that advertised the Perkins diesel swap straight off the factory floor. Was pretty darn cool.

 

[Jonsey]

Plans are a resto staring with the rust, if you've seen my 60 thread i'm not scared of a bit haha.
my mate who is the owner (Im just the pig lover/fabricator/mud correspondent for the build) wants a stockish look but with some upgrades, and cool 80s style stuff like one of those exo-cage style roof racks and chunky tyres on the split rims.

an advert i found for the swap, i have seen the other one your saying about stumpofj40 and would love to find it again, its the reason i knew what it was when i saw it for sale

it even has aircon!! too bad it just blows dead rat smell currently

started the rust repairs, the roof skin was only attached by about a foot of sheet in total haha. have to take some measurements off the other pig to get the sides aligned again before i brace it. going to strip it all back, slice it open like the pork it is and get it blasted soon

 

[scrapdaddy]

WOW! A lot of 55 guys are going to be watching this. You're not scared, is right! Take lots of pictures, too.

 

[lc69hunter]

This is awesome. Will be following. I have a 74 with the 1.5F engine.

 

[LAMBCRUSHER]

this should be cross-posted...

 

[dare]

Very cool, I love seeing old mods and interesting conversions. This will be sweet done up like they were when they were current models. I've got a stack of 70s/early 80s 4WD magazines I'll have a flick through and see if I can find anything more on them.

 

[DoubleNickels]

Good Lord. Subscribed.

 

[cruiserkreutz]

I love learning new things about Cruisers. Never heard about Perkins diesels, thanks for posting. Looking forward to the build, subscribed.

 

[PabloCruise]

That is awesome!
There is a Pig specific section here on MUD - The Iron Pig Preservation Society:
FJ55 Iron Pig Preservation Society
We would love to see how this goes if you feel like posting over there!

 

[RWBeringer4x4]

Very cool truck! Several dealers used to do this in the US, but with Small Block Chevy engines. Mine has a similar history. The original 2F was pulled and a 350 dropped in before it even drove off the dealer's lot. It has all the "modification" tags that were required in California to show the company responsible and engine installed. Somewhere down the line, the "original" 350 V8 was replaced with an even older, 283 V8, which is where I stand now.