Project Wintergreen - '97 FZJ80 Gen V 6.2 Swap - Richmond, VA

[RICVirginiaHJ61]

I’ve greatly appreciated @mattnandie 's lead in undertaking his Project Sparkles (Project "Sparkles"-1997 LX450 Gen V 6.2 Swap - https://forum.ih8mud.com/threads/project-sparkles-1997-lx450-gen-v-6-2-swap.1328684/) and it’s been super helpful to draft off him along the way. Instead of a complete build thread repeating what Matt’s laid out I thought I’d just jot down a few places where he and I went in slightly different directions and some other notes about minutiae along the way. If you are contemplating this project, I would read Matt’s journey first and then double back to mine afterwards.

NOTE: These posts are geared toward the amateur here. I'd never even come close to undertaking a project like this, and I'm writing - I guess - for the other version of myself out there that may be contemplating a LT swap (go for it). Also, some of this is specific to using Tor's kit and Mitch's muscle car module, some other stuff, I'm sure applicable to any GM swap. Feel free to skip over whatever you find obvious / tedious / basic or the whole thread.

I bought a 1997 40th Anniv. Ed. from a guy out in the Blue Ridge in Nelson County, VA back in January as a new project to go with the Euro-spec HJ61 I’ve been driving for a couple years now. The 1FZ-FE was suffering from low compression, so I knew I had a project on my hands, but wasn’t sure which direction it would go. A broken rod on the drive back to Richmond made some sort of engine project (along with a whole bunch of other ones) a necessity.

There are a lot of great posts about the pros / cons of various swaps into the 80 series (and about re-manned engines from Jarco / @Fj80oregon / etc.). In the beginning, I wasn’t sure what I was optimizing for, but after calling a bunch of shops in the Mid-Atlantic and pricing things out, I realized I needed to optimize primarily for simplicity so I could do most of the work myself in my driveway (no garage here in the city) and fun (because why bother otherwise!).

Hence the @torfab kit – no cutting & welding on the frame (though I have taught myself a bit of welding since buying this truck) – and Swaptime harness + muscle car module. I found a L86 / 10L80 drivetrain on ebay from a guy in Texas and started in on the work.



[Truly just barely got it back home in this picture]

 

[RICVirginiaHJ61]

Here we go with some notes! Breaking things up in to smaller / medium sized chunks here:

Engine Mounts: Simple enough part of all of this, but it wasn’t entirely straightforward to me as to how they should be oriented (logically at least, there are a few different combinations). I emailed a few times with Tor to make sure it was all correct. Tor marks the driver’s side engine mount with D and the passenger isn’t marked which is of course obvious, but each has a triangular notch that should point up and then the Toyota rubber insulator should have the long stud oriented over the short button.​

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Power Steering / Gearbox / Braking: I used the Tejas Steelworks kit like Matt, which allows you to swap a power steering pump for the factory GM vacuum pump. The kit is excellent, but if I was starting over (as Matt said in his video), I would think about putting the PS pump up high. The lower DS corner of the face of the engine is very tight to the frame and the power steering gearbox. Maybe going high would it have its own problems though – I dunno. I wrecked one AC Delco reservoir during the install (smashed up the inlet / outlet ports against the frame – not paying enough attention). I’ve instead bought the Lares pump the Tejas guys recommend (thinking it had slightly better geometry -- ends up with same fitment issue) and a spacer from POWERTRAIN INTEGRATION - https://powertrain-integration.com/ (because I don’t own a drill press, but you could pretty easily make one).​

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[See a few posts later about the PS pump with better geometry.]​

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Reverse Light Wire for Swaptime Harness: In addition to pulling the B-W park neutral wire from the P-1 connection wires, you’ll also need to pull the R-B reverse light wire. Mitch's instructions to the MCM say to use a relay (this seems kind of buried, which is why I mention it). I got a Hella mini 20A relay to connect to the reverse light flying lead of Mitch’s harness. You’ll also want to save the yellow wire running into P-1 as that is your hot wire to complete the back-up light circuit and then just run a ground wire to something close to wherever you tuck this away.​

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Shifter: On the A/T shifter modification Matt has a great post about taking things apart, I didn’t have easy access to a good grinder either to extend the squared off part of the rod, so I took off the thick lock washer used in that assembly [UPDATE] and replaced it with a thinner one to free up space for the shifter arm. The bolt that was getting in Matt’s way causing the need to bend the short arm of the A/T shifter can be removed. They are for holding the breather tube and that bracket can be relocated.​

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[UPDATE] make sure this is bolted together very tight. The shifter problems I was having at the start were the result of some play in two shifter arms coming together. When pushing the shifter forward to park, the shifter arm and the linkage arm would slip against one another and let the cab shifter go up to P, but the actual transmission would stay in R. With this fixed, its much better. There are a bunch of other linkage products out there too. This one was included with the kit, so I figured I would make it work before getting even more spendy.​

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I bought a Dakota Digital GSS-3000 transmission position indicator. The install there is a cinch. The Toyota EWD here is straightforward in showing you what you'll need to connect to this box (trace back from the combo meter). I believe the box has to have a R input, so I disconnected that light from the larger back up light circuit. I'm installing this box behind the glove box. I haven't tested this yet, but I've read it throws off enough power to light up the incandescent bulbs inside the combo meter.​

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I don't know if my bends to the shifter linkage from Tor were off or if I somehow got a mis-cut link piece, but I needed to drill a new hole in the long shifter arm from Tor to get this all to connect.​

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Oil / Water Sensors: I think Matt did this as well, but I kept the factory oil and water senders to feed into the combination meter on the dash. The oil sender is on the same harness as headlights and needs to be extended a fair bit to move from the PS to the DS of the engine block. The water sender is on the engine harness so be sure to save those wires as you take apart the Toyota harness. I did the standard Earl’s blockoff with top port and an adapter like Matt for oil. For water, I got a M28 to 1/2" NPT Coolant Temperature Sensor Adapter Fitting from ICT Billet that fits in the big coolant port on the driver’s side of the engine block and then a 1/2 NPT to M16 thread adapter to put the water temp sender into that hole from a place called Thread Tool Supply (1/2" NPT to M16 Thread Adapter: Nickel Plated Brass - https://www.threadtoolsupply.com/nickel-plated-brass-thread-adapter-12npt-M16.html). This was basically the only combo I could find where I could get thread adapters to link from coolant port to Toyota sensor.​

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[Had the help of some big guns via a neighbor in pulling the 1FZ-FE out! Thanks @brm2993 for coming up to RVA to take it off my hands.]

 

[RICVirginiaHJ61]

Notes 2 / n:

Airbox & Intake: I sprung for the custom airbox from Torfab. It’s extremely well made and mounts perfectly on top of the fender. For the intake I got Mishimoto 4” ID 90 deg and 45 deg couplers, and a 4” ID straight section; a 4” OD Spectre Performance MAFS adapter tube; and one additional 3” length of 4” OD aluminum tubing along with sufficient clamps. The geometry isn't quite right here, but not so bad that it's at the top of my priority list of things to rework just yet.​

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Radiator Hoses: I opted for Mishimoto flexible stainless steel hoses to go from a stock / new Denso radiator to the GM engine. They come with multiple sizes of rubber fittings and are an easy way to mate the different inlet / outlet sizes. Have never run a car / truck with these, so this is a tentative set-up for now. I looked putting together a bunch of silicone pieces, but also read about their water permeation characteristics and decided to try out stainless.​

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[UPDATE] See later pictures - not the ideal product for this build. The upper radiator connections are really close together and the lower ones are right to the fan shroud. The corrugated stainless tubing doesn't make tight enough elbows.​

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Heater Hoses: I am keeping all the heater controls and rear heater. I bought some new 5/8” and 1/2" reinforced rubber heater hose to redo some of the more cruddy old hoses and connect to the smaller LT coolant bypass ports. For the larger port, I got a 3/4” to 5/8” 90 degree reducer coupler and an aluminum joiner to connect to the line. Note: small LT water pump bypass port is hot; big one is cold.​

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A/T Cooler Lines: Instead of trying to fit the hard steel A/T cooler lines, I just went with -6 AN lines out of the transmission to the cooler. There are a bunch of adapters out there some with temperature control valving. I just went with something basic. I had a new set of hard lines and thought not to try and install them with the drivetrain hanging in the air off the shop crane because I might crush them in the install. Once installed though, the clearances with sway bars and other stuff were just incredibly tight and I just couldn’t make the hard lines fit.​

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[The state of affairs for a few more weeks than my neighbors probably appreciated]

 

[RICVirginiaHJ61]

3 / n:

Tachometer: To get your dash tach to work with Mitch's 4 pulses / rev output - check out post 4,011 here: 8x Series V8 Swaps - https://forum.ih8mud.com/threads/8x-series-v8-swaps.948869/page-201. The Toyota tach is calibrated for 3 pulses / rev, but you can adjust the variable resistor on the tach circuit board to calibrate for 4 pulses / rev. With combination meter out of the dash, taking the tach out of it is 3 screws. Then just get out a multimeter and small screwdriver to adjust and test. It's a very slight counter clockwise adjustment -- maybe 20 deg. I then ran some extra wire off the black wire into the combination meter that drives the tach to connect to Mitch’s lead. Many thanks @NeverFinis for bench testing this with a wave generator and finding out the appropriate resistances.​

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[Update] - For clarity, neverfinis lays out the resistances you want to get between the ABC points on the board that he highlights. You don’t need the wave generator box. He did the work for us in replicating the signal in and figuring out what adjustments will give you a decently accurate output. Set your multimeter to the right level of sensitivity (ohms) and adjust / test / adjust / test.​

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CEL: The check engine light is an easy connection to make off the combination meter. I cut and extended the Y-R wire to run to Mitch’s lead. I think this light may turn on when I engage the Tow Mode, but that will be fine.​

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Tow Mode: There seems to be a dearth of 80 Series style aftermarket switches out there (if you know any more please let me know). You'll want a momentary (on) / off switch. Air On Board sells a few flavors of 80s switches though nothing blank. I got one marked for a garage door and some stickers to cover over "Garage Door".​

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Tap Shift: I ordered a 3D printed switch plate with a cutout for a USB A cable from Solve Function (I did not realize, I'd actually get the USB A cable as well - will figure out something to do with it) and trying to find the right size momentary (on) off (on) switch from Digikey that will fit into the cut out. The plan here is to put this tap shift button where the OD / 2nd buttons used to be on the shifter console (or maybe somewhere else if that turns out to be less than ideal).​

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Cruise Control: I bought a Rostra cruise control kit from www.thecruisecontrolstore.com. I got a universal RH side stalk and the “Cruise Control for GM LS Drive by Wire ETC Engines.” The kit is relatively easy to install, but note that there is a bit of a missing step in the instructions to mate the stalk to the control unit. From the stalk wires to the CCU connector, Green = pin 1 / Set; Yellow = pin 2 / Res; Brown = pin 3 / On-Off; Red & Blue = pin 6 12v; Black = pin 8 GND. The truck pedal I ordered from Mitch appears to be the right match to the pedal interface plugs of the Rostra kit. I'll also connect the On-Off wire to the “Cruise” light in the combination meter and there are a bunch of other wires you’ve got to tap to make it all work.​

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With some finessing, the universal stalk and its wire / mounting nuts will fit into the little plastic mounting box for the Toyota stalk and is totally unobtrusive on the column.​

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Note: I am going to use Mitch's MCM speedo lead to feed this CCU vehicle speed, but I'm just running the combination meter VSS off the transfer case for the speedo on the dashboard.​

[A different set of big guns to put the LT in. Many thanks @matzell @Landshark @mess331470 @Beach80 and @captainva for some hands and tools to get this done. Note that you'll want to extend that arm out to 1 ton to actually get the engine in and I would install only the first piece of the PS pump bracket before install and bolt in pump after you've got the engine in the bay.

P.S.A. - join your local TLCA club!]

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[RICVirginiaHJ61]

4 / n:

Air Conditioning: So there are (at least) two flavors of AC set-ups in the 80 series. It’s my understanding that most 80 series did not come with the “auto” climate control feature, but the 40th anniversary and LX450 trucks have this feature. I bought a hard copy EWD for a 1997 land cruiser, but it does not have the pages for the automatic air conditioning control. Thankfully the 1997 LC EWD and the LX450 EWD in the resources section here both show how this is wired.​

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The lead on Mitch's harness is for an AC relay input for ON and the GM ECU will manage the operation of the AC compressor vis a vis AC line pressure, RPM, engine temp, starter cut-off etc. You're left, however, with a lot of Toyota controls and circuits that I am not 100% sure yet I understand how to integrate or bypass. Still doing some homework here, so bear with the real-time thoughts and questions. If you know what you're doing here, I would gladly take some advice!​

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My current thoughts (have not made any cuts yet) are as follows:​

• [UPDATE] Delete the Toyota A/C pressure sensor, by cutting at the connector and joining those two wires (i.e., switch is effectively always on). Removing as it's just an unnecessary failure point.
• [UPDATE] Connect Mitch's A/C lead to the G-W compressor relay wire as my signal to the GM ECU. I think this allows the Y / Y-R circuit to find ground appropriately, but welcome to other thoughts.
• [UPDATE TO UPDATE] Maybe the above would be sending too much current into the MCM and I need to wire in a relay for the Y / Y-R circuit to find ground and link the MCM lead to the orange wire off the A/C Amp.
• [UPDATE] tie swaptime lead into clutch circuit at EY1 / ED1 or wherever else might be easy for you.
• Ignore the starter relay as it will be removed from the circuit and always on.
• I think this leaves me with the A/C Amplifier receiving all the right on/off & thermostat signals from the controls, cabin sensors and thermistor and prunes cut-off relays that are being overseen by the GM ECU.
• There are 3 additional wires running into the A/C amplifier though that are not shown on on this page of the EWD (or anywhere else that i can find): Y-L @ pin 5, V @ 14, and Y-B @ 17. Toyota notes that in reviewing connector schematics a dot indicates an occupied pin not used in the applicable circuit, but an X means unoccupied. The electronic copy of the 97 EWD in the resources section isn't quite as good as the LX450 version up there. When you go look up A30 (LC) and A11 (LX450) for the A/C Amplifier Connector, the LC version shows all pins as occupied (they are not) and the LX450 version shows Xs in each of 5, 14 and 17. I suspect these relate to some of the engine related functions noted below.
• The EWD states:

THE A/C AUTOMATIC AMPLIFIER RECEIVES VARIOUS SIGNALS, I.E., THE ENGINE RPM FROM THE IGNITER,​

OUTLET TEMPERATURE SIGNAL FROM THE A/C AMBIENT TEMP. SENSOR, COOLANT TEMPERATURE FROM THE​

A/C THERMISTOR, ETC. WHEN THE ENGINE IS STARTED AND THE A/C SW IS ON, A SIGNAL IS INPUT TO THE A/C AUTOMATIC AMPLIFIER.​

AS A RESULT, THE SAME GROUND CIRCUIT IN THE A/C AUTOMATIC AMPLIFIER IS CLOSED. AT THE SAME TIME, THE ENGINE CONTROL MODULE DETECTS THE A/C MAGNETIC CLUTCH IS ON AND THE A/C AUTOMATIC AMPLIFIER OPERATES. OPEN DIRECTION TO AVOID LOWERING THE ENGINE RPM DURING A/C OPERATING. IF THE A/C AUTOMATIC AMPLIFIER DETECTS THE FOLLOWING CONDITIONS, IT STOPS THE AIR CONDITIONING.​

THE TEMPERATURE AT THE AIR VENTS IS LOW.​

THERE IS A MARKED DIFFERENCE BETWEEN THE COMPRESSOR SPEED AND THE ENGINE SPEED.​

THE REFRIGERANT PRESSURE IS ABNORMALLY HIGH OR ABNORMALLY LOW.​

THE ENGINE SPEED DECREASES.​

RAPID ACCELERATION OCCURS.​

• There will definitely be some trial and error here in figuring out how to get this A/C system to operate properly and maybe some spoofing of an RPM signal to this system. I'm no whiz at reading circuit boards, but I've opened up the A/C Amplifier and the A/C Automatic Amplifier do not see a potentiometer like the Tach to make an adjustment. I read in some thread that you can disable the automatic climate feature via a switch on the back of the HVAC controls, and maybe my fallback position here will be to just rig up an on/off set-up and just have to be careful about not icing up the coils.
• One other note (truly minutiae): I don't know if the differences in the wiring of the starter cut relay between the LX450 and the LC are in error or if it's truly wired that way. First picture is LC diagram and second is LX450. I think the LX450 is an error as the B-R wire off the P/N switch should only receive electricity in the ST1 position (i.e., crank) and the diagram doesn't make a lot of sense to me if that's the case.

All I've got to post for now... will do some updates as things progress!

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[turbodizzle]

What year engine did you end up using? I am trying to source one at the moment and am unsure which year I should be shooting for.

 

[matzell]

Might give these guys a call on the tranny.

Powertrain Control Solutions - Moving You Forward

Powertrain Control Solutions

www.powertraincontrolsolutions.com

 

[RICVirginiaHJ61]

What year engine did you end up using? I am trying to source one at the moment and am unsure which year I should be shooting for.

2019. I think the TCM's for something like 2020 or 2021 and above are not flashable (or easily flashable).

 

[davidp14]

strong work @RICVirginiaHJ61 !! Cant wait to see/hear this thing come to life.

 

[jht3]

love it. keep the details coming

if you can do this out front of your house w/o a welder or fab skills, anyone can.

 

[Fj80oregon]

Nice work!! Are you going to share pricing on your parts so people have a up to date idea on what this stuff cost in today’s economy?

 

[RICVirginiaHJ61]

Nice work!! Are you going to share pricing on your parts so people have a up to date idea on what this stuff cost in today’s economy?

GULP.... I had a preliminary budget, but I know I went over. I will go back and sort through the big rock stuff and estimate the small stuff. @mattnandie has a pretty good chart too.

 

[RICVirginiaHJ61]

She runs!

I am not sure what is going on with the shifter linkage / positions on the transmission though. I need to take all that apart and sort it out. I don't think I've got the arm upside down, but I had to shift through all the AT gear positions to find Park at the opposite end I thought it should be.

[UPDATE] The shifter linkage was a bit mis-aligned and loose. P on the shifter in the cab wasn't pulling the actual transmission shifter all the way back to the P position on the transmission. Apparently the engine will fire though in the manual mode at the other end of the throw.

 

[jht3]

it is the shifter aspect that probably has me most confused on these swaps

i've seen lots of folks use a cable shift actuator vs the OE setup that i think you and matt are doing? i don't remember seeing anyone else flipping and grinding things. the Torfab page says it include linkage to adapt the 8L/10L trans to the to the stock PRND2L lever, but makes no mention of any mods.

 

[RICVirginiaHJ61]

it is the shifter aspect that probably has me most confused on these swaps

i've seen lots of folks use a cable shift actuator vs the OE setup that i think you and matt are doing? i don't remember seeing anyone else flipping and grinding things. the Torfab page says it include linkage to adapt the 8L/10L trans to the to the stock PRND2L lever, but makes no mention of any mods.

The mods to the Toyota shifter are needed because that linkage runs down the PS of the A343 transmission and the GM 8/10L80 transmission shifter is on the DS. I'm sure there are cable actuator work arounds to skipping this, but Tor provides the arms to just link it this way, so I figured give that a shot and see what I think about it. The arms come unbent, but in the pictures in the instructions that come with the Torfab kit you can see that Tor's shop bends the long arm to get the right geometry for the transmission tunnel. The instructions & his page are a little vague at times, but that's why there's mud and email!

 

[tmxmotorsports]

Tach work?

 

[RICVirginiaHJ61]

Tach work?

Have a bunch more stuff to put together before I can test it. I basically ripped the car apart to the studs inside and out (swap is the biggest part of a bigger project). @mattnandie and I were talking about it last night though and he may be ready to test it out sooner than me.

 

[tmxmotorsports]

Let me know if you guys get stumped on it.

 

[jht3]

Tor provides the arms to just link it this way

oh, ok. Tor does the same shifter mods to shop conversions?

other than backwards shifting you are still sorting, have you found any other gotcha's w/ the Tor kit? or did it really just bolt in like advertised.

that startup sounds good!

 

[RICVirginiaHJ61]

oh, ok. Tor does the same shifter mods to shop conversions?

other than backwards shifting you are still sorting, have you found any other gotcha's w/ the Tor kit? or did it really just bolt in like advertised.

that startup sounds good!

Yep he is selling what he's installing as far as I can tell. He's got better bending tools and a powder coat machine, but there are no "gotchas." Be careful with the threads on the plate piece that sandwiches between the transmission and transfer case -- use a torque wrench. Otherwise that part of the project was really straightforward. These are pics from the instructions.

As mentioned above and in Matt's posts -- the engine is big and its a tight fit in a few places. The steering gearbox spacer is a very good to have. Matt went with new tight fitting headers. I'm going to take it to the exhaust shop and see if they can work with the space they have. If they say it's too tight, then I'll go Matt's direction. UPDATE: NEEDED THE TIGHT FITTING HEADERS.

The other thing, if I was starting over, I would set the engine up to have a power steering pump with a remote reservoir or do a power steering bracket that mounts it somewhere other than the bottom DS corner of the engine. I think I am finally finding a workable fit with this: Borgeson Universal 800323 Borgeson Universal Self-Contained Saginaw GM Power Steering Pumps | Summit Racing - https://www.summitracing.com/parts/BRG-800323 (note the inlets are oriented to stay within the profile of the reservoir - unlike most others), but it's in the mail to me right now. I'll make a post about it when I've got it all sorted out.