The FRITOTA is Alive!!!

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Thanks for all the compliments guys. Now to answer a few of the questions.

I paid $2,300 for the Frito Lay van. I am really glad I went this route because it brought the price of the motor down. I was able to sell the van along with the Turbo 400 it came with for $700. I was also able to rob the GM hydroboost braking system off of it as well. The 4BT does not produce vacuum for the factory Toyota brake master cylinder. I could have bought and external electric vacuum pump or run one off of a pulley. The Hydroboost was cool because essentially it is for a 1 1/2 ton truck.

The 4BT I bought was not factory intercooled. That would be a 4BTA. So, I chose to buy an intercooler. The Volvo fit really well. The factory 60 radiator was too wide to match with the intercooler. The 40 radiator will be fine, it is a 3 row and is bigger than the radiator that came out of the P-van, (Frito Lay van). right now, I am having problems with it running too cold. I feel that it is not reaching operation temp.

I am running 33X9.50's on it right now. I will go 33X10.50 or maybe equivalent in a 16" rim. The 4" Alcans ride great but a little stiff. It drives more like a truck. I wanted to stay SUA because I want to maintain highway speeds and use it more as an expedition rig than a wheeler.

Right now, I am running the stock 3.79 axle gearing. Seems to do well especially on mountain passes. No complaints. I have not wheeled it yet, so I don't know how well it crawls.

I will get axle/motor clearance pics as soon as I can.

I live in Colorado but will be at Cruise Moab over the weekend. Later.
 
Grease Cruiser said:
I could have bought and external electric vacuum pump or run one off of a pulley.
Click to expand...

where you bought/ found the vacuum pump .. ?


Nice engine, but the best clean instalation .. congrats .. !
 
1. How is the vibration from the 4bt? Read on college internet’s diesel page the lower injector pressure keeps the vibration down, also better engine mounts help.

2. How is the sound/noise level, was there any sound dampening done in the firewall or did you leave that alone.
 
Unfortunately I have no pics of the Frito Lay van. Maybe Jeremiah took a few before it was cut up. The shell is actually being used as his new sand blasting shed. The frame and rear axle will have a flatbed mounted on it and made into a scrap metal trailer and the front of the van is going to the scrapper. The guts out of the Turbo 400 are now in a FJ40.

Someone asked about motor mounts. I forgot to mention that these were a HUGE bonus of buying the entire van. The van came with these liquid filled motor mounts about 4 inches thick. They are a Cummins part and are $250 a piece new. Yep, you heard me $250 apiece!!!

No extra insulation has been added to the 60. Inside the cab with the window rolled up, you can carry out a good conversation without screaming, regular talking. It is a little noisier with the windows down but still not too bad. Outside the vehicle, it is quite noisy. I am talking really noisy. It is about the same as a Dodge diesel pickup but a little more rattly due to it being a 4 cylinder. I am running a muffler so the exhaust is fairly quiet.

My only complaint is that it is a little noisier than I had expected. But, this is my own reality check. I had been driving a 3B BJ60 and it is a little quieter than the 4BT, but not as powerful. So, you win some you lose some.

The original plan was for this 60 to be my wife's daily driver. She likes driving it but she kind of complains about how noisy it is. Like I said before, it is fine while inside the vehicle but she is a little embarassed when she is trying to talk to her friends outside the truck and the motor is running. Oh well.

I am trying to drive this thing as much as possible. In fact it is the only car we have running/registered right now. So far I have driven it almost 200 miles and the tank is still above 1/2. I am really anxious to see what kind of mileage it gets. I will post the mpg as soon as I know. Later.
 
Oil Pan Clearance shots

Hey Ridgerunner: Here are some oilpan clearance shots for ya. With the 4" Alcans, it clears the top of the diff pretty well. I might run some extended bump stops to be safe.
 
DragonFly said:
macniel.... Is that an Ultraman avatar?

Yeah, nice spot. I grew up in Japan, with Ultraman amongst others, like Diamond Eye and Mazinga Jet (sp?) Showing my age right about now...
Click to expand...
 
macneill said:
DragonFly said:
macniel.... Is that an Ultraman avatar?

Yeah, nice spot. I grew up in Japan, with Ultraman amongst others, like Diamond Eye and Mazinga Jet (sp?) Showing my age right about now...
Click to expand...

Hey .. how about Mazinger Z .. remember to live .. !
Click to expand...
 
Fuel mileage on the 4BT

Ok, first things first. I took the Fritota out yesterday for a little road trip to visit some friends. I drove it over 100 miles and I noticed my speedometer/odometer were off. I kind of figured they were but did not know how much. So, after 100 mile markers on the highway, my odometer registered 87.5 miles. This is with 33"s. Is this fairly normal?

So, today I filled it up. My trip meter said 430 miles on this tank. By my calculation, this was about 491.4 miles of actual driving.
100/87.5 = x/430
87.5x=43,000
43,000/87.5=x
x=491.4

Simple highschool algebra, I know, but it has been awhile. Correct me if I am wrong.

So, at the pump: I filled the tank up with 17.8 gallons.
491.4 miles divided by 17.8 gallons= 27.6 miles per gallon.

HOLY SH#T 27.6 MPG. That is so fawkin' awesome!

So there you have it. 27.6 MPG unless I have no idea what the hell I am talking about.
 
Yeah that it awesome news!
 
The odometer and spedometer readings should be off. That is due to the gearing that they are set up for from the factory with the factory tires. A simple switch of the gears in the gages and the fixing is done. 28 MPG IS INCREDIBLE!!!!! Sign me up for this swap.

One last question however, you do have a five-speed bolted up, right? If not, which transmission do you have?

:beer:
 
GLTHFJ60 said:
The odometer and spedometer readings should be off. That is due to the gearing that they are set up for from the factory with the factory tires. A simple switch of the gears in the gages and the fixing is done. 28 MPG IS INCREDIBLE!!!!! Sign me up for this swap.

One last question however, you do have a five-speed bolted up, right? If not, which transmission do you have?

:beer:
Click to expand...
Yep, 5 speed. NV4500 mated to the stock split T-case.

Thanks for the compliments. I am stoked!!! Can't wait to really road trip this thing.
 
Where did you buy your tranny and does it have overdrive ratios? This swap is becoming more and more appealing to me.

Did you have to conform to smog regulations in your state?

:beer:
 
GLTHFJ60 said:
Where did you buy your tranny and does it have overdrive ratios? This swap is becoming more and more appealing to me.

Did you have to conform to smog regulations in your state?

:beer:
Click to expand...
I got the NV4500 out of Texas. It was the best deal I could find w/out having a core charge. Yes, it does have an overdrive, I can't remember the ratios right now along with the name of the company I got it through. The NV4500 is used in Chevys and Dodges. It is a heavy duty tranny. I typically do not have to use 1st gear with the 4BT.

Good luck. Like I have suggested to you before, do your homework. Realize that this conversion will cost more than you think it will. It is roughly a $10K conversion. Sure, you can do it cheaper but just realize that the small parts will eat you alive. May the force be with you.
 
I forgot to mention that I do not have to conform to smog regulations where I live.

I did however have to change the title and registration to say "Diesel" No big deal really. Just had to do a VIN inspection and show the receipt of the engine conversion. It cost me about $10 to change the title.
 
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