You will learn a great deal reading through swap threads but it is the little things that you miss that will slow your roll. If you are even considering doing a body swap, 60 on 80 you best be very proficient at fabricating or have some deep pockets. If you are considering a 60 on something like an FJC or Tacoma, same thing with a lot more involved as much of the electronics that effect the motor stem from origins outside the motor and trans.
I stand behind the approach of making the motor, trans and T-case stand alone with no other input. KISS. In the end you want a vehicle that is easy to operate and maintain and that with as little explanation as possible a 3rd party mechanic can work on without having to figure out what is what (time is money).
As he said very eloquently in the other thread:
It's rather difficult to mix and match automotive electrical harnesses and different chassis types.
I seamlessly wired my OBDI 5.0 GT Harness into my FJ60 and it took a lot of time. It's not that hard with a an OBD I Ford harness because it's for all intents and purposes standalone. Most OBD 2 harnesses are fully integrated into the vehicle with extras like climate control, anti-theft, anti-lock brakes and potentially traction control. There is no plug and play way to disable these things on many vehicles. Modern CAN BUS systems look for serialized major components in their control bits. If those don't match the ECU's programming on some engines (Ford and GM for example), it will not run at all. The reason many GM engines are easily-swapped is because someone has already cracked the ECUs and removed all that crap that will leave you with a bricked ECM if said ancillary CAN system is left unhooked.
The FJ60 has among the strongest frames ever offered on an SUV, coming in close with 80 series and 97+ Wranglers. Switching to anything short of an F-350 would be a downgrade. The 60 series has very robust drivetrain components which are on par or stronger than most 1/2 ton truck offerings. Tacomas are a downgrade in overall strength.
I've built a custom chassis for my rock crawler before and it's not easy task. If you miscalculate anything on something like an SUV, you risk collapsing the body by not properly supporting it at the body mounts. It's not an easy task.
For me it was far less work and money to change the entire powertrain of my FJ 60 and run with a centered rear axle and Dana 300 case than it was to try to adapt a split case to a Ford transmission or adapt a Ford engine to Toyota stuff. In the end, it was easier to build a custom rear axle than it was to adapt this. I also had a backup plan of using an Isuzu axle if my Ford 9" tribute Toyota axle failed.
Tirade aside, I am against the whole "kit" mentality of many of the 4x4 community. Guys get so nervous about pretty minor things like cross members and driveshafts with transmission changes. My entire powertrain with a running 5.0 HO, ZF S5-42, Dana 300, drive flanges, front and rear driveshafts cost less than an H55F just to put things in perspective. It clearly was more work, but the costs of looking outside the box are not as high as you think. Obviously you can tell I'm a Pirate guy who happens to also love FJ60s, and didn't want to turn mine into a rock crawler.
