Builds V8 (SBC) to V8 (Gen III Vortec) swap in my FJ60...

[orion]

For reference, the motor mount should look like -->

Leaving that area, I took a bad line (where the rear end was in danger again) and got hung up. Despite using my winch to get up and over the ledge...my pass. side rear tapped another rock and took out the tail light (pic posted above, from yesterday). Sigh.

Anyway, long update...but that's my GSMTR report.

Thanks for reading.

- Brian

 

[cruisermatt]

I’ve got a motor mount kit with your name on it Brian, just say the word
Every 60 wheeling on the East coast without armor will get that dent eventually!
Super bummed I didn’t make it this year, it feels like all my friends were there

 

[tmxmotorsports]

I've used this relay it not watee prof

 

[orion]

I’ve got a motor mount kit with your name on it Brian, just say the word
Every 60 wheeling on the East coast without armor will get that dent eventually!
Super bummed I didn’t make it this year, it feels like all my friends were there

I might need to get one of your kits...I noticed recently that my pass. side mount has created a small divot in the frame, so I need to address that at some point.

Any reason it wouldn't work with my motor being 7" forward than usual (due to the Ranger OD)...?

And yeah, I think that dent was inevitable...but I've done so well avoiding it until now!!

...

One thing I'm super excited about: I thought I kept the OEM tail light lenses off my wife's FJ62 that we sold last year, but I wasn't sure where they were. Found them in my stash tonight, and the pass. side one is in great shape.

I've also worked on the dent a little, and it's coming out OK. A new marker light and I should be able to live with it (for now).

- Brian

 

[orion]

I've used this relay it not water proof

Sweet, thanks. That's a good option if I can't find that 60amp relay / harness in the FZJ80 chassis I have sitting out back.

- Brian

 

[Zjohnsonua]

Here's the relay i was talking about. Its a hoss. Supplies the 60A electric HVAC heater in 4th gen 4runner and GX470.

 

[cruisermatt]

I might need to get one of your kits...I noticed recently that my pass. side mount has created a small divot in the frame, so I need to address that at some point.

Any reason it wouldn't work with my motor being 7" forward than usual (due to the Ranger OD)...?

And yeah, I think that dent was inevitable...but I've done so well avoiding it until now!!

...

One thing I'm super excited about: I thought I kept the OEM tail light lenses off my wife's FJ62 that we sold last year, but I wasn't sure where they were. Found them in my stash tonight, and the pass. side one is in great shape.

I've also worked on the dent a little, and it's coming out OK. A new marker light and I should be able to live with it (for now).

- Brian

You're welcome to a un-welded set if you want to hold them up underneath and get an idea if they'll work for you or not, I'm not sure if my frame plates will fit in that spot on the frame. They are the whole height of the frame rail for exactly that reason, to prevent the frame rail face from caving in.

I had the exact same issue with my old setup ( my similar bushing type setup only lasted three years but was a softer rubber), caved in frame rail, either way get on it fast, running without any isolation is how you break stuff. In my case it ended up being the entire passenger side mount ripped completely off the frame on the Rubicon last year

 

[cruisermatt]

Here's the relay i was talking about. Its a hoss. Supplies the 60A electric HVAC heater in 4th gen 4runner and GX470.

these relays are super nice and can be found in all the newer Toyota's 2000-up. A lot of them have a nice double holder as well. I have the double holder from a 4th Gen 4runner to eventually re-do my fuel/ignition wiring

 

[Elbert]

sucks on the right rear damage, same thing happened to me,

 

[orion]

sucks on the right rear damage, same thing happened to me,

Yeah, like Matt said...if you're wheeling a 60, it's almost bound to happen at some point! Does suck, though.

I am working the dent out - Made a little progress the other day, and got the tail light lens put on:

New motor mount bushings will be here this afternoon, and I have a new OEM marker light on the way (from eBay), so it's all coming together.

...

I also took a look at the 80-series chassis / wiring last night...and the ABS (TRAC) relay (there are 2 together) from under the hood look to be fused at 60amp, so that might be a nice relay setup to use for my main e-fan and the condenser fan.

Might start with that, see how it does.

- Brian

 

[pbob]

Alright - As mentioned in my last update, I've been having fuel supply/delivery issues again. Decided it was finally time to drop the tank, see what was really going on.

The short history is: Fuel injectors got completely plugged at GSMTR 2019, and I cleaned them out, replaced filters, and flushed the system...and all was well until November 2019. Went on a club ride with the HOT South guys, and it was pinging under heavy load (?). Fuel pump pre-filter was full of trash, AGAIN, and the main filter caught a bunch of debis...but the injectors and fuel rails were still full of really fine debris. I flushed it out and replaced both filters again, AND replaced the fuel hard lines with stainless (looking in the tank through the sending unit hole..it looked just fine inside).

But, here we are again...pre filter getting dirtier by the mile:

View attachment 2643077

It's a really fine debris, feels like sand...and is non-metallic. Doesn't appear to be rust.

So, I have to find the source - Tank is coming out. I hooked up an extra fuel pump to the feed line, and pumped the remaining 5gal into a gas can. Here's how that looked:

View attachment 2643086

That's a lot of sediment / debris / fine particles!!!

So, got the tank out on Saturday afternoon and washed the exterior (lots of mud and dirt collects up there!) -->

View attachment 2643091

Looking in through the fill hole, expecting to find a rusty mess...and all I can see is clean metal and a pile of that black crap that's clogging everything:

View attachment 2643092

...

So, now my line of thought is "let's just clean it all out", rather than "3 gal of Evaporust is gonna be like $100"...hehe.

... (to be continued, below) ...

Carbon canister failure?

 

[orion]

^^^ Could have been, but I think I would have had issues from that years ago (this truck hasn't had a carbon canister connected in +9 years...).

...

So I received my new motor mount bushings last week. If anyone else decides to use these 'Speedway Motors' LS swap mounts, the specs for the bushings are 1.5" OD, 3/4" ID...I found that a set from a Jeep YJ (leaf spring bushings) work.

Was a lot of fun to put these in, let me tell you...but I got it done. Drivers side had nothing but the metal sleeve left, pass. side had part of the bushings left:

And new black ones installed:

Test drove the truck, backed it into the garage to address the fan relay and wiring...and came out to a puddle of coolant. Water pump weep hole leak. I guess better to have it fail at home than at Windrock!

So I ordered a new AC Delco water pump and swapped that out this past weekend. So easy on anything LS-based...o-ring style gaskets make it simple/fast.

Then decided to take the truck and my daughters out to the state forest to see if we could get muddy. Didn't really find anything worthwhile, but we did see some wildlife (deer and turkeys)...and it's always nice to be out in the woods:

That's all I've got for now...

- Brian

 

[Slickrick]

I really enjoy this build. im up in valdosta, so probably not far from you. me and matt are friends on facebook and talk pretty often. i have a fj60 im about to start on as my 80 series is getting close! I stole your idea on the ac condencer and ordered that same setup. i think it will cool better and be easier to adapt! keep up the good work!

 

[orion]

^^^ Late reply, but thanks!

...

Figured I'd give my yearly post-Mardi Krawl update:

The short version: Truck did great (one little hiccup, details below), I didn't get any damage, and a good time was had by all...!

Did have to replace a caliper right before leaving (was dragging on the rotor, frozen pistons). The NAPA warranty worked great, for once!

Didn't take too many photos of my truck this year, but here's a couple pics from the beginning of "Lucky's Trail" -->

...

I did have an issue on Friday afternoon/evening. Truck had no power, was stumbling a little at idle...felt JUST like when the injectors were clogged. So I set to work on Saturday morning (admittedly, with a slight hangover) and pulled the fuel rails. There was a tiny bit of debris in them (could have been left over from before, I didn't clean them after cleaning the tank), but not NEARLY enough to cause an issue. Put it all back together, and there was no change (WTF?).

And I did have a code, P0200 (never had that pop up, even with the past injector trouble).

Here's where my fuzzy head comes into play - I should have been expecting an electrical issue because of the problem code. Had I thought it through, I might have checked other things before just pulling the fuel rails (jumped into that due to past bad experience!).

Turns out, the +12v power to my drivers side injectors was loose (connector had basically fallen off). I wired the drivers and passenger sides independently (did the same with my coils), because I thought it would be helpful in troubleshooting. Turns out, a Vortec will idle almost fine with only 4 working injectors.

Anyway, I simply smashed the female spade connector a little, plugged it back on...and the truck was running perfectly again. DOH!

So, I'm an idiot (and the previous night's fun certainly kept me from being able to think it through!).

Finally, Ray got a good pic of me as we headed out on Saturday:

That's all I got for now. Thanks for reading.

- Brian

 

[cheeze]

Nothing cures a hangover like the lingering smell of fuel all over your hands and clothes. /s

 

[orion]

Wow, it's been nearly 2 years since I posted an update! Nothing much to post, I guess...just been using the truck and doing minor stuff.

I added a cat converter to the exhaust (near the rear, where the 2 sides "Y" together...put it in where the muffler was, and moved the muffler back a few inches). That was a nice change, much less "unburned hydrocarbon" smell out the tailpipe.

Figured I would stop by and post a few pics I downloaded off my phone.

Here's one I really like, it's as artsy as I get:

Just a foggy morning when out for a drive, late 2021 I think.

Next big outing for the 60 was Mardi Krawl in August 2022. Just wheeled and hung out with friends, didn't really take any good pics -->

(parked up by the pavillion at Hawk Pride)

Decided to do GSMTR this year. Took my wife and kids, so I was doing day trip stuff around the area plus wheeling in between...so no night ride shennanigans or anything crazy.

Grabbed one decent pic of the rig on Trail 11 -->

Anyway, as I mentioned...really nothing to share, otherwise. Vortec continues to run perfectly, and the truck does everything I ask of it.

- Brian

 

[AKHerms]

Wow, it's been nearly 2 years since I posted an update! Nothing much to post, I guess...just been using the truck and doing minor stuff.

I added a cat converter to the exhaust (near the rear, where the 2 sides "Y" together...put it in where the muffler was, and moved the muffler back a few inches). That was a nice change, much less "unburned hydrocarbon" smell out the tailpipe.

Figured I would stop by and post a few pics I downloaded off my phone.

Here's one I really like, it's as artsy as I get:
View attachment 3371713

Just a foggy morning when out for a drive, late 2021 I think.

Next big outing for the 60 was Mardi Krawl in August 2022. Just wheeled and hung out with friends, didn't really take any good pics -->

View attachment 3371714
(parked up by the pavillion at Hawk Pride)

Decided to do GSMTR this year. Took my wife and kids, so I was doing day trip stuff around the area plus wheeling in between...so no night ride shennanigans or anything crazy.

Grabbed one decent pic of the rig on Trail 11 -->

View attachment 3371715

Anyway, as I mentioned...really nothing to share, otherwise. Vortec continues to run perfectly, and the truck does everything I ask of it.

- Brian

2025! Any updates with the 60?

Awesome thread btw. I binge read it!

Is there anything you would do differently? Other than maybe clean the tank and put new hard fuel lines on . Do you think a Holey Terminator X would work well for this application?

Thank you!

 

[ceylonfj40nut]

I really enjoyed reading through your build. Thanks for sharing the good, the bad, and the ugly. Learned a few things. Love the two tone steelies. Working on a copper 60 build at the moment and trying to figure out a two tone combo for copper body color

 

[Elbert]

Good thread...I saw a new note pop up. I'll probably run my 5.7 until something explodes or starts knocking and wants to escape. I think on my slug....I'll do an automatic transmission next time.