What to do with this beauty... (1 Viewer)

[Vegemitedundee]

Hi guys ,
I Just bought this beast a week ago.
Here a few pics.
She's mounting a 4.2 petrol 2f with a 3f head.
Engine rebuilt 3 years ago.
She runs beautifully,nice oil pressure and temperature steady between 90-100.
I was going to spend some money and get a power steering on it and then re wire the whole thing properly and change those messy hoses but then had second thoughts.
She will be my d.d. So I was thinking to do an engine swap.
What's your recommendations?
Should I spend some money on this engine ,power steering etc. And run it to the ground or should I get straight on the swap?
Also in case of swap whats your engine reccomendations?
I know that with a LS 1 v8 she would be an absolute beast but still thirsty ,so I am wondering what are cheaper options in terms of swap costs and fuel economy....
Aiming for the look in the last pic...
Thanks

 

[Drake2]

Welcome! Nice purchase......the 1st thing you must do is fix the steering column and the pedals. They are on the wrong side of the vehicle and will surely cause an accident

 

[Vegemitedundee]

That's arguable

 

[YvesNL]

LS1's are expensive, and not a Toyota engine. But the LS1 is readily available, as wel as adapter kits.

Another option:
The Toyota/Lexus 1UZ-FE is cheap, wiring etc can be found on lextreme.com and here.
Dellow makes a bellhousing for certain gearboxes to 1UZ.

I'm in the process of doing this myself (build), I'm swapping in a 1UZ-FE & A340 transmission from a 1995 LS400.

 

[JohnnyC]

With a 3 yr old engine rebuild the last thing I would be thinking is switching out the engine

I have been DD mine for 28+ years on a 1.5F

PS is a big plus
4wheel disc is another
Sorting out the mess of wiring would be priority

 

[Vegemitedundee]

With a 3 yr old engine rebuild the last thing I would be thinking is switching out the engine

I have been DD mine for 28+ years on a 1.5F

PS is a big plus
4wheel disc is another
Sorting out the mess of wiring would be priority

That was my thought ,my only concern is that the guy did rebuild himself so I don'tknow how reliable is the engine.
I suppose I should run a compression test to see how much she still got left in her...
Also with stock engine she should keep more value but damn she's thirsty ...
If I get only half of that out of that 2f I would be stoked...do you get stranded from time to time or u get always from a to b no probs?
Thanks for the advices.

 

[65swb45]

If you are not familiar with the trials and tribulations of year round daily driving a swb 4x4, I STRONGLY recommend you spend a solid year behind the wheel before doing an engine swap.

The honeymoon will be over by then, and you will be more objective about tossing coin on a swap you will never see again.

I counseled one of my oldest friends in the Landcruiser world against a motor swap back in 1990. He had a basically stock ‘74 and we had met wheeling the Rubicon together in ‘89. He was absolutely certain that aV8, power steering and disc brakes were necessary for the ‘truck he was never going to sell.’

I told him the 40 was worth 4K as it sat, and after spending 7k worth of parts and labor, would be worth 4K.

So he did the swap and enjoyed the rig for a couple of years. Then he decided to move, and that the truck no longer suited his needs. I let him post a classified flyer in my shop. Asking price 9k.

Three weeks later he calls and asks me to scratch the 9 and make it an8. Two more weeks, scratch the 8 for a 7. One more scratch and he’s gone.

A year later I see the truck rolling down the road in a nearby town. Chase it down, and of course the new owner is wary, no idea who I am. I give him the readers digest version of the story and ask him what he paid.

4K.

 

[JohnnyC]

most times i ever 'broke down' it was never 'the' engine that kept me from using it

most notably was when my brake line went out and i just barely avoided an accident... another time I rolled on the highway at 65mph (hit some dude's tire and rim that came off his full size bronco) and another time was ign switch that technically i could have fixed ...but... wife just brought me to work because she could lol .... not bad for over 28 years as a DD

that time i bypassed my switch and i got the truck home after work

you would need to keep spares... like any offroad truck

the cruiser has been the most reliable truck/car i've owned... i had broke down MANY times in my 73' triumph... my 79' Cherokee had some duzies as well.

old engines are much easier to 'fix' as issues arise... fuel - air - spark ... and usually its a simple fix

 

[Vegemitedundee]

It's a tough one...
My heart tells me keep it ,my brain swap it.
I never had a cruiser before but a couple of holden hr utes before and I had monthly headaches for stuff going wrong.
If I decide to go for a swap I would keep all the originals to go with it ....even if I WILL NEVER SELL IT! .
Given the advices I will keep the 2f for a year and se if we still buddies then...
I guess I will still do a PS conversion or hit the gym a lot harder .
And also disc brakes but only front.
As someone suggested I will start tiding up those wires even If I don't know where to start.
The old owner did a lot of mods that make the truck more reliable but geez she's a mess.
For a start I would like to switch to a 2 battery system , one for engine and one for accessories.
Then tide up and re wire neatly and try to get all the dash original dials working again. Only one working atm is fuel gauge.
Last but not least will look into add 2nd tank as I only have a 55 lt under my bum(do fj40 have original dials for 2nd tank?).
Any suggestions and links welcome.
Cheers guys.

 

[Vegemitedundee]

Exept for the automatic gearbox this would be juicy

 

[Vegemitedundee]

Exept for the automatic gearbox this would be juicy

And definetly except the bodywork

 

[crimsonaudio]

@65swb45 speaks the truth. Live with it then decide.

 

[Drake2]

It's a tough one...
My heart tells me keep it ,my brain swap it.
I never had a cruiser before but a couple of holden hr utes before and I had monthly headaches for stuff going wrong.
If I decide to go for a swap I would keep all the originals to go with it ....even if I WILL NEVER SELL IT! .
Given the advices I will keep the 2f for a year and se if we still buddies then...
I guess I will still do a PS conversion or hit the gym a lot harder .
And also disc brakes but only front.
As someone suggested I will start tiding up those wires even If I don't know where to start.
The old owner did a lot of mods that make the truck more reliable but geez she's a mess.
For a start I would like to switch to a 2 battery system , one for engine and one for accessories.
Then tide up and re wire neatly and try to get all the dash original dials working again. Only one working atm is fuel gauge.
Last but not least will look into add 2nd tank as I only have a 55 lt under my bum(do fj40 have original dials for 2nd tank?).
Any suggestions and links welcome.
Cheers guys.

Sounds like a great plan!

 

[White Stripe]

Adding fuel injection to the 2f should get you 14mpg or greater in fuel mileage. Not sure what that equals out to in kilometers per liter.

 

[FJBen]

In Australia, no question diesel So much availability down there.

that said I would drive it for awhile, check out and drive other peoples rigs and figure out what you want to do with the rig.
You will never go wrong with better brakes and base lining things to make it more reliable and safer.
There are Probabaly tons of quirks and things that need attention. I have quite the list of little things on mine.

read a ton on here. Lots of us have done this and you can read all about the pros and cons of “upgrades”.
Nice 40.