Skills Used: Welding & other Metal Work, Practical Engineering, Problem Solving
Project Dates: ~2012-2017, but continuing improvement
Additional Documentation Available: Yes, pictures and physical product
I bought my 1967 Toyota FJ40 Landcruiser shortly after graduating High School, and within a year or so pulled the failing Toyota 2F inline 6 out with the lofty goal of replacing it with a Detroit/GM 6.2L V8 diesel. This snowballed rapidly however, as the shear size of the engine necessitated massive changes to basically everything under the hood.
Project Summary:
This Project introduced me to automotive engineering. Prior to this, I had not tried to make anything or really modify a vehicle, only repair. When I started, I had no idea it would be so involved, but as it turned out, putting a large, V8 turbo diesel into a small area was extremely challenging. This project pre-dates any college courses and was right out of High School.
- Designed and fabricated my own motor mounts, specifically to be able to use stock GM motor mount bushings, as well as to make them fully removable for ease of removing or installing the engine. Neither of these things was offered in any aftermarket mounts.
- Because the engine was so large, the stock steering shaft and box had to be removed. This required using a newer column as well. I used a steering box from an International Scout II after determining that it would fit in an ideal location that would allow the steering shaft to clear the exhaust manifold, as well as put the pitman arm in a nearly perfect position for the connection to the steering knuckles. This resulted in near perfect steering angles, added power steering, and kept the box inside the engine compartment, unlike the common Saginaw conversion on FJ40’s which uses a Chevy truck steering box and locates it in front of the grill. It took many hours of research on box styles and thinking to figure out what boxes could work and how to make one fit.
- In addition to the steering relocation, the battery also had to be relocated due to lack of space in the engine bay. I selected under the driver’s seat as the position, which required fabricating a new battery box and building it into the floor to give enough clearance for two full size truck batteries – required for a large diesel.
- Many other things had to be relocated, modified, or made to make this happen, such as the transmission mount and cross member, relocating shifter brackets, making the hydro boost brake booster from a Chevy truck fit in a Toyota, wiring, radiator support modification, the list is nearly endless. Almost nothing was left untouched to make this happen.
Project Results:
This whole process ended up taking almost 6 years. I had to move several times during the project, had numerous other projects crop up in between, and of course it ended up being a lot more than just an engine swap. The swap generally works well, and I have now put roughly 35,000 miles on it. However, there are some issues I am still working out that driving it has shown. I have now been through many iterations of a cooling system – larger radiators, different fan setups, etc. – but am still fighting a heat issue. These engines are known for heat issues even in stock applications, but my thought was that as large of a radiator as stock would not be required (and is not physically possible in an FJ40) due to the greatly reduced weight of the vehicle. However, the aerodynamics seem to be so bad as to be comparable to a full-size square body Chevy pickup, making the power required at highway speed comparable. The engine tends to run hot down the highway, but generally ok elsewhere. It has not overheated, but it is an issue that needs to be solved or I will be forced to swap an easier to cool engine in its place. Luckily, the engine mounts and transmission bellhousing patterns are the same as any small block Chevy or even an LS (with motor mount adapters that are commercially available).
Billings, MT 
Lookout Point Lake, OR
All the work finally paid off though, and I was able to take it on a nearly 3,200mi road trip – almost without problems. Unfortunately the transmission locked up after pumping all of it’s fluid into the transfer case just 70mi from home after over 3,100mi. I tracked this problem down to a design flaw in the adapter made by Advance Adapters and a problem with my transfer case casting. Most people will likely not notice this problem as most don’t drive an FJ40 at 75mph cross-country, among other things. The next part will cover the fixes and other upgrades / updates.