Ok... Where do I start...

[Skilter]

I am fascinated by these vehicles. I have an old FJ60 and I want to put some money into it, but after looking at these, I am seriously thinking about looking into getting one of these and selling the old Land Cruiser. So...

Where do I start? Can you do an engine/transmission swap and get this thing up to speed on the highway (aka 65 mph or over... I have read some things about engine swaps on these)? What would it usually cost? Just curious... What are the pro's and cons of these vehicles in the modern age? (I have read all the "historical" sites.)

I know this is a vague question and really thank you in advance for your answers... there is just not much on the web about these really cool vehicles!

Skilter from Dallas, Tx.

[randyscycle]

Hit the search function at the top of the page and about any of the questions you asked are discussed in detail.

As far as cool and fun? You bet! The 715's are all of that. One warning though. If you get one, you'll be shopping for more green iron in no time.

Oh, and welcome to the madness.

[k8icu]

Welcome,

Yes an engine and transmission and transfer case can be swapped. Do a search like Randy said and you'll see hundreds of combinations. Remember that these are 40 year old army trucks. They were never built for comfort, for listening to tunes, and talking on a cell phone. They were made for war. To haul troops and weapons/ammo to the battle and to take the wounded back to safety and healing. They are cool, but your not going to get a ride like a brand new f-150. Just something to keep in mind.

[Skilter]

understood K8icu... neither is my 84 TLC. I grew up driving on a willys jeep so I can kinda get the jist. I am a fan of 6 cylinder engines in vehicles like this... my TLC has 280,000 on it and runs strong. I just really like green iron that can maybe do 70 mph. I will look under Randy and see what I can find on that end. What about parts availability?

[gimpyrobb]

I just really like green iron that can maybe do 70 mph. What about parts availability?

70mph will require a motor, trans, t-case, and axle swap. Parts are everywhere.

[randyscycle]

What about parts availability?

Vintage Power Wagons

Memphis Equipment

Saturn Surplus

A B Linn

Just to name a few.....Most stuff is still out there. A few parts are tough to find, but all in all, nothing is impossible to find.

[MarknessMonster]

70mph will require a motor, trans, t-case, and axle swap. Parts are everywhere.

Technically, 65mph would only require an axle ratio in the 3.23 range. The M715 motor and tranny are great, the t-case is a bit aged, but good, so the limiting factor in high speeds is simply the axle gear ratio. It may be foolish to put such axles with a high ratio in an M715, so forget the M truck and stick with the rice-burners for 65mph!

Seriously writing, 65mph can be had with a 5 speed transmission transplant and 39" tires, even with the 5.89 ratio. With that, one would likely see 80mph at high rpm's.

By the way, my little sister has an '84 TLC with 150,000 miles on it that has sat out back in the woods for 10 years, because it's been broken down and needing odd parts like a typical japanese import. So, I laughed a bit when I read your post, as it appeared that you were proud of your little rice-burner. You must be one of the lucky one's to get that kind of mileage out of a jap import. Meanwhile, I've got 2 similar SUV type USA made products that are running 300,000 plus, and are daily drivers, which is why I chuckled a little at your initial post.


Remember where you live.

[randyscycle]

[QUOTE=MarknessMonster;76773] So, I laughed a bit when I read your post, as it appeared that you were proud of your little rice-burner. You must be one of the lucky one's to get that kind of mileage out of a jap import.

QUOTE]

Funny....

Sounds more like a reluctance to repair what will break on any vehicle, rather than a quality issue.

I've had much better luck out of anything from Japan than any of the offerings from Detroit. I'd buy more American if they made something worth buying. Several Datsuns, Hondas and Toyotas have given me 200,000 mileas without any real issues other than normal breakage that any vehicle suffers.

My 99 Dodge full size van is OK, but at 14 MPG, the size, the noise inside going down the road, and the general need for regular re-installing of the parts that vibrate off it, its a total pain.

My 97 Jeep Grand Cherokee had regular XJ brakes installed under a 700 lb heavier vehicle and was expected to stop.

My Full size 89 Ford F-150 was a total turd that couldn't pull anything over a 4X8 utility trailer or stop it either.

My full size 91 Chevy 2500 pickup was supposed to be 4WD and heavy-duty. With the tiny independent axle shafts up front, it was anything but. The lethargic 350 in it was OK unless you added a couple of passengers and a trailer, then it was struggling to get to highway speed.

The Dodge full size pickups with the Cummins 6BT were OK, but after Daimler got a hand in things, you could hear yourself think in the truck again.

And to top it all off, I will never again own anything manufactured by Oldsmobile.....wait, they stopped making them in 01 or so.......I walked more than drove my 88 Calais. The check engine light was a permanent fixture on the dash.....

My 715 is American, but that was when American-made actually meant something. Even your "American car" is sourced from all over the planet....

[brute4c]

The stock tcase doesnt like to turn more than 2700-2800 rpms for any length of time before it gets TOO hot to survive...that is the limiting factor to high speed in stock form.

To put in 3.23 gears, one would have to do more than swap gears...the case wont fit numerically lower than 4.56...then you get into different offsets on the ring gear and other problems, like wheel bolt pattern change on one axle necessitating it to happen on the other or carry 2 different spare rims...

One could use 3.73 gears and run roughly 2580 rpms with stock everything else at 70 MPH...3.9 gears would be 2698 rpms at 70 MPH...possible with the NP200 yet.


3.23 gears would really hurt low end gearing for off road...max ratio would drop from over 73 to 1 to 40 to 1 in 1st gear/low range.


Personally I think running a nv241 tcase or similiar with a wider low range and an overdrive gear in the trans and a better axle ratio is the way to go to have the low end and top ends be best for offroad and on.

[randyscycle]

I am stock from the transfer case back, (running a 396 Chevy and a TH400) and with 38" TSL's I can run for about 45 minutes at 55 before my transfer case temp gets up to 220 degrees. After that, it will climb higher pretty fast.

Transfer case speed would slow down with a gear change, but I figure it'd be a band-aid, as the heat issue would most likely still crop-up, just later on.