V8 4x4 Build | 40 Series Engine Swap | Ep 4 [OFF THE RECORD]

FJ40 vs BJ42. Same same, but different?

The J40, or simply 40 Series Landcruisers are probably best known via the FJ40-45 models which predominantly came with 4.2 litre straight six Toyota 2F engine, or another F series variant. Our project here is a BJ40 series (BJ42 specifically) that is fitted with the mighty Toyota 3B, a 3.4 litre inline 4 diesel engine producing a massive 90hp at 3,500rpm. While it is a great little engine, it is lacking in performance and old mechanical setups are outside of HPA's normal area of expertise or interest. This means the 3B will be removed shortly in favour of something with better performance and drivability since this is a vehicle that will see regular highway miles.

The idea for this truck is to perform a restomod on it. You can expect to see the exterior remain pretty much original but under the bonnet, it will be repowered with something more modern to make the truck drive more like a modern vehicle. This truck won’t be taken the way a lot of people have gone, for example installing small block Chevs or performing LS1/LS2 conversions and instead, it will remain in the Toyota family via having a 1UZFE, the variable valve timing model, swap.

Power-wise, we aren’t looking for a lot and the 1UZ's stock 250 to 300 horsepower is going to be plenty. A 5-speed gearbox will also be installed so that at 90kph it’s not screaming at high RPM on the open road, as great as that would sound.

If you’ve ever driven one of these older trucks, you’ll know that they don’t drive that nicely with the leaf-sprung front and rear suspension. To improve this, a coil-over conversion will be done on all four corners. Again, further modernizing it so that it's a pleasure and not a chore to use.

So far the only changes that have been made are the wheels and tires. It now has a set of 17x8.5 Fifteen52 turbo blocks along with a set of 285/70/17 BF Goodrich tires which have thrown what little fuel economy there was further into the distance.

While it’s not our normal performance car, these trucks have a huge following and are part of popular culture in many countries around the world due to their reliability, capability plus the mass production of a design that wasn't hugely altered for many years didn't hurt either. Although partially restored the 40 still has a fair amount of work to be done, but as with everything, we had to start somewhere.

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