FJ62 LS Swap - Lone Star Sleeper - Stoffregen Motorsports

[buffy]

What's awesome for you Matt, is now you know a little bit about these 6 speeds and you also have a great contact in Jim. I can't imagine how frustrating it was for you to get bit so bad by a cavalier vendor.

No one has really been willing to call out Tilden Motorsports on this deal, but I will. They basically pawned off a transmission as something backed by their name without even checking one damn thing. Then they pointed the finger at Matt when it turned out to be a turd. They suck. Powerfully. Profoundly. If they were standup, they'd write a check for the rebuilds and lost labor. But they SUCK!! T-I-L-D-E-N sucks. There.

 

[Stoffregen Motorsports]

How does that old wine cooler commercial go? Thank you for your support.

 

[JunkManTX]

Report from the front line. Enjoyed a brief but memorable stop at the Texas Toyota Jamboree. Generally a Tacoma and fj Cruiser fiesta, but was fun to get off road and visit with fellow enthusiast. All amazed at Matt’s work and attention to detail. It’s a pretty unique feeling to be off road and then moments later screaming down the highway. Wildly capable, stout and well sorted out vehicle.

 

[Stoffregen Motorsports]

Glad you're out there enjoying it.

 

[wisco83]

Amazing work you are doing! I am in the middle of my fj62 vortec conversation and was wondering if you can help clear something up for me. I ended using a fitech harness and ecu. The question I have might be stupid but, can I completely eliminate the Toyota ecu? There are two strands of wires plugging into the Toyota ecu that are not running to the engine bay. Sorry if this is a dumb question but not sure entirely.

 

[Stoffregen Motorsports]

I believe we have already connected through email, but yes, you can defintely get rid of the Toyota ECU and all associated electronics. In fact, so much of the OEM Toyota becomes defunct after the swap that I am considering building a completely new harness for these swaps.

 

[LuisGW]

Have you had any issues with the NSS not making on the H55F trans? I am ready to start my new LS but the NSS won't make? It is tucked up under the sheet metal where it is going to be a bear to pull it out to check if switch is faulty.

 

[Stoffregen Motorsports]

Have you had any issues with the NSS not making on the H55F trans? I am ready to start my new LS but the NSS won't make? It is tucked up under the sheet metal where it is going to be a bear to pull it out to check if switch is faulty.

I'm not sure I understand your question. The neutral safety switch on conversions with an auto trans is replicated with custom parts, and I don't run a neutral safety switch on the manual trans conversions.

 

[LuisGW]

I'm not sure I understand your question. The neutral safety switch on conversions with an auto trans is replicated with custom parts, and I don't run a neutral safety switch on the manual trans conversions.

thanks. That really answers my question as my swap is manual.

 

[buffy]

Well, I was driving through the mountains of Colorado last month with my wife and kids, and my wife was admiring an FJ60/62 driving by us. She made the comment that she thinks those are really cool and that she would like to drive one of those for a daily driver. "Well", I said, "I know just the right one." After working things out with the Junkman, I now own this wonderful creation. Plans are simple, she wants the current patina, but with a few creature comforts and updates. I'll be sure to share the progress. Big thanks to Brian and Matt for the vision/hard-work to build this rig.

 

[buffy]

Spent the afternoon working on the 62. The transfer case has leaks, so per Matt's recommendations, I torqued the various bolts per spec. Also added some RTV around the speedo cable to stop some leakage there. It still leaks an itty-bit, but manageably.

I disassembled the front grill to gain access to the lamps. I'm upgrading with conventional lamps for now, with some Cibie euro-spec lamps from Daniel Stern. We can always go LED later if we're not satisfied. Took the time to buff the stainless screw heads, because why not.

I'm currently taking off the chrome bits on the center section to touch up the ABS plastic with some rattle can argent paint. The outer lamp window plastics will be replaced due to peeling.

I'll post pictures later.

 

[buffy]

New chrome trim and Cibie headlights.
Repaired dash. Decent job.

 

[buffy]

Let's work on something simple as some of the other projects are underway. The standard automatic shifter has the funky plastic gates that seem to break. Toyota doesn't make them anymore.



I don't like the plastic gates, so I'll try another familiar 80s solution - the brush gate. I bought a pair of XJS Jaguar Part #CAC2864 brush gates.



I drilled out the plastic welds for the slide plate to gain access to where I wanted to epoxy the gates. I had to remove some bottom material on the slide plate for it to lay down right once the gates were installed.



Then a little epoxy work.



Then back together.



Done.



And installed.

 

[buffy]

Matt and I have discussed over email the absolute frustration he had with the ending of this build. Matt is a detail guy. I share this OCD attribute. Typically, some of the most fun is working through the little refinement pieces in making a vehicle truly fun to drive. It's the last 10% of the build, but it's the most important in ultimate driver experience. Without it, all the little problems nag and exhaust you to the point you park the vehicle and walk away. So my efforts moving forward are addressing these little things that Matt would have addressed given the opportunity. Hopefully, I can do his and Brian's vision some justice.

Moving on, with the vehicle in park or just idling at a stoplight, harmonic vibrations permeate the cab noticeably. Hmm. With new rubber body mounts and a smooth running engine, I lean toward motor mounts and exhaust as possible sources. Matt used a great kit from Advance Adapters to locate the LS motor in a tight space. The hockey puck style mounts are hard rubber with steel ends. After handling the rubber, I suspect the durometer for these is around 70A. Its hard stuff. Looking around, there aren't a lot of options for 3" diameter material in a factory-ish 40A durometer. I found a company, Universal Urethane, that sells urethane in various durometers and in different shapes.


My goodness, the shape is a bit suggestive. Using the trusty bandsaw and drill press...



I get these.



Add some washers....



I have a cute little decibel meter that we can measure how different combos affect the vibration profile. Then we'll add a glasspack in front of the muffler and study how our exhaust mounts are behaving. Should be fun.

 

[buffy]

The wifey didn't ask for much with the upgrades, but I decided to pimp out the stereo with this Pioneer headunit. Now she has wireless Apple Carplay and a backup camera.