Land Cruiser drive line under Series III?

[abosely]

I don't mean to be sacrilegious by asking this question. But I may be able to get a 73' Series III in good shape for cheap. I have all the components for a Land Cruiser drive line.

So wondered about the feasibility of putting the axles, diffs, transfer case & transmission under the Series III and maybe using a 3B diesel?

Can center the rear axle and make WMS to WMS the correct width for front and rear LC axles or even get a front and rear axle housings from Ruff Stuff with the correct diff offset if the LC housings can't be made to line up correctly. Would use RCV custom length 30 spline axles.

Is this feasible? I know it will require fabrication that's not an issue. But some things just aren't practical or realistic and even when finished just won't work right.

But from what I understand a Toyota 3B can fit in a 4 cylinder Series III engine bay and if the transmission & transfer case isn't to long, I would think this would work.

I have the LC components for a BJ40 build including building a custom frame. But since this Series III is available, thought about possibly grafting the LC drive line under it.

Input & thoughts?


Cheers, Allen

 

[454]

Anything is possible if you throw enough hundred-dollar bills at it. That being said, some projects make more sense than others.

I recall a Series 88 that had a 327ci engine from a Corvette. It was a beast that just crawled all over the Rubicon on 35's or 37's; I don't recall which.

 

[Elbee]

It has been done before

 

[LR Max]

It has been done before. Which cruiser? I'd say put series 80/minitruck/the standard Toyota Axles under it.

 

[Toy-Roverlander]

Yes it can be done, and has been done before. My 109 has a 3B turbo intercooler and cruiser driveline, as does the 109 of a mate of mine. The 3B fits well in the engine compartment of a Series. It's a bit annoying that the exhaust is on the RHS of the engine but it's not hard to work around that.

I've used the 4speed H41 gearbox with the Orion transfercase. It's quite a short combination. You do have to move the gearbox crossmember.

I'd say, do it! It's the driveline the land rover should have come with from the factory.

 

[abosely]

Well, I decided to go for it! Went over and looked at it this afternoon, only a half mile from my place. It's a 3-72' Series LHD, gas, has the double roof with the second piece of roof over the main roof. I believe that is called the Safari roof?.

The fella that owned it before was a friend of my neighbors and had a marine repair shop. He was going to take it to Oregon to use on his farm there when he was finished rebuilding it. Has a stack of $3600 receipts of just new parts he put on it or has parts for it. Stripped down to frame, might be a new frame, don't know yet but it is perfect. New SS brake lines, brakes, steering components, pretty much rebuilt the running gear from what I understand.

Then the poor guy went through a divorce and got cancer! So my neighbor got it, now I'm getting it for thousand dollars. A bit of rust on hinges, doors & such but he bulkhead appears good.

I have no visions of everything being in good shape. It's a 44 year old LR. So will be completely rebuilt using Land Cruiser axles, rear converted to FF/discs with Ruff Stuff disc brackets, RCV axles front & rear, split LC 16" rims, Orion TC, H41 trans & rebuilt 3B diesel with GTurbo and intercooler.

Compared to building the frame for a 24" stretched FJ40 using the same drive line & 14B Diesel engine plus all the tub repairs, this shouldn't be much more difficult. I won't be able to do anything with it till August, but have time to do a bit of research on the project.

Once I get started I'll do a build thread.

Cheers, Allen

 

[abosely]

Well, I decided to go for it! Went over and looked at it this afternoon, only a half mile from my place. It's a 3-72' Series LHD, gas, has the double roof with the second piece of roof over the main roof. I believe that is called the Safari roof?.

The fella that owned it before was a friend of my neighbors and had a marine repair shop. He was going to take it to Oregon to use on his farm there when he was finished rebuilding it. Has a stack of $3600 receipts of just new parts he put on it or has parts for it. Stripped down to frame, might be a new frame, don't know yet but it is perfect. New SS brake lines, brakes, steering components, pretty much rebuilt the running gear from what I understand.

Then the poor guy went through a divorce and got cancer! So my neighbor got it, now I'm getting it for thousand dollars. A bit of rust on hinges, doors & such but he bulkhead appears good.

I have no visions of everything being in good shape. It's a 44 year old LR. So will be completely rebuilt using Land Cruiser axles, rear converted to FF/discs with Ruff Stuff disc brackets, RCV axles front & rear, split LC 16" rims, Orion TC, H41 trans & rebuilt 3B diesel with GTurbo and intercooler.

Compared to building the frame for a 24" stretched FJ40 using the same drive line & 14B Diesel engine plus all the tub repairs, this shouldn't be much more difficult. I won't be able to do anything with it till August, but have time to do a bit of research on the project.

Once I get started I'll do a build thread.

Cheers, Allen

 

[abosely]

Well crap, how do I delete the double post? Sorry guys.

Cheers, Allen

 

[Toy-Roverlander]

Good to hear you're going for it! You'll enjoy it heaps when finished. I do have one question, why spending heaps on a Gturbo (which model btw) when there's a ton of info on cheaper, good alternatives around (www.ih8mud.com, diesel section). The pump doesn't put out a lot of fuel, and the IDI head has its limitations.