AdventuReady

Off for our next adventure. (Self identifying as a Bronco this week … Shhhh….)

This is the part I really enjoy, the minutia. All the little things that the bring the whole together and make it something great. Wiring, making sure the swap is seamless and everything works as the factory intended. Cooling, it’s all good until you cant keep it cool. The gm factory cooling fan was sourced and a custom fan shroud was fabricated to make sure all that air was pulled straight through the radiator. The intake was plumbed to the Toyota factory air box. Things are getting close!

Ok, engine and transmission are built! Time for placement. For this application I chose to build my own engine mounts using urethane bushings. This decision allowed me to get the engine placed exactly where I wanted it.

Time for the new hotness! This engine is a 2001 LQ4 6.0L. .020” overbore, stage2 truck cam, speed pro flat top pistons, connecting rods, engine harness. The engine is built with reliability and longevity in mind. The pistons bring the compression up slightly and makes it on par with the LQ9 engine. The cam gives the whole thing a bit more grunt. The rods allow for the upgraded pistons with the later floating pin design and increased strength. Factory GM parts were used everywhere else possible. The engine management is a retuned gm pcm for reliability. Again, the idea behind this is reliability and peace of mind not solely performance.

After the original engine failure, the decision was made to swap a motor with a bit more drivability for a 6,000lb vehicle and the occasional trailer. We sourced a core lq4 6.0L and a core 4L80E transmission. Let the tear down begin! First the supercharger was removed, documented, and packaged up to be traded for the much needed trans/tcase adapter and a few other odds and ends to complete the swap. Then the entire powertrain was removed and the engine bay and frame were cleaned and prepped for the new power plant.

This is what the truck was when we first acquired it in 2019. 2 owner 1994 FZJ80, triple locked and TRD supercharged! It was equipped with an front bumper and an 2” lift. The interior was freshly reupholstered and it was in overall excellent condition with minor sorting to be done to perfect it. Hahaha. 2 day after purchasing it the engine failed pulling a grade with an outback trailer in tow. Let the games begin! When things fail I have a strong belief in “forced upgrades” sometimes it doesn’t make sense to change things unless they fail and when they do there’s no better time to do better.

Well I suppose it’s time to talk about the ADVENTUREADY land cruiser. A year ago I posted images of it from day two of my ownership. During my time with it it has undergone a thorough transformation from super clean well cared for 2 owner truck to a modified LS powered weapon. I have very much enjoyed building and using this cruiser for what it was intended! I am going to post some series of photos documenting what has been done to it to suit our needs. Also, the story of it until now.

Awesome day at the shop! We got this beautiful 135k mile 95 f-350 for some fun upgrades and repairs! Including, stage 1 injectors, up-pipes, a/c rebuild, exhaust brake switch and tuner. What a great driving truck. Word is it may be for sales in the future.

Fall is here! Mountain drives and leaf peeping are in our future!

On Today’s, “Things that go together”

There are adventures to be had both near and far! Just take the time to look for them.

Did someone say rooftop tent? Hahah needs a little more padding but otherwise it worked great!