77' RN28L 2JZ-GE Swap

Discussion in '1976-1983 Build-Up/Project Threads' started by TurboIS_DJ, Dec 15, 2015.

  1. TurboIS_DJ

    TurboIS_DJ Newbie

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    Hey guys, new to the forum.

    I recently purchased a 77' Pickup with the intentions of swapping a 2jz-ge into it. I've had the 2jz driveline for almost 2 years now just sitting and was going to just sell it but I needed another project in my life lol. The driveline is out of my 2003 Lexus IS300 which had gotten a 2JZ-GTE with a V161 swapped into it a few years back and is currently making a little over 800whp.

    Here are some pictures of the truck from the previous owner.
    [​IMG]
    [​IMG]

    A couple shots on the trailer when I purchased it. I had to put the 18's off of my Lexus on the truck to just raise it enough to get it on the trailer. I wasn't sure how I felt about the way it looked with them on it, but the previous owner thought it looked great.
    [​IMG]
    [​IMG]

    I unfortunately didn't have the truck long before ripping the driveline out of it, so I didn't get a chance to take to many pictures of it. It was sitting on a Mighty Max lowering kit front and rear, and it was just too low to be comfortably daily driven. With the extra weight of the 2jz in it I knew there is no way it would work being that low. So I went through the suspension before I ripped the driveline out. I put stock Mighty Max springs up front with 67' Camaro shocks and removed the middle leaf in the rear and added some air adjust struts. It rides a million times better now! Couldn't be happier.

    After driving it for a week with the new suspension the truck started having fueling issues and was cutting out under load (big hills), I suspected the pump was dying anyways with the weird noises it was making. So I decided to park it for the winter and begin the transplant. Ripping the stock 20r out went smoothly, this originally was a California truck and not one nut or bolt was rusted. Pretty surprising for a 40 year old Toyota!

    20r coming out! Definitely a tight fit pulling the engine and trans together, the oil pan barely cleared the upper radiator support.
    [​IMG]

    I spent a couple nights prepping the 2j before dropping it in. I deleted the PS and AC, swapped to a rear sump oil pan and deleted some other minor things. I ended up using cheapo CX Racing swap mounts off of ebay, they are technically for a later generation with a 22re but I figured a 20r and 22re have very similar blocks, maybe the mounts will work. Otherwise I was going to have to fabricate some, but fortunately they worked!

    2jz going in!
    [​IMG]

    It was definitely interesting dropping it in with the trans, I didn't think it'd be possible but we gave it a shot and pulled it off. Ended up having to take the harmonic balancer off just to get enough clearance to wedge in there.

    Its a tight fit but it sits in there nicely!
    [​IMG]

    I had considered swapping tail housings off of the w50 onto my w55 (if its even possible) so that the shifter would be farther forward and I'd be able to possibly use the original trans mount. This would have also allowed for the engine to sit a little farther back, but we ended up making do with the original w55. The way it sits, the crank pulley is maybe a quarter inch from the radiator, but I think it will be fine. I'll have to figure out a pusher fan or two down the road.
    [​IMG]

    So far I've finished the custom trans crossmember, the fuel system, heater core hoses, radiator hoses, and some other minor things. I've still got to figure out a throttle cable (will be tricky with the original throttle linkage setup), the wiring, exhaust, intake, shortened driveshaft and LOTS of little things.

    I've also been slowly tackling the interior, I bought new carpet, some junkyard Del Sol seats, recovered the dash, and will be making new door panels. I also built a custom sub box, center console arm rest setup that I'll have to take pictures of. I ordered $1k worth of car audio to stuff in the cab (black friday deals) and will be running a 6.5" component setup with two 8" subs in the center console. I'll get some progress pictures of the interior soon, its been slow going lol.
     
    grassfed and Arodmod like this.
  2. Perkolator

    Perkolator Toyotaholic

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    wowzers! awesome project! definitely interested in seeing the final results on this one
     
  3. jetas

    jetas Grand Toyotaholic

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    How difficult is the wiring for the 2JZ. And what are doing about the emissions crap if any. Im really interested in what you got going on. Post up some details if you can bro
     
  4. TurboIS_DJ

    TurboIS_DJ Newbie

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    Well my 2j had the complete engine wiring harness on it still. I also had the ECU out of a parts IS300 I have, I had to get the key fob and immobilizer from the parts car as well.

    The wiring will be pretty simple really since the pickup is so old lol. The IS ECU will be throwing cat codes but that won't throw it into open loop so I'm not too concerned. I could probably run a cat if I really wanted to, but there is no emissions testing in Iowa.

    As far as the speedo goes, the IS ECU must see a speedo signal for the DBW to work properly. I was going to source a speedo sensor that also works with a cable from jagsthatrun.com but for now I'm just going to use my Greddy infometer plugged into an OBD 2 harness that I'll wire into the ECU. It datastreams up to 6 different signals at once such as tach, speedo, temp, fuel trims, etc.

    I would like to have the original speedo working and will probably get the adapter from jagsthatrun eventually.
     
  5. TurboIS_DJ

    TurboIS_DJ Newbie

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    Finished my center console sub box last night. There will be two 8" subwoofers firing out the back. Ironically the airspace of the sub box ended up being almost exactly what the manufacturer recommends.
    [​IMG]
     
  6. jetas

    jetas Grand Toyotaholic

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    Looks good. Hows it look in the truck?
     
  7. Henry

    Henry Enthusiast

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    This build is going to be amazing.
     
  8. TurboIS_DJ

    TurboIS_DJ Newbie

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    Haven't been able to get much done on the truck unfortunately. Between work and the cold temperatures we've been having, not a lot has gotten done. I've also been in the process of trying to buy a new home and it's been time consuming.

    I did get the throttle cable done and intake figured out.

    After test fitting the new carpet I bought multiple times I ended up cutting it too narrow haha. *facepalm*
    I'll have to get some black trim to run along the edges to hide that.
     
  9. jetas

    jetas Grand Toyotaholic

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    Just paint the floor black and itl hide the booboo haha
     
  10. Tuhd The Troll

    Tuhd The Troll Veteran

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    Cut the carpet where the middle of each seat is, and put a stripe of a different color in there
     
  11. Perkolator

    Perkolator Toyotaholic

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    ^THIS. I did this on my old Datsun center hump because carpet I bought was too short once it bent over the hump -- simply left a gap in middle and covered it with center console to hide it. I suppose trim strip on the sides is just as simple too, not sure what you'd use though.
     
  12. TurboIS_DJ

    TurboIS_DJ Newbie

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    Might have to try that... it's been sitting in my warm house for a few weeks now with some weight on it trying to flatten it out a bit to make it wider. So we'll see it might work how it is.

    Not much progress, been on the road for a week for work. Before I left, I did throw on my new 10" shifter extension though just to see where it lands. I can almost shift every gear with my pinky and keeping my thumb on the wheel haha. Love it!
    View attachment 16109
     

    Attached Files:

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  13. Sk1dmark

    Sk1dmark Enthusiast

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    Awesome build man! Did you have to do anything to the firewall to get the 2J to fit?
     
  14. jetas

    jetas Grand Toyotaholic

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    Any updates on the build up?
     
  15. BlackRN80

    BlackRN80 Newbie

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    Is it possible to get some pics of the oil pan clearance from beneath the truck? I'm gathering parts and a rear sump pan has surfaced. Did you use the 88-97 or the 95-04 motor mounts? I'm doing the same thing with a R-154 and MS3. Truck looks awesome!
     
    Last edited: Jun 27, 2016
  16. skaterat

    skaterat Member

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    I bet this will be one badass yota!
     
  17. Dan smith

    Dan smith Newbie

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    Wat gear box u running behind it. Have u done any modification to the trans tunnel.
     
  18. Dante trevino

    Dante trevino Newbie

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    Any updates on the truck, love to see what it has become after some years.
     
  19. RuJew

    RuJew Newbie

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    Travis: it wont even fire. and back when we did have it runnin like i said it wouldnt idle

    Dave: We had the carb off and cleand it when i was working on it earlier this year
     
  20. Erwin Merida

    Erwin Merida Toyotaholic

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    This thread definitely needs some updates! Hope he didn't get ride of it
     
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