Outer Limits 4x4 Board

I am in the position of getting a fairly good nick 45 series ute for cheap and I was wondering if there are any gurus on these out there to give us a hand with a few questions.

1. Engine wise, what is the best bang for buck ? I have a mate who has a 308 on gas in his and i have heard of heaps of different engines being shoe horned in. Im going to be using it as a daily driver but its going to need to be able to hand long trips and spin atleast 33's. Is there a preffered engine with mild grunt and good economy ?

2. Suspension. Are coil conversions to hard and expensive, or can some good soft lifted springs coupled with quality shocks and shackles be sufficient for offroading ?

3. Any other dramas that they have had eg. diffs, axels not being able to handle big rubber etc. Rust and body work aint a drama as i am a panel beater.

Thanks in advance.

is the ute petrol of diesel?

I would seriously consider a 12-HT, good power, very good fuel economy, and is a bolt in fit. Any decent engine conversion kit will cost a minimum of $1500.00 without an engine.

A V8 on gas can be reasonable on fuel, but if you want to go to remote locations like Cape York or the NT you wont get gas, some dont even have unleaded.

If you do go gas I would use a factory fuel injected engine, caburettors that are not used for a few months and then have fuel in them tend to leak.

Quality leaf and shocks are fine, coils can be done but are expensive and to be legal will need an engineers certificate in most states.

What engine and trans are in it now? how many k's on the clock?

There is no engine or gear box in it currently mate.

12 ht would be the best good fuel consumption and a tough motor a set of 2 inch lifted springs, shackels and bodylift would be the way to go the coil conversion would be a great idea however i would stay well away from it youl end up goin broke

How much do the 12 HT 's sell for ? What came out in these rigs originally as an oil burner?

As i said i can get it for a really good price so paying a little for an engine is no problem.

Tommy wrote:How much do the 12 HT 's sell for ? What came out in these rigs originally as an oil burner?

As i said i can get it for a really good price so paying a little for an engine is no problem.

origonally came with H and later the 2H.

If your car had a 2H previously, a 12HT will bolt up completely except the exhaust and air pipe might need adjustment.

If it had a 2F or H the engine mounts are different.

12HT good one will cost $4k+

A donor car would be the way to go, sell of all the bits you don't need. Here is a link to a 60 series with a 12-HT on ebay......

http://cgi.ebay.com.au/TOYOTA-LANDCRUIS ... dZViewItem

I've got a 40 series swb with a 4.2 2f motor and an fj45 which had the bog stock 4.0 f motor, but has just been changed to a 2f as well. both are on gas and both turn reasonable sized rubber.

the 40:
runs 35 inch claws, standard 4 speed box and will sit on 110km/h down the highway without any dramas and still be as reasonable as just about any other big 4x4 as far as economy goes.

the 45: with the 4.0L f engine i ran 35's, 38's and now have on some 33's til i can find more height. admittedly, with 38's hills were a killer, but the 35's weren't too bad. again sit around/over 100 clicks down the highway.

the 45 is pretty heavy thanks to the tray on it, but i've also got a pto and a fairly reasonably heavy front bar and a gas tank slung under the back. i'l get around 200 kays to about 40 litres of gas with 33's on.

as far as a petol motor, the 2f has enough poke to get you most places with decent rubber...after all, toyota kept the engine virtually the same from around 1975 to the last of the 60 series...about 15 or so years. being in darwin and wanting to do desert travel i assume? fuel may be hard to find at times which is where long range tanks come into their own. alot of early cruisers have a second fuel tank under the passenger floor, and some of the later 45's had long range tanks in under the rear of the tray so more fuel capacity isn't that hard to come by.

if you can get one, the 12HT diesel is a good powerful engine, getting rare as hens teeth to find a good one though, and i've seen reco ones go for up around 5500/6000. as far as v8's go, there's plenty of room under the bonnet to put one in, but as has been said, conversion kits and engineer's reports don't come cheap. they're a popular alternative, but are heavier and to an extent less reliable, and the extra power can strain your whole drivetrain if your careless with the loud peddle. a mate of mine has a 350 chev in his 45, and it doesn't see much bush anynmore thanks to three axles going in the space of a month. drive to the strength of your driveline and it's all good though.

the biggest issue with my car's is not the size or type of engine, but more the standard 4 speed gearboxes. if you can get a 5 speed, you'll be much better off as you won't be revving so hard on long hauls, it'll be quieter (engine noise is easily overcome with the aid of good speakers/amps) and most importantly your economy will improve.
i prefer to run 35's as they seem to marry the gearbox pretty well and slightly increase the diff ratio. another alternative to bigger rubber or number 5 in your box to change the gears in your diff.

whatever engine you choose or come across, just do what you can to look after it...change the oil every 5000, give it plenty of nice green coolant to drink and let it breathe clean and well by keeping airfilters clean and changed regularly