We have a new diesel engine swap project!
Around here, we’re big fans of the Cummins diesel engines, and even bigger fans of taking solid pre-loved vehicles and swapping out existing engines for those diesels. Consequently, we especially love finding diamond in the rough projects … although this project definitely puts more emphasis on “rough” than “diamond.”
For months now, we’ve looked for that just right 80s series Land Cruiser. The goal is simple: Do a Land Cruiser diesel engine swap. To that end, we’ve spent a lot of time on Craigslist and Facebook marketplace. Finally our Internet searches stumbled on this one, sitting unused in a driveway about an hour from Jonesy’s HQ.
The first impression? Not great. The interior is a dumpster fire. Wrappers, discarded toys, long forgotten paperwork, and various bits of shrapnel everywhere. Obnoxiously, the front seat is stuck in position closest to the glove compartment. This Land Cruiser hadn’t seen a hose or scrub brush for years, let alone any serious maintenance.
Moreover, it definitely has seen some serious road time, with a whopping 300,000 miles on it. It’s definitely due for a new engine. Which is perfect for us, since we want this vehicle so we can do a Land Cruiser diesel engine swap. Above all, despite the epically bad interior, it’s a running, driving Land Cruiser at a reasonable price. We call that a win.
Once we are a little further along with the work, we’ll update our progress over on our Youtube channel. At this point, the plan is to clean it up, swap in a diesel engine, and find this vehicle a (loving) forever home (unless we decide to keep it for ourselves …).
In the meantime, these photos don’t do justice to the interior, which was a pit. Rest assured, gas station gloves were actually purchased to make the drive home.
While we start work fixing this vehicle up at our shop Jonesy’s, you can take a look at videos of our past engine swaps here. If you need a starting line, we’re partial to this one.
In the meantime, if you have a project of your own like this, you might be interested in our Land Cruiser engine mounts or our Universal Recovery Brackets (URBs).
Happy building everyone!