I saw this thing at SEMA and fell in love! Check it out...



http://www.tlcicon.com/

 

Sweeeeet....ooooow - woooooo - the top comes off...!!!! [clapping hands frantically]

 

Ooh that *does* look nice...
:drool:

 

their website indicates that they're getting ready to sell these, wonder how much though?

 

very nice, but it's got a damned 350 in it :puke:

then again, most of the guts in the original ones were metric chevy parts(engine, tranny, axles), but it just doesn't seem right...

 

Yesss, no automatic... They might actually be enthusiasts...

(donning flame proof suit now)

 

hey pretty cool! its an alternative for those people who are looking to restore an FJ40 for themselves.

GM components = does anyone here know if the engine and other GM components are proven and reliable?

bob

 

the gm 350 is a quite common swap into the older fjs

 

they're dirt cheap to repair too...

 

Yeah, I think the basic 350 chev has pretty much proven reliable, and as a bonus it's only the most common engine on the entire planet, so parts and upgrades and cool stuff are plentiful. And the NV4500 is stout too, no worries there. Dana 60/44 combo is good. All round very smart choices.
YO Bob - you suckered me into that didn't you? We really need a tongue-in-cheek icon...


But how much do you want to bet it's $50k?
For the guy with money who would like the prestige of restored classic TLC but can't be bothered to restore one...

 

my next rig is going to be a cruiser. there's just something about them that is so damned cool.

but that'll be when i own land most likely, so a little while off. unfortunately even the rusty beat up ones get more expensive by the day

as for the 350, if it's built right(aka not by GM) it's a good reliable engine. same goes for most ford, mopar and AMC mills. often they were poorly put together, and also, there's been a lot of aftermarket improvements. it's just that the 350 is so damned overdone...

 

pretty sweet, think you could put a YOTA motor in there ?
if i want a chevy, id buy a chevy

 

Wow, overall craftsmenship looks awesome! That's pretty cool, the price tag is gonna be PHENOMENAL though I would bet. I'd rather do it all myself anyway, you get more ownership out of doing that than you do signing your name on the dotted line.

Fink

 

yeh i saw it at the Offroad Expo. i talked to the guy there from TLC and he called the engine bay. he has got an awesome fj45 extra cab he built too.

fj45

fj45

fj40

fj40

 

the guy was saying that they use that motor for a lot of their trucks, most of them actually. its a 350 ram jet. he says he absolutely loves it.

 

naw, that was a legit question! i had absolutely no clue why they chose that engine

bob

 

Well, to be sure they could have used a Toyota V8, but then there would be no aftermarket parts, a hugely limited amount of options for trans and stuff, horribly overpriced replacement parts, etc. I agree that the 350 Chev is too "pedestrian" to be totally cool, but it is in fact the most common mill on the planet, has the largest aftermarket selection etc etc etc... Their choice was decent at least. That motor is still pretty basic, has fuel injection (and cool looking too,) excellent torque and the right amount of horsepower, should be rock reliable and fun to drive and hits a good price point. (Engines can get expensive in a hurry!) It isn't a 4 bolt main motor, but the average guy really doesn't need that unless you intend to build gobs of horsepower and do full throttle launches off the line.

 

the only cool toyota V8 i've seen is the 4.0l out of a century(basically a japan-only luxury toyota, not really a driver's car). it's a hemi (i think)OHC V8. saw an article online about a guy who built an old t-bucket hot rod with one and he said he uses 20R head gaskets and pistons for it. the engine itself sort of looks like a small whale hemi.

the thing about the chevy motor is that the original land cruiser has a toyota-copied chevy drivetrain. you can even put parts from a chevy 235 in an F engine.

 

I think its pretty cool, i saw it in expeditions coverage and its sweet!

 

Anyone know of a good FJ40 mechanic in South Orange County, CA?