The Stovebolt Site Forums The Shop Area Engine Shop 235 in a Land Cruiser

In the late '60's I worked on a friends Toyota Land Cruiser and I would swear it had a Chevrolet 6 cylinder engine in it....or it looked like a Chevy 6. This was the stock engine, he had not changed anything...was I sniffing too much glue!


Stuart

Very similiar motors, but parts are not interchangable.

If I remember right Toyota bought the motor from Chevrolet and made some changes.

Rumor has it much of the bottom end is interchangeable. The toyota version got a newly designed head. I'm not sure if that head interchanges with the 235 either.

Usually when the Japanese auto makers copy or take from the American auto makers they improve upon a good idea. That is not always the case.

Datsun coppied the british roadster concept in the 60s with the "Fair Lady". They copied the design so close to the Brittish design that it had the same electrical problems.

The early LC head had a combustion chamber just like the 235. The later LC head was modernized. I am not sure when, probably when smog requirements came into effect. I had a 74 LC and it had the modern head.

Something else I just thought of. In 1974 Toyota LC had a floor shift all syncro 4 speed trans. This trans looked like the older chevy truck 4sd. The mounting pattern was the same as a chevy. If I recall correctly the imput shaft is a little longer than a GM unit. I am not sure if this trans can be used without the transfer case, but it might be a consideration for someone who wanted an all syncro heavy duty trans. First gear is not as low as the GM first gear. With the 6 cyl I would always start in 1st gear. The LC had 4.10 diff. gears.

Hey, wait a second swingdaddy, I have a Nissan 311, and there are no Lucas components = no electrical problems. My second gear is a bit scratchy though.

It's funny this topic has finally come up. I sold my '78 Land Cruiser FJ40 to buy my '50 truck. I didn't realize how much they had in common until I started tearing into the truck.

The original LC engine was the F engine which was around 235 ci. In '75 they upgraded to the 2F which was 258 ci and ran that engine into the mid/late '80s. There was always a rumor around the LC community that Toyota had "stolen" the I-6 from Chevrolet. All I know is it's nearly impossible to kill a 2F on the trail.

I know the transmission in my '78 was an SM420, same as the transmission in my truck. The gears were 4.11:1 in the LC until '78. They changed to 3.73:1 in '79.

If you want more info or exact specs, look at www.ih8mud.com or www.sor.com

WOW, It looks like I wasn't sniffing as much glue as I thought...great info on this engine.


Stuart

Wow a metric stovebolt.

That's it exactly. I had to make a stop at the store when I bought my truck because I didn't have any SAE wrenches. Everything in my toolbox is metric. The Cruiser even has timing gears, just like the truck.

And the word "J**P" is to Cruiserheads as "F@%D" is to Stovebolters. (It's those 4 letter words....)

tlorber

I was wondering if somebody was going to call Shannanagans on me!

I gotta say I do like jeeps but th tail gate on my S-10 says, "Yup your right I just don't get the jeep thing".

The early Land Cruiser did have a copy of the 235 Chevy engine. Word has it that Chevy shared the spec info. with Toyota. I also hear that some of the parts are interchangable.

Just today I saw an old Land Rover. I talked to the owner and he said it was a 1964. He didn't know what engine it had so I looked at it. It looked just like the Chevy 250!! Ran well too.

Twenty five years ago or so as a young gun, I worked on one for a friends girlfriend. I id'd the engine as a chevrolet 250 and proceeded to fix and tune it up for her. Until now I had just assumed somebody swapped the Chevy engine into it. I must have done it right though, she never complained about the way it ran after that.

Hey 53monster, I like your truck. How's it coming along?

but
i have seen a 292 installed in a LAND ROVER

WHOLE different thing
the land CRUISER from Toyota is an EXCELLENT inline
but the old 4 banger found in old LAND ROVERS was junk

Thanks Iron clad, It coming along, I managed to scrape it enough together to enter in a show this past weekend without a bed.

So apparently the Land Rover had an option of a 4 banger or a 6?

I know that the Land Rover I saw today had a 6 that looked just like the Chevy 250. Of course that dosn't mean it was stock though. (But I believe it was.)

Back in the 70's there was a company in the Los Angeles a Called Chevyota in which they did conversions with the 283 cu. Chevy engine for more power. There are a few around here running 350 cu. Chevy's with big Gumbo Mudder type tires too.
62Blue
Don

The early Toyota L6 "F" engine, used 1955-74?, is not a copy of the Chevrolet 235 entirely, but a similar head and combustion chamber design but "scaled up" to the larger G.M.C. block dimensions but few interchangeable parts. Not "stolen", manufactured under license.
The later F updated the head design to parallel valves, and finally to 12 port.
No, the Toyota head doesn't fit either engine: too big for the 235, and the water, bolts, oil, etc. don't line up for the GMC.