At the moment I personally own five Landcruiser 105 (plus some other models) and its been more in the past.
I like that the 105 represent the last and best of Toyota true offroad family wagon development, starting with the 45 series wagon. While I realise the IFS models are very capable offroad I see design things that indicate they are more of a street tourer and that the more rugged 70 series continues to be a rigid front beam axle. Lots of the design in diffs, transfer case and gearbox was kept from 1998 through to the current model.
I've built and owned a number of 1HDFTE converted 105 and have thoroughly enjoyed driving them, making each one better than the one before in comfort, drivability and durability. With PDI allowing me to develop products and support customers dreams, this has been a great combination.
2 years ago I sold my FZJ105 with modified 1HDFTE manual with factory lockers. For over a year, it was happily punching out 302kw (430hp) and 1070nm at the wheels and it was fun under all conditions. It was used for family holidays, going out beyond the back of Marble Bar and places that only trusted and reliable vehicles should go. Since I felt the manual transmission was at the limit of its ability we started investigating a stronger auto option and decided upon the 6R80 from Ford.
Initially we dropped a modified 1HDFTE in front of the standard A442F and stayed together for the 6 months until we had the adapters and systems in place to fit the 6 speed auto. From day 1 this has been faultless and the conversion has transformed the cruiser in a way that I would only want to drive an auto for the Landcruiser. With (a disappointing) 285kW at the wheels it is fast and gets me around easily. Off-roading is more fun than ever as I had to try test and potentially destroy the box "for research and development purposes".
In late 2022 a conversation planted a seed and over the Christmas break, it took root. In January we got our hands on a 2021Toyota 300 series crate motor. This is the F33AFTV, which is a V6 diesel 3.3L which looks like a 1VD V8 in many ways but is simpler and improved. The engine is a 90deg V configuration with turbo and exhaust ports located inside the V and intake ports on the outside. After many clearancing issues were considered, it was time to start fabricating the custom parts and working until we saw a “blocker” that meant it couldn’t happen.
When Motec said they thought the new unit could be run using their ECU, then it was game on.
Looking at the modern vehicle engine bays can be rather daunting for the unfamiliar and sometimes very troublesome if you have to repair them. The aim is to have the best of Toyota mechanical tech but without the compexity and baggage of owning these modern vehicles once outside of warranty. When you consider a common rail engine, effectively we just need to control rail pressure and each injector plus vane control for the turbo - these have been very reliable. We do need a few inputs - accelerator pedal, boost pressure, rail pressure, crank angle sensor, camshaft angle sensor a simple setup, but again these are simple and can be easily replaced if they give trouble. Based on the 105 being produced in 2000, we shouldn’t need to worry about EGR, EGR cooler systems, DPF and everything that supports those parts
The engine sump was modified and the engine mounts made. The long list of required parts and aftermarket bits had been started and within a month it was sitting on mounts with a plan to get it connected to the 6R80 transmission. Delays in design and being busy with supplying PDI product and other kit development resulted in the project progress grinding ahead slowly. Eventually we had a gearbox adapter to the engine and with the transfer adapter in place we could finalise some more details. Reversing the walk behind forklift over my foot late June further put pressure to focus on other things.
Custom exhaust manifold was required and we had planned to run a Gturbo VNT single turbo from the VDJ79. While it won’t be as responsive as having small turbo sequential twin system like the 300 series has from the factory, we wanted simplicity in both installation and control. We are still hoping to max out somewhere between 360 and 400hp, while building strong power from 1650rpm. We know the std injectors can support 400hp.
The plastic intake manifolds would be replaced with custom alloy units. These are to allow forward facing intakes for connection to a front mounted intercooler. Joining them together still needs to be considered and done.
For extra strength and GVM capability we got a DWIZ front diff housing (rated 300kg above the factory unit) and got the Packard Automotive front brake upgrade kit. Custom radius arms from Boosted Diesel Services were required to roll the diff back and give clearance to the engine. Also, direct fit hydraulic bump stops from Slinky Customs were added to the build list, since the front diff was going to be able to push on the starter motor mount with enough compression.
The aim was to be ready for the Perth 4WD show so a few weeks back we planned to get the project back on track. The chassis was sitting there with the engine, and while that needed lots of work, the body had also been waiting for a while. Things had been borrowed for testing or used elsewhere and other things had been partially installed. There were upgrades in the cabin that were needed to be done to make it the next step forward in development. The climate control system facia can be updated with the GXV spec that has auto functions for temp control and fan speed. This is a nice mod, once you get used to it. Seats were swapped out for the 50th anniversary seats, which have higher quality material and additional adjustments on the drivers seat, plus the drivers seat gets denser and thicker foam to become more of sports bucket, while still being original fitment.
We have things in development and production for the rear diff and transfer case so in the interim, standard parts were used. We like the full time transfer case with mechanical LSD, since with so much power, its important to be able to get power to the ground for the daily commute.
We have been using Manta exhaust systems on conversions for some time and were able to get the rear part fitted and just needed a custom dump pipe. A quick phone call to the Manta boss and then some estimations on what was required, resulted in a section bent up with three bends and this was basically a direct fit onto the 180deg bend from the turbo.
Lets hope November doesn’t get here before its running…...