Throwback Thursday: Kubota-Swapped Flat Fender Jeep Does Donuts at Minus 35F

This old Jeep was Kubota-swapped about 4,000 miles ago and is still running strong. Even when the weather turns dangerously cold.

When you hear the name Kubota you likely think of a tractor or some piece of farm equipment as that is what the company is generally known for. Utilitarian equipment to get a job done. In many ways that describes a flat fender Jeep as well. Nothing fancy here just a tool for traversing rough terrain. So, putting a Kubota engine into an old flat fender Jeep would seem like a perfect match. And that is exactly what was done here. This Jeep now has a Kubota V2203 diesel engine under the hood. It has had this engine for about 4,000 miles now and is running strong.

This week’s “Throwback Thursday” is all about this Kubota-swapped flat fender Jeep. Now that it has some miles under its belt it is time to evaluate the swap. Has it been reliable? What kind of mileage is it getting? Any tips or tricks for anyone that is considering a similar swap? Those are all important questions to answer. But the highlight of the video that was posted recently on the BuyFixFlip YouTube channel is the last couple minutes. That is when the owner takes the little Jeep out and does some donuts in the snow with it. What makes that more remarkable, and entertaining is that at the time the wind chill is a downright dangerous 35 degrees below zero. All in a Jeep with no doors or top.

Kubota Specs

We enjoy seeing Jeep builds with powerful Hemi engines stuffed under the hood. But not every Jeep owner needs or wants that. And in something like a flat fender it is completely unnecessary. The V2203 Kubota diesel engine in this Jeep is good for roughly 40 horsepower. That may sound like a comically low amount of power, and to be honest it is. But that is plenty for this old Jeep. The thing weighs almost nothing, and you don’t want an 800-pound monster engine sitting in its nose. So, it works perfectly fine in this application. The engine has been running strong since it has been installed. There is no working odometer in the Jeep, but the owner is guessing it is getting around 33 mpg.

Cost and Reliability

Another advantage of a Kubota swap like this is the relatively low cost. According to the owner you can pick up one of these units for between $700 and $3,000 depending on the number of hours on it. The unit in the Jeep in this video had about 36,000 hours on it when purchased. It has done about 4,000 road miles since and is still running strong. You also will need an adapter kit which will run you another $3,000. That means without labor you are looking at roughly between $4,000 and $6,000 to do the swap. There are certainly other engine options you can go with in one of these Jeeps, but this seems like a solid choice.

Frozen Donuts

Now this is what it is all about. Just having a bit of fun in the snow with your Jeep. You may want to grab a cup of coffee or hot chocolate while you watch this, but you are going to want to watch it nonetheless. With the wind chill at a frigid -35F the owner takes his Jeep to a snow-covered parking lot and does a series of donuts and power slides. Despite the cold temperature it looks like a ton of fun. And that is the whole point of having a Jeep. If you happen to have a flat fender you might want to consider a Kubota swap. But no matter what Jeep you have and no matter what engine you have in it. You absolutely should be doing snowy donuts in it.

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