FJ40 Project

[Dirt Claude]

I’ve been tossing around the idea of picking up an FJ40 project for a couple of years now. With the kids getting older, I wanted to find a vehicle that was simple enough that they could learn basic mechanics on. I’ve looked at quite a few FJ40s, but it wasn’t until a few weeks ago that I found the right one.

It’s a 1972 FJ40 with a very low mileage Chevy 350 crate motor backed up by a Toyota 3spd tranny. The Cruiser came with some extra goodies like a brand new Aussie locker, (2) Toyota 4spd transmissions with an extra Toyota 4spd to Chevy 350 bell housing adapter, and an auxiliary fuel tank.

The plan is to do a frame off restore so that everything is mechanically and structurally sound. While I won't be restoring everything to original specs, it will still be a classic Cruiser when I'm done.

[ColoJeeper]

Looks like a fun project.

[Brad]

Awesome Brad! I still regret giving away the one I had. May get another someday.

[Chris]

Congrats on finding one you like Brad!

[Dirt Claude]

I've done a little work on it already, let me bring you up to speed....

The overall rust condition is pretty good, I've certainly seen worse. The frame is solid and the tub is pretty good too. As with most Cruisers, the rear sill and quarter panels need some attention. I shopped around for a replacement rear sill but couldn't see paying $300 for one. I opted to make my own for less than $10.

1. Old Rear Sill
2. Jake (oldest son) cutting it out
3. Sill out
4. New sill
5. New sill installed

[Dirt Claude]

I ended up buying a new pair of rear quarter panels from Cool Cruiser of Texas. The metal got worked pretty good during shipping and will need to be reshaped a bit. In preparation for cutting out and installing the news panels, I started stripping down the interior.

When one of the previous owners installed the roll bar, they laid a piece of carpet between the roll bar mounts and the top of the rear wheel wells, this obviously trapped mositure and led to some hidden rust. I should be able to just patch in a few new panels and it'll be good as new.

A couple pics of the beast shedding some weight.

[Chris]

Nice to see you son involved Brad and thanks for the pics!

[Dirt Claude]

Nice to see you son involved Brad and thanks for the pics!

Yeah, my oldest son is pretty pumped about it. He'd be out there everyday if possbile. He can get his permit in one year, the goal is to have the project completed by then.

[RicardoJM]

Nice project. I'm sure you and your kids will enjoy it. Nice work on the rear sill.

[xaza]

sweet project and even more sweet that you get that time to pass on knowledge to your kids!

[Rob]

As with most Cruisers, the rear sill and quarter panels need some attention. I shopped around for a replacement rear sill but couldn't see paying $300 for one. I opted to make my own for less than $10.

Well done, Brad. Maybe you could whip me up one of those homemade rear sills one of these days. :rolleyes:

[scout man]

Nice Brad, I like it. Good to see your boys learning the stuff too. Sooo, I am guessing you could probably use your tranny jack back again at some point?

[Patrolman]

Great project and glad the kids are enjoying it!

[Dirt Claude]

Thanks everyone, it should be a fun project. I'm very grateful that my dad took the time when I was younger to show me the ropes. My dad, brother, and I rebuilt a mid 70's VW Bug back in the day. Maybe that's what got my hooked on cars? Anyways, I hope to be able to pass some of the knowledge on to my kids as well.


Sooo, I am guessing you could probably use your tranny jack back again at some point?

LOL...yeah, I thought about getting my tranny jack from you someday.

[Dirt Claude]

Well done, Brad. Maybe you could whip me up one of those homemade rear sills one of these days. :rolleyes:

I think we could do that, it was pretty easy actually.

[Java]

Great Cruiser!!! I had an fj60 for a while and the only bad part was the 2f- v8 mileage with 4 cyl. power. A 350 is perfect!

[carpenle]

[QUOTE=scout man;212647]Nice Brad, I like it. Good to see your boys learning the stuff too.

Brad,

It is great that you are getting your kids involved, showing them a trade/skills, and getting them out of the house away from the xbox. That is how I got started, me and my dad built a 70 mustang when I was a kid.

Levi:thumb:

[scout man]

just let me know when you would like it Brad, I am hit or miss these days on when I am in town, but I do drive by your office fairly regularly. Wife also works real close to you.

[Dirt Claude]

So.... I obviously need to get better at updating this thread. Between work, family, and kid's activities we've still managed to squeeze in a few hours each week to work on the Cruiser.

Instead of just patching in new metal in the rusted areas of the wheel wells, I opted to replace the entire top piece of the wheel well. I built a tool to shape the flat metal into corrugated metal, like the original pieces, but I opted to keep the metal flat. The reason behind this was to make it easier to install the rollcage and jump seats later down the road. I ended up using thicker sheet metal instead and will also use braces to tie the rollcage directly into the frame.

Since I was replacing the wheel wells, I figured it wouldn't be that much more work the replace the rear portion of the bed. While it wasn't rusted out, it was pretty wavy and dented up from years of abuse.

1. Tops of the rear wheel wells and bed removed
2. New wheel well
3. Wheel well installed
4. Wheel wells and bed installed

[Patrolman]

Wow, nice work! You have a lot more patience for that than I do!

[Dirt Claude]

1. Old quarter panel removed
2. New panel ready to be installed
3. Bergen's first time at welding
4. Jake catches on quick and loves to weld. He welded on 90% of the quarter panel while I did the rest.
5. Quarter panel tacked in placed

[Dirt Claude]

1. I bought another rear barn door as the orignal one was tweaked from the spare tire smashing into it, it also had some rust on the bottom. When the guys at the junkyard were removing the new to me door, they snapped a couple of bolts off in the mounting holes. I tried welding a nut onto the studs and extracting them, but the studs only snapped some more. Rather than drill and tap, I decided to cut out and use the mounting brackets from the original door instead as they were in good shape.
2. New brackets burned it

- - - Updated - - -

1. Stripping the front end
2. Front end stripped
3. Drove the rig out of the garage to fire it one last time and do a compression test (more on that later)

[Dirt Claude]

1. Removing all the gauges on the dash, what a mess.
2. Taking lots of pics where everything went to make my life easier later.

- - - Updated - - -

Once we finish stripping the dash and firewall, we'll be just about ready to pull the tub....hopefully this weekend!

[Rick]

very cool.its nice seeing kids getting involved. not many even know how to change a tire let alone do what your kiddos doin! good job on Both!!!

[Brad]

Nice progress! Love this idea!

[Chris]

Nice write-up Brad! Good to see your project updated and the skills you're bringing to it and your son!

Look forward to more as you progress! :thumb:

[tonkatoy]

looking good.

[Rob]

Nice work, Brad.

[RicardoJM]

Looking good Brad:D

[Java]

that is really awesome!! I think you just earned one of those "World's Greatest Dad" mugs! :thumb:

[Dirt Claude]

We finished removing the wiring harness and tub yesterday!

[Dirt Claude]

With the tub removed, we'll start working on swapping out the 3spd tranny for a 4spd. I've got some parts accumulated already, but I still need to do a fair amount of homework on this swap.

[Dirt Claude]

I'm terrible at keeping this thread updated, I'll try and do better!

With the cold weather setting in, it's been hard to get motivated to get out in the garage, although I've just about wrapped up the 3spd to 4spd tranny swap. It took me awhile to gather all the correct pieces to make this swap happen (4spd shifting linkage, new transition input gear and bearing, replace missing spacers, new 4spd tranny to tcase bolts, tranny gaskets and tcase rebuild kit, etc.). This was also the first time I've rebuilt a tcase so I had to educate myself a bit on what the heck I was doing.

The bearings and gears for the transmission all looked great. I decided to just tear it down, clean it up and install all new gaskets. The tcase on the other hand needed a complete rebuild. Both units are now ready to go and just need to be mated back together. From there I'll go ahead and drop everything back into the truck and fab some new tcase mounting brackets. The 4spd tranny is about 4 inches longer than the 3spd tranny, hence the need for new brackets. I'll also need to relocate one of the frame cross members, otherwise the space will be too tight and I won't be able to service the parking brake later down the road.

[Dirt Claude]

Some clean up pics.....

[Dirt Claude]

Ready to be mated.....

[Fordguy77]

Looking good! Its cool to see your kids doing so much work!

[Brad]

Very nice!!! I feel your pain working in the winter, I have trouble moving forward on much of anything during the cold months. :thumb:

[AnyHeep]

Like you, my Dad involved my brother and I on every project and I am so grateful for getting that kind of knowledge. It's been invaluable to me and my wife! Keep up the good work!

[Dirt Claude]

Yep, I'm still working on this beast. I can easily say it's taking much longer than I initially had planned. I'm sooooo ready to be done with it and start enjoying the fruits of our labor!

So once I got the tranny and tcase cleaned up I moved on to removing the engine. I wanted to get the frame dropped off for sandblasting so I could start mounting things back up.

At the time there were some parts I was still in need of. While browsing Craigslist one day, I came across a rolled Fj40 that a ton of great parts I could put to use (new Besttop seats, power steering conversion parts, extra 4sp tranny/tcase, 4" lift, front/rear axles, 327 SBC, brand new gas tank and quadrajet carb, and a bunch of misc. items). I picked it up and began stripping it down.

[Dirt Claude]

While stripping down the extra cruiser, I came across some very scary and hacked up mods that had been done to it.

- Scrap metal bettery tray mount
- Very scary motor mount welds
- Interesting steering shaft
- Welded tie-rod ends

[Dirt Claude]

...and a questionable power steering mount and welds

[Dirt Claude]

Once I got the frame back from being blasted I worked on getting it painted and making one of the cross members removable. I removed the cross member, welded scab plates to the frame and cross member, drilled some holes and mounted it up. By having a removable cross member, it will make it much easier to service the parking brake and remove the tranny and tcase in the future.

[Dirt Claude]

Next up was rebuilding the axles so I could get the frame off the jack stands. I stripped down both axles, installed new bearings & seals and threw an Aussie locker in the rear axle for good measure.

[Dirt Claude]

I also converted the front brakes to discs. This involved replacing the outter Birfield shaft to the much stronger 27 spline, the inner axle is still the 30 spline shaft. Everything from the backing plate out was pulled from an early solid axle Toy 4x4. The brake calipers and pads were used from a 2nd gen V6 4Runner, much better than the mini-truck setup.

Why not discs in the rear you ask? The brake cylinders on the rear were virtually new so I decide to hold off for now and convert to discs later down the road.

[Dirt Claude]

I wasn't interested in dropping the coin on new shackles, so I made some new ones that were 1/2" (front) and 1" (rear) longer than stock. Axles finally mounted to the frame!

[Brad]

Excellent work!:thumb:

The crossmember is how landrover is setup on the defender and the discovery 1. Really handy for major service work.

[Funrover]

Coming along nicely!!

[Patrolman]

Nice work!

[Brucker]

Lookin' good!

[Dirt Claude]

With the suspension installed it was time to get the motor freshened up and dropped in place between the frame rails. The engine was supposedly a newer crate motor with about 10k on it, although there were no papers to back it up. I stripped it down to a long block and it looked like it very well could have been a crate motor. I decided to just use it as it ran pretty good before I pulled it. I installed a new performance intake manifold, quadrajet carb, HEI distributor, water pump, aluminum valve covers, and gaskets throughout (pictures show steel valves covers but they leaked horribly...ended up switching to some Eldebrock valve covers instead).

[Dirt Claude]

Cut out the old motor mounts and made some new ones, I took a lot of time reading write ups on engine placement. Can't remember what all the measurements came out to be, but I spent a good month playing around with it. It's a little more challenging too when the tub isn't on.

I decided not to use the Advance Adapter tcase mount that came with the truck as it's not the best design. Using the AA mount doesn't allow for much flex of the engine & tranny where it mounts to the frame. I've often heard of this design causing oil leaks and breakage of parts. Instead of having two motor mounts and two tranny mounts, I ended up making a triangulated design ( two motor mounts up front and one mount for the tcase). This should allow for better flex minimizing breakage.

Motor mount and scab plate...
Another pic of the removeable rear cross member completed....

[Dirt Claude]

Tcase mount is a bar that mounts on each side of the frame and allows the tcase to sit on a single rubber bushing to allow for flex.

[Patrolman]

The t-case mount makes for a nice fit on the back of the case. Handy that it is an offset rear axle. I really like the design.

[Java]

I reread this thread today, this build is fantastic. It's going to be better than new. :thumb:

[Dirt Claude]

With the motor and tranny in place, it was time to get the tub cleaned up. The idea of sanding every nook and cranny inside and out didn't excite me too much. I decide to drop the tub, fenders, hood, windshield frame, brackets, etc. off at Blast Tech to let them do their thing. Media blasting was definitely the way to go.....much faster and a better job.

[Dirt Claude]

Once I got everything back from being blasted, I brought it out to my dad's shop where we would complete the body work, primer, bedliner, and paint. We probably could have had a better ventilation system, but it was just fine for a trail rig.

- A good coat of epoxy primer should help keep the rust away
- New seam sealer applied to the joints
- My oldest son getting some experience with the spray gun

[Dirt Claude]

I heard good things about the Raptor bedliner and the price was right too. I opted to coat the inside and underside for a durable protection.

Masking off before applying the bedliner...

[Dirt Claude]

Several coats of Raptor bedliner applied....

[Brad]

That looks amazing!:thumb:

[Dirt Claude]

Decided to go with a PPG single stage paint. Don't recall the exact color, but it was one of the original tan colors that was on the FJ40s. I ended up with a couple of smalls runs that I should be able to buff out later, not too bad for a novice!

[Dirt Claude]

Rather than transport the freshly painted tub back to my house, I brought the rolling chassis out to the shop. With the help of family and friends were were able to gently get it back on the frame.

[Dirt Claude]

Sandblasted and painted the stock steel wheels and wrapped them with some new 33x10.50x15 BFG KM2s. I picked up some new hubcups for the wheels, still on the fence if I want to use them or not. The hubcaps give it that cool retro look, but I'm not a big chrome guy and this would be the only piece of chrome on the entire truck.

[Dirt Claude]

The original tranny hump cover was mangled by the previous owner....sheet metal and rivets holding it together! It was literally just one big open hole for both shifters. I ended up grafting a piece of the tranny hump from the extra cruiser to my original tranny hump. The grafted piece is fully welded in, but I used some body filler to help contour some of the curves.

[Chris]

Looks great Brad, you're making good progress. Hope to see you on the trails in the spring!

[xaza]

Coming along nicely.

[Dirt Claude]

I originally planned to have this rebuild done in a year.....ha I was so foolish to think that! I just past the two year mark last August, at this point I don't set any dates for trying to complete it as I've already missed too many. I'll just continue to work on it and when it's done it's done. I would love to be wheeling it this spring, at this point I don't see any reason I wouldn't be. It's funny how priorities in life seem to change when you least expect it.

[Dirt Claude]

Next up was converting from manual to power steering. I wasn't planning on converting, but the extra FJ40 had most of the parts I'd need to complete the swap. It would have been silly to keep manual steering. The common power steering swaps for FJ40s are Toyota mini-truck setups, Saginaw, Scout, and FJ60. I decided to go a little unconventional and use the power steering box from an Astro van. The Astro steering box has the same external casing as the Saginaw box, but some of the internal components are reversed. Because of the reverse setup, I was able to mount the steering box inside the frame rails instead of out front near the bumper. This allows the box to be more protected and keep it out of the rocks.

I ended up using the following parts:
- Astro steering box from the extra FJ40
- 1/4" steel scabs that mount on the inside/outside of the frame for reinforcement
- New tie-rod ends
- Flat Chevy pitman arm
- Cruiser Outfitters custom drag link to connect the Chevy tie-rod at the pitman arm to the Toyota tie-rod at the steering knuckle
- Custom high pressure steering line
- New power steering pump

[Dirt Claude]

Painted parts.....

[Dirt Claude]

I was planning on mounting the steering column next, but quickly realized that when I converted to power steering I had also lost one of my mounting points for the column. Basically what this meant was that the steering column was flopping around as it was only being held by one mount. I had to decide what angle I wanted to set the steering column at before making the new mounting bracket. I found this hard to do as I actually needed to be sitting in front of the steering wheel to get a good feel for it. So....I jumped ahead to mounting the seats.

The original seats were in great condition but still not very comfortable. The extra FJ40 I had picked up had brand new Bestop seats both front and rear. The mounting brackets they were sitting on were very cheesy and not very stout. I went ahead and designed a new mounting bracket which could hold the seats and Tuffy center console.

The seat bracket could only go so low due to the gas tank cover that sits below the passenger seat. The gas tank cover sits about 3-4" higher than the top of the storage box under the driver seat. It actually worked out quite well as it still allowed me to access the storage box on the driver side.

[Dirt Claude]

I still need to cap the ends and do some finish work, but it's almost complete.

Mount with legs attached...
Test fit....

[Dirt Claude]

Now that I was able to sit in front of the steering wheel, I've moved on to mounting the steering column. After multiple test fits with several different drivers, I settled on a 33 degree angle.

The second mounting point would be on the inside of the firewall behind the pedals. It involved cutting and drilling out a piece of flat plate and welding the steering column to it. I put the deck of the drill press at a 33 degree angle and got after it.

One specialized piece that was still needed was a brass bushing that supported the steering shaft inside the steering column. Cruiser Outfitters once again came to the rescue.

I still had the intermediate shaft left over over from the extra FJ40 but found it to be too short. I ended up going to a junk yard and scoring a new shaft out of a Chevy Express full size van, same diameter but much longer which lessens the chance of it coming out while flexing.

[Dirt Claude]

Steering column mounted...

[Patrolman]

Isn't the drill press super handy? Best $50 I ever spent! Nice work on the column!

[Dirt Claude]

Isn't the drill press super handy? Best $50 I ever spent! Nice work on the column!

Yeah, one of many of my favorite tools. It was a hand me down from my wife's grandfather when he passed away. We built a stand under it with caster wheels, much nicer to move around! It's saved me many hours of frustration. Having the right tools for the right job is priceless.

[Dirt Claude]

With the power steering complete, I moved on to the coolant system.

I purchased a new 3 core aluminum radiator from Champion Radiators. I believe it's rated to cool up to 500HP which is more than plenty. I didn't want to deal with any overheating issues. I used the original FJ40 radiator mount, but cut and replaced the bottom section to allow for a tighter fit with the power steering box in place.

The motor was originally setup with a belt driven flex fan. To keep things simple I decided I would continue to use it...or so I thought!

When I went to mock up the radiator and fan, I found the flex fan would hit the newly mounted steering box by a good couple of inches...no bueno. At this point I decided my only option to allow for adequate cooling would be to run an electric fan. I initially didn't want to go this route as electrical is one of my big weaknesses.

In the end I'm glad I went this way for numerous reasons:
- Bettering cooling when I need most...sitting in traffic our putting along on the trail when RPMs are low
- Ability to shut down the fan for water crossings
- Faster warming of the engine in cold temps
- Slight increase in HP
- 2 speed fan for when the low setting isn't cutting it

I did some research and found that the electric fan from a Ford Taurus was a popular swap due to the impressive amount of air it moved. The problem with the Taurus fan was that you also had to purchase/design a relay system that could run you an extra $50-100. Did I mention electronics were one of my weaknesses! I came across another posting about a guy who had been running a fan from a Volvo sedan. It was the same exact motor that pushed the Taurus fan but Volvo designed a well built 2 spd relay switch with their fans. I set off for the junkyard and scored a fan and relay switch for under $20!

With the new fan in hand, I held it up to my radiator and found it to be a perfect fit. At that point I designed a fan shroud that was about an inch deep.

With everything in place, I've still got a couple of inches between the fan motor and the water pump pulley....I love it when a plan comes together!

[Dirt Claude]

Coolant system is about done, just need to install the upper and lower hoses and make some new support brackets that attach to the sides of the radiator.

Fan shroud....

[Patrolman]

Very nice work on the fan and shroud. I hope to do my engine swap soon on my truck. Unsure the mechanical fan will work, so I picked up a Taurus fan already. I may have to go for the Volvo fan though. That is slick!

[74fj40]

Brad Fj40 is looking really good! Some of my best memories are building my fj40 with my dad. I think you and I have met once before? At wheeler lake with you wife and kids? 4 or 5 years ago?

Anyways, keep up the great work!

[Chris]

Yep, I remember that one and you both were there.

[Brad]

I was thinking of asking for a update since I dropped by to help sort the electrical.

[Chris]

I think we need an update too Dirt Claude!