DomSmith’s H55 build Thread… SBC Fj40

DomSmith · 06-19-07, 02:14 AM

In an effort to figure out the best way to secure the tranny I bolted the tranny mount and then crossmember to see what fabrication would be required. I figured this would also give me a chance to see how low (or high) I should mount the ass end of the tranny.

After looking it over and consulting with a buddy who fabricates for a living we decided to scrap the FJ60 crossmember and start from scratch. After bouncing a few ideas around we concluded some stout C-Channel with welded re-inforcements bolted to the bottom of the frame should work quite well. I'll be buying that stuff in the next few days and getting to work on that soon.

DomSmith · 06-19-07, 02:25 AM

I lifted the motor again and used a grinder with a cutting wheel to cut off the front motor mounts. The motor could be moved forward 1 1/2" to get it away from the P.O.'s "stuffing" the motor rearward and still clear the Taurus fan.

I measured up the placement of the brackets and tacked them up to see how the fitment worked. I did have to move the brake hydraulic line mounting point on the frame from the blue arrow to another hole (red arrow).

DomSmith · 06-19-07, 02:30 AM

Here you can see the difference in the firewall spacing...

Before...

After...

DomSmith · 06-19-07, 02:37 AM

Trying to figure out the Downey clutch slave mount has been a bit of a hassle. The directions were less than adequate, and I'm going to be fabbing up a custom mount for that as well (Thanks Mark). It does not align correctly and is also much too short (throw).

http://forum.ih8mud.com/40-55-series-tech/161612-downey-slave-bracket-pic.html

DomSmith · 06-19-07, 02:46 AM

The rear driveshaft length is a bit short but I'm pretty sure it will be OK. I measured 21 1/2" from flange to flange and am planning on sticking with a conventional driveshaft. The last time I needed modifications the local driveline shop was good to me. Anyone see a problem with 21 1/2"?

1973Guppie · 06-19-07, 10:19 AM

if you were SOA I would say get a CV for sure, personally for a driveshaft that short I would have a minitruck CV put on there and you won't have to worry about vibrations for sure. It is the angle that you should be concerned about more than anything. You may be able to get away without one though and just add it if you need to later.

Noah

rockcod · 06-19-07, 05:52 PM

Dom,

Use a mini truck CV, like Noah said. I have one that was shortened to 19 1/2" to fit with my trans. and dual t-cases. I will look when I get home, I may have a mini truck front CV drive shaft.

ebertotti · 06-23-07, 01:23 PM

Dom,
Looks like you've been busy lately. Great write-up!
EB

DomSmith · 06-23-07, 01:34 PM

Thanks Bert. Haven't seen you in a while.

Noah/Tony- I'll check on the mini CV once I get the tranny mount finalized. After cutting the C-Channel and placing it on the tranny I realized it was not ideal for the front driveline so I'm back to the FJ60 crossmember. This is where it sits with the tranny/transfer positioning...

DomSmith · 06-23-07, 01:44 PM

I'm trying to determine the best way to attach the crossmember to the frame. I was thinking maybe to cut the member just inside the frame rail and fab up some brackets on the inside of the farme...

Suggestions?

Sorry for the hack drawings.

DomSmith · 06-23-07, 01:48 PM

Here's the rear driveline angle I will be working with. 21 1/2" length...

grant5127 · 06-23-07, 04:05 PM

What year is that cross member?? '80/- 11/'84 is shorter more user friendly....

DomSmith · 06-23-07, 06:05 PM

Grant-

I would really have to ask someone on the 60 Forum as I have no clue. My inner frame width is about 30 1/2" if I remember correctly and this crossmember is much wider than that as you can see. I could try to get ahold of Cruiserparts.net for specific info but have had SLOOOOOOW responses from them in the past.

I saw the later 40 series crossmember that Poser used and wish I had known about that before. Maybe I'll eat this one and look for one of those.

Dom

DomSmith · 06-28-07, 06:33 PM

Back at it...

Decided to order the FJ60 "L" Brackets to attach to the inside of the frame and will cut down and use the FJ60 crossmember I ordered from cruiserparts.net to support the transmission. I'm hoping those will arrive Friday.

The new motor mount bushings arrived and I replaced the old worn ones with new, then wired the motor back up now that it is positioned correctly. Then re-attached radiator hoses, fuel lines and the clutch hydraulic line.

DomSmith · 06-28-07, 06:42 PM

The transfer case I got didn't have the shifter bolt that allowed the shift assembly to mount to the tranny so I bought a used one from $OR and mounted up the T/Case shift assembly. I had to cut away some of the floorboard (beneath the tranny hump) for clearance.

DomSmith · 06-28-07, 06:54 PM

I had to fabricate a clutch slave bracket as the one that came with the Downey bellhousing was pretty lame. It didn't allow for much throw and positioned the slave in a really bad spot. At the recommendation of Mark (65swb45) I fabbed up my own.

Pic 1: You can see the difference in length of the mounting holes. I also decided to stick with a flat design because it was easy and so the bleed nipple would remain on top when mounted.

Pic 2: I tapped the front hole (red) and slotted the rear hole (blue) for ease of alignment once mounted.

Pic 3: This shows the slight bend in the bracket to clear the starter and for alignment purposes.

DomSmith · 06-28-07, 06:56 PM

Here are a few pics of the slave mounted up...

You can see where the bend begins (blue).

DomSmith · 06-28-07, 07:52 PM

I got really lucky in that my speedo cable reached without modification as well as the parking brake cable. I was afraid that I was going to have to pay quite a bit and wait awhile for a custom brake cable but it fit just fine.

Installed the parking brake backplate, brake cable and clip (photo shows the clip before clamping) and the brake assembly...

DomSmith · 06-28-07, 08:15 PM

Once I get the rear tranny mount fabbed up I'll be sure where the driveshafts need to be.

In the rear I'm using a 4 speed slip yoke (that matches the bolt pattern on the Split Case Parking Brake Kit) slid into my original 3 speed driveshaft which will mate to my pinion flange. I ordered 4 speed driveshaft nuts to attach at the drum and will use the stock 3 speed bolts at the pinion flange.

I had plans to use a 4 speed for the front as well so I bought another 4 speed slip yoke on MUD which actually turned out to be a 3 speed. After a second one was sent I was pretty disappointed that it too was incorrect. The bolt pattern looked different from both the 3 speed and 4 speed so I had a hunch it may be an FJ60 flange. So... I lined it up with my '87 Split Case flange and it was an EXACT fit! Finally some luck. The original front output flange was pitted so I ordered a new one from Kurt at Cruiser Outfitters (and added an ARB air locker for the rear for my next project).

In the front I will now be using the new front output flange from the '87 Split Case mated to a matching FJ60 slip yoke (thanks Rolo!) slid into my original 3 speed driveshaft. I also ordered the 4 driveshaft nuts for the front output shaft and will retain the stock 3 speed driveshaft bolts at the front pinion.

With all this said, once the tranny mount is done I'll take the rig over to the driveline shop to be sure my plans will work and to have them adjust the lengths as needed and replace the U-Joints. I don't think the driveline angle is too harsh so I should be OK with conventional driveshafts.

DomSmith · 07-10-07, 11:35 PM

Well I finally got the tranny mounted up with a crossmember, but this turned out to be a lot more trial and error than I expected. I started with an "FJ60" crossmember which I did not specify the year (turned out to be 84 and newer) and a used tranny bushing. These didn't line up too well. I decided to try some large C Channel on the recommendation of a friend and although it seemed like a good idea, there were clearance problems with the front driveshaft. Back to the original idea... so I bought the "L" brackets that mount to the inside of the frame (80-84 FJ60) to help me fab up this original bracket...

DomSmith · 07-10-07, 11:44 PM

Little did I know that the differences in the 84-up FJ60 crossmember and the 80-84 crossmember were HUGE. These "L" brackets were not going to be much help.

At the suggestion of Grant I started looking for an early FJ60 crossmember and called Kurt at Cruiser Outfitters. He didn't have one but did spend some time on the phone chatting about my project and sharing some invaluable advice.

So I was on the search for an early FJ60 crossmember and lucky me I found one from an '83 here in San Diego at a local wrecking yard. Amazingly the tranny had been removed and the crossmember was lying in the back of the truck. With "L" brackets attached no less! You can see the significant differences between the two...

DomSmith · 07-10-07, 11:58 PM

Now things were moving right along and I had 2 weekend days to take my time and get this crossmember fabbed up so I could pull out the tranny jack I'd been banging my head on for weeks. Except...

The newer style bushing was flat on one side, and the older style mount was angled on top and bottom.

Without the correct bushing I could only guess where the "L" brackets should be attached to the frame. I called the wrecking yard... no luck. The bushing had obviously gone with the tranny. A few posts to the local Beach N Toys board w/o luck. I was stuck to poke around under the truck and position the crossmember as close as I could before actually being able to attach it.

This was REAL close! The holes didn't quite line up and the "L" brackets didn't sit flush on the crossmember, but a bit of grinding and some newly drilled holes and I knew I would be in business.

Early FJ60 crossmember and frame brackets w/o the bushing...

DomSmith · 07-11-07, 12:15 AM

Well this wasn't going to be the weekend I got the tranny stuff finalized but I was headed to Santa Barbara Tuesday morning after work and figured I'd stop at SOR and grab an aftermarket bushing from them and then return home Friday with the last piece to the puzzle.

In the meantime I decided to wire up the Taurus fan I had gotten from Cam. He sent a few wiring diagrams and I had printed out a few more from searching the web. I determined I would go with a 3 position switch (ON-OFF-ON) to use the low speed as an auto setting (connected to an adjustable temperature gauge), manual high speed, and an OFF setting. I sourced the fan kit from my local parts guy and found the switch at NAPA.

1. Temp sensor

2. Adjustable kit w/ relay and wiring...

DomSmith · 07-11-07, 12:18 AM

more...

1. Second Relay (High speed)

2. Finalized

There are a few extra wires from the kit (A/C connection, etc.) that I just wound up and left in place.

The second battery and tray will be placed back in once the exhaust shop is finished...

DomSmith · 07-11-07, 12:41 AM

When I arrived at SOR I had determined I would get a few extra things for my project along with the early FJ60 tranny bushing. One being an expensive ($50) correct H55 5 speed shift knob. I figured I had been busting my ass on this project, I deserved SOMETHING that would just screw right on, right? I had tried a generic shift knob from Toyota in the past for my 3 speed and it didn't even screw on correctly. I was determined to splurge on something that would work right the first time. Besides I was over budget already... what was another $50?

Tranny bushing... check. Shift knob... check. Flange nut... check. "Any used windshield washer motors from a '73? Mine leaks." Nope. "But you can have this one we just threw away with a broken nipple. Try the gaskets." As dumb as it sounds I was stoked on the free bottle, bad nipple and all. And REALLY stoked when the gaskets from this 34 year old washer motor solved the problem.

Just before heading out I was chating with one of the guys about my project and explaining the crossmember fiasco I had been enduring. He agreed that the older FJ60 crossmember was the way to go since the shorter FJ40 ones were so scarce. Overhearing the conversation another guy (Anthony?) said they had just gotten an FJ40 crossmember in and it wasn't in the system but I could take a look at it.

After kicking around the idea of wrestling with the crossmembers I already had I decided to cover all my bases and pony up the BIG money ($162) for the FJ40 stuff. I got permission from Marv to return these used parts if the stuff I already had worked for me. This gave me some piece of mind (and incentive to try my hardest to get the FJ60 stuff to work).

Headed back home I had a new tranny bushing in hand and ANOTHER crossmember to add to the growing collection...

DomSmith · 07-11-07, 12:55 AM

I couldn't wait to try crossmember idea #4. This was MADE for this rig. It has to be perfect...

Well it was pretty close. This fitment was even better than the early FJ60 stuff. And although that stuff would have been reasonably simple to make work, I was looking for the easiest. This was by far the biggest project I had taken on and with limited fabrication skills and experience I was ready for less work where I could get it.

The FJ40 stuff was even with the frame except for a small gap on each side. I figured I would need to use one 1/4" plate on the passenger side and two on the drivers side. Aside from that it would be elongating a few bolt holes and done.

DomSmith · 07-11-07, 12:58 AM

A few fitment pics prior to mounting...

Cruiserdrew · 07-11-07, 01:12 AM

Nice going Dom, that has turned into a massive project!

How long will your rear driveshaft end up?

DomSmith · 07-11-07, 01:13 AM

So the fabricating part begins...

I knew from talking to Kurt and with a suggestion from Grant that I had to bolt one "L" bracket to the frame and weld the other so I could drop the tranny without jacking it up to clear the crossmember over the "L" brackets. With the crossmember lined up I determined that for my application I would have more luck bolting the drivers side and welding the passnger side. The alignment of the "L" brackets on the inside of the frame would only allow me to bolt on the drivers side because of the frame bracket and rivets that hold the running board on.

I started with 12x12 plates and measured the frame height and determined how long I wanted the plates to be. The drivers side needed to be twice as thick as the passenger side so I figured I would weld a second 1/4" plate (with a smaller footprint) to the first on that side...

DomSmith · 07-11-07, 01:40 AM

After fabing the plates I clamped them into position and assured that the "L" brackets were properly spaced. They lined up well so I decided to weld them in place. Just as I finished I realized I had created a ton of extra work for myself. I had not marked the holes for the drivers side prior to welding the plate on. Now I was stuck lying under the rig with a small angle drill to make 4 holes through the double plates and frame.

Needless to say, this took some time and patience. I was cursing myself bigtime at this point but in the end this may have worked to my advantage. I was able to drill one hole at a time, and hold the "L" bracket in place to assure each hole came out perfectly. The "L" brackets hung down a little, so I drilled two new holes on the driver's side bracket to accomodate bolts that would pass through the frame. The holes on the left (rear) of the plates could go all the way through the frame and would end up just missing the running board bracket. The front holes would not be so lucky so I decided to tap threads through the two plates and frame and attach them with shorter grade 8's. I would have preferred to gone through on all four but after completing it I'm certain it will hold up with the two rears all the way through. Just to be sure I didn't screw up the threads I tapped one of the rear holes for practice before tapping the front two...