[DomSmith]

Well, I figured I should start this thread up or else I'll never do it. Some of you may have seen my recent H55 swap thread and this came right on it's heels. I know, I should have done it all at once, but the idea of spending that much money in one pop was a bit frightening, besides, I figured I'd use the good motor I had in it for a year or two before considering another big project. Wrong. After a few months with the 5 speed I wanted a bit more drivability than my older Pro-Jection FI SBC was providing. (Yeah, that's the excuse).

Anyway, my rig is a 73 FJ40 that I've had for 13 years and after driving it for a LONG time with a 3 speed and a 350 I decided on some upgrades. So the H55 and now this Ram Jet 350...

I had spoken with Jim (centerlineseal) a few times and he was planning on a Ram Jet install on his 40 which got me thinking I needed a newer more reliable fuel injection than the simple Pro-Jection 2D that was acting up a bit. So after chatting with him, a few local cruiser tech gurus and getting a motor at dealer cost (not much less than the online clearinghouses) through a buddy at Toyota I took the plunge....

I ordered the Ram Jet 350 (GM PART# 12499120) and Serpentine Kit without air (GM PART#12497697)

ADDED: Here is a link to a page with some good Ramjet 350 info from Gilbert Chevrolet. There are 2 pages:

Gilbert Chevrolet Main Ramjet Page

Gilbert Chevrolet Second Page

I had a few small reservations when deciding on this motor. First, I didn't like the limited tunability of the Pro-Jection, and after talking with some Engine Gurus that's one knock on the Ram Jet. The stock ECM is password protected and is not tunable, you get a set tune and that's it. If you want to make adjustments you have to erase what you have and start from scratch. There are a few options out there (MEFIburn and some others) but nothing seemed that great and with my VERY limited knowledge on the subject I figured I'd just suck it up and stick with the stock settings. From speaking to a few people with Ram Jets in cruisers there didn't seem to be too many complaints. Now MSD has a kit w/ ECM, software, etc that lets you take back the tunability of the Ram Jet but those are a bit pricey to add on after already spending considerable $$$.

So for now it's the stock 350HP Ram Jet 350...

[1973Guppie]

I hate you dom! , that engine is ssssoooo nice. Can I come over and sleep in your engine bay?

Noah

[DomSmith]

The first step was to pull the other motor (originally out of an 87 van per PO) that I had added the Holley Pro-Jection many years earlier...

I started by taking tons of digital photos for reference if I ran into problems remembering where things went. I also unhooked the wiring harness from the motor and wrote where every wire went with blue tape and attached them to the wires to make it easy for my buddy to hook it up once he had time to drop it in his 40. Drained all the fluids,removed the radiator, etc...

At first I tried raising it up over the front but after failing (I had lost a lot of oil from the loaner cherry picker which prevented it from raising high enough) I conceeded and removed the bib. I barely squeezed the motor between the fender and the winch with literally an inch to spare...

[DomSmith]

Initially I had decided to drop the tranny and transfer case and had disconnected the driveshafts, drained all the fluids, removed the exhaust... but after reconsidering I figured I'd try just pulling the motor and leaving the tranny/tcase in. This worked quite easily on the way out, but now I was worried about getting it back in. I was doing this project w/o an extra set of hands so I was a bit stressed... but I figured I would worry about it when I got to that spot.

You can see here that I installed the 5 speed as high up as I could without making changes to the tranny hump. Not a lot of clearance between the two. It was nice to see the H55 install from this angle because I felt like it was going to hold up for the long haul.

[DomSmith]

After the motor was out I decided to get started on installing the serpentine kit onto the front of the Ram Jet. I read the (weak) instructions included with the kit from GM and sorted all the parts. The directions did not match the parts very well and the one diagram was a small bad photocopy that was almost no help at all. This was my first reality check. Maybe this wasn't going to be an easy swap of blocks... Without much confidence on this part I put it aside for later and decided to fit the rams horn manifolds to the Vortec heads.

At first they looked like a perfect fit but after putting them on and starting to snug them down I noticed they were hitting the valve covers. With a bit more tightening the covers were bowing a little and there was no way they would bolt down and make a good seal. I weighed the options and decided I would do a bit of two things. 1. The small bows in the valve covers were acceptable to me but I didn't want to do anymore for fear of springing a leak so I stopped there. 2. I decided to grind some off the manifolds and see if that would make up the difference. I assured that the area that needed to be adjusted was sufficient in thickness and then slowly took off material. I went back and forth fitting them about 10 times each until they fit correctly. I wasn't super stoked on the idea as they were coated manifolds, but I figured it was the only thing to do and I hoped they would still stay nice even with some of the coating gone. I did paint the small areas with some hi-temp paint but I don't suspect that will last long. Luckily it's on the back side and won't be seen.

[DomSmith]

Here's the final fitment...

[DomSmith]

Next I disasembled the bellhousing and clutch on the old motor and prepped the new flywheel on the Ram Jet with a new pilot bushing. I then installed the clutch and bellhousing. I re-used the same clutch components and Downey 4 speed to SBC bell housing from the H55 swap that had maybe 1000 miles on them.

[DomSmith]

After the clutch was in I reviewed the serpentine kit instructions again and contemplated installing it all before dropping in the motor. The directions were still a bit confusing and I decided not having the alternator, water pump, etc. would give me some wiggle room while installing the block. I was, after all, going to try to line it all up with the tranny without the help of anyone else. This is when the fun would begin...


First I had to line up the tranny with the bell housing, and since the clutch fork wouldn't stay on the bellhousing I had to install it once I got the input shaft lined up perfectly with the motor. This went much smoother than I thought it would...

[FJBen]

Very cool! I'll be interested to see how the difference in power is.

[raiderfan]

Dom,
Wow, nice engine. I really like the silver and black look!!!!!

[Toyland4x4]

I had to grind my manifolds to work with those covers also. Mines a 330hp around a '98 block or so. They must make the later blocks a little different, my old pre '87 block had a lot more meat above the exhaust ports, and the manifolds never got close to the covers. I was worried that being that close to the covers they would burn the oil splashing inside the covers, but after 4 years they are good.

[DomSmith]

Originally Posted by raiderfan

Dom,
Wow, nice engine. I really like the silver and black look!!!!!

Yeah I'm going to have to have some Custom Chargers Powder Blue plug wires ordered up!

[DomSmith]

I'm not sure what I did to deserve it, but the motor lined up after only 6 or 7 small adjutsments at the tranny jack and cherry picker. I couldn't believe it! I was prepared for a long night of cursing and drinking to get this thing in and in less than 10 minutes of adjusting it was bolted in place.

On to the Serpentine Kit...
I tossed around the idea of putting this in a seperate thread so there would be a good Serpentine Kit write-up on it's own (I couldn't find one here) but decided just to add it to the Thread Title and stick it in.

I decided on the kit w/o air because I had hoped to use the York compressor from the On Board Air I had installed on the previous motor. Everything was going to have to be moved to the passenger side as the serpentine kit air bracket was opposite from my old 350 and I would need a new pulley and mount (we'll get to that later). The alternator was now on the drivers side also which would mean re-routing the wiring.

The kit comes with all the items seen here including a 15 page instruction sheet that is marginal at best. Some of the stuff is clear but there are several part #'s that didn't match and the diagram (photo) is nearly useless... I double checked that each item did indeed come with the kit and the confusion was mostly based on the fasteners as the #'s were wacked and the descriptions were bad too. One nice item that Poser brought to my attention was that all the parts go together and they have a GM and AC Delco part#. I had gotten used to beating my head against the wall trying to source parts that the previous owner had scabbed together each time something broke so this was going to be a nice clean kit. The kit comes with a remanufactured CS130 alternator (105 amp) and a reverse flow long style water pump. I had initially thought I needed a short pump for clearance but after measuring my pump I indeed already had a long.

The first part of the serpentine kit install was removing the normal rotation water pump that came on the motor and then mounting the AC Compressor bracket. It's held on with one stud (wrong part #) and then a nut near the top of the cylinder head (behind the bracket) and then with 2 bolts near the bottom of the bracket. Some of the bolts are Torx heads but luckily I had a set lying around. There was a second stud mentioned (wrong part # again) but I never could figure out what the hell they were talking about and the directions say it is not needed. These are the three studs in question... You can also see the idler pulley (which was the next step) installed near the top left.

[DomSmith]

The idler pulley is held on by two bolts and one stud (I believe the longest one). There was no good spot to grab the stud to screw it in (red arrow) so I just took two nuts, threaded them on the end of the stud and tightened them against each other. Then I used the outside nut to tighten the stud into the threaded hole. This is where the York would go but I wanted to be sure I got it all together and then I would add the OBA. There is also a brace at the back of the idler pulley that bolts to the stud and to the manifold but again the instructions were pretty weak. I had to post up here for some help (Thanks my64fj40): http://forum.ih8mud.com/40-55-series-tech/184156-real-time-help-sbc-serpentine-instructions-suck-%24%24.html. (The third pic is of the bracket provided by my64fj40). I had to add a nut on the bracket between the pulley and the brace for it to line up correctly and then snugged it down with a second nut on the stud. EDIT: See post #16, as I had to cut down the length of the stud).

After the idler pulley and brace were in it was time to add the belt tensioner and lower idler pulley. There is one bolt on the tensioner and 2 bolts holding the lower idler pulley from the front.

[DomSmith]

The next step is adding the reverse flow water pump (be sure to use the gaskets provided) with the four bolts and then you can add the pulley using the other 4 bolts. I decided to wait on adding the pulley until the end. EDIT: If you are going to run a 90 degree elbow off the front of the intake manifold for a heater hose you may need to install it before the water pump. I decided to add this after the fact and had to remove the water pump to thread it in.

Next I removed the bolt and washer holding the balancer in place and installed the crankshaft pulley re-using the removed bolt and washer. Be sure to line up the 3 bolt holes before tightening the main balancer bolt.

This is a good time to take a quick look to make sure all the pulleys are lined up.


Now it was time to add the power steering pump and bracket. There are five bolts that hold it in place, 2 that go in the block and 3 in the head.

[DomSmith]

After the power steering/alternator bracket was installed I attached the alternator with the upper and lower bolts. There is also another bracket on this side behind the alternator which attaches to the manifold. Again there were no diagrams in the instructions so you are left to best guess the location.

EDIT: I forgot to mention that the long stud behind the AC bracket was a bit too long for my liking so I cut it down a bit (pic 3)...

[DomSmith]

Once the alternator was installed I hooked up the two power steering hoses to be sure what I had would work (these pics are obviously both ends of the low pressure hose). If I remember correctly the fittings I had (and what came in the kit) are both metric which was a lucky break. Both hoses fit well and I was able to move on to the next step after filling up the power steering pump with fluid.

Since I'm near the end of the Serpentine section I'll cover wiring the CS130 alternator even though this was actually done after the Ram Jet wiring was complete.

I searched and searched and looked at the Tech Article (CS-130 Alternator Wiring - Land Cruiser Tech from IH8MUD.com) on the wiring but could not for the life of me figure out what I was supposed to do with regards to the charge light. Looking back on it there's no doubt it's quite simple but I just wasn't confident on how I was doing it. I understood that I just needed a "charge" light or a resistor and I decided to try the light. At first I had a temporary light plugged in to a 12v source and then connected it to the alternator in the engine compartment but the light was on all the time that the key was switched so I know that wasn't right. What I finally did was tap into the ignition wire (black w/ yellow?) behind the dash and ran that wire to one of the wires coming from the stock red "brake" idiot light in the dash that had been disconnected since my disc conversion. I then ran the second wire from the back of that dash light to the "L" wire on the CS130. This worked well and the light is on when I place the key in the "ON" position and then goes out once I start the motor. The other wiring is quite simple and the Serp Kit comes with the pigtail needed.



I jumped from "S" (marked on the alt and wiring) to the "+" post on the alternator and then ran 4g wire directly to my main battery through a fuse. Then I connected the "L" wire to the dash "Brake" light as described above. The other two wires can be removed but I just soldered and shrink wrapped female butt ends on to protect them.

I decided to abandon the old wiring of the si alternator the PO did and capped them off. I know the large white w/ blue goes to the amp meter and I'm sure one was a battery wire but they are so wrapped up in the harness I figured I would let them be. As for now I'm running a Volt Gauge but do need to figure out what to do with the wires going to the Amp Gauge. It still reads negative all the time (since the charging side is out of the circuit) and I may leave it that way to keep an idea of how much juice I'm using. I know the 30 amp gauge would take a beating if I hooked it up now. I'm hoping someone has an idea whether it's bad to leave it all hooked up or not. Personal preference, but I HATE having gauges that don't work in the dash. I'll try to get that figured out soon.

I've since had the system checked at an electrical shop to be sure I didn't screw anything up.

[DomSmith]

I finished up by adding the water pump pulley and heater hose barb at the top of the water pump. My other heater hose connects in a T fitting at the lower radiator hose. I am having a few problems generating heat at the heater at idle so I think the lower T fitting may be my problem there. EDIT: See the note on using a 90 degree fitting at the front of the manifold in post #15 and #85.

After putting the radiator and Taurus fan back in I used the bad photocopied photo provided in the GM instructions to route the serpentine belt and used a ratchet to get it on. The tensioner is self adjusting which is a HUGE improvement over my old V-Belt setup. With a bunch of mis-matched parts from the PO and pulleys that lined up "pretty well" the tensioning was hell. This is a snap and there are instructions on how to read whether the serp belt needs replacing in the documentation. The pulleys sit no farther forward than my old V-Belt setup which I was worried about because of my limited (1") space from water pump pulley to fan.

That pretty much covers the serpentine setup. I did add the York compressor a week or so later and decided to give it it's own thread here: OBA For Serpentine Belt Setup.

[missipboy]

how's the power difference with the ramjet?

[fj40forlife]

WHat are you going to do with the old engine?

[centerlineseal]

Wow Dominic!

Once again, you've done the hard work for this fool to follow!

Coupla questions.

Did the Ramjet come equipped with the flywheel?

Who'd you get the ramshorns from? I have a set from a 62' Impala 283, but has a bracket for the alternator which I'm sure will not fit the serpentine setup.

What fuel pump did you finally go with?

You are a lucky man with the ease in bolting it up to the tranny! I once spent a good five hours, with help, in mating up a 390 to a four speed on a '76 highboy. The neighbors kept the kids in for a month after that tirade.

Thanks again for a great threas!

[DomSmith]

Originally Posted by missipboy

how's the power difference with the ramjet?

At first I was not that impressed to be honest. My old motor ran great and got up and went quite well too, but I thought 350 horse would make a pretty big difference. Once I had resolved some of the bigger issues I was having I started troubleshooting a few items and determined that with my pedal to the floor I was only at 3/4 throttle. So I figured I needed to increase the throw to get it to wide open throttle. There were 2 options I figured I could do to resolve the problem... 1. Buy a Lokar pedal like TLC uses on their conversions or 2. bend my stock pedal to increase the travel distance. I decided to bend the pedal to get the last 1/4 throttle and that made a HUGE difference as you can imagine. There is no doubt this motor hauls ass! Plenty of power for a 40 as Degnol states later. The pedal seems a bit high but as long as I get used to it and its not uncomfortable I will probably stick with it.

Originally Posted by fj40forlife

WHat are you going to do with the old engine?

Sold to a buddy.

[DomSmith]

Jim-

Originally Posted by centerlineseal

Did the Ramjet come equipped with the flywheel?

Yes. 168 tooth flywheel. Fit the 11" centerforce clutch I used. I did have to add the pilot bushing.

Originally Posted by centerlineseal

Who'd you get the ramshorns from? I have a set from a 62' Impala 283, but has a bracket for the alternator which I'm sure will not fit the serpentine setup.

I scored the ramshorns from a local hot rodder by chance. I have no idea what they are off of but was told they would work (and they did) and for $75 already coated who am I to complain? Send me a pic (or post it up) of yours and I'll tell you if I think it would work.

Originally Posted by centerlineseal

What fuel pump did you finally go with?

I decided on the MSD here: http://msdfuelinjection.com/efi_fuelpump.html I have not checked my fuel pressure yet but it seems to be ok. It does not have provisions to screw in an AN fitting on the outlet though.

EDIT: I decided on a different fuel pump after the fact. As of today I still have the MSD installed, but this Holley will be added soon (AN fitings and a 3/8" supply not 5/16" like the MSD). http://store.summitracing.com/partde...5&autoview=sku
I found one online for $139 shipped and decided I would keep the MSD as a trail spare.

Keep me posted on your progress.

[DomSmith]

The next step was to install the exhaust bung for the O2 sensor. I had just had a custom exhaust built for the 5 speed conversion I had done and was quite pleased with the result. I decided to try and do this part myself to gain a little experience instead of just running to a shop. First I read the instructions which indicated placing the sensor as close to the manifold as possible (I don't recommend using the location seen here. Check post #26 for why...). I measured to be sure access was easy and that the sensor could be installed and removed without great effort. Then I marked where the 7/8" hole was to be drilled, then made the hole. Finally I made a hideous weld to attach the bung. Although it doesn't look very pretty it did the trick.

After installing the bung I lined up the crossover (Y) pipe to the manifolds...

[DomSmith]

What I had not counted on was a slight difference in the oil pan from the Ram Jet and my old pan. The pipe now hit the pan and was not going to be usable.

[DomSmith]

So a quick call to the exhaust shop confirmed they would build a new pipe that same day. I again borrowed my buddy's trailer and winched it on and towed it to the shop. It eventually took until the next day but the pipe came out perfectly and I learned that the O2 sensor placement was much better in the collector of the "Y" pipe so both sides of the motor would be in the loop not just the side I had originally placed it in.


Once back home I decided to tackle the fuel sytsem. I had decided to go with the MSD fuel pump: MSD Fuel Injection - Performance EFI Systems because it seemed to meet the needs as described in the installation instructions (43-55 psi and deliver 35 gallons/hr) and was pretty reasonably priced which would make carrying a spare more realistic. I mounted it in the same location as the Holley fuel pump I ran with the Pro-Jection setup. The inlet is 3/8" and the outlet is 5/16" and I had a hard time determining what size hoses to use. I eventually went with 5/16" High Pressure fuel injection hose with lines that matched the stock metal fuel lines in the frame near the front of the rig. I will be changing this soon as I have run into a few issues since first installing these lines. (EDIT: See posts 71 and 72 for VERY IMPORTANT updated information on the fuel lines).

EDIT: I also decided to change to this Holley fuel pump (12-920) for true 3/8" supply and will be keeping the MSD as a spare: Holley 12-920 - Holley In-Line Electric Fuel Pumps - summitracing.com

[watrob]

That's one hell of a motor install, beautiful engine, the finish is 100% and a lot of HP and I have looked over the forum and see a lot of big powerful V8's going into FJ's.


I just put a 4.0litre diesel into my FJ (with the same power & size as the 2F was), now I don't won't upset you in anyway because I know what the feeling is like when you acomplish something like what you have done, but the FJ at speeds over 60mph are a handful, they don't stop all that well and really don't have any saftey features so to speak of.

Now I own fast powerful cars, they are 2007 models that handle the 400 & 500hp, so I am intrigued, it maybe an age thing and I am just getting to old, but what makes people put these V8's in?

Is it the presention and the acomplishment because it certainly well engineered or is the need for speed & power?. The FJ is not a sports car and in Australia a lot of people put small V8's in because they are cheap to buy and maintain, but some of the installs I have seen on the forum are mind blowing for DD vehicle.

Anyway like I said that's one hell of an install and it's a credit to you and a achievement, happy motoring.

[missipboy]

There were 2 options I figured I could do to resolve the problem... 1. Buy a Lokar pedal like TLC uses on their conversions or 2. bend my stock pedal to increase the travel distance. I decided to bend the pedal to get the last 1/4 throttle and that made a HUGE difference as you can imagine. The pedal seems a bit high but as long as I get used to it and its not uncomfortable I will probably stick with it.

a third option that wouldn't make the pedal uncomfortably high would be to extend it above the pivot point. that would give it a longer extended length and you could keep your pedal in the stock form.

Now I own fast powerful cars, they are 2007 models that handle the 400 & 500hp, so I am intrigued, it maybe an age thing and I am just getting to old, but what makes people put these V8's in?

Is it the presention and the acomplishment because it certainly well engineered or is the need for speed & power?. The FJ is not a sports car and in Australia a lot of people put small V8's in because they are cheap to buy and maintain, but some of the installs I have seen on the forum are mind blowing for DD vehicle.

it's not about wether or not you can go over 60mph, it's how fast you can get there

[DomSmith]

Originally Posted by watrob

I just put a 4.0litre diesel into my FJ (with the same power & size as the 2F was), now I don't won't upset you in anyway because I know what the feeling is like when you acomplish something like what you have done, but the FJ at speeds over 60mph are a handful, they don't stop all that well and really don't have any saftey features so to speak of.

Watrob-

No offense taken, in fact quite the contrary. I really like to get others opinions. I think everybody does stuff for different reasons but I'll try to explain mine.

I've owned F motor cruisers and liked them but wanted some more power. The quick easy install is an SBC so I bought one that was already converted because I was intimidated by the process then and found one for cheaper than I could do it. With the increase in power I decided disc brakes was in order for safety and driveability concerns. After many years of dreaming of a little better freeway ride I dropped a 5 speed in and have enjoyed that improvement. As for the Ram Jet I was replacing a V8 with an improved V8 in my opinion. Better driveability, more reliable, and yes more HP (as missipboy said... faster to 60). Now I'm planning on rear discs to help again with drivability and safety.

This is just a hobby for me. I feel fortunate to have the time, resources and my health that allows me to have this kind of fun. I have two other cars that are newer and safer. The cruiser is not a daily driver but I wouldn't hesitate to use it as one. If I had more time and room I would get an FJ45 and put a Big Block in it with an auto tranny. More space than that and I would add another 40 and convert it to diesel. But I would be the one doing it so I could learn about diesel motors. More room than that... a stock pristine 40, a troopy, etc. More room than that (and money) and I might commission an ICON. But believe me, I would be in Van Nuys, bugging the $h1T out of Jonathan watching the whole thing, because that's what I'd like to do.

Bottom line is I did it to do it. Maybe in a few years I'll pull this out and put in an LS1... just for fun.

[brianj]

What kind of gas milage did you get out of the 350 with the 5 speed? I ask because the gas prices are getting so high and my fj only gets 9 mpg.