ROTW fussy_cruiser

fussy_cruiser · 05-05-08, 11:40 AM

Already? I only signed up a year ago.

I bought this 1979 at the end of 2004, my wife thought I was totally nuts. I had just changed job and my new job was only 6 miles away. I had always wanted an FJ40, my buddy tried to talk me into a Jeep TJ, but I said, "No way, too reliable for me...!"

Anyway, looked at like 10, and finally bought this one, paid waaaayyyy too much for it, but I was happy so who cares.

The PO had done the V8 swap, 3" lift (2 1/2" springs and 1/2" shackles) and had replaced the tranfer case and the rear diff trying to chase down a horrible drivetrain vibration that had kept him from enjoying it for some years. I had no clue, this one was the best LC I had looked at, the others in various stages of disrepair or diassembly or both.

I soon found out that driveline vibrations and the wandering from increased caster caused by the shackle lift (and crappy rancho springs) made driving the rig intolerable @ anything above 35MPH, so my quest began and I discovered IH8MUD.com.

I took it to a guy I knew to put a Saginaw PS setup on it, and I put some shims in the front and back all of which made it drive strait as an arrow at any speed but I still had horrible driveline vibrations. Replaced all the motor/tranny mounts, new drive-shafts, and a new harmonic balancer, all of which helped but didn't eliminate it.

Oh, yea, install a new backseat!

fussy_cruiser · 05-05-08, 11:42 AM

Some more from the first year, had some 30" tires on it, yea baby:

fussy_cruiser · 05-05-08, 11:45 AM

I finally got brave and put some 33" tires on it, which did nothing for the driveline vibrations, but did drop the RPM's on the hiway, redneck overdrive. 33's did better off-road also... but the MT's don't do well in the snow/ice!

fussy_cruiser · 05-05-08, 11:49 AM

Finally, I found the source of the driveline vibrations!!!

I bought some lifted shacks here on MUD, 1 1/2" lift with greaseable pins and some new poly spring bushings and to my surprise all of the driveline vibrations disappeared. It was on now! I could drive as fast as I dared.

Testing the new flex on the trail:

fussy_cruiser · 05-05-08, 11:52 AM

I went super tech and put in some new Bestop seats.

I know, they are spice and the rest of my interior is grey, but they were cheap, $100 for the pair, and I didn't know if I would like them anyway.

I figured if I really liked them, I could go buy a new set of grey seats and sell these for probably close to what I bought them for. I don't like them, thinking about a set of Master craft seats.

ranger · 05-05-08, 11:56 AM

Nice Cruiser! You look way to young to drive!

fussy_cruiser · 05-05-08, 11:58 AM

I finally decided to bite off some real tech and swap the transmission. Really steep trail are kindof scary with the stock transmission. Even with the V8, or maybe because of the V8 (2F has more torque at lower RPMs), going slow enough to maintain control over rocky ascents is a problem.

So I bought a SM465, the classic cruiser adaptor and went to work. The results are AMAZING. The granny low is fantastic and around town this transsmission fits the V8 powerband to a tee. I never used 2nd gear on the H42 and there is no equivilant on the SM465. Plus the old H42 was so worn out it was a real hassle to shift.

fussy_cruiser · 05-05-08, 12:00 PM

Put on a new front winch bumper from MAF and an 8274 I picked up cheap:

fussy_cruiser · 05-05-08, 12:07 PM

Hear is how it sat at the end of last summer, almost perfect, but I still fought several issues:
1) I can never get the carb choke to work right, takes like 10 minutes in the morning to get it fired up.
2) It over heats @ hiway speeds in the summer, makes it a pain to drive to/from the trail. It is rock solid on the trail, no overheating at all.
3) Along with the overheating it vapor locks, 'specially at altitude, pain while wheeling.
4) Runs rich, get ok gas mileage 10-12MPG combined (I have buddys who drive lifted TJ's who get that in the 4.0) but the exhaust smell will knock you out with the top off. (Side note: I have since found that the intake manifold on the old engine was cracked! Most likely contributing to the rich condition?)

fussy_cruiser · 05-05-08, 12:08 PM

All of the above made me feel I needed to swap the engine. I also got some Firestein motor mounts:

fussy_cruiser · 05-05-08, 12:15 PM

Plans are still:
1) Mount the rear bumper w/tire carrier I bought in January.
2) Finish the swap.
3) Lockers.
4) Body lift so I can put my heater back in (the new motor mounts lowered the engine which kicked the transmission neck forward into the heater.)
5) Rerouted Exhaust
6) Skid plate.

It is always hard to pick out upgrades. I don't wheel that much, I have 3 kids who are in alot of activities and they really don't like to go 4wheeling that much, they like the quads.

I also daily drive the rig, so how much money do you sink into it.
I don't what to add things that bling it out and make it a target for theives, I really don't know if car thieves target these things much, but I would hate for mine to be stolen, it only has liability ins. on it.

I am embarrassed to say this is how it sits now after about 4 months of working on it:

ProvoCruiser · 05-05-08, 02:18 PM

sweet 40

AKcruiserfreak · 05-05-08, 05:30 PM

Ahhh, Good to see another work-in-progress! Looks like you have a very solid rig. That swap is going to net you some serious HP. Keep up the good work.

TK

FJFOOL · 05-06-08, 12:47 AM

Nice cruiser, and good write-up. Bet you'll love the fuel injection unit !!

Gus · 05-06-08, 05:20 AM

Nicely built Cruiser, post pics when you get it on the road again.

fussy_cruiser · 05-06-08, 03:54 PM

Thanks all, just got it to start yesterday.

Hopefully I will get my TRE's so I can finish the steering and pull it out into the driveway.

Then it will be driveway art instead of garage art.

:woot

Josie'sLandCruiser · 05-06-08, 08:19 PM

Hi All:

"FussyCruiser," great ROTW!

You have done a lot to the rig over the last three years!

That MPI swap should make a huge difference in the "runability" of the rig!

Keep the pics coming!

Regards,

Alan

Splash · 05-07-08, 09:47 PM

Thanks for sharing. Excellent write up and nice rig.

HawkDriver · 05-08-08, 07:40 PM

Nice truck. A lot of work. That last pic of the wiring harness scares the pants off of me,

good luck with it.

Thanks for the writeup.

CruisinMT · 05-09-08, 03:02 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by HawkDriver

Nice truck. A lot of work. That last pic of the wiring harness scares the pants off of me,

good luck with it.

Thanks for the writeup.

x2 Good God afterwards you'll be seeing wires and schematics for months while you sleep.

74fjsemistock · 05-09-08, 04:08 PM

Very nice write up.Thanks for sharing the art.

lostmarbles · 05-09-08, 04:49 PM

Very nice cruiser and I've enjoyed reading your thread.

fussy_cruiser · 06-03-08, 09:48 PM

Some updated pics:

Josie'sLandCruiser · 06-04-08, 08:27 PM

Hi All:

"Fussy," looking good!

Have you had it on the road yet? What do you think?

Regards,

Alan

Twisty · 06-05-08, 09:07 PM

Nice 40 and pics!!

fjatheart · 06-05-08, 09:18 PM

What did your backseat come out of? I've been looking for something like this. Thanks.

Quote:

Originally Posted by fussy_cruiser

Already? I only signed up a year ago.

I bought this 1979 at the end of 2004, my wife thought I was totally nuts. I had just changed job and my new job was only 6 miles away. I had always wanted an FJ40, my buddy tried to talk me into a Jeep TJ, but I said, "No way, too reliable for me...!"

Anyway, looked at like 10, and finally bought this one, paid waaaayyyy too much for it, but I was happy so who cares.

The PO had done the V8 swap, 3" lift (2 1/2" springs and 1/2" shackles) and had replaced the tranfer case and the rear diff trying to chase down a horrible drivetrain vibration that had kept him from enjoying it for some years. I had no clue, this one was the best LC I had looked at, the others in various stages of disr

05-05-08, 11:40 AM	#1
fussy_cruiser IH8MUD Regular Join Date: Mar 2005 Location: Colorado TLCA# 16565 Posts: 224	ROTW fussy_cruiser Already? I only signed up a year ago. I bought this 1979 at the end of 2004, my wife thought I was totally nuts. I had just changed job and my new job was only 6 miles away. I had always wanted an FJ40, my buddy tried to talk me into a Jeep TJ, but I said, "No way, too reliable for me...!" Anyway, looked at like 10, and finally bought this one, paid waaaayyyy too much for it, but I was happy so who cares. The PO had done the V8 swap, 3" lift (2 1/2" springs and 1/2" shackles) and had replaced the tranfer case and the rear diff trying to chase down a horrible drivetrain vibration that had kept him from enjoying it for some years. I had no clue, this one was the best LC I had looked at, the others in various stages of disrepair or diassembly or both. I soon found out that driveline vibrations and the wandering from increased caster caused by the shackle lift (and crappy rancho springs) made driving the rig intolerable @ anything above 35MPH, so my quest began and I discovered IH8MUD.com. I took it to a guy I knew to put a Saginaw PS setup on it, and I put some shims in the front and back all of which made it drive strait as an arrow at any speed but I still had horrible driveline vibrations. Replaced all the motor/tranny mounts, new drive-shafts, and a new harmonic balancer, all of which helped but didn't eliminate it. Oh, yea, install a new backseat! Attached Images __________________ ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ '79 FJ40 with a V8 and some rust, now with 33 BFG/MT's, SM465 4spd, & Warn winch, not done yet.

05-05-08, 11:42 AM	#2
fussy_cruiser IH8MUD Regular Join Date: Mar 2005 Location: Colorado TLCA# 16565 Posts: 224	Some more from the first year, had some 30" tires on it, yea baby: Attached Images __________________ ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ '79 FJ40 with a V8 and some rust, now with 33 BFG/MT's, SM465 4spd, & Warn winch, not done yet.

05-05-08, 11:45 AM	#3
fussy_cruiser IH8MUD Regular Join Date: Mar 2005 Location: Colorado TLCA# 16565 Posts: 224	I finally got brave and put some 33" tires on it, which did nothing for the driveline vibrations, but did drop the RPM's on the hiway, redneck overdrive. 33's did better off-road also... but the MT's don't do well in the snow/ice! Attached Images __________________ ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ '79 FJ40 with a V8 and some rust, now with 33 BFG/MT's, SM465 4spd, & Warn winch, not done yet.

05-05-08, 11:49 AM	#4
fussy_cruiser IH8MUD Regular Join Date: Mar 2005 Location: Colorado TLCA# 16565 Posts: 224	Finally, I found the source of the driveline vibrations!!! I bought some lifted shacks here on MUD, 1 1/2" lift with greaseable pins and some new poly spring bushings and to my surprise all of the driveline vibrations disappeared. It was on now! I could drive as fast as I dared. Testing the new flex on the trail: Attached Images __________________ ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ '79 FJ40 with a V8 and some rust, now with 33 BFG/MT's, SM465 4spd, & Warn winch, not done yet.

05-05-08, 11:52 AM	#5
fussy_cruiser IH8MUD Regular Join Date: Mar 2005 Location: Colorado TLCA# 16565 Posts: 224	I went super tech and put in some new Bestop seats. I know, they are spice and the rest of my interior is grey, but they were cheap, $100 for the pair, and I didn't know if I would like them anyway. I figured if I really liked them, I could go buy a new set of grey seats and sell these for probably close to what I bought them for. I don't like them, thinking about a set of Master craft seats. Attached Images __________________ ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ '79 FJ40 with a V8 and some rust, now with 33 BFG/MT's, SM465 4spd, & Warn winch, not done yet.

05-05-08, 11:56 AM	#6
ranger IH8MUD Addict Join Date: Jan 2003 Location: Idaho Posts: 876	Nice Cruiser! You look way to young to drive!

05-05-08, 11:58 AM	#7
fussy_cruiser IH8MUD Regular Join Date: Mar 2005 Location: Colorado TLCA# 16565 Posts: 224	I finally decided to bite off some real tech and swap the transmission. Really steep trail are kindof scary with the stock transmission. Even with the V8, or maybe because of the V8 (2F has more torque at lower RPMs), going slow enough to maintain control over rocky ascents is a problem. So I bought a SM465, the classic cruiser adaptor and went to work. The results are AMAZING. The granny low is fantastic and around town this transsmission fits the V8 powerband to a tee. I never used 2nd gear on the H42 and there is no equivilant on the SM465. Plus the old H42 was so worn out it was a real hassle to shift. Attached Images __________________ ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ '79 FJ40 with a V8 and some rust, now with 33 BFG/MT's, SM465 4spd, & Warn winch, not done yet.

05-05-08, 12:00 PM	#8
fussy_cruiser IH8MUD Regular Join Date: Mar 2005 Location: Colorado TLCA# 16565 Posts: 224	Put on a new front winch bumper from MAF and an 8274 I picked up cheap: Attached Images __________________ ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ '79 FJ40 with a V8 and some rust, now with 33 BFG/MT's, SM465 4spd, & Warn winch, not done yet.

05-05-08, 12:07 PM	#9
fussy_cruiser IH8MUD Regular Join Date: Mar 2005 Location: Colorado TLCA# 16565 Posts: 224	Hear is how it sat at the end of last summer, almost perfect, but I still fought several issues: 1) I can never get the carb choke to work right, takes like 10 minutes in the morning to get it fired up. 2) It over heats @ hiway speeds in the summer, makes it a pain to drive to/from the trail. It is rock solid on the trail, no overheating at all. 3) Along with the overheating it vapor locks, 'specially at altitude, pain while wheeling. 4) Runs rich, get ok gas mileage 10-12MPG combined (I have buddys who drive lifted TJ's who get that in the 4.0) but the exhaust smell will knock you out with the top off. (Side note: I have since found that the intake manifold on the old engine was cracked! Most likely contributing to the rich condition?) Attached Images __________________ ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ '79 FJ40 with a V8 and some rust, now with 33 BFG/MT's, SM465 4spd, & Warn winch, not done yet. Last edited by fussy_cruiser; 05-05-08 at 12:20 PM. Reason: spelling

05-05-08, 12:08 PM	#10
fussy_cruiser IH8MUD Regular Join Date: Mar 2005 Location: Colorado TLCA# 16565 Posts: 224	All of the above made me feel I needed to swap the engine. I also got some Firestein motor mounts: Attached Images __________________ ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ '79 FJ40 with a V8 and some rust, now with 33 BFG/MT's, SM465 4spd, & Warn winch, not done yet.

05-05-08, 12:15 PM	#11
fussy_cruiser IH8MUD Regular Join Date: Mar 2005 Location: Colorado TLCA# 16565 Posts: 224	Plans are still: 1) Mount the rear bumper w/tire carrier I bought in January. 2) Finish the swap. 3) Lockers. 4) Body lift so I can put my heater back in (the new motor mounts lowered the engine which kicked the transmission neck forward into the heater.) 5) Rerouted Exhaust 6) Skid plate. It is always hard to pick out upgrades. I don't wheel that much, I have 3 kids who are in alot of activities and they really don't like to go 4wheeling that much, they like the quads. I also daily drive the rig, so how much money do you sink into it. I don't what to add things that bling it out and make it a target for theives, I really don't know if car thieves target these things much, but I would hate for mine to be stolen, it only has liability ins. on it. I am embarrassed to say this is how it sits now after about 4 months of working on it: Attached Images __________________ ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ '79 FJ40 with a V8 and some rust, now with 33 BFG/MT's, SM465 4spd, & Warn winch, not done yet. Last edited by fussy_cruiser; 05-05-08 at 02:09 PM.

05-05-08, 02:18 PM	#12
ProvoCruiser IH8MUD Junior Join Date: Aug 2006 Location: Utah TLCA# 17307 Posts: 90	sweet 40 __________________ Red '78 FJ40

05-05-08, 05:30 PM	#13
AKcruiserfreak IH8MUD Addict Join Date: Jul 2006 Location: North Pole, Ak Posts: 560	Ahhh, Good to see another work-in-progress! Looks like you have a very solid rig. That swap is going to net you some serious HP. Keep up the good work. TK __________________ 1971 FJ-40 2" shackle lift, 33" BFG,PTO winch, lots o' miles, con fer roof rack, safety yellow, weber 38dgas 1973 FJ-40 parts rig with a 350. 1993 FZJ-80 110k, cdl switch, 7-pin mod, new ecu, ARB/Warn12k, Wild Country TXR 285's,Astrostart autostart, 1" Slee spacers.

05-06-08, 12:47 AM	#14
FJFOOL IH8MUD Regular Join Date: Mar 2006 Location: Puyallup, WA Posts: 296	Nice cruiser, and good write-up. Bet you'll love the fuel injection unit !!

05-06-08, 05:20 AM	#15
Gus IH8MUD Addict Join Date: Apr 2003 Location: Canaan, NH TLCA# 12746 Posts: 997	Nicely built Cruiser, post pics when you get it on the road again. __________________ 79 FJ40, sloooooowly rebuilding, 73 FJ40, 64 FJ45LV, 83 FJ65 project 04.5 Dodge 2500 CTD, 04 VW Jetta TDI

05-09-08, 04:49 PM	#22
lostmarbles IH8MUD Lifer Join Date: Sep 2007 Location: New Zealand (The other side of the world to most of ya!!!) Posts: 1,501	Very nice cruiser and I've enjoyed reading your thread.

06-05-08, 09:07 PM	#25
Twisty IH8MUD Junior Join Date: Nov 2006 Location: Sunshine Coast, QLD, Australia Posts: 199	Nice 40 and pics!! __________________ 1978 FJ40 4" Lift, 3F, F&R AirLockers Daily - 33 MTZ 15x10 ClassicLock Offroad - 35 TrXus MTs 15x10 ClassicII Buildup Thread Visit my Shed

05-06-08, 03:54 PM	#16
fussy_cruiser IH8MUD Regular Join Date: Mar 2005 Location: Colorado TLCA# 16565 Posts: 224	Thanks all, just got it to start yesterday. Hopefully I will get my TRE's so I can finish the steering and pull it out into the driveway. Then it will be driveway art instead of garage art. :woot __________________ ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ '79 FJ40 with a V8 and some rust, now with 33 BFG/MT's, SM465 4spd, & Warn winch, not done yet.

05-06-08, 08:19 PM	#17
Josie'sLandCruiser Dog is my co-pilot. Join Date: Feb 2005 Location: Seattle, USA TLCA# 6446 Posts: 1,868	Hi All: "FussyCruiser," great ROTW! You have done a lot to the rig over the last three years! That MPI swap should make a huge difference in the "runability" of the rig! Keep the pics coming! Regards, Alan __________________ www.seattlecruiserheads.com

05-07-08, 09:47 PM	#18
Splash IH8MUD Rookie Join Date: Nov 2007 Location: NorCal TLCA# 11105 Posts: 48	Thanks for sharing. Excellent write up and nice rig.

05-08-08, 07:40 PM	#19
HawkDriver Tougher'n a $2 steak Join Date: Feb 2002 Location: look up TLCA# 15861 Posts: 2,922	Nice truck. A lot of work. That last pic of the wiring harness scares the pants off of me, good luck with it. Thanks for the writeup. __________________ 75 FJ40, it's like having a second job

05-09-08, 04:08 PM	#21
74fjsemistock IH8MUD Regular Join Date: Sep 2005 Location: edmond,oklahoma TLCA# n/a Posts: 349	Very nice write up.Thanks for sharing the art.

06-03-08, 09:48 PM	#23
fussy_cruiser IH8MUD Regular Join Date: Mar 2005 Location: Colorado TLCA# 16565 Posts: 224	Some updated pics: Attached Images __________________ ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ '79 FJ40 with a V8 and some rust, now with 33 BFG/MT's, SM465 4spd, & Warn winch, not done yet.

06-04-08, 08:27 PM	#24
Josie'sLandCruiser Dog is my co-pilot. Join Date: Feb 2005 Location: Seattle, USA TLCA# 6446 Posts: 1,868	Hi All: "Fussy," looking good! Have you had it on the road yet? What do you think? Regards, Alan __________________ www.seattlecruiserheads.com