[Lil'John]

Hmm... is it the rule or the exception that projects will always run into road blocks and delays

First it is the rusty gas tank that I'm striking out on. Tried a place down in Gilroy that is now shut down and Custom Cruisers had no recommendations for the area. Then tried a place in Sacramento that Pighead recommended. They no longer deal with gas tanks. I'm going to be pounding pavement on this come Monday morning.

Second, my powder coater seems to have turned on the slow gear. We got things straightened out when the instructions for two projects got kind of blurred (my fault for not insisting on everything in writing) Unfortunately, they weren't done today with all my drivetrain powder coating and sand blasting. Sand blasted alum parts looked killer. Hopefully the tranny and doubler will look good powder coated "aluminum".

Third, my axle guy seems to have taken the week off. Kind of delays getting the rear FJ80 axle shortened.

Fourth, large brake and axle parts order from SOR was delayed a bunch. But this will only minorly delays me from getting the front axle rebuilt next weekend.

Fifth, Kragen loves playing games. Thought I had made a steal on some new brake rotors for the rear axle. Nope.... still getting a reasonable deal but still, why advertise it on your website if you aren't going to really offer it Also having a delay on the new scout box. Maybe they will have it tomorrow.

Sixth, I went to Pick and Pull looking for my S10 steering column. Almost EVERY steering column had the horn button removed. That is assuming the column was there and not completely wrecked. That is an interesting experience and must be a Sacramento thing because I sure don't understand. Guess I'll have to try my luck in the SF Bay Area soon.

But on the good side, I did get some more stuff started:

• Painted the new tie rod ends I got. Nice and pretty
• Clean and painted the brake assembly hanger, brake pedal, and clutch pedal
• Cleaned and primed the firewall in the engine bay around the brake/clutch area
• Cleaned and painted the existing brake booster
• Cleaned and painted the long rear brake line across the firewall as well as the three lines for the vacuum shifter
• Ripped all the front brake lines off/out. Most were in bad condition. Seems to have fixed the leak

Between Sunday and Monday, I hope to get the following finished:

• Hang brake assembly
• Mount brake booster
• Install brake master
• Install "old" clutch master
• Install new fuse block
• Start routing wires to the new fuse block
• Route power through circuit break and to fuse block
• Buy and install a keyed switch... ignition switch is hosed and seems to be causing me issues (temporary until Chevy column)
• Buy and install a momentary switch (aka the start switch) (temporary until Chevy column

Hopefully next weekend will be the day of front axle destruction. I need to get some brake bracket mounts welded on my loaner housing.

[Lil'John]

Another week and another mixed bag.

Found a place in Sacramento called Highlands Radiator to fix the tank. I expected a week or more. They had it mostly ready in 2 days. Still needs to dry out. Cheaper than going through SOR but just barely. OTOH, they did a little adjustment on my tank. Now onto fixing a broken bolt to hold it up and figure out all the plumbing.

I got an ebrake drum turned down for the tcase so it makes for a clean install. Thanks to Sean and the crew at Rivercity Differentials in Rancho Cordova. Always great service. Too bad he couldn't do my rear axle for me

Rear axle is still in a holding pattern while I figure out what shops are out there for doing it. But I have gotten new rotors and calipers for it. And I have most of the other parts for it on order.

John Pardi yet again helps me with a cruiser project. This time, he had one of the transition input gear for the transfercase. Of course, it would help to have the case... and the rebuild kit.

Powder coater is still dropping the ball. No parts in my hands yet. Just a little bit frustrating.

Apartment is starting to feel like John's Automotive Warehouse Box upon box of parts everywhere. A lot like an obstacle course Glad the GF puts up with it and the apartment manager can't see it

Still aiming for end of april beginning of may to get the cruiser to FC Fabrication for engine swap. Pictures will be coming of the gas tank, cut parking drum, and input gear... granted, not the most impressive of pictures

[Lil'John]

Not too impressive of an update.

One long weekend and I get a 90% fully front end. Replaced the spring bushings and installed greasable shackles/pins in front. Did a quick dirty clean job on the front springs. New bearings. New tie rod ends except for link that goes from steering box to a-arm. New rotors, calipers(in works), and wheel studs. Clean and painted all the axle parts. "Only" used part on this would be the FJ80 differential I installed along with misc nuts and bolts.

Three noteable things on the work:
1) The local Napa saved my ass big time when one of the inner axle seals got crushed. A stop by there on a Sunday and they had the seals in stock Totally unexpected.

2) Not sure what happened with the front axle BUT it was interesting during disassembly. The claim is it is a 78 Cruiser axle. But the gods are pointing to something else. First, it had solid rotors... which I thought were mini truck items. Second, the calipers were IFS(or Cruiser) style... so there was a worn down brake pad used as a spacer to make up the difference.

3) Doubt I'll be using Downey Offroad for any more of my parts. I purchased my axle rebuild kit through them. While it was complete, there are two things that I dislike: 1) The kit was actually a repacked TrailGear kit (TrailGear being one of two companies I will NOT do business with due to personnel and policy issues) 2) Because it was a TrailGear kit, it used some junky China bearings. I get the feeling I'll be doing my front end again in a year NOTE: When buying a rebuild kit, a smart guy inquires about the bearings.

Currently, to finish this phase, I need to install the calipers, replace the brake lines caliper to the master, install tie rod/drag link, and get new nuts/a stud for the diff. Not bad for about 14 hours worth of work with only having a clean housing to start.

Still screwing around with the gas tank bolts and waiting for a couple of fuel line items. My solution to the broken bolt is to drill the hole out, cut a 1" square hole in the support rib, and use a bolt/nut combo. This was after breaking a tap handle while trying to use an Easy Out

I still need to route my fuel related lines on the frame along with the cleaned frame brake line. I bought some handy clamps from Summit to do this:MFY-2035771 and MFY-2037771. Basically, one is a dual 3/8" clamp while the other is a 3/8" with 3/16" clamp. I will stack these and mount them to the original frame holes. Nice clean install

Almost have the fuse block fully mounted and ready to go. Unfortunately, this means I need to cut open the wire loom and move wires. This also brings up other electrical issues:

• My ignition switch was junk. It wouldn't hold the run setting very well and so that hurt me as much as the rust in the tank for getting to DMV. My "temp" solution so I can get it registered and moved to FC Fab is to use a keyed switch and a momentary switch(aka starter). Once I get it back from FC Fab with a new steering column, I will do the permanent wiring to the Chevy column.
• Another temp solution to get it down to FC Fab is I will be wiring two/three circuits to the fuse block: brake circuit, ignition circuit, and start circuit. Since I will have as many fused circuits as I will(20 total), I will be splitting the Cruiser harness down some more to take advantage of this. I will be using a fuse per "circuit" instead of combining multiple circuits into one.
• As mentioned earlier, this year cruiser had a turn signal relay box. Due to my new fuse block, new column, and $30-$40 cost of one, I opted to temporarily jumper the brake switch to the brake lights. This gives me brake lights but no turn signals. Guess I can be like everyone else and not use those

I've got the NP203 getting a couple holes put in it by Adam at AA Fab in Elk Grove. Hopefully will get that back early this week so I can rebuilt that sucker.

STILL waiting on Downey to get me my LC tcase rebuilt kit If it is a rebadged TrailGear kit, I'm going to send the POS back and spend a few dollars more with another company

I have my FJ80 rear axle getting narrowed at Lincoln Welding in Sacramento. Cliff is the guy to talk with there. Unfortunately, Sean at RiverCity Differential was unable to do this work. I should also be getting this "partially" back this week. Cliff does the final alignment/straightening AFTER everything has been welded So I need to get it from him, weld on spring perches and the second bracket for the anti-wrap bar then take it back. I've got a box full of new parts waiting for it I just need to figure out what to do on the diff. Electric locker is tempting but the twisted shaft issue concerns me. ARB is also very tempting aside from needing the diff with fine spline pinion. Also tempting is just to leave it open but have it fully rebuilt.

I'll see about getting a boat load of pictures around for this.

[hks3sgte]

Thanks for the updates!

[Lil'John]

Sorry about the lack of pictures... not much has been cooperating on this project lately.

REAR AXLE:
I did pick up my shortened axle from Lincoln. Great work and reasonable turn around time considering he'd never touched one of them. The price ended up being a little more than he expected but still VERY reasonable. I was hoping to have put some perches on it this weekend but forgot to take the damn things with me. Those'll be next weekend.

Talked with Poly Performance... they wanted $800 for a set of custom chromo shafts. I'm going to have a talk with Sean at RCD when I take the rear diff to him for rebulding.

The ebrake system is going to be VERY easy to shorten. Picture will be forth coming of the stock setup for the FJ80. Basically, need to crimp the wire. Then the otherside has a threaded end to it. Should be able to use a threaded block for the FJ80 cable and a hole for the FJ40 cable.

FRONT AXLE
Mostly rebuilt. Small issue getting the snap rings to seat properly Still need to install the new tie rod ends to button up that portion of the project.

Brakes
Got half the lines for the front. I've got the hard lines for the new rear axle. I "refurbished" the frame line and the firewall lines for the rear circuit. On the new axle, I still would like to track down stainless flex lines. I got the SOR stainless kit which includes the frame to axle lines. I was able to get one of the hard lines for the front axle. I was hoping to find a short line but haven't been able to. Nor have I been able to figure out what to do for the front "firewall" line. I hand bend a 5 foot line and it was about a foot short for the firewall

STEERING
Finally tracked down a good Chevy S10 column. I don't know what it is with people but almost every column I found had the horn button pulled. WTF Is there platinum in it? Just need to get a key made for it. Got a box with the steering joints and slip shaft. Fit well. The thing even had cruise control as part of the stalk. Wonder if that can get fitted with the Vortec stuff

TRANSFERCASE(LC)
Downey finally came through with the rebuild kit and much to my surprise, koyo bearings all around. In the initial rebuild of it, idler shaft spacer turned and bent... thus putting that on hold a bit. Still in the air on the vacuum shifter. Still doing the stock pull lever shifter in the dash.

TRANSFERCASE(NP203 REDUCTION)
This is getting 5 holes drilled and tapped to adapt it to the NV4500. He is installing studs into it. Should be picking it up tomorrow. With it, I can get the NV4500 to the tranny shop. I can also do a quick rebuild on the tcase along with tapping it for fill and drain plugs. Looks "pretty" in aluminum colored powder coating

TRANNY(NV4500)
I've got a new output shaft for it that is 23 spline. Will adapt nicely to the NP203. I need the tail housing being used for the drilling and tapping before I can get it rebuilt.

GAUGES
I went ahead and broke down. I sprung for the Haneline 3n1 gauge set. (Haneline, Custom Gauges, Dash panels and more) Neither of the speedometers I had worked... seems to be a trend Hopefully the gauges will come this week.

ELECTRICAL
Still playing around with this. Due to a bad ignition switch, I had to purchase a "start" switch and a keyed "ignition" switch to get it running. The Chevy column will be wired into place of it. I need to find a place to mount my breaker switch. Also need a nice "hot in run" block in the engine bay.

I then get further stalls with a weekend trip planned shortly plus a longer trip planned at the end of May. Not very smooth running project as I had hoped.

[Lil'John]

Here are some of the pictures of what has been done.

First one is how I fixed the broken bolt for the gas tank. I over drilled the hole to 1/2" and then cut an access hole in the side for a nut. The nut and bolt were the same size as the stock metric bolts.

Second one is of the rebuilt and cleaned front axle. Not shown in the picture but done is the tie rod/drag link. New tie rod ends for those. Still scratching my head a bit on the brake lines.

Last picture here is the nice cleaned transfercase and the powdercoated output housing. All the aluminum pieces were just blasted. This is the same approach I took with the NV4500 housing and NP203 housing... Both were powdercoated "aluminum". At the very top, hidden behind the front output housing is the new output flange(aka brake drum with the drum cut off) Waiting on an idler shaft spacer before I can put that together

[Lil'John]

Here is a quick dirty picture of how I have the fuel lines and brake line mounted. There are two brackets there that I purchased from Summit (if desired, I can get part numbers). I overdrilled the holes in the brackets to use 6mm button head bolts in the stock frame locations(4). The fuel line is just 3/8" rolled aluminum from summit. Missing from this picture is the line for the vent.

You might also note in the picture that the frame line has been refurbished. I scrubed the shit out of it, put a coat of primer on it, and then painted it a dark gray. I did this same procedure for the firewall rear brake line along with the vacuum shifter lines.

If I've missed any pictures you might want, please post up and I'll snap a few to post.

[laguna80]

Those gauges are niiiiiiiiiiice!!! I'm looking forward to the finished pig.

[cruiserbrett]

Looking good! I am about to embark on the front axle project myself. Still need to get some new rotors, then its on...

As for the brake lines, maybe get some braided stainless ones made by crown performance in San Diego. They make the ones slee sells for the 80 series, and the quality is MUCH nicer than earls or any other aftermarket I have seen.

If you have to make brake hardlines, I suggest buying the mastercool hydraulic flaring tool. It is my favorite tool!!! nothing funnier than seeing suckers try to make the cheapo napa double flaring tool work at the end of a long day. It is nearly foolproof with the mastercool tool... I know its expensive, but by the time I got one, I had spent over $140 in flare tools that just never worked correctly. Plus it does lots of other flaring, fuel lines, bubble flares, etc...

Mastercool Universal Hydraulic Flaring Tool

there is nothing about the Poly performance shafts thats worth $800... get some drive flanges, and just get some shafts made with the appropriate splining on either end.

[Lil'John]

Originally Posted by cruiserbrett

Mastercool Universal Hydraulic Flaring Tool

I might have to give this a try. The front definitely needs new lines.

Originally Posted by cruiserbrett

there is nothing about the Poly performance shafts thats worth $800... get some drive flanges, and just get some shafts made with the appropriate splining on either end.

That was sort of my opinion on the matter... Definitely didn't warrant that huge difference for a logo

Any idea on the drive flanges? That definitely has some appeal. Not sure where to get a set from though

Any thoughts on just using some mini truck hubs? Those seem to be available everywhere and there is that nice deal going on for powder coating the face

[Lil'John]

Got some more done on the cruiser before a small vacation

Main thing done was some of the electrical trickery As mentioned a few times, I am modifying the stock harness. I am replacing the fuse block with one from Waytech. I am pulling main power off the starter lug and running it through a circuit breaker.

Then I am going to split the circuits down more from stock. As an example, the cigarette lighter and the brake lights are one fuse stock. I'm making them two fuses. I will be doing similar dividing as I go through the wiring.

Onto the pictures.

First picture shows the fused links for the power coming off the starter lug. There are two lines there. One will be for interior power. The other wire will be run for relays in the engine bay. It is a stock GM chunk of wiring used for that function

Second picture shows the stock fuse block and wiring in the driver side engine bay. As you can see, I've pulled the "tape" off of the harness and have it ready to start pulling power wires into the cab to the new fuse block.

Last picture shows the new waytech fuse block. It has 20 fusible circuits. 6 are tied together that I will make my "always hot fused" items. The other 14 are tied together and will be made my "hot in run" fused items. As you might noticed, there is a missing "hot in accessory" block. The only item I could come up with that I'd want to use in the accessory position is the radio. So I will wire the radio directly to the ignition switch with an inline fuse for this purpose.

[Lil'John]

I've also got most of my "hard" work done for the rear axle.

I've got new spring perches on it. This was a bit of a pain in the ass because I was spring under. I had to cut into both sides trussing to get the mounts on(see pictures) Spring over, this would have been a fall all over myself for doing it. (picture of perches on will be coming after I get the housing painted)

I've got the "lower" mount for the axle wrap bar installed. This was simply a cut off from the upper control arm mount I cut off. After a bit of cutting on it, I welded it to the housing (picture of this will be coming after I get the housing painted)

Overall, I would classify this as a kick as modification for anyone considering a full float axle with disc brakes AND an ebrake nobody pisses on the idea of(aka the El Dorado calipers) It took me about 2 days worth of grinding with a 4.5" grinder to get all the FJ80 coil related crap off of. It cost me around $250 to get the housing shortened. The big cost now will be figuring out how to shaft it

Now onto the picture descriptions:
First we have a picture of the short side of the housing before it was cut but after I did a majority of the cutting of brackets off on it You will notice the one control arm mount left on it. That will be part of my traction bar.

Second and third we have a picture of the short side of the housing and the cutting I had to do in order to do a spring mount.
You can get a feel for what 7" cut out looks like You can also see the thickness of the truss material.

[Lil'John]

I went and snapped a couple quick pictures

First picture is the long side spring perch. I had to cut into the truss maybe 3/4". The spring perches are Rubicon Express units. Pretty thick and longer than the popular Dodge POS's a lot of people use. The longer length will help the axle wrap.

Second picture is the short side perch and the lower traction bar mount. No, the welds are not as boogerey as they look in the picture You should note that I offset the lower mount because of the third member. This allows me to use stock FJ80 upper control arms and their bushings for my traction bar. Frame end is up in the air a bit. You can also note that the truss is about as high as the spring perch.

Last picture is of my circuit breaker mounted to the firewall. It also shows the 1/2" hole that goes through the firewall for the wiring. The wire appears to be 10 gauge. Not shown in this picture is the GM power distribution block below the circuit breaker. You can see one of the mounting holes drilled to the left of the wire though The yellow lugs are a temporary measure while I get some good shrink wrap.

[Lil'John]

Current list of things for me to get on the ball this week include:

• Get rear differential rebuilt (still a little on the fence of ARB)
• Get rear axle shaft situation figured out
• Get the rear axle flex lines figured
• Pick up my NP203 that is getting drilled/tapped for NV4500
• Drop of box of NV4500 to get rebuilt
• Rebuild the NP203
• Rebuild LC tcase (waiting on spacer)
• Pull some more wires for the new fuse block
• Wire in my new ignition switch
• Wire in my new starter switch
• Finish doing gas tank lines
• Get the fuel sending unit installed (still waiting on gauges)

I'm still trying to figure out the gas tank fitting. Currently, it appears that the "carb" fix as mentioned here doesn't work for me. For the life of me, the fitting I bought brand new from toyota doesn't fit on the tank. Fits the carb lines fine just not the tank. It also appears the lines are 5/16" and not the 3/8" I expected.

[DesertLake]

You've got me thinking about that 80 series rear axle. Was contemplating the 70 series.

[Lil'John]

Originally Posted by DesertLake

You've got me thinking about that 80 series rear axle. Was contemplating the 70 series.

In all honesty, if full float and disc brakes are what you want, this is a VERY good alternative to doing the standard buy an FJ40 fullfloat from SOR and do all the mods.

The ebrake and fine spline pinion shaft are added bonuses

The SOR one is missing brakes and third member and is $450.

The FJ80 axle complete should be fairly "cheap" and you can get the electric locker in it (mine didn't)

I think all things considered the cost will be a wash between the two... especially if you don't have to do new FJ80 brakes and ebrake cable

As Brett mentioned above, I could do drive flanges and double splined shafts. I'm now leaning that way but might actually do selectable hubs like the front. Longs seems to have "super" flanges for around $170. Marlin has stock flanges for $90. And I think double sided shafts are $300ish.

I think total added cost for FJ40ing an FJ80 rear axle is probably $700-$800($275 to shorten housing, $170 for flanges, and $300 for new shafts) So if you got a cheap FJ80 axle, you could do it all for under $1200.

The FJ80 did take a LOT of grinding work though I spent probably 16 hours taking off brackets.

I seriously considered the FJ40 full float but the potential of not being able to get parts directly from a parts store on any given Sunday made me shy away from it.

If my FJ40 project didn't have a big block, I would DEFINITELY do this conversion on it in a heart beat.

[Lil'John]

Another quick update. I got the NP203 gear reduction box almost done. The main things left on it are:

• Weld on threaded inserts for drain and fill holes (damn tap wandered on me otherwise the holes would have been tapped )
• Bolt on PTO cover (left open so I can cover holes from inside during welding)
• Create a idle shaft cover (See pictures)

I've got the LC tcase half rebuilt. Need to pull the bearing between the front and rear outputs and then assemble. Also need to figure out how to shift the 4wd portion.

I've got three major choices that I can do(have the parts for all):

1. Stock 71 vacuum shifting. I've got all the parts and a rebuild kit. Would just have to extend the vacuum lines a little bit. I've only heard issues with unmaintained ones.
2. Stock 76 direct shift. Not really being considered as I don't want another hole in the floor. My goal on the floor is to have the NV4500 shifter hole only.
3. Cable pull shift. This is an offshoot of the vacuum shift. I would use the Advance Adapter's mode shaft from their dual stick kit and then route a cable into the cab to use the stock vacuum shift "knob".

The biggest thing that sucks about rebuilding an NP203 is all the free roller bearings that need to be "glued" while assembled. The idle shaft has 3 rows of bearings and the output shaft has one row.

Onto the NP203 pictures.

First picture shows the studs that Adam at AA_fab in Elk Grove did for me. This is so I can bolt the Dodge NV4500 tailhousing to the face of the NP203. The studs are Advanced Adapter Atlas studs. The three holes at the top will get set screws put into them to keep the junk out of the tcase. Worth noting is the idle shaft at the right. In not using a stock NP203 adapter, it is free to pop out the front as well as spin. NOT good.

Second picture shows the NV4500 housing "bolted" to the NP203. Couple things to see in this picture. First, the non-studded hole. This is because it fell on the edge of the NP203. All claims are 5 studs will be enough to hold this together. Second is the hold drilled into the side of the NP203 below all the writing. This is the fill hole that will get a tapped bung welded to it.

Last picture shows the drain hole drilled. It also shows the free idle shaft again.

[Lil'John]

Second set of NP203 pictures include:

First picture shows how I intend to fix the spinning idle shaft. I am starting with a stock NP203 adapter(Turbo 350 version in this case) I will then cut the top half off along line shown and keep the bottom. I will then bolt that to the NP203 below the NV4500 housing. I hope my jigsaw is up to the task

Second picture shows the "completed" NP203 gear reduction box ready to get bolted to something First need to wipe it down though Hopefully the stock Cruiser case will be up to the task. Orion is the upgrade

[Lil'John]

Small one day of blundering yielded one step forward and a lot of failure Pity party for one over here

Rear axle/swaybar
Looks like shortening one side and putting/leaving the anti wrap bar mounts where they are means I can't put sway bar mounts in the "stock" location for the FJ55 sway bar. I think my choices to retain the sway bar are:

• move the axle mounts for the sway bar upward and then shorten the sway bar links.
• see if the FJ60 sway bar is wider than the FJ55 swaybar... I seem to recall it was at the one time I had one
• cut and widen the stock FJ55 swaybar

Swaybar is a bit of an issue because I'd like to have it installed before I get the engine swap done for exhaust routing.

I got a third to Sean at Rivercity for rebuilding and putting an ARB in it. Decided that was going to be the best bet in the long run. With the rebuild, I found the gears had the coarse spline pinion... expected issue and fixed thanks to Georg at Valley Hybrid in Stockton.

FJ40 tcase
Rebuild on that was going too smoothly and as expected, I hit a nasty roadblock: the roller bearing in the rear output shaft was pressed too far in and I am having a hell of a time removing it. Pilot bearing puller didn't work and screwdriver chisel only busted the roller portion out.

NP203 gear reduction box
Things went too smoothly on this and now it looks like I'm going back to square one on it In the process of getting the face drilled/tapped, the cutting fluid Adam used put run marks in the powder coated. That was sort of disguisible... the 1/2" pipe tap not working for my drain and fill holes resulted in a big issue: I get to fully disassemble it for the powder coater again. The tap wandered too much and made the holes untappable. I had to weld on a tapped bung(see picture one) In the resulting fire, the amount of powder coating destroyed was too much to try and hide God I dread having to do the roller bearing again

Rear tcase mount
I've never been a huge fan of the AA style wing mount. And with the amount of clocking on my NP203(and I think the amount that AA puts into the adapter), the wing was going to be way out of line(see picture) I'm going to do a foot style adapter similar to GM ones. Didn't get too much done on that after shattering a 3/8" drill bit But thanks to the loaner on the AA style wing mount(thanks Georg), I've got a template made

Onto the pictures:
In the first, you see how I got my 1/2" pipe threaded bungs. I took 1/2" pipe caps and cut the cap off I then welded the resulting bung onto the NP203. In hindsight, I should have just cut a 1/2" pipe coupler in half and saved a buck

In the second picture, you can see how badly clocked the wing mount would have been. The tape is where vertical should have been

In the last picture, you see my jig for drilling out my pattern. Sue me for being a bit redneck on it... my CNC mill fund hasn't gotten any donations I do have to say those cold metal cutting saw blades kick some major butt. I payed about $40 for one in my Skillsaw and it munched through the 1/2" plate I'm using as quickly as a 2x4 Even more scary is the fact that the cut was hand touchable immediately after the cut

[cruiserbrett]

looks like youre making progress despite the setbacks. more than I can say lately.

for the transfercase issue:
I normally have to take a die grinder and a carbide bit to the small roller bearing in the nose of the output shaft. Thin it down on two sides and kinda roll it down to get it to split in two. that damn thing is one of the worst designs in the land cruiser...

as for the issue with the sway bar mounts, I would move them and shorten the links. not a big deal.
would the fJ60 one work? I thought they were mounted on the axle? or am I thinking of the 80 series ones???

good thing you decided on the ARB locker, you'd have been really pissed to get all the way done with the axle to discover that the location you put the lower traction bar tab would interfere with the diff locker actuator motor. So, theres a silver lining in the could...

[Lil'John]

Brett, my memory on the 60 sway bar is pretty short But a quick check on SOR does show it mounted to the axle

I got a little more progress done before I head on vacation.

Basically, I've been all over the electrical... picking at it like a vulture I've pulled a LOT of wires out: good, bad, or otherwise. I've got three ready to be put into the fuse panel. I've got the coil wire into the fuse panel. And I ran a new wire for the starter(in GM purple)

I'm doing a blend of GM and Toyota wiring color schematics The coil wire is now pink and per above, the starter is now purple.

I also got to play a little bit with the fuel lines. And found that dealing with 6an braided line rips fingers apart. Also found that my understanding of the AN hose fittings wasn't what I thought(only need to put the hose in part of the way)

Onto some wiring nightmare pictures:
First picture shows my new "ignition" setup This is a VERY temporary setup. It is basically a keyed switch and a momentary switch for the starter. Once I get the pig back from engine swap and PS swap, I will remove those and do the final wiring to the GM steering column. Otherwise, looks like spaghetti

Second picture shows some more. Only thing really noteworthy is the fact that the gauge cluster plug is hanging on by a wire and all the wires going to it(aside from gas gauge) are NOT cut

Last picture shows three wires ready for the fuse block. Obviously one is the brake and will go to the always hot side of the fuse block. The other two are not known yet

As far as being ready to head to the shop, I think the only two circuits I'm concerned with are the brake circuit and coil circuit. I'll need to stub in some extra wiring for the Vortec swap before heading to the shop though. I should also get the rear window working. Otherwise, I'm not worried about most of the other wiring working as it would be temp wiring(wipers, hazard, turn signals, etc)

To get to the shop, I've got the following list left to do:

• Front brake lines (I've ordered the kick ass line bender recommended since I still have my other cruiser to go through)
• Pick up engine and figure wiring out
• Wiring (mostly bundle it out of the way and stub Vortec circuits in)
• Track down pitman arm for the scout box
• Fuel lines part 1: rig it up so I can run the F engine down to Stockton
• Fuel lines part 2: rig up the fuel pump and filter along with the return line

While the rig is at the shop, I'll get the ECM flashed. I've got the programmer for my laptop but I'll feel more comfortable getting it professionally flashed especially for the transmission details. I think I can dissect what was changed after the fact

[LC_Hamma]

John - alotta building & typing goin on here I didn't see if you were going to run some type of tcase saver (?) All that torque going to a stock 3 spd. case

[Cruiserdrew]

Originally Posted by LC_Hamma

John - alotta building & typing goin on here I didn't see if you were going to run some type of tcase saver (?) All that torque going to a stock 3 spd. case

I was thinking that too. You really want to use a split case off an FJ60, which is more likely to stand up to the load. A 3 Speed case even with a saver is asking for trouble.

After reading this, I'm curious why you just didn't run FJ60 axles for a bit of width, and poly inners for strength? That's gets you away from all the custom parts.

Nice job though. I look for signs of work every day when I ride by on my bike.

[Lil'John]

I went on vacation and still got work done... sort of

I've got a handful of parts powder coated. I've got an ARB 3rd member ready to get picked up Monday. And I should have my NV4500 rebuilt by now(checking Monday) And I've got tires on the way for the rim.

I'm in a bit of a debate on how to do onboard air without going to a york I'm not sure the Vortec will have room to have it on there The three main duties of it are going to be for the ARB locker, airing tires, and filling air mattress I haven't heard anything good about the ARB air compressor... OTOH, I haven't ready anything recent so they may be much better now.

On the tcase, I am going to run a plate on top for now(see picture of powder coating) I'm giving serious thoughts to upgrading to an orion... or keeping an eye out for the occasionally for sale Warden's billet case

On the FJ60 axles, the added width is "sort of" a bonus. But I'm not a huge fan of extra tire hanging outside the fenders. The front would net me the same result as my current front just 3" wider. The rear, I'd still have the same issue I have now about doing disc brakes and the ebrake issue. Aside from the housing, the only real custom part in the axles would be the short side in the rear. I'm actually going to do drive flanges from longs and double splined shafts in the rear.

One thing to keep in mind on this build is that it will be more of an expedition "stocky" type build and not a hardcore build. The tires
are a "massive" 245/75R17(aka 31s) If I were going to run bigger tires, I'd definately consider a wider WMS like the 60" I've got on my 40ish project.

Onto the pictures:
First picture shows the powder coated early grill and headlight rings. Note the nice turn areas I'm still largely undecided on how to do the toyota. I could do white, silver, or nebula green(aka body color)

Second picture shows the tcase parts. That is the final NP203 powder coating There is the end cap on the LC tcase with the face coated... I decided that was needed since I wasn't going to have the ebrake bracket bolted there. Last item there is the tcase saver from Georg. I'm planning on running studs in the top cover to help with any nut back off issues.

Last picture shows the nice hub selectors I got from DanS HJ-45. They are going to be a beautiful addition Then there are the front fender grills. I'm largely debating getting the rest of the chrome "body" pieces powdered black(door handles, lock faces, light rings) Last item is a Paul Decker hot water heat exchange... just because I'm roughing it doesn't mean I have to really rough it... okay, I'm getting soft

[Lil'John]

On a last note, I ordered a couple of SOR's marker light gaskets that were made for the FJ40. So far, the flat front one is thinner than the stock one I've got and the rear one has a little bit of off angle. I'll be pulling my markers off and completely checking them out. If they are the same, I'll be ordering a set of the FJ40 lens

Last picture to go with the grill.

I had the turn signal housings sand blasted since they were VERY corroded. I will then have to find a replacement center part for the wiring.

Both lens are in fairly good condition. One has a little chip. Just wish I could get them to clear up and "shine".

Last item that would be really nice for both of these would be gaskets. Mine are a bit rough

[Lil'John]

During my vacation, I placed a "small" SOR order and now that I got to do some quick cruiser crawling, I can give a "review"

First item is the 194-30: windshield washer bottle. By all appearances, it is going to bolt right up with no issues. The bracket that comes with it almost looks like the one that is bolted in place right now. It comes with two double squirt nozzles... although the quality on those is pretty poor :( It also comes with a button to control the motor but the wiring is short... must either splice into old washer wiring or add in new. Overall, I'd say 100% worth the $24 price.

Second item is the 276-30: large handle. Technically, this is for adding roof grab handles to FJ40s. With a little work, it will work for replacing the grab handles on the FJ55. The downside is the handle holes are 10" on center while the FJ55 handles are closer to 10.5". It doesn't appear the holes can be ovalled out enough to work at 10.5". Upon pulling back my headliner, it appears that the FJ55 holes can be adjusted. My plan is to pick one of the holes in the roof to drill and tap a new hole 1/2" closer. I also noticed that the driveside roof has the holes for the handles but were not installed The quality on these appear good and the only real negative beyond having to do new holes is the fact they are black. Given a new headliner and interior to my cruiser, I may go black. Might be worth the $8 per... not sure of another alternative for a grab bar.

Next item is 152-40A: R RR Marker gasket. Technically, this is the marker gasket for the REAR FJ40 marker lights. But upon pulling the FRONT FJ55 marker light on my FJ55, they are VERY close. I'd say they are 1/8" thinner but they are the same flat style. Not sure if it is a factory gasket or not since mine came in an SOR bag. I will be using it and seeing if I can "shine" my front lens.

Next item is 152-4B: R FT Marker gasket. Technically, this is the marker gasket for the FRONT FJ40 marker lights. But upon comparing the REAR FJ55 marker light on my FJ55, they are VERY close. I'd say they are 1/4" thinner but the angle seems to be the same angle. I'll be pulling mine my rear lens to try it out.

Please note that on the above two gaskets there ARE left and right versions.

Next item is148-02G: rear tail lens. These are some nice repro 55 lens. They are just the solid red style... would have really loved the two tone style but missed the boat on those These are a little pricey but with the rest of the new lens stuff, should make the cruiser stand out. Now if there was just the other gasket that SLO doesn't make I'd be stoked

Next item is 112-21G: 55 hood bumper. This is a dealer available item: 53349-90351. Enough said My bumpers were a bit cracked and hard. Given the new engine and showing off of stuff under there, new bumpers were in order. $10.45 each. Killing my touch up budget with these

Last item is 176-01B: light switch. This is a dealer available item: 84110-60030. Enough said on quality This is the old plain pull style switch... not the newer dimmer adjustable style. It comes with knob and all... just no electrical plug :( One is going for headlights and one is going for driving lights.

Overall, putting my SOR membership to a lot of use so far 90% of what I've gotten has been exactly what I needed. Some items were usable with a little work. One a couple miscues due to some ambiguity in there catalog.

[LC_Hamma]

John - you really need to be concerned w/ that 3 spd. case. That cheapy "saver" ain't gonna do much when yer bottom drops it's guts. Slap a Pardi plate stiffener or FJ60 case behind that drivetrain

[Lil'John]

Originally Posted by LC_Hamma

John - you really need to be concerned w/ that 3 spd. case. That cheapy "saver" ain't gonna do much when yer bottom drops it's guts. Slap a Pardi plate stiffener or FJ60 case behind that drivetrain

I am a bit concerned with the 3 spd case... but from the research I've done, I got the "better" of the older cases... if there is a such a thing

The only reason I'm not super concerned is my lack of abusive driving Add in the intended usage, and I might get it to last long enough to get an orion in there

I would jump on a Pardi plate but last I talked with him(last monthish), he wasn't doing them anymore.

The reason I'm going with the pre-split case is I've got one spare that will be fully rebuilt once the swap is done and I've got the same setup in my 40ish project. This allows me to minimize the number of different spare parts I need

If I was considering a Toyota tcase swap from what I'm using, I'd really consider using the fulltime FJ80 tcase... even though it would be a custom adapter and such.

[Lil'John]

Another "small" update.

I picked up my ARB rear third from River City Diffs. Great work as always. Now I'm waiting on Long's drive flanges so I can get Sean at RCD to measure and order some double splined axle shafts for the FJ80 FF. Only other thing of note there is I routed the blue hose

I finally got my filler hose. Turns out it is 2 1/8" round tubing. Not too cheap to get but mine needed it

I installed the grill, headlight rims, and fender vents. Looks pretty sharp. I need to find some black screws for the fender vents. I also need to figure out what type of alignment I can do on the grill. It is a bit off

I am also struggling like hell with the 6 AN braided fuel hose Whoever invented that stuff made it hard to use I also found out that the stock cruiser fuel line is 5/16" and not the 3/8" like I thought

I got my nice fancy flare tool brett recommended above. VERY nice looking quality... unfortunately, the 1/4" brake hose I ordered to use was not the size for Toyota. 3/16" is the magic number for those

I should be getting my tires in the next day or two as well as getting my transmission. Too bad the rear window doesn't want to work correctly so I can store the old tires for a day or three

Last major purchase left is the engine but I want to ensure the pig will run before I grab that so I can have a week to play with the engine before heading to Stockton.

[n2666s]

John; where did you source your filler hose?; did you get yours with an angle or straight? TIA;

Lou