[orangefj45]

i guess this will be "my" first buildup thread on here. and don't make fun of the name cause this is a cruiser i bought and it came with the name.

basically, i'm building up a 1969 fj40 which will be capable of driving to the trail, wheeling, and driving back home. hopefully, all that will be acomplished without having to work on it anywhere but in my garage. in order to do this, i will completely "overbuild" this rig where i can, given the time constraints i'm under and possible financial problems or limitations (although selling orange left me with some pocket money, even after buying this rig and some other toys). i have set a deadline for myself and sure hope i can make it. i'd like to have it running in 2 months which will give me enough time to do some testing before rubithon. better get it done, cause i'm on the comitee again this year and isabel is my only rubicon capable ride right now.

some specs:
94 tbi 350
rebuilt th700
rebuilt dana 300 with hd shafts and 4:1 ala woody (thanks for all the info bud!!!)
narrowed d60 front with powerlock and all 35 spline shafts, outer conversion
(3/4 ton calipers and rotors) to save some weight and so i don't have to
grind the crap out of the calipers to run 15" rims
high steer with ram assist
narrowed d60 rear with detroit, disc brakes
on board air
on board shower
on board welder
cage with tied in seat frame
all new wiring
full autometer gauges
fj55 rear springs SOA
longer front springs SOA
all new brake lines
all new fuel system
trans cooler
PS cooler
37" MTRs on 15" allied beadlocks
custom rear bumper with swing out tire carrier....
custom front bumper with warn 8274
auxillary gas tank
aluminum rad
.............
you get the picture.

i got started on this over the last weekend. what have i done so far? got the cruiser in the garage and made some room to work around it. pulled the old engine/trans/t-case. put it up on jack stands, put the cage in for mock-up, pulled the brake master, pulled the rad, trans cooler and lines, all the brake lines are gone, most of the wiring is out, all the front sheet metal is off,......it's pretty much stripped down as far as i need to go. i think anyways.

other prelim stuff i've done:
pulled the new engine out of a rolled 94 suburban donor vehicle.
cleaned up that engine, stripped it down, resealed it and painted the tall block.
got the d60f on the bench, pulled it apart, did some measuring and chopped off the long side axle tube right at the "C".
man, i'm beat up. good thing i get to sit at a desk during the week.

i know, i know. this thread is worthless without pics. i'll post some tonite.

all the build up pics can be seen here:
http://pg.photos.yahoo.com/ph/orange...el%3as,1%3af,0

[Rascal]

Sounds like a very cool build. Kinda like the "Family Hauler" on steriods...

It seems like you've done a really good job balancing power/weight and strength.

Look forward to seeing it come together.

Bruce

[wngrog]

Bring it bitch.......glad you have a deadline

[orangefj45]

i knew the "napoleon complex" was gonna rear its ugly head sooner or later on this one.




need an extra seat cushion so you can see over your dash nolen?!
how about some pedal extensions or a rope ladder so you can gt in that hooptie?!

[HI^C]

narrow how much? 37s on 60s, put some kind of armor on please.

Time frames make things interesting three rigs to finish in 18 days (to moab),

one driving with front driveshaft only, needs R DS, interior and traction bar,
one rolling steering drivetrain in not wired no cage or interior, one getting
a 203/205 doubler that i just opened up today. SLEEP? naw plenty of drive/ride time.

[Bags]

Hey Georg, CONGRATS! Sounds wicked. Good luck. Let me know if there's anything I can do to help...

Ray

[orangefj45]

Originally Posted by HI^C

narrow how much? put some kind of armor on please.

narrowed about 4 inches

already ordered a matching pair of diff protectors

[orangefj45]

Originally Posted by Bags

Hey Georg, CONGRATS! Sounds wicked. Good luck. Let me know if there's anything I can do to help...

Ray

careful ray, i might make you paint it. but that'll have to wait until after rubithon. just replaced the rear chanel and it needs some "not-novice" bodywork to make it look purdy.

[orangefj45]

a few before pics. gotta add "new crossmember"to the list, the old one hung down way too low.

[orangefj45]

coule more before pics of the engine, trans and t-case.

[orangefj45]

add some gunk, a pressure washer, some gaskets, some paint and a couple of hours of work:

[orangefj45]

damn, i gotta clean up my side yard.


now start chopping up the front axle:

[cruzrfan]

Looking good Georg
the race is on
Phil

[orangefj45]

gotta try to dig out the pics of the engine donor vehicle. bought it off some guy that tried to merge onto the freeway in his suburban. problem was, he merged right into a big rig and his suburban got bounced off, spun out and off the side of the freeway into a light pole. dude walked away, i scored the suburban out of the local penny saver ads and he even delivered it to my place. pulled it off the trailer and drove, thats right, it still drove, it into my side yard where it met it's final demise administered by my airtools. i pulled the engine trans and t-case and sole the carcass the next day for $200. sometimes things just work out.

[orangefj45]

Originally Posted by tlc73fj40

Looking good Georg
the race is on
Phil

too bad you got a major jump start and i got a full time job. but it'll be fun to watch em both come together. you better be in my group at rubithon this year!

[orangefj45]

and for those of you who don't know him, phil aka tlc73fj40 and simon are putting together phil's cruiser right now. very clean work and some custom trinkets, thanks in part to phil being a machinist, and a nice guy to boot!

check it out here:
http://www.pirate4x4.com/forum/showt...0&goto=newpost

[cruzrfan]

Originally Posted by orangefj45

too bad you got a major jump start and i got a full time job. but it'll be fun to watch em both come together. you better be in my group at rubithon this year!

Little details
Even wiith a jump start you are head for now But I'll wave as I go by if I do

[orangefj45]

Originally Posted by tlc73fj40

Little details
Even wiith a jump start you are head for now But I'll wave as I go by if I do

yeah, from the passenger seat of the tow truck!

[cruiserrg]

Any reason for the D60 rear? Most are 30 spline weak junk. for what you are talkin about for strength a 14 bolt shaved would be my choice. Since 14bolt alxes shaft are different lengths you could narrow a bit (not sure on the difference) by using just short sides and not have custom lengths. Just narrow the front D60 to match.

Other than that sounds like a great build.

[orangefj45]

very valid point and one i've pondered.

the cruiser came with the narrowed 60 rear. it's a van housing and when it was installed, we were able to narrow the long side to match the short side so we did'nt have to have a custom shaft cut. it's actually held up very well, although i do consider it to be "the weak spot" of my running gear. i will be carrying a spare shaft and if i do end up having problems with it, i will upgrade it from 30 to 35 spline parts. right now i figured i have other priorities as far as getting the cruiser done. besides, i'd hate to fork out the extra $s for the 35 spline shafts and detroit right now, with all the other parts i'm already having to buy.

[lowtideride]

sounds awesome....keep us posted.


only word of advice dont use the onboard welder and the onboard shower at the same time.

[orangefj45]

Originally Posted by lowtideride

use the onboard welder and the onboard shower at the same time.

that sounds like a party for sure!

[orangefj45]

plans might be changing.


just came across a smokin deal on an atlas II 4.3 with the hd outputs. damn, and i just bought the dana 300 low gear set and hd outputs last week.

thinking i'm gonna go the atlas route.

[calfj60]

Georg,

Sounds like a cool project keep up the good work and I look forwad to seeing the updates...

Tim

[orangefj45]

sending off a cashiers check for the atlas today!

[Mace]

Sweet!!!

[orangefj45]

i was able to spend a couple of hours on the cruiser today. had my buddy chuckles help me out. got the freshly rebuilt trans painted and mounted to the engine, torque converter and inspection cover installed, painted the firewall to make it a little more presentable. i also installed the stock gm motor mount to transmission inspection cover braces. i want this rig to be functional and mechanically sound, as well as to look as close to a "factory V8" as possible.
i did get a chance to install the engine and trans combo as well. i'll try to do some engine "dress-up" work tomorrow as time allows.

[orangefj45]

got all the engine manifold dress-up done in the morning (mounted all the sensors, new cap and rotor, dip stick, coil,.....) now i gotta get busy rebuilding the TBI unit and getting the rest of the engine accessories on there.

i also had time to stop by pick-n-pull. it was half price day so i picked up a pair of spare d60 rear axle shafts for $40 and a spare pinion yoke just in case. found a beefy pitman arm on a wagoneer so i scored that as well.

i'll post more pice when i get the engine fully "dressed". hopefuly that'll be later this week.

[woody]

awesome project....I hope you found a good tranny guy for your parts

thrashed the shit outta mine this weekend....tranny worked awesome, t-case worked awesome, all was good.....did a hard trail day on Thurs, drove 60mph to town, hard trails on Fri and Sat. Only breakage was a DS knuckle and trunion, doing a silly obstacle. Worth the rebuild/repair time, for sure.

Keep the build pics comin!!

[orangefj45]

glad everything worked out well on your rig woody. your build up thread gave me some good ideas. i especially like your x-member for the trans and the way you set up the trans mount. i'm gonna try to incorporate part of that in my x-member/skidplate setup. i'm waiting for my atlas to show up and then i can finally start doing some fabbin'.


man it's good to finally build one of my own rigs, and doing so by myself. feels really rewarding. i think for the last 5 years i have only helped friends with their buildups, but none of my stuff got done. gotta find more time.............


and then i get to build my "cruggy". already have the mogs sittin in the garage!