My 1980 FJ40 Build (2 Viewers)

[TwelveGravity]

OK, Ive posted a few things here and there but had not started my own thread on my little project so I figured why not. Im by no means a master mechanic nor a master fabricator so the build is purely for my mild enjoyment to wrench with friends and family then hit the trail when we are done. This is the first FJ i have owned. There are two others in the club we wheel with.
I bought a mostly completed 1980 FJ40 and a 1971 parts donor.
Here are a few details and pictures.
1980 FJ40
SBC 350 TBI (from a 1995 chevy pu)
Th350 automatic (mildly built as stated by PO)
Orion Transfer Case
ARB's & Chromoly Front and Rear
3 linked rear with RaceRunner coils
37"x14.00"x16 Iroks on Allied Beadlocks

Its a work in progress that Ive got a very slow start on but Im now trying to get going and get it done.
Ive found this forum and members to be very helpful with spec details and advice.

Just as i bought it.

 

[TwelveGravity]

 

[TwelveGravity]

Cleaned up the inside a little and removed alot of cluttered wires

 

[TwelveGravity]

I got two new seats off Amazon. No mounts yet ( I will be looking through the forum for mount ideas).

 

[TwelveGravity]

First thing I did was to send off the partial Orion I had. Out to Georg for an overhaul.




Got all worked over and sent back to me. Very pleased with how great it turned out!!

 

[TwelveGravity]

I will be researching crossmembers for both the transfer case & TH350 as I dont have either. Ive seen a transfer case crossmember from Advanced adapters that I really Liked but Ive also thought of Pros & Cons of a skid Plate rather than the crossmember.

 

[TwelveGravity]

Bought these set of used 37x14x16 Iroks on Allied Beadlocks (PO poured BB's or Beads into the tires??)

 

[TwelveGravity]

A friend of mine stripped, cut & rolled the knuckles on the extra front end (Im still not sure if it is the 1971 or 1980 front).


Got it rolled into the garage a couple weekends ago to finally get started making progress.


Out with the old

 

[78fj40mg]

Nice rig!

 

[TwelveGravity]

In with the new




I bought the Trail Gear 6 Gun knuckles for a little added beef to the steering but did not do any research before then. I do not know if the knuckles I bought will work with the housing we just set up. I called and spoke to a tech at TG, but he was not able to answer. He referred me to Iron Pig Off Road where I also found the Rock Rings that I plan to install.

 

[TwelveGravity]

Nice rig!

Thank You.

 

[TwelveGravity]

I also in the works will be Saginaw steering. I have looked and read through a few threads on the steering conversions. One thing I will have to look into is the clearance for the power steering pump. The front shock hoop loops up over the engine and may have blocked where the pump would mount.


I would also like to convert to disc brakes but I do not think budget will allow that just yet. Hopefully down the road some.

 

[simps80]

BBs in a tire are used to help balance a tire that cant otherwise be balanced

 

[TwelveGravity]

BBs in a tire are used to help balance a tire that cant otherwise be balanced

Thanks. I was guessing something like that.

 

[TwelveGravity]

This weekend I was able to get going on the knuckles. Packing birfs is always fun right.




After doing so, I realized i am going to have problems with the Hi steer. The arm on the knuckle is lower than the top of the leaf springs.

 

[TwelveGravity]

What would cause my knuckle to bind up and stop turning when I torque down the spindle?
After trying 4 shim combinations I got it set with a 1mm shim on top and a 1mm shim on bottom and torqued the 8 studs to 71 ft/lbs to pull test at 15lbs. Then I install the spindle and torque the 8 bolts to 38 ft/lbs and the knuckle then will not turn at all. I lose the spindle bolts back off and it will begin to turn again.

 

[78fj40mg]

For reference:

 

[TwelveGravity]

Well after taking everything completely apart and putting it back together a few times and trying numerous different shim combinations I wasn't making any progress. So i hung the tools up for the evening, grabbed a cold brew and started digging up any reading material I could. We think that the inside the birfield housing needs to be ground down to help fit the Longfield chromos (as seen on a few mini-truck projects). Hoping that this will solve this issue, I will head back over the next weekend to grind away. To what extent I'm still not sure.




I did read that a good way to identify the areas that you need to grind is to clean it of any grease & dry it out. cover the inner axle seal obviously and spray paint the inside. Slide your axle & Birf in and give it a few turns. This should rub the paint off the areas where you will need to take a grinder to.

On another note, I had previously found that I've run into a problem that the tie rod will contact the leaf spring before setting into the arm on the knuckle.


So I dug around and found something that could help, perhaps not the exact solution but an idea.


Another Idea would be to make the Tie rod with back to back 45's to bend up and over and give the clearance we need.


I'm open to ideas at this point. If anyone has a thread built with these knuckles and hi steer. I've read around on power steering options. From what I'm reading it sounds that the 60 series power steering is the way to go. I wasn't favoring the idea of cutting into the front of the chassis and I'm liking the idea that i can get most the parts from other cruisers. I've seen a few builds with this conversion but they were all still with the F or 2F. I would like to see what issues (clearance) I will need to overcome to fit it in with the 5.7L SBC. I can already tell that the shock hoops put in by PO will need to come out.

 

[TwelveGravity]

Well a few weekends later I've finally got everything ground out of the inner axle housing. Surprising how much metal had to be removed. Good practice is to spray a thin coat of flat black paint. Let it dry and assemble the knuckle & birf, put two bolts in the spindle and give the axle a few good turns. Any contact between the birfield joint and housing will wear the paint away. These areas will be the focus point of grinding. I found that a drill and a 2" or 2.5" grind stone (wheel) works best. Keep in mind that this is trial and error, you will be installing and removing your axle shafts many times. Best to do this BEFORE installing your brand new trail safe inner axle seals.

During all this fun we thought the best way to solve the steering & Tie rod issue would be to just pull the front end back out, grind off the perch's and roll the axle. We didn't have to roll it very much, then welded them back on.
The next decision I've got to make is what steering I would like.
1. FJ40 Saginaw PS Conversion
2. FJ40 Minitruck PS Conversion
3. FJ60 Saginaw PS Conversion

I think I'm favoring the FJ60 conversion so far.

 

[78fj40mg]

Why not keep it all Toyota by using an FJ60 PS pump and a Toyota mini truck PS steering gear box.