Builds 1964 FJ40 Diesel build, 5 speed, vw TDI, 35's....Lets not call it a restoration. (1 Viewer)

This site may earn a commission from merchant affiliate
links, including eBay, Amazon, Skimlinks, and others.

another note: I am not aware of a remote oil filter kit for a 1Z. Most likely I will be using the factory oil filter housing to make my own remote filter setup. More on that later.
 
well, as things move forward they change. I was able to pick this 1993 Cruiser up today for a good deal. I'll be using it to swap the full suspension and axles into my project FJ40. Did I say I liked to weld and fabricate? And yes, it has factory lockers. The rest of the truck will be parted out.

FJ80.jpg


fj801.jpg
 
I purchased the Dana 60's for my FJ40 and then really started thinking about weight and bastardization. I mean it's getting a VW diesel but everything else thus far is Toyota (at least). Throwing dodge and chevy in there just seemed wrong so I went looking for a FJ80 to steal the axles from. Found this rig locally for sale and when I found it had factory lockers bought it on the spot. I'm not positive but since this project is likely to carry on into winter I may go ahead and setup the factory 80 suspension under this truck. Coils, buckets and all the links. The difference in ride quality would be a noticeable advantage I think.
 
Last edited:
This is what you get when you strip the factory VW motor mounts. It's a large corrugated rubber cylindrical mount. I have done this a few times and these work great. Some say they are a little soft but I really like the dampening on them. One bolt in the top and one in the bottom with a steel through sleeve. Unlike the custom mounts you can get, these are available in parts stores should one die on your while travelling or wheeling out of town. It's little things like this that I try to build into everything. Parts availability. Custom is cool but if something breaks away from your machine shop, you're screwed. Keep it simple stupid.

motor mounts.jpg
 
Having a small Moral dilemma this morning. weighting the differences in doing a gear drive transfer case with 4.70-1 gears installed OR setting up a doubler with two gear drive cases. Keep in mind that I have two cases in the shop. The adapter to the gear drive case is 400 plus the gear kit at 599. Shifters will add another 300. So roughly 1300.00 Now the doubler path is about the same cost, almost exactly the same. In theory, the doubler setup is more reduction (2.28 with 2.28 added using stock cases) what I am worried about is the length.


Now at the same time I am realistically considering what I NEED vs what I want. The chain drive v-6 case is not weak. Although not as strong as the gear drive case. I will be running a 38" or larger tire on the FJ80 axles with 300m shafts. This will be a truck that is used but not a rock crawler, although a trip to MOAB is certainly in the cards. My philosophy has always been to overbuild and let the chips fall where they may. I could use some input here from the peanut gallery. I was about to pull the trigger on the adapter and 4:70-1 gears this morning and talked myself out of it for a little more time to consider things realistically.
 
Granted this is mini-truck info, but having the double setup is REALLY nice for all kinds of gearing options. It kind of sucks with just the 4.7, because you have road gears and crawler gears, but nothing in between. If you were just crawling, sure - why not. But the majority of my rigs use has always been road gears and just the stock transfer case gearing. Sure, occasionally I wished I had a doubler. But not that often. I would be inclined to keep the stock chain case and upgrade from there if a need arises.
 
Granted this is mini-truck info, but having the double setup is REALLY nice for all kinds of gearing options. It kind of sucks with just the 4.7, because you have road gears and crawler gears, but nothing in between. If you were just crawling, sure - why not. But the majority of my rigs use has always been road gears and just the stock transfer case gearing. Sure, occasionally I wished I had a doubler. But not that often. I would be inclined to keep the stock chain case and upgrade from there if a need arises.

Might have to rely on those e-lockers saving my bacon. The chain drive case does have better reduction than the stock 4cylinder case. I'm making these considerations NOW as I'm about to put mounts and cross member in.
 
I'm contemplating scrapping my original idea of using the 40 frame with the 80 suspension/ Axles grafted and possibly just using the 80 frame whole. I have a very clear picture in my head of what I am looking for as an end result and I think it might just be easier. Less fab work, more getting down to business. Steering is already worked out, everything is where it needs to be. The full drivetrain is already sorted so I could spend my time working on the body and building the custom bed....yeah I said bed. HA!
 
This was a guys FZJ80/40 that was in a club I was in years ago. Not sure if he still owns it or not, but that thing crawled all over the place. I do however like the idea of a separate bed more like a 45 setup rather than stretching a 40 unless you are going 4 door.

118-1802_IMG.jpg


Picture035.jpg
 
The 80 series suspension design is pretty proven. Keeping it all attached to the frame and just stretching the 40 body onto the chassis makes the most sense to me. Custom suspension(links,coils,etc) sometimes turns into a headache sometimes. I have been working very slowly for the last year on the bj74s coilover/link setup and am just now getting to where is setting just right where i want it.
 
The 80 series suspension design is pretty proven. Keeping it all attached to the frame and just stretching the 40 body onto the chassis makes the most sense to me. Custom suspension(links,coils,etc) sometimes turns into a headache sometimes. I have been working very slowly for the last year on the bj74s coilover/link setup and am just now getting to where is setting just right where i want it.
[/QUOTE
As I said, I have a fairly clear picture in my head of what I want to do and it would have involved stretching the frame on the 40. This, although it sets my timeline back a bit seems like the best bet to get my goals accomplished. I posted the body and drivetrain on the local page for free if someone wanted to remove the body and drivetrain they could keep it. I hope someone needs it.
 
Keeping it all attached to the frame and just stretching the 40 body onto the chassis makes the most sense to me.
Well, this looks very ugly. 🤮 The body should be at least 8” more back.
1570638869290.jpeg
 
Not a fan either but if it works it works I guess. I make a habit of not judging another man's build.
 
Yeah this was quite a few years ago, I'm not sure why the body was placed where it was, but I'm assuming there was a reason it's that way. It had a 1FZ and all that. A VW diesel would be much easier to play with body placement and frame cutting.

Now the best "45ish" on an 80 series frame setup I know is @Waggoner5 's FJZ45, which I think went to 2UZ power. There is A TON of custom work on that one.

74c7.jpg
 
Yeah this was quite a few years ago, I'm not sure why the body was placed where it was, but I'm assuming there was a reason it's that way. It had a 1FZ and all that. A VW diesel would be much easier to play with body placement and frame cutting.

Now the best "45ish" on an 80 series frame setup I know is @Waggoner5 's FJZ45, which I think went to 2UZ power. There is A TON of custom work on that one.

74c7.jpg

That's actually fairly close to what I have in mind. Appearance wise. I want it to be really understated....on 38's. Some simple color, smoke grey or tan...
 
Gary's 45 was one of the best builds with a Cruiser ever. I've been all over that one in person and it was done 100% right.

@HandForged you will get a bit more help and knowledge on the hardcore section for builds like this than here in the 40 section.

Lots of guys there know how to cut and paste this truck onto that truck... etc.
 
Gary's 45 was one of the best builds with a Cruiser ever. I've been all over that one in person and it was done 100% right.

@HandForged you will get a bit more help and knowledge on the hardcore section for builds like this than here in the 40 section.

Lots of guys there know how to cut and paste this truck onto that truck... etc.
I messaged the MOD of this section to move it over to hardcore for me, as of yet it hasn't happened...
 
Just a quick update: not a lot going on around here with technical difficulties this time of year. Transmission went out in my main tow/daily driver rig. That was a chunk of money I didn't want to spend. Snow...every few days it blows in inches deep and goes away. I hate this time of year.


Update: Parts are starting to trickle in. New land rover injector pump with 12mm cam and head arrived today. Packaged nicely with all it's new accessories. New rebuilt .220 injectors, New intake manifold and gasket kits. All I have left is to sort out the turbo for this and I can get it all put together.

1993 FJ80 that I bought sight unseen for parts turns out to NOT have e-lockers on the ends, only the central locker. The bright side is this thing is covered with marlin crawler stickers. I am pretty sure at least the gearing has been changed. I was having some second thoughts on the factory lockers and I have a line on a set of ARB's for a decent price. Meh, still got a good deal on the rig and my money's worth in the parts I need. Although I will need to convert the front axles to part time with lockout hubs. Not that I COULDN'T leave them with the drive flanges, I just think a part time setup would work better for me. Hoping to have some other members here over in the next few days to get the '80 stripped and ready to put in the shop for the drivetrain swap.

Still looking for a few things here and there but most of the big stuff is sitting here ready to get started in a serious way.
 
With what you are planning and what you have I would go with the 80 series chassis and just cut it to the length you want to get the look you want, I took 330mm out of my 80 series chassis to get it to match what i wanted with the FJ43 Body.

The 80 series chassis is so much stronger than the 40's one and comes with all the brackets you need in place for the suspension :)

BodyCut.JPG
 

Users who are viewing this thread

Back
Top Bottom