Builds 77 FJ40 Build, It begins...and may take a while (1 Viewer)

[franklin40]

yes it is. it has similar power numbers to he 2f in stock form but gets way better economy. I have a few upgrades coming for it though which I am hoping make it much stronger. the nice things I found about them is the mileage (I easily got 30 mpg in the car which is heavier than the fj40.) yes I know the aerodynamics of the 40 are like driving a sheet of plywood down the road but I'm sure it'll still be better. it also revs more like a gasser but is still diesel and lastly Mercedes has parts available for all their engines so parts won't be an issue down the road (I hope!!). there are some threads on using the om617 engine around. I think it'll be cool plus I already had it to use.

 

[franklin40]

started tearing down the OM617. i have two alan bolts that have stripped on the oil pan. they are in tight areas so i can even get a difficult screw removal set in there. any suggestions for getting a stripped bolt out? should i cut the head off and then try to grab the few protruding threads with a vice grip? i may end up drilling and re-tapping it if i do that. anyway it's really oily and dirty so i picked up a 20 gallon parts washer today. now i can clean stuff up and make it look nice again.

 

[franklin40]

just bought a warn 8274 for it!! apparently has been rebuilt but for the price I paid I'm ok if it's not. it all works and comes with an extra motor for a 9.5 ti I believe, I think it's an upgrade motor some people use but haven't read up on it yet. anyway a friend is picking it up for me tonight. I plan on opening it up anyway to change fluids and repaint/refinish the casing. I'll make any repairs I see it needs at that time.

 

[franklin40]

I think I'm going a little bit of a new direction now as I am getting started on my frame. I have a 2.5 inch lift with a shackle reversal from man-a-fre up front and extended spring perches at the back. I don't really like them too much and figure I've gained about 5.5 inches of lift total. I've measured from rear lower frame rail to top of axle and it's 17 inches (no body or drive line in many more). I'm guessing I could go spring over with flat springs and keep it about the same height. I would get better clearance under my axles and not be much taller so I can still get in my garage. it does mean reversing my shackle reversal and more frame work but this really is the time to do it if I ever was to go that route. the trick now is with all the weight out of the truck how much do I need to cut and turn the front axle. can't really accuratly measure as I don't know how much it'll sag wig the normal weight back on it. I've read 14 degrees is kind of a standard number but does anyone have any wisdome as to the best way forward now that I'm at a bare frame? I'm thinking I'll be cutting my rear perches off tonight as the frame has some rot in that area anyway and needs to be fixed regardless of what way I go.

 

[franklin40]

ah previous owners!! started my rust repairs on my frame starting with the rear spring hanger. i knew it was on rusty frame but wow. when i cut the mount off i found way more problem than i anticipated, thankfully all in the same area so it's still only one graft, just much larger than i had anticipated. the usual place in the rear of the frame was rotted but instead of fixing it the PO just welded in a long piece of angle iron. the rusted section however just trapped moisture in-between the frame and angle iron rotting out a much larger section that what it likely started out as. now i have to cut the whole angle iron out and weld in a new piece of metal oh well. better to do it right now and be done with it.

now i'm going to see if i can fine a nice piece of 3/16 steel already bent 90 degrees so i don't have to weld two plates in and then grind to fit the curved contour of the frame. i do want it to match after all!

thankfully the rest of the frame is in quite good condition. only two spots in the inner channel that need patching.

 

[franklin40]

just got this today. was a good deal and figured why not restore a winch whe trying to restore a truck?!! anyway ive loved the look of these on the 40 and found a good one for a good price. it'll be a while before I get it mounted but that'll give me time to go through it. came with the extra motor too

 

[franklin40]

welded in my frame patch. I think it's going to turn out all right. it's 3/16 steel and I did a pass on both sides of it. first pass had full penetration for most of the weld. there we're a few small holes to fill that took some time but it looks like a solid weld. sorry for the low light photo but it gives the idea of what I did tonight.

 

[franklin40]

getting ready to cut off the rest of spring and shackle hangers. my rear ones are good to reuse but I'm getting rid of my shackle reversal stuff up front. I will need new hangers especially for my fixed end. any suggestions as to who to get them from. ruff stuff and wfo have some different designs. anyone see a reason to use one or the other? they're both about the same price.

wfo

ruff stuff

 

[franklin40]

spent a good day in the garage today. I think I finished up all the rust repair the frame needed but I'll see after I get it sandblasted. I also got my front axle off and out of the shop so now I'm really down to bare frame. I also ground off my front hangers for my shackle reversal. I have a few more brackets to cut off then I can start putting the new stuff on. at this stage may I get some advice from those who have prepped their frames? I was planning on welding on my brackets, lining up my drive line etc before I got it sandblasted and painted. that way I could coat all the brackets etc without having to grind off the paint to weld new parts on. should I get it sandblasted and leave it bare metal while I work on it or just use my grinder to prep the areas I'm welding. I would hate to miss an area I should fix before welding on my brackets (I think I'll go with the wfo hangers. I like their look). I just don't want to pay to have it blasted and have it start rusting while I'm building it. it's getting an engine and transmission transplant so it's not OEM stuff that already fits.

I'll post op pictures of today's work once I get them off my camera.

 

[White Stripe]

Wow man your going all the way. I patched up my tub, and I tell you man, just get a aqualu tub. Ya its a chunk of cash, but all the rust will be gone for good. And it will speed up your project by light years. Just use the bib and front end body parts you have for the front of the aqualu. You can practice body work skills on those and your hard top. You can sell your tub to someone and get some re coup cash for the aqualu. Gozzard would be a good tub too but they seem more difficult to have made these days from what I hear. As far as suspension, I would just drop a whole fj80 suspension with axles on. Plenty strong, have lockers, and the suspension geometry is great for crawling and well balanced, and its fairly economical to acquire the parts used.

For the frame, I would get all your brackets welded on first, then when all the final welds are done get it acid dipped and galvanized. Sandlblasting will not get to all the rust, only to what the eye can see, and galvanizing will keep it from coming back and gets everywhere.

 

[franklin40]

as promised a few pictures.

 

[franklin40]

shackle reversal coming off.

 

[DPV7070]

Looks like you're coming along nicely. As far as the frame prep goes. You could do a couple things:
1. Do what you suggested. Get all the welding, patching, etc done before you have it blasted and painted.
2. Blast it, then spray it down with some WD-40 (keeps bare metal from rusting)
3. Blast it and leave it. If it flash rusts, POR-15 will bite into that rust like a MOFO (obviously I'm not suggesting we allow rust to co-habitate with our Cruisers, but you get the point)

My vote would probably be to get everything done, then have it blasted. To me it's the most logical choice.

Have you decided on your drivetrain yet? Let me know if you have any questions, especially if you're going to an NV4500. I've been down this road. It's a long process, but hopefully worth it...

 

[franklin40]

nv4500 is my plan behind a tuned Mercedes OM617

 

[franklin40]

ok so I am starting to assemble the parts I am going to be using for suspension and drive line. I plan on putting the om617 with a nv4500 behind. I'm also looking at going atlas for transfercase and a centered rear diff. i plan on going spring over with fairly flat Alcan springs to limit lift. here is my question for you master builders. what order should I do things in? to build my front axle means a cut and turn or prebuilt axle but I don't have my driveline in to measure pinion angles to get that done. I hoped to have the springs and axles in before mocking up the drive line so I could see my clearances. the problem there is I'll be guessing at angles. should I put my driveline in and just put it as high as I can based on the tub and hope that's good for my axles?

 

[Ken White]

That piece at the glove box I would say is a 12v outlet and there would have been an original light which plugs into it. I had a look at mine and although I can not see behind it from the feel of things it would be about the same size as you pic. I have taken a pic of the inside of my glove box to show you what it should look like inside.

 

[DPV7070]

ok so I am starting to assemble the parts I am going to be using for suspension and drive line. I plan on putting the om617 with a nv4500 behind. I'm also looking at going atlas for transfercase and a centered rear diff. i plan on going spring over with fairly flat Alcan springs to limit lift. here is my question for you master builders. what order should I do things in? to build my front axle means a cut and turn or prebuilt axle but I don't have my driveline in to measure pinion angles to get that done. I hoped to have the springs and axles in before mocking up the drive line so I could see my clearances. the problem there is I'll be guessing at angles. should I put my driveline in and just put it as high as I can based on the tub and hope that's good for my axles?

This is the route I went with after talking to various sources (Georg, Luke, Steve). Once you get everything in you can measure the angles.

You'll need to go as high and far fwd as possible with the NV4500/ Atlas. I pulled my drivetrain out multiple times before I realized that eventually you just gotta measure it the best you can and just go with it. Otherwise you'll drive yourself nuts.

 

[franklin40]

ha ha. I bet it'll drive me nuts. as much as I don't like to admit it I'm kind of type A and little things will bug me if I don't do them as best as I can. I'm pretty new to this fabricating stuff so it may not be perfect but it'll be the best I can do. some things I'll pay to have done but I want to do most of it if I can.

 

[franklin40]

some parts showed up today. got some spring hangers from WFO concepts and out riggers and shackle hangers from ruff stuff. the offset shackle hangers will go at the back to add a little more wheel base. I don't want my front wheels too far forward so I went with the centred ones for up front. maybe an inch wouldn't make a lot of difference but I do t like the look of the front being stretched. my rear wheel wells have already been trimmed and I'm keeping it like that.

 

[franklin40]

no pictures today but i did get a little more frame prep done. i got some more hangers ground off and got the shackle hangers mostly welded up. i ran out of mig wire though as i was finishing up the last one. i'm also running out of cutting wheels so i need to get some more supplies. i'm hoping the frame will be ready to start adding metal to in the next couple weeks.

and those outriggers that will replace the old rear hanger outriggers fit awesome and are way more robust that the originals. can wait to see then in place!!