I am rebuilding a 1981 FJ40. The original chassis was in bad shape so I purchased a 1979 chassis that supposedly is the same as the '81. For all intents and purposes, it is the same except for a few modifications I had to make for the gearbox cross member and mounts. In addition, the Land Cruiser had an aftermarket power steering added which mounts differently on the two frames. On the '81 the steering box mount slopes upwards from front to back (aftermarket steering); on the '79 it slopes in the opposite direction - see the photos attached. My assumption is that the mount on the '81 was to accommodate an aftermarket power steering box. The bottom line is the aftermarket power steering box aligns with the old '80 frame but not the '79 frame which has the factory steering mount on it. I hope this makes sense .
I see two options:
Photos 3 and 4 below are of the '81 frame which I replaced. Photos 1 and 2 are the replacement '79 frame with the aftermarket power steering box which does not align with the steering column. .
Cheers - Fred.
I see two options:
- Remove the factory power steering mount and install the aftermarket mount. This will require drilling holes in the new powder-coated frame or...
- Buy a Toyota original or equivalent power steering box - this way the angle of the power steering box will point upwards to the steering column. I am assuming here that this is the case looking at photos of the original Toyota Power Steering box.
Photos 3 and 4 below are of the '81 frame which I replaced. Photos 1 and 2 are the replacement '79 frame with the aftermarket power steering box which does not align with the steering column. .
Cheers - Fred.