Vortec conversion (1 Viewer)

Hi All,
Today I tried to hang a 5.7L vortec in my 1976 FJ40. My setup is: the 5.7 into a GM bellhousing, to a Ranger O.D., into the stock H42 4sp and stock T/C. My problem is that it doesn't fit. With the fan touching the radiator, the parking brake is almost touching the round crossmember, and the shift tower of the tranny is a couple of inches behind the hole in the tranny cover. I'm not sure how to proceed from here. I'm thinking that the easiest thing to do is to cut out the round crossmember and relocate it 3 or 4 inches further back. Has anybody ever done this or heard of anyone doing it? I can only get an inch or two moving the radiator forward, that is why I'm considering such a radical mod. I've measured just about everything I can think of and compared it to my neighbors '77 FJ40 and everything is very similar. He doesn't have the O.D. unit, but measurments such as motor mounts to fwd edge of lower pully,or motor mounts to aft radiator mounts, etc are the same. I'm stumped. I thought that the ranger o.d. was supposed to make the conversion easier by among other things making driveline mods un-neccessary. This o.d. unit seems to be making my engene/tranny combo so long that it doesn't fit. If anyone has had this experience or knows anything about it your advice or suggestions would help me out a lot. Thanks from beautiful Colorado.

I would seriously consider dumping the ranger OD, I hated mine, loud and noisy, grinds in and out of gear. some may disagree with me but believe me it is crap. It will whine like crazy on the freeway when engaged. You will also have drivetrain length issues, I know because I had the exact same setup and I ended up going with an nv4500 because the od unit made the dtrain way too long, thus the dshaft was too short and angled especially because i wanted to do a soa as well. I am very happy with my setup now. The only change I would have made is to go with a newer version of the nv4500, I used a rebuilt older style with lower gears and I had some issues with, I would have bought one brand new from a vendor. Shoot me an email if you have any questions.


HTH,

Noah

skurf,

I did the same conversion minus the Vortec motor (used an '89 TBI 350, same external dimensions though) and it fit great. The t-case and trans end up in the stock locations and use the stock driveshafts. I would bet that the problem is the length of the fan clutch on the front. I used an old 4 blade solid fan from a late '60s Chevy and no clutch but I also used through the fender headers and no splash guards (I had LOTS of airflow through the engine compartment). Cooled fine for me in New England; might not work for you. I'd look for either a different fan clutch or switch to an electric fan. Seems many folks have good luck with a 2 speed electric fan from a Ford Taurus (search for Taurus fan for more details).

I was very happy with my Ranger OD. Hope it works out for you.

Nick Jennings

Find a short nose fan/WP combo and cut the support out. If ya wanna get really slick use a 60 series 4 spd or 5 spd tranny with the stock support that takes the place of the tubular crossmember on a 40 series. You just need a support to tie the frme rails together.

I'm very happy with my od (thanks Rice ). My 350 is carbed but it fits fine without any mods to the crossmember. I'm running a short water pump, which took some fancy pulley and shim work, but it fits and works great. I use a fan clutch w/ a 7 blade steel fan. I have about 6 or 7" from my ebrake drum to my crossmember. I kept measuring til it all made sense. The dshafts weren't cheap, but no problems so far.

OK, First, thanks to all for the excellent advice. I think my problem as far as fit is solved. After measuring quite a few more times and comparing to my neighbors it will all come together. I'm able to get approx. 2 inches moving the radiator forward and a couple more by losing the fan clutch or going electric with the short nose water pump. Maybe things just looked worse after a long day of fabbing and fitting. Things always seem to look better in the light of a new day. I'm definately keeping the ranger o.d. It cost too much money just to toss out like the wash water. Maybe some day in the future I will do the nv4500, but I figure the ranger was about 750 to a 1000 less to do after everything. Right now all the scab plates are welded in and in a day or so the t/c and motor mounts will be in their final places and bolted down. After that comes the challenge of adapting the wireing harness. Luckily there are quite a few resources out here in cyberspace. This is a great bulletin board and I've always gotten great answers to the questions I've asked. Thanks to all!!