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

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Imagine what a tuned 6BT in a 40 could do!

Or a balanced 4BT.

Very true, at the cost of weight. With the cummins you pay dearly in that aspect. I dare say a built 6bt would torque the frame into a pretzel. The 4bt in my previous FJ40 did. It was about 180 hp. Gobs of torque though.
 
combine that with cost...I think typing the word "Cummins" in a forum on the internet will get a bill sent to your house for .50 cents. Everything associated with them has skyrocketed in the last few year. when I was building 4bt's they were almost free. Now? Hahahhaaaahhaaaaa..you'll pay 3k for a core motor.
 
combine that with cost...I think typing the word "Cummins" in a forum on the internet will get a bill sent to your house for .50 cents. Everything associated with them has skyrocketed in the last few year. when I was building 4bt's they were almost free. Now? Hahahhaaaahhaaaaa..you'll pay 3k for a core motor.

That’s almost sig line worthy right there. IIRC when I met Jeremiah Proffitt 15 years ago, it seemed like every sentence that came out of his mouth had 4BT in it.
 
That’s almost sig line worthy right there. IIRC when I met Jeremiah Proffitt 15 years ago, it seemed like every sentence that came out of his mouth had 4BT in it.
I was building them and swapping them into cruisers and various other vehicles (including a 69 Camaro drag car!) LOOOOooooonng before it was cool. I think in the near future the little 1.9 will be the same, it will find vogue and folks will jump on the bandwagon and their price will go through the roof. Pound for pound, apples compared to apples the VW is a better engine. That's coming from a Cummins master Tech. I hate to admit it but it is. Power versus money spent? hands down VW.
 
Did you work for Cummins Northwest?

No I was a tech for a dealership, then a custom shop that built Pulling trucks, then off on my own. I sold my thriving business and went to work with a large industrial electric firm....I was too busy chasing the money.
 
I'm trying but this is the point in the accumulation of parts where I bleed money. About to pull the trigger on an adapter for the R150 to the gear drive transfer case and then a doubler kit. I have the transfer cases on hand so there is that. I am anxious to get the drivetrain work done so the truck can move around again under it's own power. power steering and all that associated stuff next then when it's running, driving and stopping the real work begins.

I hear you. At my stage it is nice to see the pile of parts dwindling away! It has been a large pile for a few years, glad it's almost all installed.
 
That’s almost sig line worthy right there. IIRC when I met Jeremiah Proffitt 15 years ago, it seemed like every sentence that came out of his mouth had 4BT in it.

Yeah I remember that. He was pushing 4BT's like crazy. You also see a chunk of 4BT cruisers for sale because people really didn't like those frito-lay rattle boxes in a smooth cruiser.

I was building them and swapping them into cruisers and various other vehicles (including a 69 Camaro drag car!) LOOOOooooonng before it was cool. I think in the near future the little 1.9 will be the same, it will find vogue and folks will jump on the bandwagon and their price will go through the roof. Pound for pound, apples compared to apples the VW is a better engine. That's coming from a Cummins master Tech. I hate to admit it but it is. Power versus money spent? hands down VW.

Those little 1.9's are great! I have a 2000 Jetta 5spd TDI, so ALH, and it's great minus all the electrical crap. It has been my daily for the last 8 years, except the last 5 months of getting my cruiser working. I always keep my eyes open for late 90's TDI passats, simple easy swap and power.
 
I have to echo @65swb45 & @FJBen about the 4bt.. My 60(sold) I first put a 4bt in it that I dealt a lot with Proffitt's(they gave me excellent service. fyi) on parts and pieces and the cut and turn, everything was great, except the teeth rattling all the time. I removed that and rebuild an Isuzu 4bdt2, which I balanced before installation(unbelievable how far off the factory piston and rods were). The Isuzu was at least a million times better than the Cummins. Just saying. Power wise as well. Hands down the Isuzu. As many others have said "wish I wouldn't have sold that one..." Getting back to the ALH, just like @HandForged said, on paper these little, lightweight motors are very impressive. I drove my Jetta for 5 years, put 150,000 miles on it and love it! One more week and I should have it on the road and then hopefully I can give you some seat of the pants opinions, and I will weigh my cruiser, as I too want to see how it comes in. I have checked the curb weights on them both, and they are within a couple hundred pounds, but, the Jetta of course is much more aerodynamic...
 
To tell you the truth, in my case the diesel and drivetrain came before the cruiser. I acquired the passat, a large pile of parts and things long before I found the fj40 to put them in. I drove the passat for a while here and there making mods as I went. At just over 200 go the factory clutch just gives up...
 
About the VW engine...

I had the dubious pleasure of spending a few hours in the cab of a tow truck a few weeks ago. One gets used to this when driving a Jeep Grand Cherokee... but that's another story!

Got talking to the driver about pick-up trucks and which was best. In SA the market is absolutely dominated by Toyota Hi-Lux, with Ford Ranger a distant second. But we are seeing more and more VW Amarok on the road.

Anyway, the tow truck driver - who should know - said that in the six years or so that the Amarok has been on the market he has never had the pleasure of recovering one as a result of a breakdown... Generally pick-up trucks here are driven hard and maintenance is not a priority.
 
Sometimes when you're thinking in one direction, something blind sides you and it changes your direction without question. Two days ago I was offered two set of 35 spline dodge dana 60 axles for a set of tires I had listed for sale. 4.10 gears 2 fronts and 2 rears complete. SO, needless to say, I will be cutting down some 60's for the FJ here soon. I am still planning to get the drivetrain in first so I can get it all solidified but the 60's are definitely going in. Also, I'll have another set of 60's to sell....so win win I guess.
 
also wondering how much a set of deep offset (possibly custom) wheels could tuck the tires back up closer to the truck without cutting the axles down. I know the axles are roughly 6" wider per side than the landcruiser stock width. I'd be interested to see pics of some that have tried this. Cutting the axles down nowadays really isn't a big deal. It's just a matter of waiting on parts to come back that kills me. For the rear dana 60 I wouldn't bother removing/reusing the housing sides/flanges. Just order new ones and weld it up once cut. These can also be ordered with disc brake brackets on them already I think. Measure the length reduction and send the axles out to be cut and splined, easy peasy. The front 60 only has to be cut twice but I think I will go to an aftermarket inner C that would be bear tough and bullet proof... Just lamenting a little.
 
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While I get ready for our first big snow fall of the year I have been talking with the Germans again.... I'll be ordering a very large Mechanical pump on Monday to be shipped in to replace the pump on my little 1.9. as well as some other go fast goodies from Europe. They are putting a care package together for me that will essentially turn my little VW into a full mechanical beast. I really like this idea although it does limit the amount of HP I can make in the end. Not that big of a deal, I can be happy with 250...HA!
 
Mad dash to pick up a few parts today before the snow started flying. Picked up a rebuilt R150 and got a second one for my troubles. I have a long way to go parts wise but I can start with assembling the Engine/adapter/transmission and fabricate motor mounts and crossmember. Then gauge whether or not my idea of a dual transfer case is going to work out. I am scared I'll run out of room with the rear driveshaft. With the acquisition of the Dana 60's, I can add a set of stock axle assemblies to the ever growing pile of parts I won't be using. As soon as the snow stops, I'll be digging through my parts truck to get all the power steering components out and cleaned up. This shouldn't hinder drivetrain installation at all. I'm talented like that.
 
OK here's a little rundown on the 1.9 engine parts for those following behind me. So I am removing the entire wiring harness and ECM from my engine. Replacing the Computer injector pump with an heavily modified 12mm mechanical injector pump. Combined with my .220 injectors, copper head gasket and head studs, VNT 17 turbo (or we221 I haven't decided I'll be looking for 22-24 PSI of boost pressure) and a good amount of timing advance I should be right back to that 200-220 ish HP rating without the computer system. Now please realize that there is a good amount of stuff that goes with this. You'll need to block the EGR on the exhaust manifold and a good many other small things to get this engine stable and running efficiently. I will also loose a little MPG but only slightly. The reason I am choosing to go this route is reliability. Where I live I don't have a parts store or anything resembling town for 53 miles. The mechanical pump requires no controls at all to run once running. So once it is cranked it will sit there and run as long as it has fuel. Not only will this simplify things for me, it's actually about as cost effective as buying injectors, a custom tune...blah blah blah. It will not add to the cost of the build, just take it in a different direction. Keep in mind with this setup, you will be concerned with EGT's. As a matter of fact it will be the limiting factor on this setup for making power. For me a large treadstone intercooler and a Methanol injection setup will go in to keep things cool.
 
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Confused as to why you don't like the F145...

I say keep the motor, tranny and tcase if they are numbers matching and original. There are enough floating around out there that have already been burdened with a SBC! Swap one of those rigs haha. Seems to me that a lot of people don't actually like FJ40s and what they're made of, they just like the look of them.

But hey, I can't tell you what to do. Good luck! This one looks rough. Hope it turns out well.
 
Confused as to why you don't like the F145...

I say keep the motor, tranny and tcase if they are numbers matching and original. There are enough floating around out there that have already been burdened with a SBC! Swap one of those rigs haha. Seems to me that a lot of people don't actually like FJ40s and what they're made of, they just like the look of them.

But hey, I can't tell you what to do. Good luck! This one looks rough. Hope it turns out well.

I'm guessing you don't know very much about land cruisers... None of the drivetrain in my truck is original or numbers matching. In fact nothing is stock or numbers matching with the exception of the frame, tub and tailgate. I have no part of the SBC crowd, never put one in a cruiser. This old truck is rough, that is the reason I chose it for this. I am not a restoration guy. I'm a diesel mechanic and gear head. I am installing a drivetrain that weighs approximately 300 pounds less than the factory drivetrain, makes double the horse power/ torque, while being MUCH more reliable and has parts availability at any parts store in the country? I wouldn't really call that a burden. If you think this one looks rough, you should have seen where I started with my last cruiser build...
 
This is new and exciting concept for me. I’ll be watching. :beer::popcorn:

with the snow flying and my project out on the driveway instead of under cover I'm at a stand still until this blows out. Shouldn't be more than a few days. Still need to get the diesel out of the passat, I was working on that when it started snowing. Adapter kit is in and all I am lacking is a clutch to be able to put them together and set it up for fabrication of motor mounts and cross member.
 

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