nice rig! We all have different tastes, but have you considered beefing up the back bumper? I guess I like that in Cruisers and señoritas, gotta have a nice big behind!
Keep it 4speed!
Love the rims.
I hope thing turns out Great!
I'm over at Travis AFB doing a frame off on a 66 right now and must thank you for the pics in your post. I had it delivered to me in Boxes and boxes of parts and nuts and bolts... Ths is a nightmare... I'm used to 1940's Willy's....
Well, you will need to sell that as you need to use the 3FE dizzy if you do the 2FE conversion. I looked into a DUI, but at this time it's only a thought.
What he said. I had to cut out the middle crossmember on my 1969 and weld in another bar further back. I haven't fab'd a tranny mount yet. A body lift was required and I needed to modify my doghouse because the H55F is a taller tranny than the 3-speed. My rear axle was also moved back 4 inches for the driveshaft.
yes i just realized today that i wasn't going to send the frame to the podercoaters yet because more than i though had to be mocked up on the frame first.
*sigh* this whole build ahs been VERY stressful, but i love what i am learning and cannot wait till the end product. I would do this again, but with mor eknowledge and time available to me.
hey rachel.
i hope our conversation today will help you with the build up. if you have any other questions, please don't hesitate to call. it's gonna get frustrating at times but this stuff really isn't rocket science.
however, i do have another thought for you to ponder:
e-brake?! do you know what you're gonna do about running an e-brake. i know the answer to this problem, just want to see if you have thought about it already and what you've come up with. this is a test!;p
as far as the h55f coversion goes, im searching the best possible way for an ebrake setup. I have decided to go with a late style 40 axle with the ebrake setup.
I will be moving the dash pull type ebrake handle to a floor lever found in the newer cruisers
you might want to look into that some more before buying that setup. i assume you're talking about the caddy eldo caliper setup with the ebarke built in, correct?!
well, i have yet to see a single vehicle with that setup that actually works satisfactory to the owner. i would never run them.
you might want to consider running the fj60 outers. that way you still have drums in the rear (not a bad thing) and a well working ebarke with a proper hand lever.
another option of course would be to put an e-brake drum on the back of the split case you're thinking about running.
here's a completely different idea for your build up and it's something i discussed with greenfox:
how about forgetting about the h55f and staying with the cruiser 4spd?! if you want more freeway driveability, then run some 3.73 diffs from a later cruiser. direct bolt in, easy to find and it'll be a fraction of the cost of the 5 spd conversion, nevermind the mods that go along with it.
since this will never be a true trail rig but more of a fun driver/weekend explorer type vejicle you really won't need the low first gear. besides, with short tires like yours you'll still have plenty of low gearing.
on top of that, i am skeptical about the F being able to pull 5th gear all that well.
you might want to look into that some more before buying that setup. i assume you're talking about the caddy eldo caliper setup with the ebarke built in, correct?!
well, i have yet to see a single vehicle with that setup that actually works satisfactory to the owner. i would never run them.
you might want to consider running the fj60 outers. that way you still have drums in the rear (not a bad thing) and a well working ebarke with a proper hand lever.
another option of course would be to put an e-brake drum on the back of the split case you're thinking about running.
No, that will be far in time intensive and i have already found an ebrake axle that will only consist of bolting it up and swapping the 3rds ( out wiht the 3.70s and in with the 4.11s - reason being i like the gearing, as its peppier and faster off the line - i have places to go people! lol) My goal is to keep the resto as as a whole as stock as possible.
I was going to go with this:
i guess it used to be by man a fre but it got discontinued...
here's a completely different idea for your build up and it's something i discussed with greenfox:
how about forgetting about the h55f and staying with the cruiser 4spd?! if you want more freeway driveability, then run some 3.73 diffs from a later cruiser. direct bolt in, easy to find and it'll be a fraction of the cost of the 5 spd conversion, nevermind the mods that go along with it.
since this will never be a true trail rig but more of a fun driver/weekend explorer type vejicle you really won't need the low first gear. besides, with short tires like yours you'll still have plenty of low gearing.
on top of that, i am skeptical about the F being able to pull 5th gear all that well.
Thanks, but yes i have thought about that option as well. It is cheeper and easier , but i like the idea of a more modern transmission ( without sincros and more) and i would like to retain my low gears in the axles as well.
I also have a 1977 2f motor in my truck not the old f motor and with the fuel injection, it should be able to pull a litter easier.
1977 2F motor with all the f motor bracketry
Originally sea foam green
vin tag says its an original VAn Nuys, calfiornia vehicle.
three on the tree converted to 4 on the floor and a like t-case
Okie Why dont you go with A 700r4 trans and keep your t/c ? I just dont see what a 5 speed will do any thing for you. And if you are going to do E.F.I go with a 5.7 GM save your self some time and money. I am not trying to tell you wath to do I just dont want you to get in this to deep.
nope thanks for the suggestions , but i have planned on doing it this way for soem time now and i already have it worked into the shop's schedule!
they are all great ideas. greenfox i would lik eto keep it all toyota ( except for the steering ofcourse)
i can also get the 5 speed new , its toyota, it has a year warranty from the factory and i can get ti with my tlca discount.
the efi is actually easier and im still keeping it toyota. I did some research and like i said before a used kit for the g.m. still will run me alot of $$$$. I cannot do e.f.I from gm only tbi. i liek the idea of having e.f.I anyways
don't worry i will start posting up some pics here in a few days of the progress. I just ahve been swamped. the only time i get to sit down is when on mud.
if you run the 60 rear brake setup in it's stock configuration then you'll be able to pretty much bolt in the entire setup starting from the e-brake handle (floor mounted and much better than the dash mounted version you currently have) down to the brakes themselves, including the cable system. and it'll be all toyota.
i really see no good reason at all to put discs on the back of your cruiser. sure, some people will tell you that they need less (none at all) adjustment and that discs will stop better. but it'll be a major pain in the ass to get the e-brake to work if you can make it work at all.
besides, the rear 60 drums work VERY well and so does the e-brake setup.
Agree with this 100%, and so much so, that I am just using FJ60 brakes on the rear of my 40 build. I have not decided if I'll hook up the ebrake cable, but everything else will be installed and ready.
Also Okie-The Land Cruiser 4 speed is pretty sweet already, and requires NO modifications. It is a fully syncronized tranny just like the H55. The 5 speed is a nice tranny (basically the 4 speed with a 5th gear tacked on the back. The problem is that it is significantly longer, and mounts to the frame in an entirely different way. You will end up with a very short rear driveshaft. You will also need a crossmember (if you can find one from an 81-83 FJ40, that would be ideal and sweet. You may need to mod the body as well for the rear part of the split case-I was looking at my FJ60 and FJ60 side by side and it LOOKS like you do, but I didn't measure.
Do you have the split transfer yet? You want 83 and up, and make sure it has the oiler cup provision before you bolt it up. Remember to get the transfer linkage from an 85-87 FJ60 only, the earlier linkage will not work.
well i had a freeway incident not to long ago where i had it in nuetral and couldn't stick it back into gear intill i pulled over to the side and made a complete stop. i even tried to downshift without depressing the clutch adn still seeing if i coudl get it back into 4th. it wouldn't work , it was dangerous
I don't know what's up with your tranny, but if you decide to use a Land Cruiser 4 speed (my reccomendation), I've got one that works perfectly that I will GIVE you. It came out of my 76 4-5 years ago when my SM420 went in and has been stored inside since then. If you use it, I would still reccomend that you rebuild it just so everything is like new. Mudrak has the rebuild kits and others likely do as well.
well i had a freeway incident not to long ago where i had it in nuetral and couldn't stick it back into gear intill i pulled over to the side and made a complete stop. i even tried to downshift without depressing the clutch adn still seeing if i coudl get it back into 4th. it wouldn't work , it was dangerous
