1974FJ Rebuild of cruiser....

[diggity]

sweet - it is coming along great.

 

[1974FJ]

Well, got the motor in the frame rails with the tranny and t-case. Man this is tough work! you move the motor to the right some and it looks nice but the height wont work or the tranny is sitting weird. After alot of head scratchin i shoehorned this 4bt into the frame rails. All the pics i have of tonight is the motor hanging from the hoist and resting on the ratchet strap. Ill post pics tomorrow of the beefy mounts i built for it.



Here you can see the 4 bolt holes in the side of the block, i chose to use these instead of the ones on the front near the gearcase.

 

[southerncruiser62]

Very nice martin, looks as though you are going to have that thing going here in no time.

 

[mtweller]

Sweet Martin!

 

[rutbeer]

I don't know if this helps with your configuration or not, but I found it most critical to get the t/case and transmission exactly where you want them first. I locked in the mount location at the tranny, then was able to angle and shift the front around to where I wanted it. There was definitely back and forth to get it finally right, but with the short block on 4cyl engines, the shroud is the least of your worries.

 

[1974FJ]

yeah, thats what i had to do. With my short rear drive shaft that im going to have, i wanted that to be lined up first, then i got the front centered. Ive got some more work to do today then its coming out for final welding then back in for a startup! cant wait.

 

[diggity]

Crap - me either (hoping I win the lotto) I want it....

 

[1974FJ]

 

[1974FJ]

 

[1974FJ]

 

[southerncruiser62]

Very nice, Martin it looks like you really stuck that thing up under there. Clearance looks to be very nice. I think you'll be alright with those motor mounts as well. So you driving it back to Raleigh after the break...

 

[mtweller]

I thought you were going to make those things "Beefy"...
































J/K man - look fantastic. Did you make the brackets that mount to the motor? If so, what did you use to cut the steel? They look laser cut. Keep up the good progress!

R

 

[rutbeer]

Looks great. How will your oil pan to front drive shaft clearance be?

 

[1974FJ]

Yes i did ramon. I used something i think is much cooler than a laser, not really. I used a sheer! This sheer can cut steel up to 1/2", its pretty awesome! The motor mount plates are 3/8" with 1/4" gussets. Thats pretty beef i think.
And no bubb rubb, i will not be driving it back to raleigh, i wish! I blocked off the power steering hole in the front gearcase so i can hopefully fire it up tonight or tomorrow. That would be an awesome birthday present.
Ramon, i tried my hardest to get that drivetrain stuffed up in there for clearance issues, but that nv4500HD is so tall it was really tough, also the dana300 was so far towards the rear that is was past the tranny hump and had to be lowered to fit. Im alittle disappointed in that but i think it will work out better for my very short rear driveshaft. Not to mention i might have to make a custom oil pan to make a front driveshaft work, see pic above.

 

[1974FJ]

Shes alive....

100_2702.mov videos from friends & fun videos on webshots

 

[mtweller]

chucka chucka chucka chucka chucka chucka

MMM...I love the smell of diesel fumes in the mornin'


Congrats Martin, good work man.

R

 

[krzyabncanuck]

That is just outstanding to hear.

This is a great build. One day mine will get started.

 

[southerncruiser62]

Thats awesome martin, if I recall your birthday was a few days ago correct? Happy Birthday.

Gotta love the diesel shake. Look forward to seeing this thing in person.

 

[uzj100]

THat thing is sweet.

 

[addicted56]

freaking spectacular!!!! The best combination possible. NICE JOB.