Build 1981 FJ45 troopy build

[Dylan Bill]

1981 fj45 troop carrier (New Zealand new) only a hand full ever made its a rare truck in my country with only a handful known to still be around
Plans 12ht , 5speed ,cable lockers
currently building it into a tuff tow rig and capable 4wd

Hey guys iv had this truck for around 5 years now and finally getting around to it
im currently sick so i though id take my downtime to make a post
i have worked off and on over last 5 years on this truck when i picked it up originally it had a 350chev , 5 speed
but did have a 6.2 turbo diesel out of a chev (funnily enough i have one in my k20 truck years later that i built last year)
i started putting a 1hdt ,5 speed into in the first year i had it but ended up pulling it back out selling and buying a 12ht ,5speed
im not gonna lie I'm a bit of purist i like to modify stuff that is easily reversable anyways heres some pictures from 2021

anyways i dont have much more picture of it in its early days
so about 4 weeks ago i started working on it hard i have deadline (november 2026) so its gonna be done !
started by stripping the chassis down cleaning it all panting and cavity waxing , i used a 360 spray gun to get inside the rails used KBS coating kit seems to be very nice ! but time will tell

 

[ceylonfj40nut]

Welcome. 12HTs are nice!

 

[Dylan Bill]

so once cleaned i spent ages prepping it and making a huge mess of my shop

ened up getting another engine stand and made a cheap rotisserie for painting as picture below

 

[Dylan Bill]

Welcome. 12HTs are nice!

they sure are ! best sounding out of the cruiser IMO !

 

[Dylan Bill]

once painted i got it back rolling now i built these diffs along time ago if you have questions ill try answer as best as i can to answer

anyways i gave everything a quick lick of paint and started assembly
the diffs are 40 series axle housing that have 60 series cable locking heads i wanted to keep the same track width there was some things i had to work out to get it all to fit into the housings but all and all not a hard swap !

 

[Dylan Bill]

once i had it rolling i couldn't wait to get the engine and box in !
but first i had to put the transfer box thats been in a tub for last 5 years
i fitted a rebuild kit ,removed the vacuum setup and fitted the manual pin!

decided to go twin sticks as i had enough parts kicking around , still in the process of building this twin stick setup

 

[Dylan Bill]

once the transfercase was built i got it mated to the engine now there is a a bunch of different parts you can use to get it to fit into the fj45 using all Toyota parts my list im using is , early 2h bellhousing and RHS mount from a hj60 this will put the gearbox on the correct angle and also be able to go Power steering at a later date for the rest of the mounts im using hj47 LHS engine mount ,hj47 gearbox crossmember

 

[Dylan Bill]

once mounted i started on the next problem cooling!
using two radiator mounts i cut and welded them together giving me a bigger one (hj47 have wider rads)
so i was able to mount the new copper 3 row hj47 rad! not cheap i must add but its a thing of beauty
now for the fan i cant remember what i used but its got more offset so the blades don't hit the rad also redrilled and moved the rad forward as much as possible now iv heard there's a Hilux fan that will bolt on so i think im gonna try one of those

 

[Dylan Bill]

now iv caught up roughly on the chassis side this is the tub !
its a pretty tidy tub really just needing a little love to the front floor pans and few little spots (not everyday you watch tv through your floor pans)
now my mates gonna be doing the rust for me to help meet my strict deadline ! i have welded in the passenger floor pan and a few other spots over the 5 years but takes me along time (not a panel beater)

 

[Dylan Bill]

anyways off she went for some metal surgery
now my mate smashed alot of panel work out but didn't get to finish due to health issues so this is how it currenty sits got a few things to do but all and all im happy with where its at !

 

[Dylan Bill]

so this is where im at with the project ill try keep this updated as much as i can ! and im more then happy to answer questions about doing a 12ht swap in more detail ! also have this old school bar im gonna modify to fit this warn m8274 !

 

[Greek Cruiserhead]

once mounted i started on the next problem cooling!
using two radiator mounts i cut and welded them together giving me a bigger one (hj47 have wider rads)
so i was able to mount the new copper 3 row hj47 rad! not cheap i must add but its a thing of beauty
now for the fan i cant remember what i used but its got more offset so the blades don't hit the rad also redrilled and moved the rad forward as much as possible now iv heard there's a Hilux fan that will bolt on so i think im gonna try one of those

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Great job done so far Dylan!

I will swap to a FJ45 a 2H motor. Following the suggestions of @duncanrm, our Aussie diesel guru, gathered all the parts needed (2H bellhousing and mounts from early HJ60 etc).
Now the question is about cooling: can I use an OEM/brand new FJ45 radiator (and shroud) I have?
Asking because you mentioned that the HJ47 uses a wider radiator...

Demetrios

 

[Dylan Bill]

Great job done so far Dylan!

I will swap to a FJ45 a 2H motor. Following the suggestions of @duncanrm, our Aussie diesel guru, gathered all the parts needed (2H bellhousing and mounts from early HJ60 etc).
Now the question is about cooling: can I use an OEM/brand new FJ45 radiator (and shroud) I have?
Asking because you mentioned that the HJ47 uses a wider radiator...

Demetrios

Hey mate as long as the lower rad hose out is on the RHS (Sitting in cab) then yes you could on the 12ht u can spin the top water neck to suit but if you have ac it might rub on the pump you also may need to move the whole rad/bracket over to the rhs to gain clearance on the bottom hose depending if your running power steering (but not 100% sure) bit since playing around with it this is what i would of attempted to do to make it (cheaper) !

 

[Greek Cruiserhead]

I will keep the FJ45 Power Steering and there isn't any A/C!
I understand that there are some minor changes (e.g. water necks etc) to consider. My main concern is the wider size of the HJ47 rad you mentioned. I hope the FJ45 rad is up to the task to do the job with the 2H motor (No turbo plans!)...
Thank you mate!

PS. Your wheels collection seems impressive!

 

[Dylan Bill]

I will keep the FJ45 Power Steering and there isn't any A/C!
I understand that there are some minor changes (e.g. water necks etc) to consider. My main concern is the wider size of the HJ47 rad you mentioned. I hope the FJ45 rad is up to the task to do the job with the 2H motor (No turbo plans!)...
Thank you mate!

PS. Your wheels collection seems impressive!

Hey mate being in your climate I’d say you will be safe Australia basically a oven so I’d say Toyota did the upgrade to be safe I believe the updated all models after 81 to have a big radiator fj,bj,hj

And for my wheels collection there’s a few more but thought these are my favourite hahah cheers

 

[Chamba]

Nice work mate. Love the 12HT: my favourite Toyota engine.

I put 60 series cable locker axles under my FJ40 LX years ago. I got the whole axle from Just Wrecking in Adelaide from an HJ61 (also got the 12HT/H55 out of it). I put the whole axle assembly in my 40, hadn't thought about just swapping diffs though. But I really love how it tracked and handled with the wider stance. Any issues with the birfield shafts for the 40 not having long enough splines on the diff side?

 

[Dylan Bill]

Nice work mate. Love the 12HT: my favourite Toyota engine.

I put 60 series cable locker axles under my FJ40 LX years ago. I got the whole axle from Just Wrecking in Adelaide from an HJ61 (also got the 12HT/H55 out of it). I put the whole axle assembly in my 40, hadn't thought about just swapping diffs though. But I really love how it tracked and handled with the wider stance. Any issues with the birfield shafts for the 40 not having long enough splines on the diff side?

Yah mate the rear you can use the 60 axle but the front I used a hilux chromly axle cut it down alitte and machined some of the axle down so the locker collar could slide just that bit more up the axle !

 

[Chamba]

Yah mate the rear you can use the 60 axle but the front I used a hilux chromly axle cut it down alitte and machined some of the axle down so the locker collar could slide just that bit more up the axle !

Nice work! I outboarded the front spring hangers on the front to move the springs out 1.5" on each side to match the spring perches on the front axle housing. Then in the rear I just moved the perches inboard 1.5" to match the 40 series rear springs. I had to use the 60 series hand brake cable to match the wider axle. But that was nothing compared to what you did here. Very nice.

 

[Dylan Bill]

Nice work! I outboarded the front spring hangers on the front to move the springs out 1.5" on each side to match the spring perches on the front axle housing. Then in the rear I just moved the perches inboard 1.5" to match the 40 series rear springs. I had to use the 60 series hand brake cable to match the wider axle. But that was nothing compared to what you did here. Very nice.

O nice ! I considered it ,
It would of been easier for sure to use the whole axle but I wanted to keep track width the same so wheels could still tuck up in the rear guard + wouldn’t require cert (NZ engineering) I also done a 60 backing plate swapped and have used a 79 brake cable to suit !

 

[Dylan Bill]

Back out the farm looking over some 40 stuff in my paddock of hopes and dreams just noticed this has a late model (5speed hump) most of it’s there do you guys think it’s worth the effort to cut it out patch and weld into the troopy
Who’s running a 12ht ,5 speed with a 1979-1981 tub on factory mounts how’s your clearance iv seen it gets pretty tight ?