Build 1984 BJ42 Story and Modifications - 3B to 15BFT

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Great to see more 15BFT BJ42 builds! I just blew the cobwebs off mine, and started mocking up the 60/70 power steering and F shock mounts similar to what you have done, so I'm a few steps behind you! Looking forward to seeing how yours turns out :)

I assume you're already on the 15BF series conversion page on facebook, if not jump on it:
www.facebook.com

15B-F/FT/FTE engine conversions | Facebook

Engine conversions relating to the Toyota 15B-F/FT/FTE class of engines.. possibly some 14B's thrown in for good measure. This group is here to share...
www.facebook.com www.facebook.com
 
orangefj45 said:
This is ready ……

😎

Georg @ Valley Hybrids @ Cruiser Brothers

View attachment 3554095
Click to expand...

As @orangefj45 mentioned, Valley Hybrids built an H55f and a 38-mm split case with the 4:1 Gears that my brother Delancy sent for the project.

The BJ42 already has an H55 in it (with the correct 40-series top cover) and a 34-mm split case that will get swapped for this one that Georg built.

Here are some additional photos from Georg's magic:

H55 with front half of the transfer case already installed:

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Note the clearance needed on the back half of the transfer case to clear the huge gearset:

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The 60/70 series top cover is loosely bolted to the H55 as I will be trading top covers to retain the 40-series one on the BJ42:

228.jpg


Thanks, Georg @orangefj45 for all the hard work on this!!!!

Hope to get some wrenching time on the 40 here in Mid-March.

More to come,

-Alberto
 
myusername said:
Great to see more 15BFT BJ42 builds! I just blew the cobwebs off mine, and started mocking up the 60/70 power steering and F shock mounts similar to what you have done, so I'm a few steps behind you! Looking forward to seeing how yours turns out :)

I assume you're already on the 15BF series conversion page on facebook, if not jump on it:
www.facebook.com

15B-F/FT/FTE engine conversions | Facebook

Engine conversions relating to the Toyota 15B-F/FT/FTE class of engines.. possibly some 14B's thrown in for good measure. This group is here to share...
www.facebook.com www.facebook.com
Click to expand...

Hoping to see it run very soon!!!!

Dirty Koala said:
Awesome build Alberto, I think I’m going to be following this same approach
Click to expand...

Thanks, Morgan!!

Looking forward to your project as well :cheers:

-Alberto
 
Small progress to report, but, forward movement is forward movement and much appreciated.

Got a spare wheel for the 42, and painted it to match the other 4. I don't think I ever included the paint I used, so here it is:

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A little technical information that I learned from my friend JimC @FJ40Jim.

When doing a 60-series conversion on a 40, keeping the 60-series pitman arm can lead to interference with the arm/steering bar and the leaf springs. Jim recommends using the 70-series pitman arm which is a little flatter and accepts the same splines and the same TRE as the 60-series....seems like a win win to me.

See a comparison of the two pitman arms. Used one is the one coming out of the 60-series box. New one is the 70-series part:

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And some part numbers for the arm, washer, and nut, just for reference:

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Thanks, Jim!
 
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Then started taking apart the truck to get ready for a transmission swap for the H55/Split Case that Georg built for us. Since not too many things were really completely bolted to the truck, and a lot of the fabricated parts needed cleaning and painting, it seemed that pulling engine and transmission as a whole was the smartest choice here (though I am known for not making smart choices ;))

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And took a little break to see Galen @bottombracket work on his HJ61

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Then took another little nice break and Galen @bottombracket and I went to meet Morgan @Dirty Koala and Lee @Outsane for dinner:

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Followed by a quick trip to AJ's Yotas to see Alvaro @aljollano and load up Morgan's Toyota 15BFT, which eventually will also make it into his 1981 BJ42.

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And went back to Galen's shop so they can see the cool projects Galen has going on and check out the BJ42

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Can't wait to see the progress on your trucks, Morgan, and super nice meeting you, Lee!
 
Then took a drive to the Texas Round Up in Katemcy Rocks, TX to meet Bill @bkcruiser and pick up a bunch of parts that Georg @orangefj45 sent for the BJ42, including the newly assembled transmission and Split Case with the gears that my brother Chris sent for this project, Old Man Emu springs, OME spring bushings, OME shocks, and Valley Hybrid made steel caster shims.

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And started pulling the whole drivetrain...hopefully not too many more times now:

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Did a quick cleaning on the H55 40-series top cover since I will need to swap it to the new rebuilt transmission:

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A little trivia I guess about the H55's.

The H55 in the 40 is from 1984 and as such is one of the first versions of the H55 that Toyota ever developed. Later on, Toyota improved the design of the H55 and increased the size of the Input Shaft Bearing (which also changes the input shaft itself) and added lubrication channels to the casting of the transmission to increase lubrication and enhance oil flow to the input shaft bearing. You can distinguish an early H55 and a late H55 by looking at the front bearing retainer and looking at the lubrication ears that Toyota added to the late model ones.

Early type H55:

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Late type H55:

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Note the lubrication channel cast on the casing:

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If you are interested in learning A LOT more about these transmissions, take a quick look at the thread below. There is a wisdom of information in there:

forum.ih8mud.com

some h55f and split case tech

forum.ih8mud.com forum.ih8mud.com
 
AlbertoSD said:
Then took another little nice break and Galen @bottombracket and I went to meet Morgan @Dirty Koala and Lee @Outsane for dinner:

View attachment 3587048

Followed by a quick trip to AJ's Yotas to see Alvaro @aljollano and load up Morgan's Toyota 15BFT, which eventually will also make it into his 1981 BJ42.

View attachment 3587047

View attachment 3587046

And went back to Galen's shop so they can see the cool projects Galen has going on and check out the BJ42

View attachment 3587049

Can't wait to see the progress on your trucks, Morgan, and super nice meeting you, Lee!
Click to expand...
Great times, glad I was able to make a trip out of the motor pickup and get to hang out with you all. Can’t wait to get cracking on the 15BFT swap into my ‘82 BJ42.
 
AlbertoSD said:
A little trivia I guess about the H55's.

The H55 in the 40 is from 1984 and as such is one of the first versions of the H55 that Toyota ever developed. Later on, Toyota improved the design of the H55 and increased the size of the Input Shaft Bearing (which also changes the input shaft itself) and added lubrication channels to the casting of the transmission to increase lubrication and enhance oil flow to the input shaft bearing. You can distinguish an early H55 and a late H55 by looking at the front bearing retainer and looking at the lubrication ears that Toyota added to the late model ones.

Early type H55:

View attachment 3587068

Late type H55:

View attachment 3587069

Note the lubrication channel cast on the casing:

View attachment 3587070

If you are interested in learning A LOT more about these transmissions, take a quick look at the thread below. There is a wisdom of information in there:

forum.ih8mud.com

some h55f and split case tech

forum.ih8mud.com forum.ih8mud.com
Click to expand...

Thank you for taking the time to post pitman and other p/n's

Following along as I'm putting together parts for a 40 series engine swap and p/s upgrade.

I just looked at the H55 that I replaced in my early 1990 HZJ77 and it appears to have the newer style bearing retainer/lubrication ears

Its about to get a rebuild and new split xfer case to go into the 40 this summer
 
mattressking said:
Quite a few familiar faces and locations. Very good progress, will be a great truck at the end!
Click to expand...

Thank you!...I hope it will be a very unique truck with all the little additions :)

Dirty Koala said:
Great times, glad I was able to make a trip out of the motor pickup and get to hang out with you all. Can’t wait to get cracking on the 15BFT swap into my ‘82 BJ42.
Click to expand...

Great times indeed. I am glad I was able to be at the right place to hang out with so many cool people at the same time

jayp2 said:
Thank you for taking the time to post pitman and other p/n's

Following along as I'm putting together parts for a 40 series engine swap and p/s upgrade.

I just looked at the H55 that I replaced in my early 1990 HZJ77 and it appears to have the newer style bearing retainer/lubrication ears

Its about to get a rebuild and new split xfer case to go into the 40 this summer
Click to expand...

Glad you are enjoying the updates, will find the PN for the steering box bolts today.

-Alberto
 
Had to swap the drive flanges from one split case to another, the top cover already had the reverse switch installed, and later installed the 4WD switch once the transmission was installed (to protect it from getting caught once we swing it in).

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Dave @davegonz and Galen @bottombracket were HUGE help to get the drivetrain in smoothly.

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Boom, done

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Nate approves @bottombracket

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You might have noticed on the previous photo that the top cover was missing 3 bolts. One, on the right side, is for the plate that covers the Tcase shifter, and the two on the left side are for the handle that controls the power take off (PTO) winch.

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This is my first truck with a factory PTO and Georg @orangefj45 recommended removing the PTO before taking the drivetrain out and then reinstalling it once the new drivetrain was in. I am glad we followed Georg's advice, I think it would have been almost impossible to get the whole thing assembled.

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Bill @bkcruiser fabricated/modified some steering rods to use the 60-series TRE with the 70-series pitman arm:

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Thanks Dave, Galen, Georg, and Bill!!

@davegonz
@bottombracket
@orangefj45
@bkcruiser

-Alberto
 
AlbertoSD said:
A little technical information that I learned from my friend JimC @FJ40Jim.

When doing a 60-series conversion on a 40, keeping the 60-series pitman arm can lead to interference with the arm/steering bar and the leaf springs. Jim recommends using the 70-series pitman arm which is a little flatter and accepts the same splines and the same TRE as the 60-series....seems like a win win to me.

See a comparison of the two pitman arms. Used one is the one coming out of the 60-series box. New one is the 70-series part:

View attachment 3587009

View attachment 3587010

And some part numbers for the arm, washer, and nut, just for reference:

View attachment 3587008

View attachment 3587011

Thanks, Jim!
Click to expand...
Alberto, You of all people should know that 70 Series parts are the best. 😁
 
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