Builds 1987 fj60 12h-t h55f conversion (1 Viewer)

[roma042987]

Nice find on these new 12ht engines but from the above pics looks like this engine never came with the strengthening plate between the block and oil pan.

What gives you that idea? Second photo top of last page. It's on the shelf waiting to be cleaned up and reinstalled. All of the 12ht engines had the stiffening plate.

 

[roma042987]

Looks like I haven't updated this thread in quiet some time. I changed jobs not long after I last updated this thread a couple of years ago and seems like my life swerved into the fast lane...in a good way. I've been traveling for work most of the year and when I have been home I've been busy working on the house or spending time with our new little family addition who turned 10 months already.

With my job change I did loose access to the shop I'd had access to for over ten years so the first order of business was closing in my under house crawl space/car port thing into something more useable. I framed up three walls, installed insulation, tongue and groove cedar, and a garage door and ended up with this. It's no shop and it's way too small but it's out of the elements at least and come summer time I plan to install a mini split to have some climate control.

 

[roma042987]

New addition to family. She absolutely loves steering wheels and I even let her steer the 60 on the last trip out.

 

[roma042987]

Last month I had couple of weeks at home and planned a last minute trip up to North Carolina to go camping. I decided I wanted to install my cable locked axles and lift before the trip and gave myself about three or four days to do so. Well, family life being what it is these days I found myself baby sitting one night and then two and before you know it I had two short evenings to get it all done. Crunch time as always with all my big jobs getting done the night before a big trip. Guess I work better under pressure. Fortunately Tucker and Michael came over to give me hand and around midnight of the morning before the trip Tucker and I were bleeding the brakes. We finished it minus an alignment before I hit the road. New brake hoses, 555 tie rods, etc. The cable locked axles I built up earlier in this thread have been stashed away for seems like four years now. Nice to be ditching the rear center cap to make way for that full floater.

 

[roma042987]

 

[roma042987]

At the last minute I decided I wanted to move my roof top tent over from my 40 so I started throwing together Pat's Bowfin cruisers rack. I didn't have time to install everything properly so I just threw some ratchet straps over the tent and off we went.

 

[roma042987]

I did finally replace this busted tail light lens

 

[ufg8r]

That is one heck of an update! Looks like good times all around!

 

[Michael B]

Now you need some good tires to go with that awesome new stance! BTW I like the RTT better on the 60 rather than the 40.

 

[ufg8r]

Now you need some good tires to go with that awesome new stance! BTW I like the RTT better on the 60 rather than the 40.

Some 33” duratracks would be sweet on that thing

 

[ufg8r]

Now you need some good tires to go with that awesome new stance! BTW I like the RTT better on the 60 rather than the 40.

and I agree on the RTT

 

[CarcaineProblems]

Enjoy the baby. Best thing in the world. Nothing even comes close

 

[roma042987]

Now you need some good tires to go with that awesome new stance! BTW I like the RTT better on the 60 rather than the 40.

Yes definitely new tires before it gets driven anywhere else but I’m holding out a bit because I’m going to probably buy the silver 70 series 16s that look like the 60 wheels so I can run a 255/85/16 km3. These will be a bit narrower than a 33x10.5 and still have a factory look.

Tent is going to move back and forth depending on what I’m hitting the road in. I will say that with @dogfishlake Pat’s rack I’ve never felt more comfortable with that tent being secure. I can’t think of a single thing that would make this rack better. Now I just need one for the 40

 

[roma042987]

Enjoy the baby. Best thing in the world. Nothing even comes close

For sure! definitely changes your priorities but I’ve always loved kids, probably because I’m just a big kid myself but, now I can spoil myself....I mean them ....with all the toys and activities I never had growing up.

 

[roma042987]

Alright back at it again, I've actually had a few weekends at home now with my work travel slowing down for a bit. I also have another 12ht to rebuild for Galen at my house so the last few weeks have been crunch time to clear my plate and button up projects before diving into his engine. I did have a two week work trip to Oklahoma in mid January so right after Christmas my first order of business was to reassemble the tcase on this new h55 which has been sitting in my entryway for over two years now. My wife had actually turned the box with the transmission into a shoe rack/table of sorts. This set up was slated to go into my 60 along with the nos 12ht I have apart at some point while the drive train currently in it was going to go in my 40. This tcase was extremely clean and came from an h55 that I bought from @chrisspaulding years before when he lived in my neck of the woods. It was behind my 2f and was installed early on in this thread and up until the previous page where I pulled it after my long trip with the rebuilt engine. I had sold the perfectly good H55 it was attached to and purchased a new one because of some crazy justification I'd come up with at the time. I got a terrain tamer rebuild kit from Georg and tore it apart back in 2017 (previous page) when I still worked at the car dealership. I pressed all of the bearings and cleaned the case halves and had all the hardware replated and just stored it away in my parts room until the beginning of last month.

Here is the case when I pulled it back in September of 2017

Parts run of some H55s. 1 for myself and two for customers.

 

[roma042987]

 

[roma042987]

My most productive nights are actually when my wife goes to work and I can put the little to bed and head down to the garage with this guy.

I did remove the extension housing on the new h55 to put a tiny bead of hondabond on both sides of the paper gasket.

oiler for 5th gear

This was a super quick assembly since I had already pressed all of the bearings.

 

[roma042987]

I did upgrade this unit with a heavy duty input gear I got from Georg @orangefj45 this gear is fully splined the entire length so the load from the driveline is spread across the entire splined surface of the output shaft on the trans. While generally you have the gear splines, the big spacer, and the pto gear. I did opt to not get the gear with the pto simply because it was cheaper and I have no intention of running a pto on this truck.

 

[roma042987]

 

[roma042987]

At this point in the assembly process I was leaving for my work trip and couldn't find my inch pound torque wrench to set the output bearing preload. So it sat like this while I was away for two weeks. I found it as soon as I got back and set the preload to 20 in. lbs for the new bearings and staked the nut. I finally got my vapor hone machine hooked up the following week and in hind sight I wish I would have hooked it up earlier because I could have really cleaned up the rear half of the tcase since the bearings weren't pressed into it or at least the pto cover and rear output bearing retainer. I buttoned all of it up and crammed the trans/tcase assembly into nice big plastic tool box I had sitting on a movers dolly. It will likely not be used for years so I really wanted it stashed away somewhere it wouldn't be open to the elements or get any contamination of any kind. I'll have to snap a finished picture of it tonight.

Only way it would fit but I really wanted to use this box it's sturdy and water tight as long as it isnt submerged and makes for a nice rolling table. Only thing missing is the shift lever that I've somehow misplaced.

New stick and knob