Builds 1987 FJ60 Expedition Build (1 Viewer)

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Let me introduce you to my good friend, Rustoleum Semi-Gloss
 
For those of you that live in the bay area and have ever driven down 19th avenue in San Francisco; Here is the FJ40 that didnt move for YEARS. I thought it would be my first 40 some day....... but someone else got it first. It showed up at the shop the other day. We have our work cut out for us.......


I know that rig! drove past it on my way to & from work every day for 5 years! Glad somebody is finally taking care of it.
 
Another good day with the swap!

As I am still awaiting my clutch fork in the mail, all progress has slowed quite considerably.
I went down to the hardware store and picked up two cans of rustoleum semi gloss in "red". BOOM. PERFECT MATCH (or near perfect seeing as its the engine bay). But really the paint looked great. So i set up on my front diff and just wire wheeled the whole damn engine bay! After an hour or so, the first coat was on and boy does it look fresh.

After paint, I took the 12HT radiator over to the solvent table (its a large table with raised sides like a sink, it has all these hoses that pour heated paint thinner out onto whatever you want cleaned) The solvent table stripped off most of the old grime, compound, and flaking paint from the radiator. Then I gave it a good wash with water, and let it dry for 24 hours in the 103 degree Sonoma sun. Today I got the first two coats on. A nice semi-gloss black and it looks killer.

Then I took out my fuel filler neck, disconnecting it from the tank and body of the car (man what a b**** to get out jeeeez). Then I drilled out the welt points on the milling machine, and punched the fill restrictor out the bottom. Then I welded the holes back up, and polished it up and re-installed it.

Finally I got around to the exhaust. I got the 2.75" downpipe with a flexible mid-section from the donor HJ61, and bolted it up to the old exhaust. Unfortunately, the PO had welded all the flanges and exhaust bits together, making it impossible to remove or connect easily. So after a few hours of battling with stripped nuts, broken bolt heads, and rusted brackets, I had the old exhaust removed, had a new flange fabricated, and had located an old exhaust line from a tractor!

I took some cardboard down and traced the path the new exhaust would take, then went back to the build bench and roughed it out of the tractor exhaust which was also 2.75" diameter. Basically, I have enough piping to take bring the downpipe back in line with the T-case, then angle it over to the frame, run it around the rear leaf spring, and dump it out right infront of the rear left tire. Straight piped, no muffler, all 2.75". Cant wait to hear that turbo spool up!

Monday the fork should be in, and we plan to mount the engine. Pictures and video to come!
 
Hello Cruzin, have you think about this kind of exhaust routing?

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FINALLY! Picture time!

So heres the engine on its pallet loaded up in our trailer coming back from LA


Stretched out the wiring harness...... scariest thing I have ever seen (Im a wiring nube)




Got all the clutch pieces assembled (other than the clutch fork which is stalling the entire opperation...)


Started pulling and painting parts of the engine. Removed all the coolant hoses, blasted and painted them. Removed the exhaust/intake pipes for the turbo, blasted and painted them. I used grease to mask off the details in the Toyota and Turbo on the pipes, painted them, let it dry, then with a razor peeled off all the grease. PERFECT solution for a "liquid mask"



Radiator was looking rough so I washed it, and it got repainted (no pictures of it done just yet)


Then I took the engine out for a good steam cleaning!

 
so sometimes steam cleaning is awesome cause you get to really clean up the engine. But other times its not great cause it reveals wear and problems that you really want to fix and they nag at you. I revealed an issue that needs to be addressed following the swap.

Once the first layer of gunk melted off, the oil pan looked like someone had duct taped the whole thing. Turns out someone slathered the whole thing in silicon sealant, and smoothed it out to make it look like the original oil pan. Luckily it doesnt leak, and the patch looks like its in good shape. Regardless, Im not about to have a beautiful 12HT and engine bay with a rotted oil pan.

So if anyone has an extra one kicking around or knows where I should look for a new one, let me know!
 
so sometimes steam cleaning is awesome cause you get to really clean up the engine. But other times its not great cause it reveals wear and problems that you really want to fix and they nag at you. I revealed an issue that needs to be addressed following the swap.

Once the first layer of gunk melted off, the oil pan looked like someone had duct taped the whole thing. Turns out someone slathered the whole thing in silicon sealant, and smoothed it out to make it look like the original oil pan. Luckily it doesnt leak, and the patch looks like its in good shape. Regardless, Im not about to have a beautiful 12HT and engine bay with a rotted oil pan.

So if anyone has an extra one kicking around or knows where I should look for a new one, let me know!

Does the 12H-T share an oil pan with the 2H or the 2F?
 
Does the 12H-T share an oil pan with the 2H or the 2F?

I do not know. I know its not similar with a 2F. Just by looking at it it seems both wider, and shorter.
Im going to do some digging on that.
 
Thats one pretty engine! Hurry up and install that thang.
 
Found a replacement oil pan from a parts website new for $230

Once I make back some money Ill put it on when I convert to synthetic oil.

$230...... the downside of owning a rare engine :(

Well. On the brightside, its a Toyota, so it never breaks! hahahahahaha I think Im going to get some great miles out of this engine. Im really excited to take my truck for its first drive after this is all done. Im glad I did this while Im 17. Fewer years of longing for a diesel and getting bad milage and power.
 
Thats one pretty engine! Hurry up and install that thang.

Wow, that motor cleaned up nice.

J

Thanks guys! The picture of it hanging from the fork lift is BEFORE the steam clean!!!!!! All the shiny silver parts are the parts I removed to blast and paint. Ill get a good picture of it before it goes in. In that picture it still looks black. Under all that gunk its blue!

She'll be in soon!
 
Hey guys. Sorry about this. In trying to maintain two threads; one dedicated to the diesel swap in the diesel section, and one to my rig in general over here in the 60 section, sometimes I post something in one thread and not the other and half to catch up. I forgot to post this earlier so I apologize.

So here we go with the re-paint

I wire wheeled both fenders, and the front of the engine bay. Honestly I didnt feel like removing all the wiring and hoses and doing an absolutely complete job so I just sprayed around stuff and did the best I could. There wasnt any real rust in the engine bay anyway, so I just hit the worst spots (of which there were few)







 
I have a very important question:

What should I name my rig!???!

Its been dubbed "The Cruiser" but that isnt very special. Anyone got any ideas?

Also, once the 12HT is in, what should I call it? Its not going to be an FJ60 anymore. Is it an FJ61? a HJ61? FJ72HT? What should I call it when people ask me "So what model is it?" I cant say "Oh its a 1987 FJ60 with a lift, a 5speed and a 12HT turbo diesel" That wont do!
 
Your on your own for the nickname. Don't worry though, one will come up eventually while your out with friends or on a trip or something. ....the nicknames are earned. :D Mine got its name, "Metal-Slug" when my friend and I and our younger brothers went on a weekend camping trip near Pescadero, Ca. My buddy's younger brother assigned that name for a handheld radio call sign when we were going over a mountain road and the truck was struggling to keep up.
 
Yeah, the nick will grow out when you stop thinking, and start cruising.
Some of my greatest ideas took shape behind the wheel of my (now burnt) sixty.
It was a hj 60 with a volvo turbo, iveco ic and supposed to have bmw seats.
Strange mix, but nice.
It ended up being named after my grandfather.

Nice work, looking forward to seeing that competed bay in blue, red and that shiny 12ht.

Care to explain the grease masking a bit more? How did you clean grease of the details of the font?
 
Yeah, the nick will grow out when you stop thinking, and start cruising.
Some of my greatest ideas took shape behind the wheel of my (now burnt) sixty.
It was a hj 60 with a volvo turbo, iveco ic and supposed to have bmw seats.
Strange mix, but nice.
It ended up being named after my grandfather.

Nice work, looking forward to seeing that competed bay in blue, red and that shiny 12ht.

Care to explain the grease masking a bit more? How did you clean grease of the details of the font?

I was so sad to hear about your cruiser. The work you put into it was so precise and well executed. My worst nightmare is losing my cruiser. I feel so bad you lost yours to a fire.

As to the grease masking, it's a really fun trick! Basically, it's a pain to mask those raised letters, or the depressions around them. I must have repainted my Toyota grill emblem 10 times before I tried this and it works wonders. Basically what you do, is take a piece of cardboard or paper, put a gob of grease on it, and with a Q-tip or your finger, spread the grease thinly on whatever you want masked off. Once the grease is applied, paint the whole thing, dot worry about the masked section. Do however many coats you want, and let it all dry thoroughly. Once it's dry, take a flat razor, get an edge under the grease, and peal it off. It should come off in a fairly contiguous piece. The paint holds the grease together and very little residue is left over. Then just get any leftovers with a Qtip with a touch of degreaser or brake cleaner.

If your doing larger sets of letters (like a Toyota grill emblem) I recomend taking a piece of cardboard, spreading a thin film of grease (Vaseline works well too) on the whole board. Then press the emblem onto it. Pull away and BAM! Your raised lettering is instantly masked with grease. Follow the steps as before and it should work out well! Good luck! I can send some pictures of the process if you'd like. It's very cheap and very affective. I used to spend HOURS with a blade and tape.
 
Great thread ! The fact that you're 17 makes it that much more impressive. I just picked up an '87 myself so, I'm getting some good ideas here.

Keep up the good work !
 

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