60 series steering column into a 40 (1 Viewer)

[Henry James the 47th]

After some careful thought, I came up with a way to put a 60 series column into my HJ47. Why do this? Well, there are a few advantages to be had:

-three switches (hazard, lights, and wiper switch) are moved off the dash to the column, which is by and large safer and more convenient
-I gain intermittent windshield wiper function (with the addition of the correct wiper controller box into my harness)
-tilt steering (though there are non-tilt 60 columns as well)
-with the exception of the final few years of production in which collapsible column appeared, 40 series trucks had a rigid steering column. With the 60 column, you gain the advantage of collapsibility and breakaway bolts, which is a safer set up in case of front end collision.

Anyway, I manged to document the sequence I used with photos, so here we go.

The first problem was figuring out the attachment of the column to the firewall. I could have modified the firewall to accept the 60 hole cover, but I was looking to avoid that, as there was not a lot of room for the 4-bolt pattern on the engine side of the firewall (stiffening rib in the way of one of the captive nuts that would need to be welded in). I could have chopped the 60 column and adapted the 40 series column end and dust cover onto it, but this didn't make sense from the point of view of how the 60 series internal steering shaft is supported. Also, the twist-lock column engagement feature on the bottom of the 60 column, where it attached to the hole cover, looked a bit more well thought out than the primitive arrangement on the 40 column.

So, I decided to chop the inside section of the 60 series hole cover and graft it into place on the 40 hole cover. I had two 60 columns on hand, one from a 1981 BJ60, and the other from a 1983 BJ60. The columns were dissassembled and the lower mounting flange, which twist-locks into the hole cover, got it's four spot welds drilled out so I could change the column length by shortening.

 

[Henry James the 47th]

The first pic shows the tacked together hole cover with 60 mounting tube poking out in the engine bay. The next show the pedal box, which must be modified so as to tie to the top of the 60 column. I decided to mount the column to the dash using it's existing breakaway bolts, and the result is that the steering wheel is about 2" further forward than otherwise. After mocking up the placement, I decided that 2" forward was if anything a better location for the steering wheel.

Given the difference in configuration between the 40 column, a simple pipe that is clamped to the underside of the dash and pedal box, the 60 column's breakaway bolt mounts would meant that it would need to be moved somewhat upward into the 47's dash to come out with the same relative steering wheel height and alignment down through to the steering box. That meant changes to the pedal box, so I started on that, making my best guess as to where to trim it initially.

 

[AATLAS1X]

Is the 60 column much longer and be in your lap? I ask only becasue I looked it over and said screw it and it has been a topic for some time.

 

[Henry James the 47th]

Then I cut the pedal box mounts a little more.

Then I used the column as a templete for the mounting hole locations and fabricated a piece for the front of the pedal box, using 0.125" plate, and my trusty zip wheel on the grinder to cut it to shape

 

[Henry James the 47th]

more work on the pedal box - once the shape was looking about right, i tacked the new piece to the box and did another mock up to see how the alignment was coming along

 

[Henry James the 47th]

After the situation looked okay, I completed the welding and then ground the welds down, and again mocked up the column into place. You can also see I took the plunge and chopped the lower edge of my dash out to allow the 60 column to rise into the appropriate position

 

[Henry James the 47th]

Then I drilled out the column mounting holes on the pedal box using the drill press, and then used the pedal box as a template to transfer these holes into the flaps on the 40 dash piece that still remained.

 

[Henry James the 47th]

3 more - now the mounting bolts can be used to hold the column in place to the pedal box and the dash metal

 

[Henry James the 47th]

another two showing the column pretty much into postion

 

[Henry James the 47th]

Satisfied with the pedal box reconfiguration, I blasted it with crushed glass and then on with the primer, and put it back into place temporarily. The box will eventually be painted the same color as the interior of my truck, just like the factory.

 

[Henry James the 47th]

A picture of the dash showing the sheet metal removal to this point. Then the column was bolted into place again, and using the upper mounting bolts only I checked the centering of the column as it emerges through the firewall hole.

 

[fjwagon]

Nice mod. I think Toyota made the switches on the dash to protect it from the elements. Rain could easily short out your system and cause other major problems. Just my opinion.

 

[Henry James the 47th]

The welding was then completed on the hole cover, and new nuts were welded to the engine bay side of the cover. The column was marked for length to the lower mounting flange using a scribe. I removed it again, and then sliced 2" off the end of the column tube.

 

[Henry James the 47th]

A few shots detailing the work on the hole cover and the result, now in primer.

 

[Henry James the 47th]

The next piece of the puzzle is the steering shaft itself. As i mentioned earlier, I have tow columns to play with, and the funny thing was that the lengths of the steering shafts were quite different, the one off the 1981 BJ60 (second from the top in the pic) being nearly 3" shorter. I have no idea why there are different lengths, though it probably involved a revised steering shaft arrangement or move steering gearbox... but this turned out to be a good thing regardless because it fits inside my newly-shortened column tube just about right. I connect it to the 40's steering box and rag joint, I will need to graft the end of the 40 steering shaft onto the 60 shaft. I plan to cut the yoke arms off the end of the 60 shaft and have a machine shop turn a rebate on the end, and a hollow on the end of my soon-to-be-sectioned 40 column, so the two can be fitted together. The 40 column shaft is at the bottom of the pictures.

I will post more pics as this progresses. I also need to complete the sheet metal mods to the dash, and I'll show pics of that as well. But for the most part, this conversion is over the tough bits (I hope!).

 

[Henry James the 47th]

Is the 60 column much longer and be in your lap? I ask only because I looked it over and said screw it and it has been a topic for some time.

The 60 column I started with actually puts the wheel closer in, not further. The wheel would be in your lap ONLY if you don't modify the dash to allow the column to be placed high enough.

A further point: I'm putting power steering in, and may well put a smaller steering wheel in to give more space.

During the mock ups, I put the seat into the cab and checked out the steering wheel position at a variety of angles. Centered in it range of tilt, it was just fine as far as I can tell. I'll try to show pics of this later.

 

[Henry James the 47th]

Well, I wonder if that was Toyota's reason for th dash switches - I assumed a cost saving measure, or simply a more primitive version of what came to be developed later. At any rate, since i have a hardtop cab I don't envision to many problems with the rain, though I can see how this might be a concern to some soft top owners.

Still, it seems to me that the 60 series had better, more weatherproof electrical connectors in general, going from the square plug-ins to the round plugs with o-ring gaskets inside.

Nice mod. I think Toyota made the switches on the dash to protect it from the elements. Rain could easily short out your system and cause other major problems. Just my opinion.

 

[fjwagon]

Regardless, it will complement your restoration nicely. Yep, I sure if Toyota made fj40's today, they surely would have a better designed. 1982-84 was a long time ago when you compare it with todays standards.

 

[Henry James the 47th]

True. i find it a bit strange too that Toyota continued along with making the 40 series for a full 5 years alongside the new 60 series, but few if any of the new design ideas on the the 60 (electrical connectors, beefier tie rods, more logical steering system, etc.) seem to have been adapted/adopted on the 40, save for the collapsible column.

I'm trying to keep my truck looking mostly stock, but I don't hesitate to make 'improvements' where I see an opportunity.

Regardless, it will complement your restoration nicely. Yep, I sure if Toyota made fj40's today, they surely would have a better designed. 1982-84 was a long time ago when you compare it with todays standards.

 

[pappy]

Having done most of this, I was insterested in the difference between how a late model FJ40 mounts the column to the firewall vs. my 1969. It looks like you were able to adapt nicely. That said ...

- My column is too low in my lap and needs to be raised. And that is after I installed a mini-truck steering wheel which I believe has a smaller diameter.

- I didn't cut anything off my column and just let it protrude into the engine bay.

- I used the steering shaft from a late model FJ60 which has the slip yoke. It turned out to be the perfect length to my FJ60 PS steering box.