65 FJ40 - Doing it the Easy Way (6 Viewers)

[TreadingLight]

9 Months into the build for the 69 FJ40 project, I'm still in the "welding sheet metal" phase. It's also morphed into much more of a crawler than I first anticipated, just based on the parts I've managed to scrounge up. Someday it will be pretty rad.

So when I came across something much more complete, I thought 'hey, I could fix the brakes and just drive this one!'. But maybe it's not quite as easy as I first thought it'd be. This rig is largely original, in all the good and bad ways. But it's not all Toyota-original.

All about that patina

The bifold door is awesome, but the spare tire carrier is busted and the tires are all ancient.

Nice seats, shoddy terminals at the fuel sender.

Hmmm, I've never been a fan of V8 swaps.

Dealer-installed heat? And someone moved the shifter to the floor.

The seller told me the brakes were leaking and the engine was tired. I can't say much about the engine health yet, but the brakes are in dire need of attention.

 

[TreadingLight]

So first up, brakes. In the short-term, I just want to drive it. In the future, I'd like to swap axles for front discs and 60-series drums. I figured I'd start by swapping in later drum brake backing plates with 10mm fittings and a dual-reservoir master. Hopefully my donors have good wheel cylinders. I'll have to make new lines but this should set me up for that future swap to newer axles. Seems easy enough and I have most of the parts on-hand.

But when I got to the rear left corner, the lug nuts wouldn't spin off. Instead, the wheel studs were just spinning in the axle flange. Rather than employ care and critical thinking, I decided to cut/break the studs off and swap in a donor axle shaft. Along the way I realized this one corner had reverse-threaded studs. Odd. But I'd already broken several off so I was committed to the axle swap.

And then I found this.

16 spline axle? What the hell?

This put me in a bit of a bind. I had donor 10-spline and a 30-spline axles to swap in, but that obviously wasn't going to work. I thought I could keep the project moving by just replacing the studs. But this weird 16-spline axle takes larger-diameter-than-toyota studs.

All I wanted to do is sort out the leaking brakes, but now I have an axle mystery and no wheel studs.

I measured the diameter at the knurl of a toyota stud, and the knurled hole in the axle flange, and found the mystery axle needed studs with a knurl ~1mm larger. I then turned to the Dorman wheel stud catalog and found that the studs for a '93 '97 Mercury Cougar have the same m12x1.5 thread pitch as Toyota, and a knurl ~1mm larger. I ordered a set and hammered them in, so at least now I've undone the damage I did, while converting the studs to normal right-hand threads.

Mercury Cougar studs have the right thread pitch and diameter, but they are a bit long. Annoying but ok.

But all this raises the question, what the heck did I buy? A largely unmolested 1965 40, but with a 327 SBC, 3 on the floor, and a 16-spline axle? Could this have all been installed by the dealer when the 40 was new? If so, maybe that would change my plans. It's kind of a cool time capsule in that case.

 

[Mike Shull]

I don’t know about the axle, but the 327 was a pretty common dealer swap that was often covered by warranty.

How a Chevy-Swapped Toyota FJ40 Started the Baja 1000

See how Mike Pearlman’s 1966 Toyota Land Cruiser FJ40 “El Toro Verde” led the way to the Baja 1000.

www.hotrod.com

 

[TreadingLight]

I'm pretty sure it is a Toyota housing. Someone put the 16-spline axle and matching spider gears in.

 

[sleepycruiser]

Yay for another earlier 40. Not many of us out there.

I see you have the Hupps or whatever heater. Can you please take a pic of the engine bay where that mounts? Trying to see if the holes would line up with what I have no so I wouldn’t have to drill holes.

 

[TreadingLight]

Sure thing

Hupp model 556 heater

Blower motor

Fins on top

Control knob under the dash

Power drawn from the second fuse from the bottom

 

[TreadingLight]

Two hoses pass through the firewall between the grommets, mounting stud underneath.

The upper hose on the intake, the lower hose on the water pump (return line).

 

[TreadingLight]

Anybody here shopping for FJ40s in 1965 have any thoughts on the axle? Was that a dealer upgrade for the v8?

I'm inclined to move forward with my plan to eventually swap in a newer full float 30 spline rear axle with drum brakes/ebrake, but I'm curious if the current setup has historical/sentimental value.

In other words, if I chop it up and use it to make a drill press stand, will the land cruiser gods forsake me?

 

[sleepycruiser]

View attachment 3930249
Two hoses pass through the firewall between the grommets

View attachment 3930250
The upper hose on the intake, the lower hose on the water pump (return line).

Thanks. Are you able to see where the mount studs come through the firewall?

 

[TreadingLight]

I see one stud directly under the heater hoses on the firewall. I edited the pics above to show that.

The heater is securely mounted and doesn't rotate so i am guessing there is another stud or bolt on the interior side of the firewall. Not sure why nothing else is visible from the engine bay.

 

[brian]

Yay for another earlier 40. Not many of us out there.

Seems like a bunch popped up lately.

 

[White Stripe]

Anybody here shopping for FJ40s in 1965 have any thoughts on the axle? Was that a dealer upgrade for the v8?

I'm inclined to move forward with my plan to eventually swap in a newer full float 30 spline rear axle with drum brakes/ebrake, but I'm curious if the current setup has historical/sentimental value.

In other words, if I chop it up and use it to make a drill press stand, will the land cruiser gods forsake me?

You could probably make that housing a Full float with fine spline if you wanted.

 

[TreadingLight]

Only with a disc brake conversion and cough, cough, GM brakes. Or the 4runner drotors. Or heavy custom fab. Plus new spider gears.

I'm going to try and track down a 70 FF rear, skip all the fab and adapters, and end up with a heavy duty Toyota drum with ebrake.

Ideally.

I also scored everything I need for a front disc axle with birfs, I just need a housing. And time.

 

[TreadingLight]

You could probably make that housing a Full float with fine spline if you wanted.

Just to make sure i havent missed an option ... do you know of a way to convert an SF rear drum brake axle to a FF drum brake axle (that doesnt call for a lot of custom fabrication)?

 

[White Stripe]

Just to make sure i havent missed an option ... do you know of a way to convert an SF rear drum brake axle to a FF drum brake axle (that doesnt call for a lot of custom fabrication)?

I believe 4plus products sells the brackets to do it. You would have to call them.

 

[TreadingLight]

Confirmed - that is not a thing. He used to make a FF disc conversion kit.

Anyhow, I am really curious about what I've got. Is this a dealer installed setup? Does it have any historical or sentimental value? Do I keep it "original" or modernize?

Part of me wants to take it to Baja like it's 1966.

 

[Living in the Past]

Going to a 70 series rear full floater you will have to change spring perches to fit a 40 series. A LWB 40 series 8/80+ FF rear axle are fairly easy to convert to 60 series brakes that include the hand brake. Few supports for the hand brake cable need to be added. Then either extend the cable to reach under the or convert to one on the transmission cover.

Is there a good source for 40/70 series rear full floating axles here in the US that do not require taking out a mortgage? I have pallets of parts in Australia I need to get to the US. Have both a 8/80+ 40 series and 60 series full floaters that were give to me. Wasn't until the 93 FZJ80 that the US saw a full floater in a Land cruiser. In Australia from 1975 they were standard on all Land Cruisers. I use to have a pre 8/80 40 series rear full floater. Those have their own style of brakes that were not compatible with Land Cruisers sold here. 8/80+ can use 60 series brake components. The early 40 series FF did not have a hand brake. Would rather have a 8/80 FJ40 semi floating axle versus a pre 8/80 rear FF. But those are not that easy to find.

 

[TreadingLight]

There's not a ton of FF 40/60/70 parts here for all the reasons you mentioned. Up until I bought a 40 though, my cruisers (hj60 and hzj75) were FF so I am somewhat irrationally annoyed by c clips and such. Ideally for me I'd use 70 series axles that could share parts with my Troopy. I have some spare / takeoff axle parts and it would be nice for me to make use of those parts.

The counter argument is that I wouldn't be able to easily find or share parts with other more common USDM rigs. I'm kind of used to that though.

For someone not already down a 70 series rabbithole I'd caution them against following my path.

 

[Living in the Past]

I know the right rear full floater inner axle are the same in the 40/60/70 series. Left inner axles are the same in the 40 and 70 series. Brake components were shared during the 1980swere the same full or semi floater. The LWB 40 series has few different parts without the hand brake. Been pointed out to me that a few incomplete built vehicle LWB 40 series did have a hand brake. Advantage is in general here in the US for 1980 axles brake parts are fairly easy to find.

 

[TreadingLight]

Let me know if you get that pallet of FF axles over here and might have one for sale