'71 FJ40 build thread (1 Viewer)

[gmac1]

Hopefully I'm creating a new build thread the right way. A bit of background on the vehicle.

My wife's dad bought a 1971 FJ40 new in Arkansas. He installed a Warn 8274 winch and did a SOA conversion at some point. My wife has a lot of fond memories of 4 wheeling with her dad - but at some point (probably in the 1990's) it stopped running (reason unknown). We moved it up to Virginia and then I started a complete tear-down on it about a year ago. Some good news is the frame and body don't have much rust

I have a bit of mechanical/engineering abilities but certainly not a mechanic by any stretch of the imagination... I'm blessed with a garage where I can work on it and have acquired a decent amount of tools in the last year. Part of the Capital Land Cruiser Club. I definitely need advice from the knowledgeable people here on ih8mud - what an incredible resource from a bunch of reading I've been doing on different topics.

My goal is to make it a really nice daily driver and be able to easily pass the Virginia state inspection - which is needed every darn year. Some specific upgrades I plan include upgrade to 2F motor and 4 speed transmission, convert to disc brakes (front and rear), steering upgrade and power steering. Perhaps A/C and some seats with lumbar support but we'll see...

Here is a picture before I started taking it apart. I'll be posting a question regarding some rear axle stuff in a moment.

 

[4Cruisers]

I'm part way into my '71 FJ40 build as well. Looking forward to following your build progress.

BTW, a SILVER Star will give you a lot of flexibility in posting photos.

 

[gmac1]

Hopefully I'm creating a new build thread the right way. A bit of background on the vehicle.

My wife's dad bought a 1971 FJ40 new in Arkansas. He installed a Warn 8274 winch and did a SOA conversion at some point. My wife has a lot of fond memories of 4 wheeling with her dad - but at some point (probably in the 1990's) it stopped running (reason unknown). We moved it up to Virginia and then I started a complete tear-down on it about a year ago. Some good news is the frame and body don't have much rust

I have a bit of mechanical/engineering abilities but certainly not a mechanic by any stretch of the imagination... I'm blessed with a garage where I can work on it and have acquired a decent amount of tools in the last year. Part of the Capital Land Cruiser Club. I definitely need advice from the knowledgeable people here on ih8mud - what an incredible resource from a bunch of reading I've been doing on different topics.

My goal is to make it a really nice daily driver and be able to easily pass the Virginia state inspection - which is needed every darn year. Some specific upgrades I plan include upgrade to 2F motor and 4 speed transmission, convert to disc brakes (front and rear), steering upgrade and power steering. Perhaps A/C and some seats with lumbar support but we'll see...

Here is a picture before I started taking it apart. I'll be posting a question regarding some rear axle stuff in a moment.

For the rear axle - When I opened up the differential it was in bad shape - it looks like the oil was never changed - thick sludge. I took the axle and differential COMPLETELY apart and cleaned up all the parts thoroughly. I've installed new axle outer bearings and axle oil seals. In the process of rebuilding the differential although I'm probably going to recruit some assistance when doing that... I'm planning on installing some leaf spring perches and shock absorber brackets from ruff stuff. Also got a disc conversion kit from poser (nice kit). One big question I have is the current angle of the leaf spring perches. When the axle is 90% the perches are about 10% (see picture). Is that expected or something I should correct when installing new perches? Definitely appreciate any opinions and thoughts on what else I should be looking at while fixing up the rear axle and doing the disc brake conversion.

Here are the items I'm looking at from Ruff Stuff:
- Leaf Spring Perch: Toyota Spring Perches, 3.0" Axle Tube 2.5" Wide - https://www.ruffstuffspecialties.com/25TOY-PERCH.html
- Shock Bracket: Paired Shock Bracket Radiused Axle/ Tube Mount - https://www.ruffstuffspecialties.com/SBRKT-3.html?gclid=EAIaIQobChMIxM2LvZyP9QIVTuDICh0nXQHyEAQYASABEgLA0PD_BwE

After doing a lot of reading I now have a better understanding of drive line angles and why pinion shafts are rotated up with a SOA conversion. Here is a site that I found that has a wealth of useful information (at least to me): Articles - https://4xshaft.com/pages/articles

Now on to getting the differentials rebuilt and getting the front axle cleaned up and rebuilt along with the high-steer kit from Marlin Crawler.

 

[gmac1]

I'm part way into my '71 FJ40 build as well. Looking forward to following your build progress.

BTW, a SILVER Star will give you a lot of flexibility in posting photo

I'm part way into my '71 FJ40 build as well. Looking forward to following your build progress.

BTW, a SILVER Star will give you a lot of flexibility in posting photos.

Thanks. I'll go figure out how get a silver star!

 

[gmac1]

Knuckle Question. For my front disc brake conversion I have a knuckle from a mini truck donor axle. But, as I got it cleaned up I noticed it had a broken bolt. I then made it worse by trying to extract it with an extractor which I broke off... The other 7 bolts are all good. Thoughts on whether the knuckle will be good enough as is?

 

[65swb45]

The knuckle has its highest amount of resistance when the felt and rubber seal are new, which is to say, when support from the fully fastened crescent retainers is most needed.

You could try as an experiment making a small 1/2” by 2” tab that would reach across from the lower retainer with the good bolt and cover the upper. Give the axle a few sweeps and see if the retainer tries to pull the tab away. If so, you will have a real-world answer on how necessary the full anchor is.

If Tom was still in Manassas, he’d get you all fixed up proper. He and Burl and Chris are all great wrenches.

 

[gmac1]

The knuckle has its highest amount of resistance when the felt and rubber seal are new, which is to say, when support from the fully fastened crescent retainers is most needed.

You could try as an experiment making a small 1/2” by 2” tab that would reach across from the lower retainer with the good bolt and cover the upper. Give the axle a few sweeps and see if the retainer tries to pull the tab away. If so, you will have a real-world answer on how necessary the full anchor is.

If Tom was still in Manassas, he’d get you all fixed up proper. He and Burl and Chris are all great wrenches.

Makes sense. Thank you for your suggestion.