Builds '74 FJ40 Build: My 1st Cruiser

[gpfj40]

Thanks. I have a set of black aluminum Procomp 20” rims I’ve considered putting on it when I buy new tires, but I’m thinking less side wall is not a good thing for it’s intended purpose. I may also buy some 17” black steel spoke rims, just not really sure at this point. Once the tube work is done I’ll need to decide, prior to new tires.

 

[SuperBuickGuy]

the more sidewall, the better the wheeler. with more sidewall, you can air down and get better traction and flotation. short sidewalls are for sports cars.

 

[gpfj40]

I was finally was able to put a day in on my project working on finishing up a bunch of tasks. I mod’d the B&M shift linkage trans mount so it will be a little further away from the exhaust. I also tightened and installed quite a number of bolts that have been neglected. I modified the seat bracket a little to make room for the modified trans hump and made a temporary bracket for the B&M Magnum Pro Stick shifter, I forgot to take pics of most these but here is the mod’d trans hump:

Here is the rear portion of the exhaust, I built it using the same exhaust builder kit I have been using. There are still a bunch of elbows and 3 4’ lengths of pipe, I didn’t use half of the kit.

Here is the new lower rad hose from summit replacing my 3 piece mock up hose. I strongly recommend this part, it is flexible and comes with a bunch of bushing for different size hose barbs, making this lower hose simple and worth every penny.

 

[SuperBuickGuy]

dagnabit

I had convinced myself not 2 hours ago to just leave the hole and boot it around my dual sticks... then you have to go and box it.

You do nice work

 

[GLTHFJ60]

Here is the new lower rad hose from summit replacing my 3 piece mock up hose. I strongly recommend this part, it is flexible and comes with a bunch of bushing for different size hose barbs, making this lower hose simple and worth every penny.

Can you post up the link to that part?

 

[gpfj40]

Can you post up the link to that part?

Here you go:
http://www.summitracing.com/int/parts/sum-390024/overview/

 

[gpfj40]

dagnabit

I had convinced myself not 2 hours ago to just leave the hole and boot it around my dual sticks... then you have to go and box it.

You do nice work

Thanks. What you have suggested was the plan, but because the hole is 5-6” further back than stock and the hump narrows that wasn’t going to work well. The side of the hump is cut down to the flange to allow clearance for the stick. The only way to boot that would have been sewing up a huge vinyl boot and making a retaining ring. I’d far rather weld than sew! Your twin stick boot may still be be a good choice if you can get them through the hump where it is horizontal, I abandoned twin sticks because they would have created more head aches with seat frame/hump/floor given where my Tcase ended up.

 

[SuperBuickGuy]

I was looking at my cover and thought "why don't I just move the bump out back 4" or so, then cut the top... fortunately, I have room to do this because I'm using a dana 300 with twin sticks. The twin stick system I used (Omix Aida), allows me to move them forward.

Still, I was okay with leaving it alone until I saw your good idea... worst part is you're smug about it

 

[gpfj40]

Despite being very busy at work the muffler/tailpipe, seats and temporary shifter mount are in. I chose to reuse the 4 speed tranny shift boot for the Tcase. I drove it around a bit, it sure is sweet driving with efi v8 power and an auto. The fan and fan control seem to be working as it operates between 195 and 205. After 30 min of stop and go traffic there still wasn’t too much heat coming up through the floor, at least compared to the 1.5F. Perhaps the ceramic heat coat I put on the inside and outside of the floor under the Raptor liner is working, or the GM v8 doesn’t run as hot. I drove it up to 60 mph, the driveline seemed ok until I let off the gas which caused a driveline vibration. My Tcase (-4*) and pinion (0*) angles are off by 4* so I will be adjusting the pinion up 4* to match/offset the 4* down pointing Tcase output and see where I’m at. If that doesn’t work I’ll be pointing the pinion at the Tcase and getting a CV shaft. I have yet to tackle the front DS.

I started on the driver side slider, this time I’m going to take the welding slower and do all of the welding before I weld it to the frame, then leave it bolted together while the welding to the frame is completed. It seems the PS slider warped a little during final welding which makes it a pain to bolt back on, rookie mistake, patience is not a virtue of mine. If anyone is looking for free tube notching templates you can print off and trace on to your tubes check out:
http://www.blocklayer.com/Pipe-NotchingEng.aspx
They work pretty good once you figure out what size to print them at. 132% worked for me.

 

[gpfj40]

Progress has not been great over the past 3 weeks but I have accomplished a few things:

The sliders are done and ready for paint as is the spare tire swing out.

In order to solve the DS vibe I pulled the axle out to cut off the spring perches. In hind sight I should have only tacked them until the rig was drivable to test out the DS vibes, another lesson learned. While I had the axle out I build a track bar bracket for the axle based on some ruff stuff .250 wall bushed tubes and some 6" x .250 flat bar. I haven't tackled the bar itself yet as I'm waiting to solve the driveline vibes first. The pinion is now +4* to offset the t case flange which is -4*. The DS is operating at a slope of about 16 or 17* making the U joint angles effectively 12 or 13*. I hope this works out, once I get the brakes bled properly I'll get to test this out.

I've made a little progress on the front DS. I found a 1310 CV conversion joint that will bolt to my '74 4 speed t case with a 60 x 68mm pattern. It is about 3/8-1/2" narrower than the stock u joint yoke. I went with the CV mainly because my 80 series front diff leaves the pinion pointed right up at the t case and t case joint will be about 12*. In order to make this work some clearancing of the 4L60e tranny pan with a hammer and zip disk was needed along with swapping 2 M8 bolts to lower profile heads. I certainly hope I didn't do any damage to the tranny internals. If this turns out not to work I'll give up on the CV joint and order AA narrow conversion 10 spline t case flange and yoke but this will only be usable at low speeds. The pics show the difference in the joint sizes and mock up using some 2" .120 DOM and 1.25" schedule 40 pipe. I'm pretty confident this will work so I'll get the local driveline shop to build the DS now.

I bought a used set of asian locking hubs and will save the flanges for spares.

Here is a 4" low buck rubber fender flare I ordered from Summit Racing visegriped in place. It seams to cover the front tire similarly to the rear flares. I've been unsure what I wanted to do for flares up front, other than knowing I need to do something to cover tires given the considerably wider 80 series axles and the mud/water this rig will see. If anyone knows of a better option in North America please let me know.

 

[SuperBuickGuy]

Tube? with a bit of grinding and cutting, YJ flares can be made to fit... on the back, they work great - dunno on the front. I need 360* of jacking points, so I am willing to be a bit more.... umm... aggressive in making them fit.

 

[gpfj40]

Tube? with a bit of grinding and cutting, YJ flares can be made to fit... on the back, they work great - dunno on the front. I need 360* of jacking points, so I am willing to be a bit more.... umm... aggressive in making them fit.

Is this what you had in mind SBG? I have considered making a tube fender protector similar to what sporty forty has done. I have some 1.5" .120 DOM and access to a 5.5" x 270* bender so I may give it a shot.

https://forum.ih8mud.com/threads/qu...g-shortened-troopy-extended-swb-build.805511/

If I could find flare rubber like Watrob has on his 40 I'd likely go this way, especially if it was 4" wide.

https://forum.ih8mud.com/threads/re...th-80-series-coils.173333/page-3#post-2828214

 

[SuperBuickGuy]

I like the tubing, but I wonder at how strong it is (if it can be a jacking point).... still, love the concept.

as for Watrob, his tough wheeling is on the beach, so I'm not sure he needs jacking points (IIRC, he uses an airbag).

 

[rusty_tlc]

On most 40 that flex well that front outside low corner on the OEM fenders gets chewed up. The axle rotates the tire up into it at full flex. Metal Tech makes a tube fender that raises the whole fender up, you cut the OEM side aprons.
http://www.metaltech4x4.com/p-25-fj40-tube-fenders.aspx
I've seen them on a few rigs and they look good. You could either get the kit or steal the idea and make them wide enough to suit your truck, the guys at Metal tech would probably even modify theirs for you.

I'm not sure why you would want or need to use the fender for a jack point. I cannot think of any situation I've seen where it would be advantageous.

 

[gpfj40]

Thanks for the input. Metal Tech's tube fenders appear to be pretty robust, but not really along the line of what I was thinking. I'm too far along in my project now to start cutting freshly painted sheet metal, and I was attempting to keep stockish looks. Jacking on the fenders isn't really high on my priority either as the tube sliders will work for that should the need arrive. Mud/water deflection and small tree or scrub brush protection are my primary thoughts. Not trying to knock trees over but they do lean in and trails can be quite overgrown.

I stuffed and twisted the front axle recently and thought I had clearance, but now you're are making me think I should use a forklift to stuff/twist it more aggressively to confirm my tire/fender interference before I proceed.

 

[rusty_tlc]

......

I stuffed and twisted the front axle recently and thought I had clearance, but now you're are making me think I should use a forklift to stuff/twist it more aggressively to confirm my tire/fender interference before I proceed.

It will depend on how you placed your front axle, most guys move it as far forward as possible to improve approach angle.

 

[gpfj40]

Here is my first attempt a tube fender flare. Anyone want to offer an opinion on it? I’m not sure if I like how it turned out, but it would do the job of protecting the fenders from small trees and brush.

 

[SuperBuickGuy]

damn, that looks good. Of course, the hard part isn't the 1st one, it's making the second one look like the first... still, with that challenge ahead, you did nice

you asked for critique, so here it is... I'd make the tube closer to the fender - the further something is outside the vehicle, the more likely it is to get hung up on the trail. I'd also move the entire flare forward to match the fender, but more importantly to get more protection on the front - since your bumper is quite a bit in front, being forward with the tube really won't affect anything.

 

[gpfj40]

It’s been more than 2 months since the last update, although I’ve made some ground on the tasks at hand and drove it around on the road >1000k. This thing is a blast to drive, tons of power and good brakes. So far it is proving to be worth the effort.

Rear DS: the new angles of Tcase -4*, pinion +4*, shaft angle 18* (effective u joint angle 14*) was far better than before, the growl disappeared, but a noticeable vibration remained at > 90k/hr. I’ve decide to point the pinion at the Tcase and have a 1310 conversion CV joint (just like the FS) added to one end of the shaft. The shaft angle is going to be about 11*, when combined with the -4* of the Tcase gives the CV a 7* working angle. The only other factor is the 5* side to side angle in the joints caused by a combo if the slightly different position of the diff on the 80 series axle and a centred motor/tranny rather than the cruiser DS offset driveline. Should have the shaft by the weekend.

Front DS: Vibes at 90 k/hr, hard to isolate from the rear vibes, once the rear cv is in I’ll know better. Either way I’m happy with the front shaft because it fits and the tranny pan doesn’t leak, locking hubs solve the front DS vibes at road speed.

Skid Plate: my attempt to build a skid plate out of 1.5 dom and 3/16 sheet metal is not going as well has I hoped. Once it is finished I’ll decide if i can live with it or if I should start over without the tubing and just use 3/16 sheet metal. The only trouble with that plan is I don’t own a press brake…..

4L60e: It started leaking out of the tail so the ATF has found a way out between the tranny tail hex and the AA hex to 4 bolt adaptor. This is a big job to fix, I’m going to be living with a drip for a while. I guess this is an example for getting what you pay for, given the $150 purchase price of the motor/tranny.

Front fender tubing: I’ve abandoned this for the time being, I couldn’t make it look right without a rad hoop and that is not an option at this point.

Sliders: Finally painted and installed them, I’m happy with the outcome:

Rear Tire Carrier: painted and installed, also pretty happy with the outcome:

 

[SuperBuickGuy]

looks good!