Builds 77 FJ40 Build, It begins...and may take a while (1 Viewer)

[franklin40]

it’s two inches away from the fender metal in sitting position. i don’t think that’s right. in any case i have new OEM springs sitting in the back. just need to get bushings and new spring pins. i have stock shackles that should correct what is wrong i would think. my other 40 tires werent near this close to the body hence me thinking something is off. just going to make this one safe to drive and maintain it. nothing pretty or too custom. my kids will get it in about 6 years so i want it safe and reliable. that’s about it

 

[Mace]

It's normal, not right, but normal..

Love that the kids are getting it

 

[franklin40]

it’s running. not well but running. the radials are so much better than the bias ply. so much more controll. at least the brakes work perfectly!!

insert big stupid smile here. this kind of thing gives me motivation on my build when i feel stalled out!

 

[Mace]

I'm not sure I could resist the urge to roast a sweet brody right there...

 

[franklin40]

i know right! but that’s my lawn. my wife would just roast me!

 

[franklin40]

back to a bit of build tech. i want to use greasable bolts on my poly bushings. i can find grade 5 bolts of the right size. is this strong enough or should i be looking for grade 8? what grade are the original leaf spring bolts on these trucks?

 

[franklin40]

https://www.nucor-fastener.com/Files/PDFs/TechDataSheets/TDS_013_Shear_Strength.pdf

says a grade 5 9/16 bolt has a shear strength of just under 18000 lbs. that’s more than three times the weight of the vehicle. i’d think i’d break something else first before breaking that. any thoughts to the contrary that a grade 5 shouldn’t be used?

 

[Mace]

I wouldn't think twice about using a grade 5

 

[franklin40]

i worked a little more on retooling my transmission crossmember. @64Rotorhead has a nice design i’m following. it’s given me 1.5 inches of clearance more than before. i’m one evening work away from finishing it i think. so hopefully next weekend i’ll get it done.

i’m not doing mine quite flush with the frame as he did. i need 3/4 of an inch spacer to keep my driveline lines up with there i had it before.

with this design i might also have room to run my exhaust fully down the passenger side which is the side of the engine it comes out.

 

[64Rotorhead]

Nice! Now I think I'll borrow a bit from you and add a little reinforcement like you did on the front and rear side of the X member where the holes are for the mounts

 

[franklin40]

Nice! Now I think I'll borrow a bit from you and add a little reinforcement like you did on the front and rear side of the X member where the holes are for the mounts

did you box or reinforce the brackets on the frame?

 

[64Rotorhead]

did you box or reinforce the brackets on the frame?

Yes I did. Just a simple brace between the 2 mount flanges on each side

 

[franklin40]

cool. that was my plan too

 

[franklin40]

again a little interjection of my other 40 “red” aptly named by my kids.

we got the bottom end of my old chevelle 350 buttoned up this afternoon. it’ll go into red with my 4 speed maybe later this summer.

bushings for my new springs and knuckle seals ordered from cruiser outfitters yesterday. little by little i’ll get it running safely

tomorrow night i hope to finish up my crossmember.

 

[franklin40]

well you know what they say... the enemy of good is perfect! i think @64Rotorhead your front output flange off your atlas is smaller than mine. i can’t get it to clearance no matter what i try. i think i’m going to have to go with a single tranny mount instead of doubling up. i really want to but not sure if i can make it happen. i’m going to have to scratch my head a little in design but i’ll have to start again.

ill have to go buy some more 2x2 tube. foiled for tonight.

and that’s not even bolted to the tranny. with just the mount and no angle iron i can’t even get the mount flanges to clear.

 

[franklin40]

well i really wanted to do the double mount so here we go. here’s what i’ve come up with so far. i can use stove bolts to attach the plate to the underside of the transmission. the studs allow me to mount the poly mounts to the plate and then ill have to build a new crossmember with proper spacing for the new mount locations.

it’ll be about an inch shorter on each side so that’ll give me the clearance i need

old vs new

 

[franklin40]

out of welding gas now so i’ll get more supplies this week and maybe getter done next weekend. cross fingers

 

[64Rotorhead]

Hmmm, IIRC, my front output flange is about 4 ⅜" dia. and I have about ⅞" clearance right there

Which tail housing is on your NV4500? Mine is the Dodge, I used it as it is shorter than the Chevy version, better for my rear drive line.

I still have my Chevy housing, I'll check it today to see if there's and difference there and let ya know

 

[franklin40]

yeah mine is the dodge too. your output flange to the front has 4 holes in it from what i recall. mine has 12 for different drive shaft flange pattern. that might make it a little larger diameter.

 

[64Rotorhead]

Looks like your new plan should work well! Nice idea to chamfer the holes for stove bolts to make it work that way. Hope you don't feel bad about redoing it all. Heck, I've started out with one design on things and ended up with something altogether different, just part of the visualization process for me anyway. There's no failures, just a lot of ways to figure out how not to do something