'77 FJ40 buildup in Charlotte (finally)

[Cirbo]

Moved on to the air system. Greg wanted compressed air for tire inflation, minimal air tool operation (yeah, maybe blow gun operation to get the dust out of the interior) and ARB's. With things starting to get tight, we installed the Viair compressor under the hood, and a 2 gallon tank under the rear load space. I purchased a regulator and manifold from McMaster Carr and stepped the 125psi working pressure down to 85 for the ARB's. I bolted the manifold to the rib that runs down the firewall just below the brake booster.

 

[Cirbo]

Chopped up and grafted the ARB harness and the Viair wiring together to make one solution. The ARB switch now controls the compressor. We ended up cutting the rusty ash tray apart and making a switch panel out of what was left. I liked the finished product much better than hanging something down under the dash or bolting it to the Tuffy box and trying to hide the wires.

 

[marks69cruiser]

Absolutely incredible work! Your attention to detail is amazing. I am going to start from the beginning of this thread and reread AGAIN!!!!!

 

[Cirbo]

Got the AC charged and tested on Thursday. It blows at 38 degrees!

Friday I installed the 7 pin trailer plug and trailer brake for Greg's off road trailer. Now he's got to get it repainted from the Land Rover red to the BRG to match the cruiser, and change out the 5 on 6.5 hubs for the chevy 6 lugs.

 

[Cirbo]

Installed the cruise control today. It came from Rostra. When I called Flaming River to ask technical questions, they referred me to Rostra, as they are the actual manufacturer of the cruise that FR sells. The Rostra unit fit nicely under the compressor mount, between that and the brake master. The controls replaced the turn signal stock on the FR column.


While the list is getting shorter, I am hauling it to Cleveland on Sunday, so time is running out.

 

[lostmarbles]

Why's it taken so long for me to stumble across this thread?

I love seeing real craftmen at work!

This is a top-end build if ever there was one.

I'm going to be re-reading all this properly when I get more spare time!

 

[nicholastheczar]

This thread is amazing!!! You are a true Michelangelo of all things Landcruiser! Amazing!

Nick

 

[Chamba]

I'm with you Tom- when I found this thread, I could not believe that I hadn't found it before; it is truly inspirational. Makes my judicial use of silicon as an aesthetic aide seem even more pathetic....

Cirbo,

Why is it going to Cleveland? Poor thing.

Cheers,

Josh

 

[Mendocino]

Jim,

How does that cruise control work with the Ramjet? The FR site says the CC is not for computer controlled engines. As I remember you have an ECM for the fuel injection. Do you have to wire up the VSS and use a mechanical connection from the CC black box to the linkage?

I did not see a PDF with installation instructions at Rostra. I have the same FR column and after driving from Denver to Moab and back this year I realized that CC would be very nice.

As always, nice work. I'll have to sign up for the Land Rover forums when you are done with this so I can follow the Defender build.

Cheers,

Jeff

 

[Cirbo]

Josh,

Silicone.... as an aesthetic aid?

Cleveland is it's final resting place because that's where it's designer/owner lives.

Jim

I'm with you Tom- when I found this thread, I could not believe that I hadn't found it before; it is truly inspirational. Makes my judicial use of silicon as an aesthetic aide seem even more pathetic....

Cirbo,

Why is it going to Cleveland? Poor thing.

Cheers,

Josh

 

[Cirbo]

Well, after much discussion with Rostra, it was decided that, although the ramjet is a *computer controlled* engine, it still has a cable operated throttle control. While the parts they sold me installed easily, I was unable to complete the tests (as witnessed in the following submissions)

Stay tuned,

jC

Jim,

How does that cruise control work with the Ramjet? The FR site says the CC is not for computer controlled engines. As I remember you have an ECM for the fuel injection. Do you have to wire up the VSS and use a mechanical connection from the CC black box to the linkage?

I did not see a PDF with installation instructions at Rostra. I have the same FR column and after driving from Denver to Moab and back this year I realized that CC would be very nice.

As always, nice work. I'll have to sign up for the Land Rover forums when you are done with this so I can follow the Defender build.

Cheers,

Jeff

 

[Cirbo]

Last Sunday, with time all but run out, I loaded the cruiser up for the long drive to the Cleveland area. I had planned on delivering it, and staying the week to attend Lincoln Electric's Motorsports welding class. I had heard great thing about it and thought a little additional knowledge on metalurgy and welding processes would do me some good.

The things I didn't get done were the fabrication of the belly pan, and final calibration and testing of the cruise control. While up there, I figured we could wire the pigtail for the off-road trailer, leak-test the air system, and spend some time with the cruise. Additionally, we wanted Tim (our resident guru) to check into the warm transmission temps (still hovering around 230 at worst case).

Pictures of the finished product:

 

[Cirbo]

This is the first posting of this build. The formula is listed below.

While it was built for 35 to 37 inch tires, the final formula was modified so that it could fit in Greg's garage Maximum clearance had to be 80 inches. If you could look closely at the header panel over his garage, you would see a fine line where the cage just skims the wood.

So, 35's ended up being 33 inches.

This project has moved so slow that I've resisted any idea of posting a build thread. I don't know if it will provide much help, but so many here have helped me that I thought it would be a worthwhile attempt to try.

A friend asked that I consider building land cruiser. I had done one back in the early 90's, that I sold to him. After a few discussions and cocktail napkin sketches, we hatched a mild build plan.

Formula:

'77 or 78 Land Cruiser FJ-40
steel body with no bondo
V8 with decent HP and torque
power steering
AC
automatic
cruisable comfort at highway speeds
decent crawl ratio for the rocks
retro look with modern internals
35's with an overall height of less than 80 inches

 

[Cirbo]

Loaded up for the 9 hour trip.

 

[Cirbo]

The cruiser at it's new home. (notice the low access to the garage)

 

[Chamba]

Cirbo,

Cleveland as its final rusting place, more like. That rig is far too nice to go there, you did an amazing job on it. Thanks for posting all those great photos.

Silicon can make bad welds look good.

Cheers,

Josh

 

[Cirbo]

Not to worry. It won't see salt, just rocks.

Cirbo,

Cleveland as its final rusting place, more like. That rig is far too nice to go there, you did an amazing job on it. Thanks for posting all those great photos.

Silicon can make bad welds look good.

Cheers,

Josh

 

[Cirbo]

Things I learned:

Lesson 1
It's hard to find good help (subcontractors) for a project like this. The first painter cost us 6 months and $1800. Additionally, it cost another $1000 to correct his "work." The transmission shop cost us an additional 9 weeks and $2000 without being able to successfully rebuild a 700R4. There was the original $2600 sent to TCI that was a bust as well.

Lesson 2
Nothing will fit on a project like this, even when they tell you it's specifically designed for your application

Lesson 3
Make up a budget... wipe your ass with it.... aw... never mind.

While I can tell you where NOT to get your driveshafts built, truck painted, transmissions repaired, or exhaust system bent in the Carolinas, there were a few bright spots.

Gary and Kim Studley at Independent Technologies rescued this project from paintshop hell. Not only was their sandblasting inexpensive and thorough, their prep and paint team was the best. Greg and I agreed that we couldn't ask for a better finished product.

While I had a few rough times with the guys at Marlin Crawler, they came through in a big way in the end. They were one of the VERY FEW vendors that stood behind their products and did everything in their power to make things right. (even when the supplied parts weren't theirs) I'd give those guys more business in a minute.

Lastly, Paul Pilgrim. He made things right (at no small cost to himself) without question.

Oh.. and you fawkers on Mud....

Thanks,

Jim

 

[dancar]

Well done, absolutely amazing display of your skills, and commitment to this project.

Dan

 

[Mendocino]

Nice job Jim; congratulations on a completed project. Now, where is the link to the Land Rover build?