77 FJ40-coming home

[yOHda]

I got a buddy up in Powell that might have a set laying around...ill let you guys know otherwise...Thanks!

I went to work yesterday and changed fluids front to back and greased every thing that had a zerk. cleaned all the contacts in the fuse box. traced wiring down looking for any broken wires or anything. inoperable wipers are the last thing on the list.

at that point i was feeling pretty confident so i ventured out on the highway to see how it felt. a little wander but not bad at 60 mph. then i ventured down to my secret(legal) testing grounds off 270 and tested the 4 wheel drive. No surprises other than the 4wd stick is impossibly stiff. i muscled it over but it definitely needs some attention. if this is a rough country lift its had to have been on here for a while because its pretty compliamt considering the thick leaves. it rides firm but flexed pretty decent. got back out on the highway on the way home and cruised home with a big smile on my face. i cant wait to start modding.

gears are my next big purchase just trying to decide between 4.88s or 5.29s. even though these 37" rockers are radials, they're 10 ply E's so they're fairly heavy.

 

[FJ40Jim]

Is that on the south side, around alum creek & 270? I used to wheel there, but heard it was getting to be... umm, legally questionable.

The 4WD stick needs disassembled, de-rusted, greased & reassembled.
It's a PITA to do it w/ the body on the truck, but it will be worth it when you're done.
There might also be a corrosion problem where the big 2/4WD shaft slides in the case. That piece of the case can be removed complete w/ shift fork, and unstuck & rebuilt on the bench.

 

[yOHda]

this is off hamilton rd by 270. next exit after 670 past easton. its 100% legal. the landowner says you can wheel back there as long as your not setting fires and destroying property(kids). there is a mustang shop back there and he knows the owner, so i just made sure he knew i was going back there and have been going for 2+ years. ive never seen anyone else back there but there are always lots of tracks through there.

i dont purposefully go anywhere thats not legal. my wheeling schedule is full enough from april to january(every other weekend) to get my fix. i have friends with land to wheel on as well.

 

[yOHda]

i have been driving the 40 for the past couple of days to work. about a 35 mile round trip. initial impressions are this aint no 22re. this motor actually has torque. it gets up to 62 just fine. thats all teh fast i want to drive it. the steering leaves a lot to be desired. i want to add power steering very soon.

talked to my buddy up in powell...he has a set of 60 axles and rear springs for me. i want to pick those up a.s.a.p. and start figuring out my build.

i was looking for low lift ideas and came across this picture:

it give me an idea of what my 37" Rockers will look like. the 60 axles will give me some much needed width for the 37s. the front axle is wider than a mini axle and the rear is about the same as a ifs width axle. with longs up front, the 60 axles could prove to be a nice setup. i will probably do a springover and SR unless i find really good reasons not to. looking at treerootco's 40 almost convinces me i could have a decent performing sprung under suspension. the extra 3 inches in width and at least 7 inches in wheelbase should make this 40 a good vehicle for the trails around here.

i will get by with the 5.29s until i figure out if i want to do a motor swap. after having it all sitting here. a 3.4, W56, dual case drivetrain might be too long for the 40. we'll see how the 5.29s feel on the street with the 2F and 37s. ive been reading a lot about the sm420/465 swaps and i really like that setup. that might be the most cost effective of all.

 

[gothodgie]

i have 4.88s in my 60 and really liked them with the 35s i was running at first... now i'm soa with 37" Iroks and i like it on the street, but on the trail i feel i like i could use a little more gear... The 5.29s should be a good option, i just have read a few things about having to do some grinding to get the center pin to go back in... the 60 axles will be nice.... check out the build thread below, it's long but he has built a beautiful 40 that has 60 axles under it... I wish i had his patience....
https://forum.ih8mud.com/hardcore-corner/303602-chicago-builds-40-a.html

 

[zebrabeefj40]

i have been driving the 40 for the past couple of days to work. about a 35 mile round trip. initial impressions are this aint no 22re. this motor actually has torque. it gets up to 62 just fine. thats all teh fast i want to drive it. the steering leaves a lot to be desired. i want to add power steering very soon.

Bud from BudBuild said similar after driving my FJ40 at Harlen. He enjoyed playing with the torque of the 2F compared to the 22RE and whatever was in his Taco shop truck.

Nick

 

[yOHda]

Budbuilt has a first gen double cab(just the cab) he imported IIRC. ive ordered a few things off him and he is a great guy to deal with.

Gothodgie, i have read that 5.29s require some grinding...the general concensus is that is not that big of a deal but im still not to crazy about the idea. once i get the 60 axles to my buddies shop in newark we can decide what to do with the rear. Id like to full float with some mini parts and custom long inners if i can. aftermarket rear shafts or custom longs would be about the same price.

I like roughing it, building at home in my driveway, but when the weathers cold i have a spot in my buddies shop that im free to use. its about 30 miles away but i have comforst like heat, air compressor, bender, lathes, etc. there is a inhouse painter who does nothing but hotrods and hes agreed to teach me how to replace the body on the cruiser. this will be the cruisers new home in a month or so:

 

[gothodgie]

is that old caddy hiding behind the double doors? i love those old caddy's they are s*** IMHO... i have always wanted one, but it would be hell on gas these days...

 

[yOHda]

yeah thats an old caddy back there. i cant remember the year now. i do remember it only had 10,000 original miles and sat in a barn for the last 100 years. the person who brought it to us was a friend of the business. he bought it out west. he had just sold a 39 cadillac and saw this peeking out of a barn on the way home. he bought it and brought it to us and we repainted it and bagged it on 20s. paul was like 72 at the time and for some reason he loved airbags and big wheels just like the young guys. we we finished the car and he drove it for a few months and then passed away. his greedy children sold off all his cars within two weeks. this one was supposed to be given to the business but it dissappeared with the rest of them.

another picture:

well im going to buy gears this week. 5.29s ftw. id like to get that hfs bumper and get rid of this tube front bumper. i hate it.

im still reading on this power steering business but im leaning toward the scout box and sag pump. as much as i want to stay toyota, i want to have the best steering possible for larger tires, and it looks like the sag stuff wins.

other than that, im still just driving my cruiser and enjoying it. i took my windshield wiper motor apart and replaced the brushes and shes good as new.


after the gearing change we'll see how the 2F likes the 37s

 

[gothodgie]

dam that sucks about the Caddy, that is one sweet looking ride... i know where there is a 66 4 door and i would already have it if it wasn't to long to fit in my garage...

I think u will be pleasantly suprised when u get the 5.29's in... Something else that will make a big difference too... Wait for a nice sunny spring day and stop by Jim's house and let him work his magic on your carb... I thought my 60 ran decent, then i paid Jim a visit and on the way home it was like driving a new truck...

 

[FJ40Jim]

Hodgie is my pimp, yo.

 

[gothodgie]

Hodgie is my pimp, yo.

you better recognize !!! get back on the corner biotch... U can't make me no cheese sitting in front of the computer...

 

[yOHda]

im getting my parts collected for my build. went up to my buddies shop on sunday and started breaking down a pair of 60 axles.

nevermind my messy 80...it is my work truck;

there is a complete 60 front in that picture somewhere. im going to run back up and pick up the rear axle, rear 60 springs, and a rear jumpseat next week sometime.

i purchased all my parts from ruffstuff for the springover and SR. i weeded out the parts i didnt need from the SOA kit and the rest is on the way.

then this morning i was thinking i could use front range's brake kit for an extra 3" of width up front on the 60 axle and match the width of an 80 series rear. the 80 Full Float rear would be a nice rear axle to have.


im also still entertaining the motor swap idea, it would be nice to pull it into the shop, and do everything at one time. motor, axles, suspension, cage. the more i read the only real difference i can find in the weight of the fj40 vs mini trucks is the extra weight of the motor. if a 350 is 200 pounds lighter than a 2F. and a 22re is about 175 pounds lighter than a 350, then the weight loss going from a 2F to a 22re is about the same as the weight difference between a mini and a FJ40. for clarity, im not considering the 22re. if i did a 4 cylinder, it would be a 3rz that makes 150 hp/177 tq. 3rz's are awesome little motors and i am leaning towards that swap more so than the thirsty V6. i can almost turbo the 3rz for the cost of the 3.4L V6 swap.

drivetrain lengths are another issue. a 22re/dual cased drivetrain will be about 19.5 inches longer than the orginial 2F drivetrain. i am adding 10+ inches in the wheelbase with the majority of it in the rear. i havent quite figured out how long my rear driveshaft will be...the front will probably require a carrier bearing. i havent quite thought this whole part out yet as part of me thinks it would be just easier to mock it up in the vehicle and go from there. another cool swap i already have the powerplant for is a 7M-GTE from a turbo supra. if ya havent noticed, i like to collect parts for "future builds"...my woman says shes going to call hoarders one of these days.

 

[zebrabeefj40]

if ya havent noticed, i like to collect parts for "future builds"...my woman says shes going to call hoarders one of these days.

"Hi my name is yOHda and I have a problem..."

Welcome to the club... I just gave Jim a couple 2F motors I had been hoarding. Still have a TPI 350, a complete 3FE, and a Detroit Diesel for potential Cruiser projects. We won't mention the 6+ other motors around the 3 different locations for either tow rig repowers or race car/street car projects. Hoarders? They're around my place...



Nick

 

[FJ40Jim]

Yohda, dunno anything about a widening kit for FJ60, but the easy way to get 3" wider in front is to swap on the hubs from an IFS minitruck. Parts are practically free from people doing SAS on 86-later minis.

 

[gothodgie]

Yohda, dunno anything about a widening kit for FJ60, but the easy way to get 3" wider in front is to swap on the hubs from an IFS minitruck. Parts are practically free from people doing SAS on 86-later minis.

Jim do you still need those tires ?

hijack over...

 

[yOHda]

Jim i have that swap on my mini truck. i machined my ifs hubs so that i could slide a tacoma rotor over it. i also machined the caliper to sit flat on the opposite side of the ears. its an easy way to gain slightly over 3 inches.

Front Range Off-Road Fabrication

These parts from Front Range are not specifically for a 60 axle but accomplish the same as above but safer on the road in terms of how the caliper mounts IMO. i never had issues, but i was always nervous with the way i had the caliper mounted.


im probably going to use the 80 series rear axle collecting dust in my storage shed for the rear of the 40 and widen the 60 axle to match. if that lcwizard widening sleeve is still available that would be the best option. one thing i hated on my minitruck was the scrub radius. a toy full floater rear will be nice. with longs up front should make for a stout pair of axles.

 

[zebrabeefj40]

I thought Jim was refering to the Sky kit that uses a spacer to leave the stock Cruiser/4Runner caliper bolted to the knuckle where the factory put it...

Toyota Wide Axle Kit - Sky's Off-road Design

'Nother option I guess. I do like how the Front Range kit uses a slip on rotor though. That's pretty cool.

Nick

 

[FJ40Jim]

Yes, I was thinking of the Sky spacer and the IFS hubs.

But if you're gonna run big tires, then the Taco rotor & caliper upgrade looks even more better.

 

[yOHda]

yep...thats the plan at this point. the LCWizard sleeve is still available so im still considering it too. if i can afford longs and gears at the same time, i will probably just go ahead and get the sleeve and order the correct longs for the extended width.

work was kind of slow today so i snuck over to my friends shop on lunch and retrieved my 80 rear axle. i forgot just how heavy this axle is.

i got this axle for a steal($100) a while back and have just been holding on to it. well no time like the present, might as well use it in this build. fj60 front fzj80 rear, we will call them "toyota tons". i dont really need the aussie in my 80 DD. so ill probably swap the spider gears back in and grab another aussie for the 60 and im set.

putting together my steering components next week. ruffstuff parts should be in next week. im nearing the end of my parts list, it will be time to turn some wrenches soon. stay tuned.