Abandoned 84 FJ60 gets some love, and a 4bt! (3 Viewers)

This site may earn a commission from merchant affiliate
links, including eBay, Amazon, Skimlinks, and others.

After being out of town all weekend, I got a little more done to my cruiser today before leaving for work, and it felt good.
I got a little more wiring done, got my newly modified driveshafts bolted in, and filled my transmission ans transfer case with fresh gear oil.
I tried spinning the engine with the starter, and I didn't have enough juice to even get a full rotation. The donor 62 this stuff was in had a dual battery setup with a couple of relays to send 24v to the starter via push button. I was hoping to not have to do all that...
 
It's not a 24v starter.

All you need is a single battery with a good charge. Worked for me for many years.

Dual battery is nice from a capacity standpoint, not necessary to start the engine.
 
It's not a 24v starter.

All you need is a single battery with a good charge. Worked for me for many years.

Dual battery is nice from a capacity standpoint, not necessary to start the engine.
Thank you! Hopefully I can get it sorted then. I've got the battery on a charger for the night, and will try again tomorrow afternoon. I didn't even put any fuel in the tank yet, I just wanted to see if it would spin over.
 
The first start on that 4bt will feel so good. You’re making great progress. The first drive will make it all worthwhile.
 
So I looked a little closer at my battery today, and found out that it's only 750 CCA, and I apparently need at least 950 CCA to spin the engine.
Tomorrow I'll work on getting a stronger battery and verifying good connections at all my positive and ground cable ends.
I got my lift pump primed and got 5 gallons of fuel in the tank, so I think once I can get this puppy to spin, I'll have a runner.
I'm so close but sooo strapped for time this week between this week being my son's birthday and preparing for a cross country motorcycle trip next week. I'm really hoping to get the engine to fire before I leave, but either way I expect to get to drive this thing by Halloween.
 
Jump it with another vehicle for now to at least test
I tried that with my Subaru, after cleaning all my grounds and battery terminals, and it will at least turn over now, albeit quite slowly. I couldn't get the thing to start even with ether but I'm confident it would start if I could just get it to spin fast enough....
 
I'm telling you from experience you don't, not with a 4bt, lol.

I had a single sears die hard platinum p2 in the truck for probably 5 years before I added a second to increase capacity. It was maybe 1200cca at most.


Edit: for context, I live in NC. If it's above 30*F, one good battery is all that's needed. That's no glow plugs, no glow screens, no block heating, just the starter.
 
Last edited:
As I've gotten time over the last week I've replaced cables and grounds all with new 1/0 cables and yesterday got a huge commercial battery that is 1150ca and 950cca, and it turned over much better, but still just too slow. Today I'm picking up a new starter, hoping that will do the trick. I'm having to get a commercial one that is intended for a Blue Bird school bus, because the bell housing is not the same as a Dodge 2500 pickup. This starter is big, heavy, and expensive, lol.
 
I guess my factory oil pressure gauge is dead, since I've got it hooked up with a Toyota sending unit and it still stays bottomed out. My battery gauge works, and I still need to figure out my temp gauge. The fuel gauge still works with diesel in the tank, but my filler neck isn't big enough for the diesel nozzles. I'll have to do something about that. Hopefully I can use one from a diesel cruiser and find one on ebay or something.
I need a 4mm-8mm adapter to put my fuel return line back where it goes, as I tried using the 4mm vent from the tank that went to the charcoal canister as my return and it just pours diesel out of the original return line like it's pressurizing the tank or something, and leaking a decent amount of fuel onto the ground.
 
It's relatively easy to remove the filler neck restrictor as it is only spot welded in place.

A long rotary file, Dremmel, or even a sharp chisel will do. Obviosly, the pipe must be removed, and, depending in method used and how carefully restrictor was removed, a few small holes may need welding.

I modified mine to fill my saddle tank also.
IMG_4111.JPG
 
Congrats!
I love me a tractor-engine powered 60 :p

I have a bj60 with a 3B so I get all the tractor noises but none of the added power of that sweet 4bt swap!

Also, I might have a spare diesel filler neck, but I’m out of town through the 12th—you will probably have yours sorted by then.
 
Congrats!
I love me a tractor-engine powered 60 :p

I have a bj60 with a 3B so I get all the tractor noises but none of the added power of that sweet 4bt swap!

Also, I might have a spare diesel filler neck, but I’m out of town through the 12th—you will probably have yours sorted by then.
If I don't, I may PM you and see if we can work something out! Although just removing and modifying doesn't seem like a bad route...

This morning I went out to the garage and realized that I will HAVE to revisit my fuel return/vent situation, because I hooked my return line to the small vent and tried to use the old return as a vent. This morning I came out to 5 gallons of diesel puked out onto my garage floor.
I set it up this way because of compatible tubing size between the vent on the 60 and the return on the engine, but it apparently can't work like that lol.
I guess I'll sort that out in a day or two, since my free time this weekend will be commandeered by my wife and kid who deserve my attention more than this truck does on a rare weekend off.
 
Slow progress, but progress nonetheless.
Last night at work I modified my shifter plate to fit with the new positions of the shifters, and got it bolted back in with the original shifter boots, which quieted down a ton of the engine and road noise, and I removed the front bumper and brackets in preparation for the big home made tube bumper I have. I also stuck the grille and headlight bezels on after replacing the headlight bulbs. It's getting a little better every day.
20220907_190057.jpg
20220907_190529.jpg
 
You’ll be pleased with the increased mileage too. Hauling ass AND mid-twenties is a great combination. Sure miss my ‘61 Dodge town wagon with the 4BT. Nice work! You may have a hard time getting the smile s to relax. Face may have a new permanent look.
 

Users who are viewing this thread

Back
Top Bottom