Advice on revising previous v8 install (1 Viewer)

[hanzo111]

Your steering arms look stock to me. Assuming those are the stock u bolt plates with shocks mounted to them, just upside down, it might be that simple as long as nobody did a cut/turn on the axle for caster correction.

I can’t quite tell from the pictures but it looks like you may have a drop pitman arm? I see something in that shot of the shackle. That may need to be swapped for something flatter if you go back to spring under. You want your drag link in line with the tie rod.

Thanks for taking a look. It is definitely a drop arm. I can measure the angle of the steering arms.

As for the drop arm would a stock arm fit my steering box?

How to tell if cut turn? I’ll do some research.

Thank you

 

[pb4ugo]

It appears you have a Saginaw steering box, so you would need a gm or some other auto manufacturers pitman arm who use sag boxes like jeep. A stk fj40 box won't work.

 

[hanzo111]

I assume I will need a stock arm which lies more flat? Ill look around and see what pops up. Thank you

 

[pb4ugo]

You really won't know what you need until you lower it. You may need some sort of drop or a different length arm. As @RWBeringer4x4 mentioned, you want the drag link to be more inline with the tie rod to help eliminate bump steer.

 

[ryanwk628]

I re-did a pretty bad V8 setup that existed in my truck when I bought it. Mine didn’t use a cradle, but It mounted a 283 small block Chevy to a stock Toyota 4 speed using a Lakewood scatter shield Bellhousing, and a combination of Chevy and Toyota clutch components. It had been mounted too far forward and there was a huge dog-leg in the shifter, and a matching gash in the transmission tunnel to accommodate it.

I corrected it by cutting out the old mounts, and buying a Bellhousing from Downey, along with his front mounts. In the rear, I used the Advance Adapaters transfer case mounted rear crossmember.

One slick solution I learned along the way, is that a FJ60 4-speed manual transmission top cover bolts right up to an FJ40 4 speed transmission, but positions the shift tower about 3 inches rearward. If you put the small block where it belongs, with the heads roughly 3 inches off the firewall, the transmission shifter comes through the floor almost exactly in the stock location - no big hole or shifter dog-leg required. You will still, however, need to modify the transfer case shifter slightly to get it back through the holes in the right place.

Second - go the extra mile to move the radiator mounts down a couple inches and center the biggest V8 cooling fan you can find in a tightly fitting shroud. Keeping the small block cool is a bit of a challenge.

Third - position the engine for the best driveshaft angles, front and rear, but make sure you leave clearance on the driver’s side for the steering shaft. No matter what steering setup you go with, things will be tight in that area. While you’re at it, make sure you use a telescoping steering shaft, for safety.

Yes, you can, and should, use Ram’s horn manifolds. There is a Walker brand Y-pipe exhaust crossover that works nicely in an FJ40.

Feel free to go check out my build thread - as I have been here, done that, and asked a ton of stupid questions along the way - it’s all documented! If you have any questions, don’t hesitate to send me a message. I went and had a couple kids so my project is stalled, but that doesn’t mean I can’t help with yours!

Some before and after:

View attachment 3187096




View attachment 3187098




After:

Gives you a good idea of the tightness of the steering shaft…
View attachment 3187101

mostly installed:

View attachment 3187102

Last one showing the dog leg
View attachment 3187095

An FJ60 H55 with the aftward shifter would solve that problem... as would an AX15

 

[RWBeringer4x4]

An FJ60 H55 with the aftward shifter would solve that problem... as would an AX15

I used an FJ60 H42 top cover on the stock FJ40 H42 transmission to move the shifter backward, as mentioned above. Lined everything up just about perfectly.