BamaBleach's FJ40 buildup

[BamaBleach]

Got some more work done over the Christmas break. The drivetrain is now in with new front and rear motor mounts. I'm going to build a crossmember/skid that will connect to the bottom of the toybox since that is the place where the mini-truck braces.

After looking through my pics I don't really have a good one of the motor sitting in it so I'll have to get one and posted it up. Didn't have any issues clearing the brake booster.

Here's a random pic of the EGR block-off plate that my dad made:

Here's the drivetrain with the seats, tranny tunnel, and gas tank removed:

Had to do a little trimming but nothing major:

 

[BamaBleach]

A buddy of mine just finished putting a 3RZ-FE in his '84 mini-truck so he came over to help with the wiring.

We made copies of the wiring diagram and taped them to some cardboard for reference:

We laid out the harness and started taking the tape and loom off of it:

 

[BamaBleach]

We went through the harness wire by wire labeling and cutting each wire that we needed. We decided to cut each wire so we could control the length of the "new" harness so we didn't have to stuff a ton of wires under the dash.

The goal was to make a stand alone harness for the 3FE that would look clean inside the 40. Once we decided where everything was going to be positioned, my buddy started soldering each wire back together and added heat shrink.

Like most who do this swap, I chose the glovebox as the home of my ECU (along with the COR):

Getting ready to start putting the harness back together:

Coming together:

The wiring I did not use/need:

 

[BamaBleach]

Here's the custom throttle linkage that Dad came up with:

Worked well:

 

[Ron B]

Sweet build!

 

[marks69cruiser]

Great detailed write up BAMA! i really like the long jump seats you have. could you post up some pics of them? Keep up the great work, with the awesome pics. Thanks. Mark

 

[BamaBleach]

Sweet build!

Thanks!

Great detailed write up BAMA! i really like the long jump seats you have. could you post up some pics of them? Keep up the great work, with the awesome pics. Thanks. Mark

Mark,
Yes, I'll try to post some up for you. They'll be up for sale eventually. I think they're way cool in a 40 that will be used to just cruise around town but since I'm building this for the trails I'm going to replace them with one forward-facing rear seat.

 

[kling-on]

Mmmmm very nice

 

[lulo]

Nice...

 

[BamaBleach]

I've been wondering for sometime what the original color of my Cruiser actually was since it had so many layers of paint on it.

Here's a pic from behing my instrument cluster. Looks like Dune Beige #416 to me. That would work with my Cruiser being a '73.

Thoughts?

 

[2fpower]

Nice work so far. I too am doing the 3fe in a 75 40. Any hints on wiring, what you would or would not do.

I bought a painless that I planned on using -- just don't know where to start now.

Cheers!

 

[BamaBleach]

Nice work so far. I too am doing the 3fe in a 75 40. Any hints on wiring, what you would or would not do.

I bought a painless that I planned on using -- just don't know where to start now.

Cheers!

Thanks!

I'll be a little more confident once she actually fires up. I've got a buddy with experience in wiring up fuel-injected motors in carb vehicles helping me out. He has done the wiring and I've assisted.

Best advice I can give is to make sure you have the Factory Service Manual for the year model of your 3FE truck. Mine was from a 1989 FJ62. I also have the luxury of having the entire donor truck to raid stuff from. I think a few people around here who have done the build only had a harness and engine.

If you'll notice from my pics, I made copies of my wiring diagrams and taped them to a giant piece of cardboard. After the harness came out from behind the dash of the FJ62, we laid it all out and started taking all the tape off of it. Then it was just a methodical process of going wire by wire on the diagram and grabbing each plug that we would need.

Once you start the process, if you have any specific questions I'd be happy to help out the best I can. Shoot me a PM with you're email when you get a chance.

 

[BamaBleach]

Got a little more done

Well I got the chance to get some more work done.

Couple of weeks ago Dad and I worked on an idea for a check engine light (CEL). The amp gauge in my stock cluster was broken so we decided to mod that area for the CEL out of the FJ62.

Kind of ghetto but that's how I roll:

 

[BamaBleach]

Then my buddy came over and helped get some more wiring done. Didn't really take many pics because there really isn't much to show. Once it's 100% complete and cleaned up I'll take some photos.

Here's a pic of the starter relay he added:

And me and dwh84 got a chance to start putting my soft-top bows on. Ehsan does some great work!

 

[BamaBleach]

On Saturday we made some pretty good strides on one of the many projects I have going on at once. If you've followed my build you'll remember that one of my goals was to get lower & longer. With the toybox install the longer wheel base was mandatory.

So the rear 40 springs are now gone:

And the old mounts have gotta go:

 

[BamaBleach]

I picked up some new mounts from Ruff Stuff. Their a supporting vendor plus Dan Fredrickson is a Cruiser guy himself. He happily talked Cruisers and fab ideas with me over the phone.

All welded up:

Lined up:

 

[BamaBleach]

Mounting in this location allows me to sit a little lower and will increase my wheel base dramatically. With the 60 springs flipped and mounted here I'm looking at a wheel base of around 101". Once I flip the front springs I'll increase that #. My goal was to get to 100" and anything over would be playing with house money. Not bad for a leaf-sprung FJ40.

I realize that the military wrap is in on the wrong end for this pic (this is for mock-up, I haven't re-drilled the leaf yet):

Front mount:

Overall:

74 degrees unloaded without axle weight:

Front mount coming together:

 

[BamaBleach]

No pics, but I got a little more done last night. I took a wire wheel to my rear axle and got it cleaned up.

Then took some time to sit down and figure out what I've still got left on the table.

Here's the list:
- make adapter to go between AFM housing and cone filter
- wire up the starter, tach, fuel pump
- make and route fuel lines for the fuel pump
- put my radiator back in
- run longer brake lines
- come up with a rear shock solution
- rework my anti-wrap bar
- cut a hole in the tranny tunnel for the the toybox shifter
- extend t-case shifter linkage
- make crossmember/skid plate that attaches to toybox
- rework front suspension with shackle going through the frame
- rework front shock location
- finish my soft top install
- comp cut the rear
- make room for brake lights
- make a family cage with seat craddles
- make front bumper stinger
- make tube fenders that connect to stinger and sliders
- make new driveshafts
- paint everything that was grinded and/or fabbed
- install a CB

This list is way too long and I'm sure I've forgotten a few things!

 

[JBC0217]

It's really starting to come together Phil! I look forward to seeing it in a few weeks.

 

[Elbert]

looking good....seems like you never get all the little stuff wrapped up. I still have a number of small things to get done on mine swap. Maybe it'll happen this summer.