Best FJ40 Upgrade Ever

[Green Bean]

Unless I’m mistaken, the electric power steering isn’t quite as eay of an install on early cruisers with one- piece steering columns (no rag joints). To the extent that you have not already done so you may want to check out Otramm’s YouTube channel. He does a nice Toyota mini truck ps install albeit on a vehicle with a rag joint.

 

[FloridaLife]

Better link with a lot more info on the electric steering.

DIY Electric Power Steering

OCTOBER 2020 - UPDATE - HAD A PROBLEM W/ ONE OF THE SPLINED CONNECTORS. SEE POST WITH UPDATE HERE- > LINK I recently bought a 1978 FJ40. I live in a congested city w/ tight parking and often parallel parking. It was a chore to park. After doing some research on the possible options I decided...

forum.ih8mud.com

Fixed the link

@Shark56

Hey, I think THAT might just be the info I needed. In that thread it talked about "Ken at ePowerSteering.com" and how great he was and how they wished they had found him sooner because it would have saved them time and money. Looks like he does have kits that will work, even for a pre '72 with a column shifter (although I'm going to remove mine and convert to 4 on the floor), and for less than half the price of the City Racer conversion kit or the EZ Power Steering kit from overseas.

Straight Electric Power Steering Kit - ePowerSteering - https://epowersteering.com/purchase/product/straight-kit/#

THANK YOU!

 

[FloridaLife]

Unless I’m mistaken, the electric power steering isn’t quite as eay of an install on early cruisers with one- piece steering columns (no rag joints). To the extent that you have not already done so you may want to check out Otramm’s YouTube channel. He does a nice Toyota mini truck ps install albeit on a vehicle with a rag joint.

Will do. Thank you!

 

[GA Architect]

If it is an original or old restoration FJ40, like mine was, the body mount/suspension replacement made a HUGE improvement to the overall ride of my FJ40....but then again, I've done many upgrades over the years and all have been for the betterment of enjoyability while driving my 40.

old

new

..

 

[FloridaLife]

If it is an original or old restoration FJ40, like mine was, the body mount/suspension replacement made a HUGE improvement to the overall ride of my FJ40....but then again, I've done many upgrades over the years and all have been for the betterment of enjoyability while driving my 40.

old
View attachment 3720255

new
View attachment 3720256..View attachment 3720257

That's great to know because I ordered a new body Mount Kit for mine a couple of weeks ago. I figured while the top, doors, hood, and fenders are off for paint & body, now would be the easiest time to replace the body mounts with a fraction of the weight to deal with.

Thank you for the info.

 

[FloridaLife]

@Shark56

Hey, I think THAT might just be the info I needed. In that thread it talked about "Ken at ePowerSteering.com" and how great he was and how they wished they had found him sooner because it would have saved them time and money. Looks like he does have kits that will work, even for a pre '72 with a column shifter (although I'm going to remove mine and convert to 4 on the floor), and for less than half the price of the City Racer conversion kit or the EZ Power Steering kit from overseas.

Straight Electric Power Steering Kit - ePowerSteering - https://epowersteering.com/purchase/product/straight-kit/#

THANK YOU!

Ken just called me. That's definitely the way I'm going!

 

[hobbes]

1. Front disc brakes if not installed.
2. Power steering.
3. In the south, a/c.

 

[Green Bean]

If it is an original or old restoration FJ40, like mine was, the body mount/suspension replacement made a HUGE improvement to the overall ride of my FJ40....but then again, I've done many upgrades over the years and all have been for the betterment of enjoyability while driving my 40.

old
View attachment 3720255

new
View attachment 3720256..View attachment 3720257

If it is an original or old restoration FJ40, like mine was, the body mount/suspension replacement made a HUGE improvement to the overall ride of my FJ40....but then again, I've done many upgrades over the years and all have been for the betterment of enjoyability while driving my 40.

old
View attachment 3720255

new
View attachment 3720256..View attachment 3720257

Did you change out your body mounts with the tub in place? Trying to get an idea of the difficulty involved in undertaking this solo. Thanks.

 

[FloridaLife]

1. Front disc brakes if not installed.
2. Power steering.
3. In the south, a/c.

Thank you for your input! Great suggestions, and on my list.

 

[FloridaLife]

Did you change out your body mounts with the tub in place? Trying to get an idea of the difficulty involved in undertaking this solo. Thanks.

I don't know about GA Architect, but I think you could totally do it with the tub on. I shopped around and ended up getting mine from CCOT because they were already assembled so I wouldn't have to worry about things coming apart while I'm trying to get it in place. Came with good instructions that say (if I remember correctly) to loosen 1 side a little, then move to the other side & take the nut off, use a 2"x4" or something handy (I have some left over 2"x12") and put that on the belly and then jack against the wood so it disperses the force and doesn't dent where you're jacking up, and they probably say that because they're thinking in terms of someone doing it with all the body still assembled and on the rig, jack it up enough to pull the old body mounts out and slide the new one in and then lower your Jack down and tighten them up. Probably actually get it snugged a little and then moved to the other side and repeat the process. Right now mine's only got the tub and the cab and firewall on it. I decided while the paint and body shop has it torn apart that I would just take the body kit over to them and hand it to them and hand them the instructions and say "Hey, while you've got it tore down to this point, go ahead and put these on.".

 

[FloridaLife]

My plan was to get my FJ40 running & drivable and fix it up little by little over time. That way my wife wouldn't notice as much a little going out of the bank account at a time. LOL! But when the whole drivetrain was out & in the back bed, with the crankshaft & pistons missing, and it was so obvious it had had a POORLY done color change (so much for admiring the patina), I realized it was time to bite the bullet and knock things like the paint job out, while the drivetrain is out of the way. So this accidentally became more of a "Get it done now" project.

Thanks to the high number of people in this thread saying Power Steering, and due to shoulder & neck surgery, my wife thinks I should do the power steering now, while the fenders & doors are off and it is easier to get to & do.

After the paint is done and the drivetrain is in and running, later... After my wife has come out of shock from the spending...

Future possible upgrades (based on feedback in here):

*Definitely A/C because here in the south the only 2 seasons are Hot & Humid, and HOTTER & More Humid.

*Stereo, really good sound without cutting dash or doors. (Did get the SOR speaker mounts for below the kick vent so they can be painted to match the body).

*Possibly disc brakes. Maybe front, maybe front & rear?

*Possibly fuel injection.

*And if clutching & shifting becomes too painful (surgery on both hips 39 years ago + 5 spine surgeries, 3 in the low back) then either get an adapter plate and swap in an automatic transmission behind the 2F, OR sell the 2F + 4 speed + transfer case + overdrive unit and then do an LS + automatic transmission swap.

 

[hobbes]

Adding to my lis abovet:
4. 3.7 diff gears to get the RPMs down on the street.

Having started with a stock FJ40 back in the day, I'd do now what I did then. Rapid stopping with 4 wheel drums was a nightmare. After scaring myself a few times, I grabbed the outer axles from a mini truck (probably hard to find now) and installed discs up front. Rear discs are optional (I still have my drums). To me that is the most important thing to do.

I have the mini-truck power steering and 33" tires. To me, I'd probably be happier with a Scout/60/80 series power steering set up since that gets rid of several linkages. That'll help reduce the steering slop and help it track better on road and make driving a bit more relaxing. I went the mini-truck route because I needed something that required minimum fab work at the time.

If you are street driving, I'll add swapping the diffs to a 3.7 gear like the later FJ40s and FJ60s was a great upgrade. Though I admit even with the 33' tires and 3.7 ratio diffs, I still yearn for a 5th gear...

Edit: I see you mentioned a OD. I'm guessing you have a Farley? I'd still do 3.7s....

 

[DeskJock]

If it is an original or old restoration FJ40, like mine was, the body mount/suspension replacement made a HUGE improvement to the overall ride of my FJ40....but then again, I've done many upgrades over the years and all have been for the betterment of enjoyability while driving my 40.

old
View attachment 3720255

new
View attachment 3720256..View attachment 3720257

Next in my list for sure.

 

[knuckle47]

I I.ke that list of what to do…. I have Saginaw power steering and fuel injection
Doing the front steering g knuckles and disk brake option this upcoming week
Suspension in the fall and then ….it done

I don’t like the literal 1 finger ease of the power steering. I’d like to tone it down a bit like my Silverado pickup, really easy but firm

 

[Razin96]

Cup Holders!!
Holding onto Coffee takes some serious juggling with 3 on the tree and no power steering.

 

[Engineer8000]

For my 73, #1, front disc brakes for safety, my original brakes took a couple pumps. #2 mini truck power steering, but not so easy with the earlier truck. #3, in Florida in something you might spend in traffic, AC is good but not terribly effective in a stock FJ40 without some insulation added. I had AC in mine when I daily drove it to work. Used it mostly to dehumidify the windshield in the mornings.

 

[FloridaLife]

Adding to my lis abovet:
4. 3.7 diff gears to get the RPMs down on the street.

Having started with a stock FJ40 back in the day, I'd do now what I did then. Rapid stopping with 4 wheel drums was a nightmare. After scaring myself a few times, I grabbed the outer axles from a mini truck (probably hard to find now) and installed discs up front. Rear discs are optional (I still have my drums). To me that is the most important thing to do.

I have the mini-truck power steering and 33" tires. To me, I'd probably be happier with a Scout/60/80 series power steering set up since that gets rid of several linkages. That'll help reduce the steering slop and help it track better on road and make driving a bit more relaxing. I went the mini-truck route because I needed something that required minimum fab work at the time.

If you are street driving, I'll add swapping the diffs to a 3.7 gear like the later FJ40s and FJ60s was a great upgrade. Though I admit even with the 33' tires and 3.7 ratio diffs, I still yearn for a 5th gear...

Edit: I see you mentioned a OD. I'm guessing you have a Farley? I'd still do 3.7s....

Thank you for the input. I may have to consider bumping disc brakes (at least front) up a little on the priority list, as several people have listed that upgrade in here.

Question: When you say mini-truck, are you talking about a 1979 - 1985 Toyota 4wd Pickup and/or 4Runner? I found a couple of hydraulic power steering conversion kits online that mention "mini-truck" and specify that you have to find and use a steering gear box from a 1979 - 1985 Toyota 4wd Pickup and/or 4Runner. I took am looking for something that would require minimal fab work since my welder was stolen years ago and my hands aren't steady like they used to be. But after reading some of the posts in this thread, I think I'm leaning the electric route now. I'm going to sleep on it.

I've seen disc brake conversion kits on some of the websites. I'd like to hear more about how you did yours. Do you think it was cheaper and easier to do it the way you did? Also, did you have to change out the brake master cylinder, or were you able to stick with the OEM 2 Resevoir Master Cylinder and Booster?

I hear you on wishing for the 5th gear. With my motorcycle I recently sold, I was always wishing I had one more gear. Yes, I do have an OD, but it is not a Farley. I was curious / interested in an OD because I saw a short YouTube video of a driving FJ40 with an OD, and it seemed to me like that would be the next best thing to having a 5th gear, if not better. When I bought my 2F drivetrain from Vulcan here on iH8MUD it came with a "Todd Toyota Overdrive". An image that I will attach says "T & H Products Todd Toyota Overdrive" from California. Here is a link to that video, but I don't know what brand OD it has:

Right now my FJ40 came with and still has big Buckshot Mudders tires, which I've learned are not recommended for the road. I was planning on going with the biggest A/T tire I could cram on the wheel, until I watched the Top Gear Bolivia Special I saw mentioned on iH8MUD because it had an FJ40, and at a certain point they put big tires on both the FJ40 and Land Rover and both Richard and Jeremy said it absolutely ruined them and took all the pep out of them. Cruisermatt recommended I take the lift kit off (was on when I bought it) and put a more stock height tire on it for better performance, so I'm probably going to run a 28" to 30" tire. Like maybe a 225/75R15 or a 235/75R15.

 

[brian]

I'll never understand the desire for a stereo in a 40series.
The noises they make are far better than anything that comes out of a speaker.

 

[FloridaLife]

I'll never understand the desire for a stereo in a 40series.
The noises they make are far better than anything that comes out of a speaker.

I understand that, but I also love music and driving down the road with something like Boston, ZZ Top, Lynyrd Skynyrd, Bob Seger, and many others adding to the enjoyable experience. Not to mention if I am on a drive of any length, the music helps keep me from falling asleep at the wheel.

 

[Engineer8000]

Yes the mini truck power steering is the 79-83. When I first bought my 40 in 08, I wanted to add the front discs and power steering. I was fortunate to find a rusted out 79 pickup for $400. I took the front discs, power steering, drive train and junked the rest. Sold the drive train. There was even a CB40 in there that I sold (stupid). Mini trucks were not a thing yet.

If you get disc parts from a 79, they are different than the later years.