Diesel FJ40, 1974FJ
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lookin good hovis
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- #63
Lately(sittin in my apartment 200 miles away from the dang thing) ive been thinking really hard on the rear axle situation i have. The land cruiser axle is a passenger offset axle with reasonable strength, and with a center output t-case(dana300) ive had to find an alternative. Ive got a modestly built land cruiser front axle(high-steer, locrite, discs, cromoly longfields...) that i had planned to keep. But with my latest idea im not so sure. At first i wanted to run a toyota mini-truck rear axle(which is ~strong, but with a weaker housing and 3rd then what i want) out of a 85 toyota truck. Ive got the axle at the shop and cant see using it. I could spend $300 or so on cromo shafts and another $300 on a elocker 3rd(stronger) and have a decently strong axle. But this axle is ~55" WMS-WMS which is the stock land cruiser axle width, which would be great if i didnt want a little bit wider stance(only takes one roll over to figure that out). I could easily upgrade to a 86+ toyota axle which is slightly wider (~58.5" WMS-WMS) but then i would have to either run a fj60 front axle or buy wheel spacers to match that up front. What ive found is that i can spend and spend and upgrade and still have a borderline axle for the wheeling i want to do and the reliability i want. Im not putting all this time and money into this project and me not be satisfied. Also, why have a bumped up 4bt/nv4500hd/dana300 and relatively small axles. Of coarse there's dana 60s and 14bolts every where and everybody runs them. Well, i also dont want to be that guy with a cruiser with a nice body go full widths....
Heres what ive come up with. This is just in the air, so any input is welcomed as im trying to make the right decision. Ive got a bread truck here in my hometown that had a 4bt in it(page 1 i took it
) and a C&C 14bolt in it. I haven't had the opportunity to check the ratio(seems i read that it should be a 4.10, it was a 4bt/465 grumman, pics on page 1, any ideas?) but i suspect its a 4.10. The C&C 14b's measure 62.75" WMS-WMS. What im thinking of doing now is run a C&C 14b in the rear of my cruiser with a dana 60 upfront and shorten the 60 on the drivers side(longside for a chevy or dodge d60) and run wheels with a backspacing of 4". I did some measuring in my free time and i dont know if ive done this right, so i thought i would share with you guys. The picture i attached has 2 axles drawn, the first(top) is a toyota landcrusier axle for the fj40. In the picture i tried to use the back spacing i have been using to figure out the outside of wheel to outside of wheel measurement(basically trying to find overall measurement of the axle with wheels mounted) and i came up with 66". I did the same on the bottom axle which is a C&C 14b with 4" backspaced wheels and the total measurement came out to be 70.75" at a total ~2.375" width difference on each side(just about the width gain im looking for). As for the front, taking the long side of the d60 and shortening it 4.5" will give me an overall length of 64.5" and with the 4" backspaced wheels a total of 72.5" with a 3.25" width gain per side(assuming its 55" WMS-WMS for stock TLC front). Please take a look at this drawing and determine if i might have left something out that would change these numbers. Thanks
Heres what ive come up with. This is just in the air, so any input is welcomed as im trying to make the right decision. Ive got a bread truck here in my hometown that had a 4bt in it(page 1 i took it
) and a C&C 14bolt in it. I haven't had the opportunity to check the ratio(seems i read that it should be a 4.10, it was a 4bt/465 grumman, pics on page 1, any ideas?) but i suspect its a 4.10. The C&C 14b's measure 62.75" WMS-WMS. What im thinking of doing now is run a C&C 14b in the rear of my cruiser with a dana 60 upfront and shorten the 60 on the drivers side(longside for a chevy or dodge d60) and run wheels with a backspacing of 4". I did some measuring in my free time and i dont know if ive done this right, so i thought i would share with you guys. The picture i attached has 2 axles drawn, the first(top) is a toyota landcrusier axle for the fj40. In the picture i tried to use the back spacing i have been using to figure out the outside of wheel to outside of wheel measurement(basically trying to find overall measurement of the axle with wheels mounted) and i came up with 66". I did the same on the bottom axle which is a C&C 14b with 4" backspaced wheels and the total measurement came out to be 70.75" at a total ~2.375" width difference on each side(just about the width gain im looking for). As for the front, taking the long side of the d60 and shortening it 4.5" will give me an overall length of 64.5" and with the 4" backspaced wheels a total of 72.5" with a 3.25" width gain per side(assuming its 55" WMS-WMS for stock TLC front). Please take a look at this drawing and determine if i might have left something out that would change these numbers. Thanks
why not go with a 9 inch theyre pretty strong and have lots of upgrades available, i think that they are a stronger design with the extra bearing on the pinion. third member is convenient also
that was my idea if i were to go with a centered rear
that was my idea if i were to go with a centered rear
There is nothing wrong with running 14b d60 other than weight, if that doesn't bother you and you have the resources to get your self into a d60 go for it, there is a reason everyone runs that combo. Get some 35 spline stuff up front and you will be good for 42s.
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- #67
What would you do about the 9 inch 5 lug pattern?
Ive seen that and have considered it, we'll see, all options are good options..
Well, i cant get them both, but its so overkill for what im doing but i feel that the skinny mini rear(85') isnt going to cut it. I need a inbetweener
the 9 inch axles can be redrilled to 6 on 5.5 and put in metric studs from a toyota or if you get aftermarket ones they might be available with 6 bolt
my freind has a 9" in his 4 runner and 6 bolt wheels i think it was done in the back yard
fullsize for 5 bolt is on a 6.5 circle anyways so atleast one stud will line up!
my freind has a 9" in his 4 runner and 6 bolt wheels i think it was done in the back yard
fullsize for 5 bolt is on a 6.5 circle anyways so atleast one stud will line up!
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- #69
Hey thanks for the input guys, The idea of a shortened 60front and 14b rear is nice and all, but with the initial cost of doing so i killing me. Ive got a 88 v6 truck rear axle that im going to run for now with my built 40 front.
I just got my transmission yesterday, also got a new input gear for the dana300 so it will mate with my nv4500hd.
With my new leaf springs, front axle almost rebuilt, i should have a rolling chassis in the next couple of week. Very exciting. Ill have pics soon as this is fixin to take off since i just finished my last exam and im headed home tomorrow.
I just got my transmission yesterday, also got a new input gear for the dana300 so it will mate with my nv4500hd.
With my new leaf springs, front axle almost rebuilt, i should have a rolling chassis in the next couple of week. Very exciting. Ill have pics soon as this is fixin to take off since i just finished my last exam and im headed home tomorrow.
lookin slick hovis
malphrus
malphrus
- Thread starter
- #74
I was able to build a huge hoist that will assist in lifting the body on and off the frame through out my build numerous times. Got the body off the old frame and onto the new rolling chassis. Got some lord isolators from CrewCab59, and started making my motor mounts but simply ran out of gas, weekend was long.
Now that the axles are under it, have you set the engine in to check the clearance between the oil pan and the front dif?
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- #77
No, I wish. We got the body mounted late Saturday and had some other projects we were working on and simply ran out of time and energy. Ill be back to work in 2 weeks when i head home for spring break(not quite the Mexico trip us students normally take) and then i will put the motor/tranny and t-case and see what kind of clearance i have for the oilpan/front diff and oilpan/front driveshaft. Im going to have some issues with the tranny hump too. So in due time we will see.
Before you cut and beat too much, remember, body lifts are inexpensive. I run a 2" MAF on my FJ40 just to make room for the twin stick shifters in My Orion 3:1 bolted to my Rock Box.
It may be an optical illusion but your 4BT oil pan looks shallow compaired to mine.
I have heard you can turn the pan around as well as the oil pickup tube in the 4BT.
It may be an optical illusion but your 4BT oil pan looks shallow compaired to mine.
I have heard you can turn the pan around as well as the oil pickup tube in the 4BT.
Its looking good, that body hoist looks like a time saver
He stole the neighbor kids swing set. 
Stop encouraging him!
Stop encouraging him!
That hoist is a pretty awesome idea.
Its looking good, that body hoist looks like a time saver