DomSmith
SILVER Star
Well I’ve finally decided to post up the project I’ve been working on for the last month or so…
First a little history:
The rig is a ’73 FJ40 that I bought about 13 years ago just a few blocks from my house in Carlsbad. I was getting a little tired of my old F motor in my 71 and stumbled on this rig by chance. The PO had done a Chevy 350 conversion mated to the original 3 Speed and had put in Saginaw power steering. I replaced the inoperable 3 Speed with another one I got for $100 with plans to upgrade to a 4 or 5 speed as soon as it gave up the ghost. Since then I’ve added Front Disc Brakes, TBI Fuel Injection, Dual Batteries, On Board Air, Warn 8274, Long Ranger Aux Tank, and a 4” lift. Well… thirteen years later the bell housing cracked (3 Speed is still fine) so I opted to tackle a 5 Speed install.
I spoke with quite a few people about both the H55 and the NV4500 in deciding which way to go. It seems that the NV is much more common and better suited for rock crawling with the really low first gear. Although I have done some mild wheeling, my rig is more for Mex surf trips, and driving to the beach then it is for Rubicon. With that said, I did want a capable off road rig that would be able to perform in that regard if I choose to take the challenge. Special thanks to Bret for replying to all my requests for info and pics on his H55 install and to Noah (1973Guppie) for letting me drive his sweet NV4500 equipped Vortec cruiser. And the obvious guys with tons of advice… Poser, Kurt, George… etc.
First a little history:
The rig is a ’73 FJ40 that I bought about 13 years ago just a few blocks from my house in Carlsbad. I was getting a little tired of my old F motor in my 71 and stumbled on this rig by chance. The PO had done a Chevy 350 conversion mated to the original 3 Speed and had put in Saginaw power steering. I replaced the inoperable 3 Speed with another one I got for $100 with plans to upgrade to a 4 or 5 speed as soon as it gave up the ghost. Since then I’ve added Front Disc Brakes, TBI Fuel Injection, Dual Batteries, On Board Air, Warn 8274, Long Ranger Aux Tank, and a 4” lift. Well… thirteen years later the bell housing cracked (3 Speed is still fine) so I opted to tackle a 5 Speed install.
I spoke with quite a few people about both the H55 and the NV4500 in deciding which way to go. It seems that the NV is much more common and better suited for rock crawling with the really low first gear. Although I have done some mild wheeling, my rig is more for Mex surf trips, and driving to the beach then it is for Rubicon. With that said, I did want a capable off road rig that would be able to perform in that regard if I choose to take the challenge. Special thanks to Bret for replying to all my requests for info and pics on his H55 install and to Noah (1973Guppie) for letting me drive his sweet NV4500 equipped Vortec cruiser. And the obvious guys with tons of advice… Poser, Kurt, George… etc.
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