Builds DomSmith’s H55 build Thread… SBC Fj40 (1 Viewer)

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Little did I know that the differences in the 84-up FJ60 crossmember and the 80-84 crossmember were HUGE. These "L" brackets were not going to be much help. :mad: At the suggestion of Grant I started looking for an early FJ60 crossmember and called Kurt at Cruiser Outfitters. He didn't have one but did spend some time on the phone chatting about my project and sharing some invaluable advice.

So I was on the search for an early FJ60 crossmember and lucky me I found one from an '83 here in San Diego at a local wrecking yard. Amazingly the tranny had been removed and the crossmember was lying in the back of the truck. With "L" brackets attached no less! You can see the significant differences between the two...
trannyx2.jpg
 
Now things were moving right along and I had 2 weekend days to take my time and get this crossmember fabbed up so I could pull out the tranny jack I'd been banging my head on for weeks. Except...

The newer style bushing was flat on one side, and the older style mount was angled on top and bottom. :frown:

Without the correct bushing I could only guess where the "L" brackets should be attached to the frame. I called the wrecking yard... no luck. The bushing had obviously gone with the tranny. A few posts to the local Beach N Toys board w/o luck. I was stuck to poke around under the truck and position the crossmember as close as I could before actually being able to attach it.

This was REAL close! The holes didn't quite line up and the "L" brackets didn't sit flush on the crossmember, but a bit of grinding and some newly drilled holes and I knew I would be in business.

Early FJ60 crossmember and frame brackets w/o the bushing...
trannyx3.jpg
 
Well this wasn't going to be the weekend I got the tranny stuff finalized but I was headed to Santa Barbara Tuesday morning after work and figured I'd stop at SOR and grab an aftermarket bushing from them and then return home Friday with the last piece to the puzzle.

In the meantime I decided to wire up the Taurus fan I had gotten from Cam. He sent a few wiring diagrams and I had printed out a few more from searching the web. I determined I would go with a 3 position switch (ON-OFF-ON) to use the low speed as an auto setting (connected to an adjustable temperature gauge), manual high speed, and an OFF setting. I sourced the fan kit from my local parts guy and found the switch at NAPA.

1. Temp sensor

2. Adjustable kit w/ relay and wiring...
taurusfansensor.jpg
taurusfanwire2.jpg
 
When I arrived at SOR I had determined I would get a few extra things for my project along with the early FJ60 tranny bushing. One being an expensive ($50) correct H55 5 speed shift knob. I figured I had been busting my ass on this project, I deserved SOMETHING that would just screw right on, right? I had tried a generic shift knob from Toyota in the past for my 3 speed and it didn't even screw on correctly. I was determined to splurge on something that would work right the first time. Besides I was over budget already... what was another $50?

Tranny bushing... check. Shift knob... check. Flange nut... check. "Any used windshield washer motors from a '73? Mine leaks." Nope. "But you can have this one we just threw away with a broken nipple. Try the gaskets." As dumb as it sounds I was stoked on the free bottle, bad nipple and all. And REALLY stoked when the gaskets from this 34 year old washer motor solved the problem.

Just before heading out I was chating with one of the guys about my project and explaining the crossmember fiasco I had been enduring. He agreed that the older FJ60 crossmember was the way to go since the shorter FJ40 ones were so scarce. Overhearing the conversation another guy (Anthony?) said they had just gotten an FJ40 crossmember in and it wasn't in the system but I could take a look at it.

After kicking around the idea of wrestling with the crossmembers I already had I decided to cover all my bases and pony up the BIG money ($162) for the FJ40 stuff. I got permission from Marv to return these used parts if the stuff I already had worked for me. This gave me some piece of mind (and incentive to try my hardest to get the FJ60 stuff to work).

Headed back home I had a new tranny bushing in hand and ANOTHER crossmember to add to the growing collection...
 
I couldn't wait to try crossmember idea #4. This was MADE for this rig. It has to be perfect...

Well it was pretty close. This fitment was even better than the early FJ60 stuff. And although that stuff would have been reasonably simple to make work, I was looking for the easiest. This was by far the biggest project I had taken on and with limited fabrication skills and experience I was ready for less work where I could get it.

The FJ40 stuff was even with the frame except for a small gap on each side. I figured I would need to use one 1/4" plate on the passenger side and two on the drivers side. Aside from that it would be elongating a few bolt holes and done.
trannybushing1.jpg
trannyxpsgr.jpg
trannyxdrvr.jpg
 
Nice going Dom, that has turned into a massive project!

How long will your rear driveshaft end up?
 
So the fabricating part begins...

I knew from talking to Kurt and with a suggestion from Grant that I had to bolt one "L" bracket to the frame and weld the other so I could drop the tranny without jacking it up to clear the crossmember over the "L" brackets. With the crossmember lined up I determined that for my application I would have more luck bolting the drivers side and welding the passnger side. The alignment of the "L" brackets on the inside of the frame would only allow me to bolt on the drivers side because of the frame bracket and rivets that hold the running board on.

I started with 12x12 plates and measured the frame height and determined how long I wanted the plates to be. The drivers side needed to be twice as thick as the passenger side so I figured I would weld a second 1/4" plate (with a smaller footprint) to the first on that side...
trannyplate1.jpg
trannyplate2.jpg
trannyplate3.jpg
 
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After fabing the plates I clamped them into position and assured that the "L" brackets were properly spaced. They lined up well so I decided to weld them in place. Just as I finished I realized I had created a ton of extra work for myself. I had not marked the holes for the drivers side prior to welding the plate on. Now I was stuck lying under the rig with a small angle drill to make 4 holes through the double plates and frame. :doh:

Needless to say, this took some time and patience. I was cursing myself bigtime at this point but in the end this may have worked to my advantage. I was able to drill one hole at a time, and hold the "L" bracket in place to assure each hole came out perfectly. The "L" brackets hung down a little, so I drilled two new holes on the driver's side bracket to accomodate bolts that would pass through the frame. The holes on the left (rear) of the plates could go all the way through the frame and would end up just missing the running board bracket. The front holes would not be so lucky so I decided to tap threads through the two plates and frame and attach them with shorter grade 8's. I would have preferred to gone through on all four but after completing it I'm certain it will hold up with the two rears all the way through. Just to be sure I didn't screw up the threads I tapped one of the rear holes for practice before tapping the front two...
trannyplate-tap.jpg
trannyplatetap2.jpg
 
Andrew-

Thanks. Yes it has, but I'm learning tons and having a blast. Picked up the driveshafts today and they turned out well. Rear is 22" and front is 30". Your ROTW is nice! I see the pics of you and your buds working in the cold and I'm ashamed I complain if it isn't 72 here...
 
I forgot to take a few shots of the final tranny crossmember so here they are after the exhaust...

Drivers Side:

1. Rear of bracket bolts through bracket, plates, and frame...

2. Front of brackets threaded through the bracket, 2 plates and frame...

3. Backside of bracket (these holes lined up ok to pass through the frame).
trannyxdrvr1.jpg
trannyxdrvr2.jpg
trannyxdrvr3.jpg
 
Once the tranny was finally secure I put the rams horn exhaust manifolds on with new gaskets and grade 8 bolts and trailered it to the exhaust shop.

I had an initial quote of $330+tax to custom build the exhaust w/ 3" stainless and a Y pipe from the manifolds back (over the phone). I knew fitment was going to be an issue because of the OBA tank under the rig and the Long Ranger Fuel Cell at the very back, so I did a little work before I dropped it off and I moved the air tank from the far left (drivers) side closer to the middle of the tub and prepared for the worst.

When I arrived 3 hours late for my appointment Chad was pretty cool. He understood that I had just driven home from work through Hell-A traffic and had lost the wrenches for the trailer ramps on the freeway (oops). So I mentioned to him that I thought the driveshafts would be ready today, but that I'd winched the truck on the trailer and we needed to push it around....

:frown:

"No pushers", he said. :doh:

I hadn't given it much thought but he was a small shop and the only guy around. When he needed a second hand he had to drag a neighbor over. Minor oversite on my part. So off to the driveline shop to pick up the driveshafts, swing by the house to grab the driveline bolts, and back to the shop to attach the rear driveshaft. Finally under it's own power I pulled it off the trailer and into the shop.

After consulting about more specific details we determined it was doable but there may be a few extra charges if things didn't fit properly. I explained that the exhaust was quite important and that I would re-route air lines and fuel lines as needed. We discussed what kind of "sound" I was looking for as well. I made it very clear that I wanted a quiet rig that didn't make a ton of noise but would sound good if I got into it. This rig never has a top or doors on it so the noise was a big factor for me. I'm not into setting off car alarms the way my twin under rocker side pipes used to.

So Chad went to work...
 
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When I picked up the rig two days later we had definitely had to make some adjustments. There was not enough room with the fuel tank and air tank to put a quiet muffler in without making it look Ghetto and I didn't want to put the OBA air tank inside the rear passenger area. So Chad recommended cutting the rear crossmember (that I thought I was going to have to move anyway) and weld a small square tube crossbar near the top of the frame to control any minor flex. This gave him the room he needed to fit the type of muffler I wanted.

1 & 2. Exhaust from manifolds... (yes I need new plug boots)

3. Y pipe below oil pan...
exhaust1.jpg
exhaust2.jpg
exhaust3.jpg
 
I had Chad place the detachable flange near the drivers side tranny "L" bracket so I could remove the exhaust if needed to take out the bracket bolts...

After all was said and done it cost $420 for the exhaust, crossmember removal, welding in the tube crossmember and reinforcing a few welds that I needed more piece of mind from. Not cheap but solid work and I've accepted the fact that I have to pay for the things I have no clue how to do.

And the exhaust is just what I wanted. Quiet (and I mean quiet) at idle and a good roar when you get on it. Almost no exhaust noise on the freeway. :)
trannyxdrvr1.jpg
 
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Since installing the tranny I have experienced a few clutch issues that have been difficult to diagnose since I have been unable to test drive it.

See here: https://forum.ih8mud.com/showthread.php?t=165143

Now that the exhaust is done I will be able to get down to the cause a little more easily. After driving it around a bit and backing the slave nut off a little the re-engagement seems to be much less. I'll update this as soon as I get a chance.
 
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