Dubai FJ45 Project - Some Questions before getting started

[Oman4x4]

(this is a trimmed down re-post from the FJ45 owners club bit. Should have posted here first I think as many of the questions are not specific to the pickup bed on the back!)

So I've managed to find an FJ45 pickup that belongs to a friend. They're leaving and want to see it go to a good home.

It's a 1982 with the 2F 4.2 motor.

Given the hard life these trucks typically have over here, it's already in fantastic condition. A lot of love has already gone into it.

My goal is to "Resto-Mod" it - bring it up to date and make it usable - mainly for beach excursions and camping trips.

Questions:

First of all looking to do a 5.7L V8 swap - probably an 440 hp Edelbrock Crate Motor, EFI, all chrome and beautiful.



1. Can the stock 4 speed handle this or do I need a new transmission to match?


2. Can the axles handle this kind of power if they're on 33 or 35 inch tires?


3. Air Conditioning - is Vintage Air the one to go for?


4. Suspension - it's solid as a rock right now with virtually no movement as you push down on the bumpers! What's the best set up for an every day drivability / unsurfaced track comfort. The truck will rarely carry a heavy load so some nice soft suspension is what I'm after. Are there companies making kits for this?

Spoken to Deaver Leafs already and they said they can do the leafs. Alternatively, are there coil conversions available?


5. Steering - There's a lot of play in the steering - what kits are out there to really tighten things up? Heavy duty steering options? PSC Motorsports has a "Toyota" kit - is this for the FJ40 series?


6. Stock Transmission - the gearstick in neutral position kinda flops about a bit. Move it over between 1 and 2 and it will stay there. Put it between 3 and 4 and it will stay there. There's no spring bringing it to the center of the H gate. Something normal or something that needs fixing?

Any other input / thoughts / links to build threads for Resto-Mod type approaches would be much appreciated



Some pictures:

Planning to change these out to the earlier style round signals, and the grill for the round headlight bezel.

Little bit of Rust:

Good frame. Wasps will need to find a new home though:

Dreaming of seeing this under the hood:

 

[bikersmurf]

Can they handle the power... Depends on how you drive it. You can surely blow up the trans and rear end if you drive it like you stole it. (abuse it)
I've got 300 hp and no concerns whatsoever with 33s. I'd run them. Although I don't see any need for that extra power unless you plan to drag race.

 

[bikersmurf]

I'd throw on some front disc brakes. Possibly rear discs also.

 

[Oman4x4]

Can they handle the power... Depends on how you drive it. You can surely blow up the trans and rear end if you drive it like you stole it. (abuse it)
I've got 300 hp and no concerns whatsoever with 33s. I'd run them. Although I don't see any need for that extra power unless you plan to drag race.

To be honest... 300 hp would be enough

After thoroughly enjoying watching Overhaulin' on Discovery, I've always wanted to do a resto-mod Hot Rod... something like a 1960's Mustang or Corvette or something but the thing is - if I built it, when would I use it? What would I actually do with it?

So that's when I came up with the idea of a RestoMod / Hotrod FJ45. The same Hotrod ideas - massive motor, plenty of chrome, beautiful workmanship and so on, but in a fully functional rig that I can take to the beach with beach gear in the back.

One of the things I love on the Foose builds is the beautiful Edelbrock crate motors and clean engine bays... but I don't fancy running a carburetter and the EFI Edelbrock is putting out 440 hp so there we are

 

[Oman4x4]

I'd throw on some front disc brakes. Possibly rear discs also.

Good call - are there conversion kits available to make it easy?

Being outside the USA, it really makes life easy if I can get kits that include everything you need.

 

[bikersmurf]

The best way seems to be to use components from a dics fj40 front end.

Knuckles, hub, axles, discs.

It's very straight forward and gone over many times on the forum. I've done one and have a Fj45 axle in the garage to compare things to... Although they are essentially the same as a 40 axle. Ask if you have questions.

You'll need a Willwood (or similar) variable brake proportioning valve in the rear brake circuit to balance the brakes. I had 45 drums in the rear of my 40 before I went four wheel disc.

If you can't ge a 40 disc front axle there, someone here can likely help you out. I'd try one of the vendors on mud.

There are some other options but I can't vouch for any of them. The Willwood conversion is all custom and harder to get parts, and I wouldn't personally use a kit with GM single piston cylinders in the front. The stock Toyota components work very well, and say goodbye to bi-weekly brake adjustments.

 

[bikersmurf]

I think Poser on mud here has rear kits. Is your rear axle full floating? I doesn't appear to have a hub sticking out in the pictures. If you're not sure check out the pictures of my 40 for comparison.

Recent thread: https://forum.ih8mud.com/40-55-series-tech/281587-riggers-disc-brake-conversion.html

Canadian market 45s have a dual circuit master, if your's is the same you don't need a new master cylinder as in riggers conversion. You will need to remove the residual valve from the front brake circuit. Many recommend replacing it with a 2lb residual valve. I simply removed the valves and they have been working extremely well for more than 10 years. On that note I'd recommend using organic brake pads on the front, they may not last as long as semi-metallic, but Mine are going on 50,000 miles on my first set of pads.

 

[bikersmurf]

4. Vintage Air has been around for a lot of years. Although I have no experience with them, I'd probably go with their's.

5. There is an adjustment on the steering box. Also, Tie rod ends (tre) and the centre arm bushing in the corner of the frame in front of the rad are the biggest sources of play.

6. Trans operation sounds normal, to the best of my knowledge.

 

[Oman4x4]

Got some better pictures...

There's no hubs sticking out of the rear wheels. There is on the front.

What I'm thinking now is to go with the Vintage Air under-dash unit for now, the standard FJ40 kit with the standard motor. I'll then enjoy this winter with the vehicle in mostly stock form, and next summer do the tear-down and engine swap. It'll spread the expense out a bit more, and let me have time to get to know the car better. Minor things I can address along the way.

Our climate here is so hot that the out-doors season is really the winter. Summer is so hot you just stay indoors. Really want to enjoy the truck at the beach and camping when the weather's cooler.



Will look at those adjustments once I get the truck up to Dubai.


Transmission... Okay... would be good if others can confirm or deny... it's weird that it doesn't spring to center.... but then hey this truck is older than I am so what do I know

I gotta say... after reading up on ih8mud forums and seeing some of the projects you guys manage in the USA... I'm very happy to be getting a truck that someone's already put a lot of love and care into.

 

[Oman4x4]

Had a read through Riggers thread... very detailed - good work!

Just a thought though... given the 78 series is quite common over here, would it be a lot less effort to just swap out the entire front and rear axle assembly for one from the 78? Although I think the front of the 78 is coil sprung, so will have to decide whether I modify the chassis to suit the coil springs, or cut off the coil perches and add leaf perches to the axle...

Advantages / Disadvantages?

 

[Oman4x4]

An update

got to take it for my first drive yesterday She's great.. No where near as rough as I was expecting

Still doing the transfer to get it back to Dubai.

 

[bikersmurf]

One note, the Vintage Air kits look to come with brackets specific to a given motor. If you then swap to a 350 you may need to get new brackets for the pump (or modify them).

 

[Oman4x4]

Some pictures of some other ones in Oman... Not mine. Way worse condition

These trucks are typically used for fishing, where they get driven in and out of salt water on a regular basis... these particular examples were actually in brilliant condition compared to what you normally find. But still, not as nice as my new lady-driven one

 

[John Smith]

This is one sad looking Land Cruiser in need of a rescue.

 

[Oman4x4]

This is one sad looking Land Cruiser in need of a rescue.

A friend is gonna go look at it so fingers crossed

From a distance it looks largely rust free.

I'm personally not a fan of the combined bed and cab body style, and I like the traditional FJ45 LWB that I've got more

 

[lostmarbles]

I'm enjoying the pics here!

 

[Oman4x4]

Had some fun with a stripper tonight


Acetone

Some minor surface rust under that paint... but nice to get it stripped and see what the real condition was. Will eventually get it sandblasted and re-chromed, but for now, no more pictures of that black grill.

A few other parts are gonna get the Acetone / Chrome treatment too

 

[Falco80]

This is one sad looking Land Cruiser in need of a rescue.

That was my exact thoughts too. Looks like it has sat there a while, ticket under the wiper and all. Was that possibly a troopie that has been cut down to a ute? Toyota did not make them like that did they?

Good find with your red one though. It looks like it has been looked after. I've visited Dubai twice and really liked it over there. It was frikken HOT though. Air-conditioning is your friend in a climate like that!

 

[lostmarbles]

Had some fun with a stripper tonight
Acetone

Some minor surface rust under that paint... but nice to get it stripped and see what the real condition was. Will eventually get it sandblasted and re-chromed, but for now, no more pictures of that black grill.

A few other parts are gonna get the Acetone / Chrome treatment too

IMO you need to change the grille mesh to a MUCH smaller sizing Oman4x4 unless you have no stones on your roads/tracks over there.

Even the standard mesh size lets through stones that are too large (in my opinion because I suffered stone-holes in my radiator tubes until I reduced my mesh sizing).



Good to see you have mesh above the bib (even though the sizing is too large). I learnt to do that too.

 

[Oman4x4]

That was my exact thoughts too. Looks like it has sat there a while, ticket under the wiper and all. Was that possibly a troopie that has been cut down to a ute? Toyota did not make them like that did they?

Good find with your red one though. It looks like it has been looked after. I've visited Dubai twice and really liked it over there. It was frikken HOT though. Air-conditioning is your friend in a climate like that!

Our tickets are much bigger than that... trust me :whoops: lol - it's probably the business card of someone that wants it.

And yeah it's insanely hot right now. Starting to cool down though - in another month it'll start to be nice again. Can't wait to get AC into the FJ45 though. Mixing and matching some parts from TLC / Icon and Vintage Air and so on. Will get it done.