Errols FJ40 Build x4

[Feistl]

Now that the interior was sorted, time to focus on the engine bay.


Now one of the things I really dislike is when people do shoddy wiring. We sourced the wiring fuse panel from a Holden Commodore, completely removed all the old wires and start from scratch. We used a cad drawing application to design our own entire wiring loom and was able to wire it up to the fuse panel. This way we can easily track faults and its going to be safe.

It even has a nice cover so you hardly know its there.

We fitted an aluminum radiator and SPAL 16” Thermofan

Also plumbed up the LPG system, valve saver fluid system, heater box, diff/gearbox breathers, fitted a brake bias valve etc.

Once the engine bay was under control, finished off a few other bits around the car. Put a nice rear bar one with some LED lights, fixed up the indicators etc etc.

Got a mate to help heat and bend the gearstick (as it was the wrong angle)

 

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Nearly finished…

Fitted some decent headlights

With decent high beam

Took it down and got it tuned….


Prior to tuning it made 47.8kw (64hp) on LPG and 66.7kw (89hp) on petrol.

After tuning it made 73.8kw (98hp) on LPG and 73.4kw (98hp) on petrol.

(Remember, that is rwhp with 33” wheels, flywheel kw/hp would be a lot higher).

As we are doing pics of finished cars, here is the daily driver.


It’s a 2004 VY Holden Commodore. It’s fitted with a LS1/T56 and runs on Vapour Injected LPG (Meaning it’s cheaper to run than a Toyota prius despite having 300kw/400bhp).

And here is a pic of the 2002 VX Holden Commodore. The VX is essentially a 4 door sedan that the Pontiac GTO/Monaro was based on, and was the predecessor to the Pontiac G8.


It’s fitted with a 427ci LSX with a Harrop HTV2300 Supercharger, T56 Magnum gearbox, Harrop Trutrac Differential, 6 piston AP Racing brakes etc etc.

And we bought another FJ40 lol…


So the story behind this FJ40 was the previous owner bought it for $10k from Queensland and drove it back to Melbourne. He decided to strip it down in his shed for a full rebuild, but got half way through and sort of lost interest. Then apparently the local council came round and said he didn’t have the right permit for the shed, so he had to pull it down. As a result he needed to get rid of the FJ40…


He sold the engine and gearbox separately, but couldn’t sell the FJ40 at a good price. Eventually we offered him $900, which he accepted.


The chassis and tub were in fantastic condition (Absolutely zero rust), it had a fiberglass front end, a rebuilt rear diff with Lokka branded locker in the rear, 35” wheels, rear airbag suspension, front/rear leather seats (was registered as a 4 seater) and a bunch of spares. At that price it was too good to pass up.


Annoying I cant seem to find any photos of purchasing it, but you’ll see it in the background on some various shots. Ill try and get a photo of it later….

 

[Feistl]

Yeah, not the way I wanted to end the weekend...


Well to start with the FJ was driving really well, engine was staying nice and cool, power was good, steering was nice etc. We loaded it up on Sunday morning and headed out to Yarra Glen/Toolangi to put it through its paces. It was very impressive, the lockers worked amazingly and had no issues climbing the very slippery tracks. The power steering pump handled the high load nicely and there was hardly any rattles in the car (Compared to previously when it was worse than a tool shed in a hurricane).


However at about 2pm in the arvo (just as we started to head out of the Forrest) there was an electrical fault in the engine bay. The cheap Chinese thermofan had failed after less than 20 hours of use. The bearings had failed and the fan effectively seized. This caused heaps of load across the wiring which melted and shorted out. The fuse did blow before it started a fire, but still left us stuck. Unfortunately the circuit for the thermofan included the starter motor, so we were unable to start the engine without doing some repairs on the side of the mountain. We did get the engine running again, but it was heating up quickly as we were trying to come down the track/mountain. (We needed the engine on for power steering and engine braking)


Eventually made it to the bottom only to find i accidentally left my recovery bag and tools up the top. So had to walk/climb all the way back up (20 minutes of bloody hard climbing) followed by 30 minutes trying to get back down. The bag weighed around 30kg and was bloody awkward. I feel on my ass twice and hurt my wrist


Finally made it out and back onto the main road where i got RACV to come rescue us.


So was a bit of an adventure but overall was fun. Annoyed at the quality of the thermofan and for going with a cheap one in the first place. Especially as we had fused the circuit according to the manufactures spec but their wiring (On the thermofan side of the connector) failed badly.


Again, you get what you pay for.


So now considering a SPAL 16" thermofan which will hopefully be more reliable.


Here is a pic of the connector/wiring that melted.

 

[Feistl]

Update: Decided it was time to build myself a decent bench. Had been stuffing around on a small trolley thing for far too long. Looked around for something premade, but didnt find anything strong enough for a good price. Plus it was a good chance to practice the welding skills...


Bench measures 1800x900x900.


Also, ignore the mess. Its was a mad rush trying to get the FJ running for last weekends trip and hopefully for another outing over Easter. Didn't get a proper pic last night but the garage is now much cleaner.

Now later on I ended up building a second bench to match the first one, but will post it here to make the thread easy to follow.

Got the brakes working on the FJ. Ended up replacing the brake booster with one from a 55 Series and a Master Cylinder from a 80 series (Non ABS). Had to add the factory bias valve as well as the adjustable to get the rear pressures down enough.

Brakes work amazingly now, very much like a modern car. The 55 series booster works very well, the master cylinder is 1" and designed for 4 wheel disk and the calipers are 4 piston so have plenty of bite. In fact ive driven some modern cars with worse feeling brakes.


Also replaced the thermofan with a SPAL unit. You can tell the cheap one i had was a copy of the SPAL as they looked identical. However the SPAL seems to move more air and is much quieter, plus the casing seems to be better made. Anyway will see how it goes going forward

Finally went to a mates place and heated/bent the gearstick so its on a much better angle. Previously you couldnt really get it into reverse without pulling the seat out of the way.

Also had an alignment on the FJ40 and filled the tyres up to 40psi and the transformation is amazing. It drives so much better than before and with the electric thermofan is nice and quiet. Also managed to get rid of most of the rattles so it is like driving a modern-ish 4WD. Very happy with the results so far, next thing to focus on is the Aircon and centre console.

 

[Feistl]

Well as usual with cars, it seems to be one step up and two steps back.


Took the 4WD out a couple of weeks ago for a bit drive through bunyip state park. Most of the tracks were closed, so spent most of the day driving down gravel roads. Did manage to find a couple of tracks but nothing great. Anyway during the time off road the transfer case started to develop a bit of a noise in low range, then the engine started to develop a bit of a tick. Nothing too bad, but sounded like a leaking lifter.


Decided to call it a day and head home. Anyway half way home on the freeway (Doing 110kph) there was a sudden smell of burning oil and the engine stalled. There was smoke pouring out of the gearbox shifter and it was really hard to shift.

Called a tow truck (I now know most of the tow truck drivers in the area by name) and got it home.

Spent the following weekend pulling the engine/gearbox out which is a pain in the ass due to the weight/height of the 4WD/location. Id estimate the engine/gearbox/transfer case combination would be well over 400kg...

Pulled open the gearbox to find NO oil. The input bearing had exploded and siezed, the gears were badly burnt and everything smelt really badly.

A bit of history, the gearbox had been rebuilt previously before being fitted to the car. We had checked the oil level in the gearbox and it had nice fresh oil in it. After a bit of research we think we've found the problem.


In the H55F 5 speed landcruiser gearboxes and split transfer case, the GB/TC share the same oil. During normal driving oil tends to be "pumped" from the TC into the GB due to the gears rotating. To solve this problem Toyota had an external oil line running between the two. The process for filling it with oil is to remove the external oil line on both ends, indivudally fill the TC and GB up then reattach the oil line. What we think has happened is the GB was filled, but the TC was empty. So after driving around half the oil from the GB has ended up in the TC meaning not enough lubrication in either the GB/TC. Over time this has got hot and the oil has burned off going out the breather overflows.


(Pic below shows the oil line, sorry thats the best pic ive got atm)

In credit to the GB/TC, it did probably 2000km with virtually no oil before failing. Obviously the hour at 110kp/h generated waaay to much heat and the input bearing failed.

 

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As for the engine, we popped the intake manifold off to find the lobe for cylinder 1 exhaust has ground off and the lifter has been ground down. The exhaust port was barely opening which would explain the ticking and slightly poorer performance.

So at this stage we decided to source and rebuild some H55F gearboxes for all the FJ40s we were building.


I know this probably hurts if your reading this in America, but I spent a couple of days driving around Victoria collecting H55F gearboxes for around $150 each.

Also picked up another FJ40 landcruiser which had been sitting in a field (which was more like a swamp) for the last few years. It did have a 308ci V8 and conversion kit, but more importantly had a late model H55F 5 speed gearbox with the large idle shaft transfer case. It also had a rebuilt front/rear diff/axle and a decent wheel carrier. However the body/chassis and interior was all rubbish… That said we only paid $550 so considering the donor parts was worth it.

The interior isnt much good...

And the engine bay looks pretty tired

However powered by beer, armed with LOTS of Mortien and with the heater cranked up we worked late into the night and started pulling it down. (Wasnt sure whether there is more rust or spiders).

Actually thats a lie, based on pure weight it would easily be spiders.

After a few hours (and the dead spider count reached triple figures), most of the panels were off and it was time to remove the body

 

[Feistl]

Then gave it a quick bath

Then was time to pull the engine/gearbox.

Somehow cant find the pictures from the next stage, but pulled of the wheels and remove the diffs from the chassis. Also pulled off the engine/gearbox mounts, steering box and LPG tank mounts.


Was then finished with the chassis/body.

Now time to pull down the engine/gearbox

Then popped off the rocker covers to have a look...

 

[Feistl]

After the newest V8 had been stripped down, we continued to tear down the original 308 V8 with the stuffed cam/lifter.

Sent the block off for inspection. Ended up giving it an acid bath, new set of cam bearings and welsh plugs. The cylinder walls had only recently been done, so they didn’t need to be rehoned.

 

[Feistl]

Gave the heads a quick clean

You can see both 308 V8s being worked on…

Now I seem to have lost the pics of the rest of the rebuild of the original 308, but here is the final stages of assembly.

And the finished engine…

We also got the second 308 v8 “swamp” engine back from the machine shop.


We decided to do new cam bearings, power hone the cylinder walls, new piston rings, new welsh plugs etc. Gave the block a coat of paint…

 

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And the finished engine…

 

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So we now had 4 good motors (The 2 rebuilt 308s, the 2H in the Adelaide unit and the 350 Chev from the White FJ40).


At this point we decided to change direction and sold all 4 engines lol. (I told you this was a crazy build)


Pulled the motor from the Adelaide FJ40 out…

Ended up selling this engine/gearbox combo for $3500

Sold the original 308 V8 for $3200

Sold the second 308 V8 for $3000

And sold the Chev 350 for $3500


(Annoying I cant find a pic of the Chev 350 when it was for sale.)


Now the reason for the sudden change of direction was to source and rebuild some Fuel Injected V8s from later model commodores. In 1988 Holden released the VN commodore which had a fuel injected 304 V8 (based on the early 308ci carby V8s, but reduced to 304ci to be Homologated for v8 Supercar Racing). This engine was very popular and ran till 1998 in the VT commodore where it received sequential injection and a roller camshaft.


As I am an IT engineer and Dads background was electrical engineering we have a preference for fuel injection systems rather than carby.


We found a donor VP commodore with a low km V8 AND LPG vapour injection.

Also purchased a VT 304 V8 engine with sequential fuel injection

We would keep an eye out for more suitable donors….

 

[Feistl]

Now at this stage we had built up a collection of 8 various H55F 5 speed gearboxes which we decided to stripped down for a full rebuild.

Once we had assessed the condition off the all the parts, we ordered full rebuild kits for 5 of the gearboxes with one just being reassembled (as it was rebuilt recently). 2 of the gearboxes were used as donors only.


The rebuild kits included all new SEALED bearings, syncros, seals and 3 of the gearboxes ended up with the mcnamara transfer case input gear upgrade (Basically a long splined input gear that grips more of the shaft).

I also created my own “upgraded input gear” for the 4th gearbox pictured below.

Pics of the rebuild process…


Some say you need special tools to rebuild these gearboxes, but there are a few tricks which means you can get away with just a press and some basic tools. It was pretty difficult to work out for the first one, but very straight forward for the remaining gearboxes.

 

[Feistl]

Reassembling the 5 rebuilt gearboxes (the 6th was already reassembled).

All 6 H55Fs are fully rebuilt (including transfer case) with upgraded components. They feel very very smooth even without oil.

Flushed them with clean oil and to coat the gears in oil to prevent surface rust, then put them in the shed for storage.

 

[Feistl]

So in summary at this point we are planning on building 4 FJ40s using the chassis/bodies we already have. We still need to find some donor engines and use the rebuild H55Fs gearboxes.


We decided to build 2 fairly standard FJ40s, and 2 more “high performance” FJ40s.


The 2 standard FJ40s would run standard 40 series axles, 33” wheels etc

The 2 “high performance” FJ40s would run 60 series axles on 35” wheels etc.


So we needed some donor vehicles….


60 series Landcruiser, used for donor axles/suspension hangers. Actually picked the car up already stripped, on the way home stopped past the wrecking yard to get rid of the body.

Got the chassis home

Stripped out the axles, cut up the chassis for scrap metal.

Found another guy wrecking a 60 series (which I actually bought one of the H55Fs gearboxes from earlier) who sold me the front/rear axles and power steering setup.


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Also purchased a spare 40 series chassis. Probably not going to need it, but the guy only wanted $150 for it. Plus it had already been sandblasted and painted so had no rust.


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Now originally we were chasing a VN-VP commodore with the first fuel injected V8s (as the computer systems were very basic with no security systems) but ended up deciding to run a HSV (Holden Special Vehicle) 304 VT with sequential fuel injection, larger “performance” camshaft and knock sensors. These engines were the last of the “308” style block before the VX series which ran the Chev LS1. They were rated at 195kw (260bhp) and 430nm (317 ft/lbs) with a very conservative tune, although tuned for 98 octane fuel (standard premium in Australia) will run 208kw (282bhp) and 460nm (340 ft/lbs).

 

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Picked up a VT Berlina Wagon with the HSV engine as the first donor vehicle for $1800.

Picked up a VT Calais Sedan also with the HSV engine as the second donor for $2000

Has nice leather seats which should sell for $800+

Also found someone selling the same HSV motor with a “bottom end knock” for $800.

It was also near a guy selling one of the H55Fs listed earlier

This gave us 3 HSV 304 V8s to go with the standard 304 we purchased earlier. Then out of the blue found a VT SS which had been crashed which had the HSV engine for just $650.


To give you an idea, most wreckers want $1750-2500 for just a BARE HSV engine, not including the loom/computers etc. So for the price the 3 donor vehicles are excellent value. We will also sell off a lot of spare parts to recoup some of the outlay.

So we now had 4 HSV VT 304 motors, 1 standard VT 304 and an earlier VN 304.

 

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It was now just a case of stripping down the 3 donor vehicles starting with the damaged black SS…


(Note: It was cold and wet outside, so this allowed me to work in the garage with lots of space…)

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Off as scrap metal.

Then it was the Calais turn

 

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Then the Berlina Wagon.


BTW, this is what happens when you dont realise the gas system was still charged and full of dye....

Collection of engines…

Then I just needed to get rid of the bodies…

You can see one of the carby V8s in the back ground before it was sold.

 

[Feistl]

Was now time to start stripping the engines down…


Started with the one that was making a knocking noise

The fantastic news is the noise was caused by a several spun conrod bearings. This had damaged the crank and rods, but the block, pistons, main bearings and heads were fine and the rest of the motor looked in pretty good condition. Now apparently the crank and rods are identical between all 304/308 engines, so I just need to source a donor at a reasonable price.

Continued to pull the remaining motors apart

Once all the motors were apart, it was time to clean up some of the castings in the engine blocks.

Basically the sand castings were a bit crude and there was often left over material (I think this is called “Flash”?). It doesn’t cause a big problem, but cleaning it up allows the oil to return to the sump easier and less chance of cutting your hands while assembling the engine.

So here are the 5 VT engines pulled apart nearly ready to be sent off for inspection.

 

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Just needed to dismantle the heads

My “Box’o’Valves”

So loaded up the poor wagon with 5 blocks and 10 heads, even with the heavy duty suspension it was sitting pretty damn low. Luckily the engine shop isn’t too far away.

 

[Feistl]

At this point we stripped down some of the axles to inspect the diffs. We ended up with 14 diff centres and 10x 40 series axles and 4x 60 series axles. We picked the best 4 diffs to have the lockers installed (for the 2 high performance FJ40s) and sent them off for a rebuild (new bearings, seals and to have the new lockers installed)

These 2 were dropped off a little latter for a rebuild and locker install.


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Then for what felt like the first time in forever, we started working on a FJ40.


We bought the green FJ around to start trial fitting a motor. Now the VT engines were still off being inspected, so we installed a spare 304 from a VN we had from another project. They are physically identical to the VT engines, so will work for mock up.

So we bolted up the VN motor to one of the H55F gearboxes and installed it into the FJ (The engine mounts were the same as the 308 block, so bolted straight in).

Now while the engine bolted straight in, there was some bad news. The alternator, aircon and headers aren’t going to fit (Without heavy modification). Firstly the headers, they are pretty close to fitting but foul up against the chassis rail at the bottom. They also want to run “between” the chassis rails, but due to the front drive shaft and gearbox there really isn’t room. In fact we had trouble with a single 2” pipe from the 308, much less trying to get 2 x 2.5” pipes through.


So ideally we want the headers to exit on the outside of the chassis rails then run down the side of the car (Still under the body), I will deal with this later.