Fj40 1977 mod ideas

[Australia6125]

Hey guys/girls, my names Tyson I'm from Western Australia, 20 years old and LOVE fj40's. I recently bought a fj40 77 model last Saturday actually and am so keen to start throwing money at it. I ground up built alot of motorbikes ect but not a 4x4, so I'd like to here every1s opinions on what mods I should do to this beauty would be great. Basically I want to travel Australia with this vehicle but at the same time do some wicked trails as of all my mates have 4x4 and we go traveling with the motorbikes around the country exploring in some pretty remote areas with some difficult tracks to go through to get to where we need to ride out motos. Iv started sanding the machine down n getting rid of rust and dents and so on I'm quite capable of doing this task just the hole mods I would need for my style of use has stumped me a bit. Cheers for your help guys/girls

 

[kurtnkegger]

Some of the best mods I have done...Power steering, and disc brakes in the rear axle. I also added an Aussie locker in the rear differential while I did the rear brakes. Great mods and well worth the time and money IMHO.

 

[freewheeling frank]

If you are spending a lot of time in remote areas I would concentrate on making it reliable. Replace normal wear parts, accumulate spare parts, and get some good rubber. Good recovery gear.

I think its hard to beat lockers when making your rig more capable. I love my ARB selectables because they make normal driving so nice.

 

[Tigerstripe40]

Focus on reliability first. Drivability will naturally follow.
Mods to consider: Extended range fuel tank. FJ40's aren't know for getting particularly good gas mileage, the more you can carry that doesn't take up cargo room, the better. H55 5 speed -these should be plentiful where you live, and you may be able to find one dirt cheap and rebuild it if necessary.

Lockers are a great addition. A lunch box (lock rite, Aussie Locker, etc) in the rear end is a great addition and can be done pretty inexpensively. ARB/TJM/OEM selectable lockers are really nice to have, but since you need to replace the entire carrier to install these, you may want to wait to regear your diffs before you commit to these. There are other mods you might want to consider first, such as power steering, before you do a selectable locker.

 

[Australia6125]

Cheers guys for taking your time to help, got a few questions. What tyres do you think is suitable? I really want 35" but mates have told me if you do this you have to change alot of things around n buy parts to make it capable for it to have the 35" so they suggest 33" so I don't have to do any extra work? Aussie lockers are these the same as ARB where I can press a button in the dash and they lock in? Why is ARB ect better then Aussies any particular reason? Also what would be the appropriate total lift for my style of use?
Cheers every1 I appreciate it alot.

 

[JohnnyC]

best mod i did for use as my DD was 4 wheel disc brakes...second best was power steering.

best mod i've done for wheeling is a winch...when your stuck...your stuck...unless you have a winch

 

[bsmith123]

20/40

hmmmm, You are in oz?

what about a 1hd-t and 5 speed but maybe I am biased

OME Lift
A front bumper that has been outlawed by the world wildlife foundation
power steering
disc brakes
good comfy seats
communications




so you are 20 and have enough to throw around to do a 40?

may I also recommend drinking, gambling, and chasing skirts?

 

[Tigerstripe40]

Cheers guys for taking your time to help, got a few questions. What tyres do you think is suitable? I really want 35" but mates have told me if you do this you have to change alot of things around n buy parts to make it capable for it to have the 35" so they suggest 33" so I don't have to do any extra work? Aussie lockers are these the same as ARB where I can press a button in the dash and they lock in? Why is ARB ect better then Aussies any particular reason? Also what would be the appropriate total lift for my style of use?
Cheers every1 I appreciate it alot.

I've been running 35's on my FJ40 for 10 years now. I am running an OME Dakar lift with extended shackles and, while the tires do rub at full compression, it has not been a problem. The OME suspension kit, with the OME Springs, shackles, shocks, etc are designed for a 33" tire. I think that this setup would be really good for what you are doing.

An Aussie/LockRite/LunchBox locker is not a selectable locker. It is a full time auto locker. You remove the pinion and spider gears from your differential and replace those parts with a set of couplers, springs and pins. There are several write ups on the process. The whole thing takes about an hour, and honestly you spend more time waiting for the diff fluid to drain out than it will take you to install the locker itself. These units are also 1/3 the price of an ARB or TJM unit.

An ARB/TJM/OEM locker replaces the entire carrier assembly that the ring gear rides on. So you need to be able to setup a differential gearset and bearings. This is QUITE an involved process. When I did my ARB I also installed 4.88 ring and pinion gears. 1 diff took me the better part of a day, so this is QUITE a time consuming (if you're paying someone else to do it for you, an expensive) process. However, the ARB unit is made from high strength, machined billet steel and is considerably stronger than the cast steel diff carrier you are replacing.

 

[FJsnoozer]

OME Lift
A front bumper that has been outlawed by the world wildlife foundation
power steering
disc brakes
good comfy seats
communications

so you are 20 and have enough to throw around to do a 40?

may I also recommend drinking, gambling, and chasing skirts?

Ditto,

Spend only what you need to on the truck. It will surprise you with what it can do with very little, especially when stacked up to your friends. Spend the rest of your money chasing skirts and havjng fun. You will never be 20 again. Don't sink yourself into a hobby that takes all your money and makes you miss out on your early 20s

IMO

33s and an affordable lift.
Rear locker
Take the top off,
locking gas cap.
Locking steel center console
A tent.
Highlift jack

Maybe a winch.

 

[Australia6125]

Hahahaha don't worry I always am chasing the skirts and gambling ( Evan tho I'm I always lose) and I always go out and enjoy being young and all that but I have a nice income and I hate getting home at the end of the day after work and watching tv ect I'd rather be working on my motorbikes or cars. Got a few more questions though if I get 33" what would be the recommended lift body wise and shock wise? Same with 35" what would be the recommended lift for that size tyre?

 

[Tigerstripe40]

Hahahaha don't worry I always am chasing the skirts and gambling ( Evan tho I'm I always lose) and I always go out and enjoy being young and all that but I have a nice income and I hate getting home at the end of the day after work and watching tv ect I'd rather be working on my motorbikes or cars. Got a few more questions though if I get 33" what would be the recommended lift body wise and shock wise? Same with 35" what would be the recommended lift for that size tyre?

Don't lift the body, everyone that I know who has done a body lift has regretted it.

For 33" tires, the OME suspension kit is all inclusive. Use their springs, their shocks, their shackles, etc and call it good.

For 35" tires, I'd use the OME springs, and then use the OME rear shackels up front (I belive they are 10mm longer than stock). For the rear, use 2" longer than stock shackles. For shocks, alot of people seem to like the Bilstein 5125s or 5150s. I've been running Rancho RS9000's for a number of years.

35" tires are about the tipping point, though, where you may want to consider doing a SOA suspension. I understand, however, that in Australia there are certain legal issues to consider when doing that sort of a conversion.

 

[duncanrm]

Being Australian.. I'd suggest that you consider adding LPG (retaining the Petrol as well).. The 2F with an Aisin carb runs really sweetly on diesel and with a 100L LPG tank you may get up to about 550klms out of it..

I have an FJ45 on gas (Adelaide) and love it..

 

[Australia6125]

Thanks for everyone's input. Does anyone know about spartan lockers are they any good? Cheers

 

[duncanrm]

The 2F with an Aisin carb runs really sweetly on diesel

I meant it runs sweet on LPG