Sitting on or behind the rear axle is entertaining - harkens back to school bus days. Driving over the rear axle does take a bit of getting used to, C3 Corvettes have the same feeling (but that can be solved as I did with mine).
Builds FJ40 Build - Hell's Kitchen (1 Viewer)
- Thread starter Stoffregen M-Sports
- Start date
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- Thread starter
- #42
Got the shocks today. I'm building the rear shock mounts into the cage, and the fronts will be frame mounted hoops. Will post progress pics soon.
Lets see some pics!
- Thread starter
- #44
Sorry guys. I haven't been doing a good job maintaining this thread.
As it turns out, I am not going to get to finish this truck. The customer wants me to do all the fab work and then he's taking it to finish the mechanical work himself.
He are some progress pics.
As it turns out, I am not going to get to finish this truck. The customer wants me to do all the fab work and then he's taking it to finish the mechanical work himself.
He are some progress pics.
- Thread starter
- #45
I mounted the orbital valve to the firewall using the stock 3 bolts that hold the column flange. Here's the mount for the valve.
- Thread starter
- #46
he old front bumper was narrowed and the bolt on flanges were cut off. The bumper was then welded to the frame. Fender sliders for the front tie into the bumper, then into the shock hoops through the fenders. The radiator support was built into the shock tower tie bar and the PS reservoir was mounted to the passenger side shock hoop to be as close to the pump as possible.
- Thread starter
- #47
Finally sitting on four wheels under it's own weight.
The 42's look small with that tall cage.
The 42's look small with that tall cage.
- Thread starter
- #48
The body had to come off so I could finish some welding underneath. I also still had to make the carrier bearing support for the mid shaft.
You can see the taillights we chose from Ruffstuff.
And here's the start of the carrier bearing mount. The motor and t-case are mounted with urethane bushings so I had two choices to mount the carrier bearing: either solid to the transmission or on urethane bushings to the frame. I chose the latter.
You can see the taillights we chose from Ruffstuff.
And here's the start of the carrier bearing mount. The motor and t-case are mounted with urethane bushings so I had two choices to mount the carrier bearing: either solid to the transmission or on urethane bushings to the frame. I chose the latter.
Looking AWESOME!
love it! keep it up
- Thread starter
- #51
Thanks.
The truck has already shipped so I am now relying on the customer for updates. He wanted me to complete the fabrication and he was going to handle everything else. There is still quite a lot to do on the truck so I'd be surprised if it's done by the end of this wheeling season. The trans and axles need to be built, the wiring, plumbing, brakes, fuel system, and then of course paint and final assembly all need to be done.
when is the end of the wheeling season? for us up north there's simply a "the top is on" and "the top is off" season
- Thread starter
- #53
True, but for 90% of the guys around here, wheeling stops when there's snow on the ground.
This truck isn't even going to have a heater so I don't see him taking out to do any snow wheeling.
My Rover has a heater but no top. I throw a canvas tarp on the cage when I want to go out in "weather", but I bet once I get my 1st gen done, my winter wheeling outings will increase tenfold.
This truck isn't even going to have a heater so I don't see him taking out to do any snow wheeling.
My Rover has a heater but no top. I throw a canvas tarp on the cage when I want to go out in "weather", but I bet once I get my 1st gen done, my winter wheeling outings will increase tenfold.
Man, winter is the only good wheeling time where I live unless you wanna deal with Mud. I've loved this build. To bad you didn't getta finish it all. Maybe he'll still have ya finish it
You have a build thread somewhere on your Rover? Currently helping a buddy with his Series II build - LS/nv4500/LT230
- Thread starter
- #56
I built that Rover back before I knew what a forum was. I can answer any questions or help with pics if you like. Also, here's a link to a magazine feature on it. http://www.fourwheeler.com/features/0611-4wd-1957-range-rover/
- Thread starter
- #57
I still get a lot of emails about the Rover so I have a "form response" at the ready. It's lengthy, but read on if you like.
I basically started the build with a donor 1990 Toyota pickup with a 22RE and a 5 speed manual. After stripping out everything I needed I traded off the chassis for a pair of '85 Toyota axles which are the perfect width for the Rover. Mixing and matching of the stock Rover springs and a spring over netted me a perfect ride and ride height. Yes, the springs are stock Rover items. I believe the front springs I left alone, but the rears I pulled two of the shorter leaves out and then I also turned one of the mid leafs upside down to get the ride height without compromising spring rate. I used stock Toyota steel wheels with Interco 34 x 9.50 Swampers for an appropriate skinny look. The axles contain TRD electric lockers and 5.29 gears and Longfield axles up front. Basic U-bolt flip kits were used to hold the axles in place.
The engine install was basic with the front of the motor behind axle centerline for perfect balance (especially important in a short wheelbase rig) but the trans install proved a bit more difficult. Initially we used the W56 trans out of the '90 truck but the rear driveshaft was only about 14" long, so short in fact that I had to make it myself. No driveline shop had the willingness to machine the two tube ends of the shaft to mate together without any tubing at all. They all said no, so I did it myself. To get the driveline angle right, I used a Toyota CV and pointed the pinion to match. The rear pinion angle was so high that I had to add a second fill plug on the rear diff. I also used a limiting strap to limit the rear axle droop to protect the driveshaft from binding. Well after about 5 years of wheeling like that I went through about 3 CV joints and gave up. I finally talked Marlin Crawler into building me an iron-case L52 trans, which is about 5 inches shorter than the W56, thus allowing me to add 5 inches to the rear driveshaft. Things are good now. Oh, the transfer case is a RF1A case with a 5:1 gearset, all you need for heavy duty crawling.
Other details took some time to figure out. The clutch and brake pedals are stock Rover, but I used Datsun 510 master cylinders with remote reservoirs mounted in the compartment under the driver's seat. Obviously I had to fab up a plate for the masters to bolt to. They were so tight under the floor that I even had to twist them so they are almost on their sides. The battery was relocated to the floor compartment as well.
The ECU is mounted inside the dash behind a custom panel. It has gotten wet before and died. I still need to address that...
I used the stock fuel tank for many years with the stock Toyota EFI pump made to fit in the tank, but the tank finally gave up the ghost. I replaced it with a generic aluminum tank from RCI. I had to machine an aluminum EFI pump bung and weld it into the new tank.
The radiator is stock '90 Toyota with a notch taken out of the top tank for hood prop clearance (my local radiator shop preformed this mod for about $60). There was no room for a stock clutch fan so I am using a cheap electric fan and so far it hasn't let me down. I did install a 2 stage Supra thermostat for added insurance against overheating.For steering I made a custom column out of the factory Rover parts and Toyota parts that run down to a IFS Toyota box which I mounted as far forward on the frame as I could get it. It actually protrudes through the front fender skirt. A high steer set from OTT (now out of business) was installed and a slight notch had to be cut out of the frame to clear the massively thick pitman arm. Custom hoses were made to run the box off the stock 22RE power steering pump. And the reservoir is mounted high up on the firewall to keep it safe from high water crossings. I also installed a cheap 2-row fluid cooler.
The frame had to be modified to fit the motor and trans. Two of the stock crossmembers were cut out and/or modified. The horsecollar was modified to make room for the rear driveshaft. I used Ford F250 shock mounts up front (because they're cheap at $15 each) with 12" Rancho RS9000's up front and 10" shocks in the rear on modified mountings. There is no rear bumper, but I built a custom front bumper to accept the Warn 8274 winch. I also built sliders with thick steel protection plates for the fuel tank and master cylinders on either side. As a nod to the tuner history of Toyota, I ran the exhaust out the PTO hole in the rear bumper with as big an exhaust tip as I could fit in the hole. It's kind of funny. The heat of the exhaust was so great on the rear floor that I installed a sheet of 16 ga aluminum above the exhaust, about 3/4 inch from the bottom of the floor (kind of like a stock Rover safari roof).
Inside the engine bay, there was no room for the stock intake tube, so I took this as an opportunity to relocate the Air Flow Meter up high. Another humorous jest was to make the intake tube out of ABS plumbing tubing and a Pee Trap for the bend. I made a bracket to mount eh AFM directly to the intake plenum.
The transmission and t-case shifters would not fit in the stock Rover slots, so I made a custom center console out of 16 ga aluminum which houses the t-case shifters and also has cup holders built in. A new floor tunnel was fabbed up to fit the trans and trans shifter. I don't bother with shifter boots anymore, they wear out to quickly. A battery kill switch was also mounted in the trans tunnel, next to the trans.
When building the roll cage, I wanted something vintage looking, like a troop carrier or something, but what I ended up with looks neither vintage nor cool. Maybe I'll redo it someday. I didn't want to take the time to go directly to the frame for the front mounts, but I figured since the firewall/bulkhead is mounted directly to the frame, I would simply mount the front of the cage to the bulkehead. I welded in 4 sleeves on either side, in the door pillars and then I welded bolt flanges to the roll cage tubing so the cage will come out if needed. I made sandwich plates for the rear cage mounting and those are welded directly to the frame.
I really enjoy the Rover. It outperforms all of my expectations. I live only 50 miles from the Rubicon trail so that's where it gets most of it's exercise. There are some things I can't do with it, like the Soup Bowl, and it doesn't like really steep climbs. And since it doesn't weigh all that much, I have to air the tires down to about 5 psi on the trail which makes sidehilling a bit sketchy. But overall I love it. The only thing I would do differently if I had to build it again...I might start with a 107" pickup instead of the 88" of the short wheelbase Rover.
Pics can be found on my Photobucket page here: http://s1007.photobucket.com/user/MattStoffregen/library/Rover?sort=3&page=1
I basically started the build with a donor 1990 Toyota pickup with a 22RE and a 5 speed manual. After stripping out everything I needed I traded off the chassis for a pair of '85 Toyota axles which are the perfect width for the Rover. Mixing and matching of the stock Rover springs and a spring over netted me a perfect ride and ride height. Yes, the springs are stock Rover items. I believe the front springs I left alone, but the rears I pulled two of the shorter leaves out and then I also turned one of the mid leafs upside down to get the ride height without compromising spring rate. I used stock Toyota steel wheels with Interco 34 x 9.50 Swampers for an appropriate skinny look. The axles contain TRD electric lockers and 5.29 gears and Longfield axles up front. Basic U-bolt flip kits were used to hold the axles in place.
The engine install was basic with the front of the motor behind axle centerline for perfect balance (especially important in a short wheelbase rig) but the trans install proved a bit more difficult. Initially we used the W56 trans out of the '90 truck but the rear driveshaft was only about 14" long, so short in fact that I had to make it myself. No driveline shop had the willingness to machine the two tube ends of the shaft to mate together without any tubing at all. They all said no, so I did it myself. To get the driveline angle right, I used a Toyota CV and pointed the pinion to match. The rear pinion angle was so high that I had to add a second fill plug on the rear diff. I also used a limiting strap to limit the rear axle droop to protect the driveshaft from binding. Well after about 5 years of wheeling like that I went through about 3 CV joints and gave up. I finally talked Marlin Crawler into building me an iron-case L52 trans, which is about 5 inches shorter than the W56, thus allowing me to add 5 inches to the rear driveshaft. Things are good now. Oh, the transfer case is a RF1A case with a 5:1 gearset, all you need for heavy duty crawling.
Other details took some time to figure out. The clutch and brake pedals are stock Rover, but I used Datsun 510 master cylinders with remote reservoirs mounted in the compartment under the driver's seat. Obviously I had to fab up a plate for the masters to bolt to. They were so tight under the floor that I even had to twist them so they are almost on their sides. The battery was relocated to the floor compartment as well.
The ECU is mounted inside the dash behind a custom panel. It has gotten wet before and died. I still need to address that...
I used the stock fuel tank for many years with the stock Toyota EFI pump made to fit in the tank, but the tank finally gave up the ghost. I replaced it with a generic aluminum tank from RCI. I had to machine an aluminum EFI pump bung and weld it into the new tank.
The radiator is stock '90 Toyota with a notch taken out of the top tank for hood prop clearance (my local radiator shop preformed this mod for about $60). There was no room for a stock clutch fan so I am using a cheap electric fan and so far it hasn't let me down. I did install a 2 stage Supra thermostat for added insurance against overheating.For steering I made a custom column out of the factory Rover parts and Toyota parts that run down to a IFS Toyota box which I mounted as far forward on the frame as I could get it. It actually protrudes through the front fender skirt. A high steer set from OTT (now out of business) was installed and a slight notch had to be cut out of the frame to clear the massively thick pitman arm. Custom hoses were made to run the box off the stock 22RE power steering pump. And the reservoir is mounted high up on the firewall to keep it safe from high water crossings. I also installed a cheap 2-row fluid cooler.
The frame had to be modified to fit the motor and trans. Two of the stock crossmembers were cut out and/or modified. The horsecollar was modified to make room for the rear driveshaft. I used Ford F250 shock mounts up front (because they're cheap at $15 each) with 12" Rancho RS9000's up front and 10" shocks in the rear on modified mountings. There is no rear bumper, but I built a custom front bumper to accept the Warn 8274 winch. I also built sliders with thick steel protection plates for the fuel tank and master cylinders on either side. As a nod to the tuner history of Toyota, I ran the exhaust out the PTO hole in the rear bumper with as big an exhaust tip as I could fit in the hole. It's kind of funny. The heat of the exhaust was so great on the rear floor that I installed a sheet of 16 ga aluminum above the exhaust, about 3/4 inch from the bottom of the floor (kind of like a stock Rover safari roof).
Inside the engine bay, there was no room for the stock intake tube, so I took this as an opportunity to relocate the Air Flow Meter up high. Another humorous jest was to make the intake tube out of ABS plumbing tubing and a Pee Trap for the bend. I made a bracket to mount eh AFM directly to the intake plenum.
The transmission and t-case shifters would not fit in the stock Rover slots, so I made a custom center console out of 16 ga aluminum which houses the t-case shifters and also has cup holders built in. A new floor tunnel was fabbed up to fit the trans and trans shifter. I don't bother with shifter boots anymore, they wear out to quickly. A battery kill switch was also mounted in the trans tunnel, next to the trans.
When building the roll cage, I wanted something vintage looking, like a troop carrier or something, but what I ended up with looks neither vintage nor cool. Maybe I'll redo it someday. I didn't want to take the time to go directly to the frame for the front mounts, but I figured since the firewall/bulkhead is mounted directly to the frame, I would simply mount the front of the cage to the bulkehead. I welded in 4 sleeves on either side, in the door pillars and then I welded bolt flanges to the roll cage tubing so the cage will come out if needed. I made sandwich plates for the rear cage mounting and those are welded directly to the frame.
I really enjoy the Rover. It outperforms all of my expectations. I live only 50 miles from the Rubicon trail so that's where it gets most of it's exercise. There are some things I can't do with it, like the Soup Bowl, and it doesn't like really steep climbs. And since it doesn't weigh all that much, I have to air the tires down to about 5 psi on the trail which makes sidehilling a bit sketchy. But overall I love it. The only thing I would do differently if I had to build it again...I might start with a 107" pickup instead of the 88" of the short wheelbase Rover.
Pics can be found on my Photobucket page here: http://s1007.photobucket.com/user/MattStoffregen/library/Rover?sort=3&page=1
Thanks. There are not a lot of motor swaps (especially LS-1s) into series rovers documented. It has all been pretty much uncharted territory other than some info/help from Timm Cooper. Plus the 88" is so damn small.
classic Rover lines. I'm building a D2 with a 300tdi and 5 speed transmission for the wife.
That said, how did you manage to get a non-Jeep in FourWheeler?
