FJ40 converted to a FJ45 cab and body swapped on to a 87 4runner chassis...good idea or not??? (1 Viewer)

[rustED71]

Damn that is one big mulie! I’m still sporting an empty freezer at this point, but will head out for the WT rut north of Tonasket on the B.C. side.

We were in P.A. and out to the west side of the Oly Peninsula in September. That is close to what I hunt near home. Wet steep coastal blacktail country. It’s nasty stuff to hunt. I prefer the Okanagon...

Yeah I hear you, I was born over there and lived in Sequim until I was a teenager. It was nice hunting over here this year, not overly dry, we had some rain and some snow in September so there was still snow up on Sherman Pass and the higher elevations like Boulder Creek. Here's a pic looking out my front door on Sept 29th

 

[rustED71]

A franken45 sold here last summer. 40 tub, mini bed, Chevy everything else. Brought a stack of cash from someone who didn’t care past what it looked like.

Well that's good to know, I plan to do it as clean as possible, I don't want it to be a hacked job. I wouldn't have guessed that one that wasn't restored or that wasn't a "real" FJ45 would go for that much, but I guess it's all in what someone wants and is willing to pay.

 

[ntsqd]

.......

If you need to get rid of the 4Runner top, I have some room at my place up by Blaine Wa.

FWIW I'm in the market for a 1st gen 4rnnr top & have family in Spokane.

 

[joseywales]

FWIW I'm in the market for a 1st gen 4rnnr top & have family in Spokane.

Well if it doesn’t pan out for me, you can be next in line

Seriously though, I’m sure you can find a good hard top close to home in SoCal, no?

 

[ntsqd]

You would think, so far no such luck.

Given a choice I think that an FZJ80 chassis would be more preferable, but since these are what is on the table.....
I do think that a 22RE will be slow in the proposed configuration, once the transmorgrafication is complete an engine swap can address that.

 

[rustED71]

Well if it doesn’t pan out for me, you can be next in line

Seriously though, I’m sure you can find a good hard top close to home in SoCal, no?

You would think, so far no such luck.

Given a choice I think that an FZJ80 chassis would be more preferable, but since these are what is on the table.....
I do think that a 22RE will be slow in the proposed configuration, once the transmorgrafication is complete an engine swap can address that.

I will probably start this project with the FJ40 tub and cutting it behind the the doors at the seam. I hope to do this soon, I just need to pick up some 1" square tubing I want to run a brace from one side of the tub behind the door pillar to the other side so it doesn't twist when I move it around.(I might do that tomorrow if my local metal shop is open on the holiday) It will probably be a while before I start cutting up the 4runner (my plan of attack to remove the body) It is currently being used for a storage shed, lol...I have a bunch of belongs being stored in it out of the weather. I'm looking to move soon closer to my job, my commute to work is killing me right now. So this build will more than likely be moving slowly at least until this coming spring/summer. But if you guys are still in need of a top Joseywales has first dibs and ntsqd you are next in line. I don't want any $$$ for it, whoever picks it up will be doing me a solid just removing it from the premises when the time comes.

Ntsqd, I agree with you on the FZJ80 chassis being a more desirable platform to start with, and I have checked out my local CL looking for wrecked potential donor vehicles, but in the end I think this will work out, the 22re is slow, but reliable and easy to work on, and does get descent fuel economy, I think those pros outweigh the cons. I think a regear is definitely in order tho, I'm thinking 4.88s and plan on 33's unless I end up with more lift and 33's look like they will be too small. I'm still doing research on spring under vs spring over for the SAS, there isn't alot of build threads out there that have good documentation. So far I've only found a couple of build threads on the subject.."sprung under runner" on Pirate4x4 and another one on yotatech have been the most detailed build threads I have been able to find.

Sprung Under Runner

www.pirate4x4.com

Flying91's 1991 4runner LOWEST SAS 30" tires - YotaTech Forums

86-95 Trucks & 4Runners (Build-Up Section) - Flying91's 1991 4runner LOWEST SAS 30" tires - This is a teaser post for my 1991 4runner SR5 V6 build up. I bought this truck three years ago with a blown motor for $600 to be my first vehicle. I swapped in a new motor and drove it awhile before I...

www.yotatech.com

 

[ntsqd]

Only reason that I think the 80 might better would be a bit more stock power. That it's a bit heavier in the axles is a bonus should some sort of engine swap decide to happen down the line.

SAS on the IFS frame usually forces it to be high to clear the steering. I was able to get a cross-steer drag link over some OME front springs on an '84 and have it mostly clear everything (lightly dimpled the bottom of the front edge of the SA oil pan), but I'm not under the impression that this is possible on an IFS frame.

If you're going for the tall, narrow skinny tire on stock steelies look I suggest that you have a look at the 235/85R16 tire size. Just about any kind of tire you could want is made in that size. 4.88's will be a little short with those ~32" tall tires, but if you're not driving huge long distances with the truck then it probably won't matter much.

 

[Gumby]

22re isn’t enough to move a 4runner. I wouldn’t put money, time and effort into this project.

But I’m not sad someone is going to.

 

[joseywales]

A 3.4 swap is common into 22RE trucks, so it could work here too. It’s not like this is going to be a daily driver, right?

 

[rustED71]

ntsqd, thanks for your incite, the front suspension is the part I'm trying to figure out. I sas'd my 86' 4runner and was happy with how it turned out, but it was high, and I don't want to go real high on this one. I like the tall skinny tire look, in fact I bought a set of 235/85R16 Yokahoma Geolander MT's for my 71'FJ40 project and have been running them temporarily on my 91' Toyota pickup (22RE/5spd) until I can get a new set of 31's for it. I love the looks but I knew that they would be a little tall for the stock 4:10 gearing especially when climbing steep grades like I do on the way to work...it's in 3rd gear alot and I never use 5th lol.
Here's a pic of my 91' with the tires mentioned above, and one of my old 86' runner with SAS and I did a Ford 302 V8 swap on it.

 

[rustED71]

A 3.4 swap is common into 22RE trucks, so it could work here too. It’s not like this is going to be a daily driver, right?

It probably will see some daily driving duty...I guess I'll just have to wait and see how it is once it's finished, like you guys said, I could always do a engine swap later on if it's too underpowered. Hopefully I'll be moving soon, I'm checking on a place tomorrow that's alot closer to work and won't require me to drive over a mountain pass twice a day. Then my commute will only be 36 min instead of 1hr and 20min, and on much more level grades!

 

[ntsqd]

I bleed Ford Blue, but were I going to do an engine swap I'd be looking at the 3.4L or a 4.3L Vortec for this chassis.

If you ditch the front leaf springs then a lot of height related problems go away. I'd seriously consider going radius arms & coils up front. Find a used set of aftermarket Ford TTB radius arms and build the brackets to make them work. Something like these: Rancho Long Arm Set - GoFastBroncos.com BUT PM me about why you don't want to buy those from that guy.

 

[rustED71]

I bleed Ford Blue, but were I going to do an engine swap I'd be looking at the 3.4L or a 4.3L Vortec for this chassis.

If you ditch the front leaf springs then a lot of height related problems go away. I'd seriously consider going radius arms & coils up front. Find a used set of aftermarket Ford TTB radius arms and build the brackets to make them work. Something like these: Rancho Long Arm Set - GoFastBroncos.com BUT PM me about why you don't want to buy those from that guy.

I honestly don't know alot about Ford's front suspension setups, I'm a visual type guy, I'll try to do a Google search and get a better understanding of what your talking about. But I'm open minded to losing the front leaves in favor of coils or possibly even a 3-link and coilovers if it means I can keep the ride height lower and makes room for the cross over steering

 

[ntsqd]

Look at what was used under the Early Bronco to get a general idea of the lay-out. Just ignore the comments about the stock system not flexing well. Longer radius arms fix that. The actual radius arms used on an "EB" aren't easy to use, but arms like liked above would be much easier to modify & make axle brackets for.

The downsides to a radius arm system vs. a 3 or 4 link are bigger on paper than they are in real life.

 

[rustED71]

Thanks for the info and feedback I have alot of research and thinking ahead of me!

 

[JDMStanNTopSoft]

Any updates?

 

[rustED71]

Any updates?

No real updates. My 91' toyota pickup that is pictured somewhere in this thread ended up blowing a head gasket and end up having a cracked head. I was low on funds and couldnt afford a head at the time, so ended up just pulling the 22re out of the 4runner and swapping it into my 91' pickup and then I sold what was left of the 4runner. I still have my 71' Fj40 and the parts rig. The 71' ended up having alot more rust than I originally thought. My plan now is to use my spare FJ40 frame to lengthen the other one and make a FJ45-ish pickup. I have a vortec 5.3 and 4L60E trans out of a 2002 silverado that I want to use ...I hope to start on it in the next month or so if life will quit getting in my way, lol!