Fj45 + hzj80 + ls1

[Shadow]

So i started with an FJ45 which i planned to coil and put 60 series diffs and steering under it. But due to the laws in australia its not possible to do this legally. Not in QLD anyway.

So the legal route was for me to find a chassis with everything i want, and put the fj45 cab onto it.

So I found a donor 80 series chassis with a clear title.

LS1 sitting in place

I sat the 45 cab on the chassis to get an idea of where to mount it. I moved it forward and back etc to see what works best.

Its sitting about 70mm too high in these photos. 33" tyres

Front body mounts done. I just modified the body mounts off the fj45 chassis.
I end up re making these from some 150x100x4mm RHS

Engine sitting in place with Advance Adapters LS1 engine mounts tacked into place.

Now i started looking at the leg room issue. I am 6'5" and the pedals are at an awkward height for me. To put my foot on the brake I lift my leg, jam my knee into dash, and then i can brake. Not ideal or fun.

After reading another thread on IH8MUD I decided to Tubb the drivers side firewall for more leg room.

Started by adding some bracing so nothing moves.

Then started cutting.

I removed the center section of the firewall to give more room under the dash for the Vintage Air evaporator unit i've ordered.

 

[Shadow]

Picked up some 1.2mm Zinc Sheet

60 series Intermediate Shaft, all stock toyota should keep the engineer happy

Centre dish in firewall removed. The LS1 is significantly shorter than the straight 6 2F it replaced.

Started folding sheet. The most sheet metal work ive done was highschool metalwork class. So this is pretty challenging stuff for me. Im making most of it up as i go along.

I wish I had a guillotine and Brake, instead i cut with a grinder, and clamp two bits of rhs on the sheet, then fold the edges over with a hammer!

This curve section is to clear the bonnet strengthening rib but still give maximum room for the pedal box underneath.

The firewall(and pedal box) has moved 130mm forward into the engine bay at the top. Where the floor meets the firewall has moved 170mm forward. So I can bend the pedals down for more legroom if needed.

80 series booster and mastercylinder. FJ55 steering column, 60 series steering intermediate shaft.

Left foot where old firewall was, right foot comfy!

Its all just tacked together with tek screws and some spot welds, but will all be tig welded when finished.

Heres the front body mounts i made from 150x100x4mm RHS.

They are a copy of the front body mounts on th FJ45 chassis but made to suit the 80 series chassis.

Nice and shiny diffs!

 

[Shadow]

The LS1 is from a VX commodore. Which has the alternator mounted down the bottom right of the engine. This wouldnt clear the chassis rail in the 80 series chassis, so i moved it to the top right.

This is a similar position that Marks Adapters make a kit for. However, they use the stock commodore alternator bracket and modify it.

Made a template

ready to be plasma cut from 5mm plate

I cut 3 plates, 1 with the new lifting point hole since this new alternator mount will bolt to the passenger side head where the old lift hook was bolted.

20mm tube spacers between the back two plates. And a couple 50mm sopacers between the front two plates.

The alternator is now about as far away from the mud as i can get it!

 

[Shadow]

I mouted a 90litre sub-tank from a 2008 VDJ79 Cruiser ute.

I plan on cutting the last 200mm of chassis off and sliding the rear crossmember forward.

 

[Shadow]

This is a measurement from the side of the fender, to the edge of the tyre.

8" flares????????????????? perhaps just make tube fenders!

Tube transfer case mount. Its alot stronger than it needs to be, but will give a really sold mounting position for my skid plates.

 

[Shadow]

I slid the front 80 series crossmember back to support the front grill and radiator.

Im using the stock FJ45 radiator, which with a 16" Virgo thermo fan im hoping will keep the LS1 cool.

The radiator doesnt have an auto tranny cooler in it, so im going to try just a big front mount one and see if that keeps it cool. Otherwise im going to need a custom radiator setup.

 

[Shadow]

So that's where I am up to.

I've been building this for about 3 years. Sometimes not looking at it for 4 months, and then getting some inspiration I drag it all out again.

I wish I had the skills of alot of guys on here, There are a number of builds on ih8mud and outerlimits4x4.com that have inspired this build.

 

[Elbert]

Thanks for posting up. You got start somewhere...I'm in the same boat in regard to fabrication skills...I have a friend who helps me with that. All of that takes practice and experience. This forum is a great source of ideas and information.

 

[Tapage]

60 series Intermediate Shaft, all stock toyota should keep the engineer happy

don't think so with a Chevy engine on it ..

I'm 6.2" and can't imagine a 6.5" in a 45 cabin .. wonder if wasn't easy to just extend the cabin for more leg room ..

Another question .. 40 rad enough to cool your Chevy engine ?

 

[Shadow]

Well all Toyota so far as steering and brake components.

After looking at RocketIron45's project, there are two things I know.

First is I would love to extend the back of the cab 100mm.

The second is I am positively sure that I don't have anywhere near the skills required to cut and extend the cab.

Modifying the firewall whilst challenging I feel was do-able for me.


I did a little more work on the project. I started mounting the main fuel tank which will be squeezed under the cab, in between drive shaft and chassis rail, and between the transfer case and the shock tower cross-member. It is tight but i have at least 20mm clearance all around the tank.

Since this tank came from a Prado, it originally mounted to the body, so I made up a cradle to carry the fuel tank using the oem straps.

I will get better photos of the cradle mounted to the chassis once the cab is off.
The butt joins of pipe are sleeved with 20NB medium wall pipe which is a slip fit into the 25nb pipe. This will strengthen the join and also allow me to get good penetration when welding(rather than blowing holes).

 

[Kief]

Nice work!!!

 

[Shadow]

 

[MDTyree]

Yep there is a lot of guys on here that inspire me.

I want to do the same thing, I just want to use a Taco instead of an 80. Nice build, and I'll subscribe to this one for sure.

 

[Shadow]

So my Vintage Air gear arrived which sparked my interest again.

I mounted the Sanden SD5H14 (same as a 508) on the bottom drivers side(RHD!) where the commodore compressor was mounted. The commodore the engine came from used a variable displacement compressor which is not ideal and was also mounted much wider off the block which placed it too close to the chassis.

The measurements were pretty complicated, everything measured from the balancer etc, so I made a drawing before I manufactured each part. And i still managed to make a mistake in my grade 3 maths!!. Luckily i picked up the error early and rectified it.

This bracket holds to top of the compressor.

This bracket holds the bottom of the compressor and also mounts the spring tensioner for the 4rib belt. The tensioner is from the commodore airconditioner bracket.

I'm waiting for some new body mounts before I put the cab back on the chassis. So I plan on finishing the firewall off and mounting the Vintage Air evap unit while the cab is easier to work around.

 

[GLTHFJ60]

 

[cult45]

Hell yeah!!

 

[REZARF]

Oh SNAP!!! Subscribing to this build for sure, what a combo! Keep up the good work man. This is going to be a dream rig when you are done.

 

[Aussie FJ40]

you arent in the Rocky area are you ?

 

[Clint79]

Killa project going on mate, i love this build and the combo of body,chassis and motor your using. cant wait for more progress pics.
keep up the good work itll be awesome when its done

 

[Shadow]

you arent in the Rocky area are you ?

nah im in brisbane

My 80 series body mounts turned up which means I need to pull my finger out and get the firewall done so i can put the cab back on the chassis. Hopefully next weekend i can put a days work into it.