Builds Let's not call it a restoration... Chopped down FJ40 to 45ish on an FZJ80 chassis BUILD! (1 Viewer)

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Getting more welding done today. Working on the central winch mount. The heavy universal winch mount was cut down and coped to fit the rear upper cross member in the 80 chassis. Did a test fit of the winch for height clearance and everything looks great! Burned it in on both sides and started on the structure that will brace it to the frame. Started with 1/4" strip on each side angled towards the frame rails. Then sheeted top and bottom with 1/4" plate. This should be extremely strong with all the seams fully welded out. Got most of it done today just need to finish up the other side, weld in the filler piece to make the crossmember solid and give it a coat of primer. I set it into the frame as low as I thought I could and still get good gussets on it. All of it is stronger than the frame rails supporting it for sure.

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HF winch stuff:

Now I know people have things to say about them. For me, I buy them on sale and I have always had good luck with them. Especially the 12k versions. Here are some things I do to make them both more reliable and stronger.
1: Replace the mounting bolts with grade 6 or better 1/2" hardware. A 1/2" bolt fits snugly into the feet on the bottom of the winch. The holes will need to be enlarged slightly to get them in there. The chassis on the winch is aluminum so it drills easily.
2: Battery cables. The reason these winches tend to get hot in most cases is a lower quality, smaller diameter cable feeding them. Keep the winch as close as you can to the power source and increase the size of the cable to at least 1/0... I use rubber coated welding leads.
3: Cable. I replace the cable on everyone I have ever purchased with winch rope. Buy quality stuff and not only will you be able to put more of it on the spool, it will decrease the weight be about half. The cable that HF sends with the winch is lower quality, I keep it around as an extension. Put a shackle on both ends and you're good to go.

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Finished it up.

I finished welding this out and man is it strong! It really gives a LOT of structure and support to the rear of the chassis. As you can see it sits well below the spring buckets, so there is no obstruction there. I went ahead and assembled the winch on it with the roller fairlead although I am not sure I will be using the steel fairlead. I have a bunch of aluminum hawse fairleads on order to use in conjunction with the sheave block to center and direct the winch rope. So far it is going just as the plans I drew up. Sometimes I think people just make things hard.....

Now I just have a lot of grinding to do. Most of the welds are smooth but I want it all ground out and beveled to keep down the stress areas.

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Your winch mount looks like it is rear mounted not center mounted. You are going to use that for forward winching? I don't understand why? So you only have one winch? Why not just make a receiver on either end and run wires to each end you can plug into? I guess maybe I'll have to wait to see how well it works?
 
Your winch mount looks like it is rear mounted not center mounted. You are going to use that for forward winching? I don't understand why? So you only have one winch? Why not just make a receiver on either end and run wires to each end you can plug into? I guess maybe I'll have to wait to see how well it works?
I have described this in detail in previous posts, yes it will be used for forward winching as well as rear winching.
 
Got the new winch rope in today and spooled up the winch. 150 ft on the 12k winch with enough to make the turn and come out in the front bumper I am at 163 ft on board. That's not bad at all... Considering the steel cable was twice the size and 90 ft I think? I have 50 ft left over for a few soft shackles and an extension. I'll coil up the steel cable that came with the winch and use it for something else. I am waiting on some aluminum hawse fairleads to come in to seriously start working on the rear feed and sheave block. I hate waiting on parts to arrive. One note: The cable tensioner on the 12k winch does a really good job of centering the winch rope. I was able to spool it up completely, turn it to free spool and yank a bunch off (40-50 ft) and drop the rope on the ground, only to have it spool it right back up nice and tight. Time will tell if that will hold true when winching from the front, which will essentially be a constant side load on the winch. If it doesn't want to play along, I'll add an industrial cable feeder in front of the winch but behind the bumper. These walk back and forth to feed the cable (rope) evenly on the spool mechanically. Think wrecker application. I don't think I will need it, I guess we'll see.
 
Sure will be fun to dig a trench under the truck when it is stuck to feed the rope to the front.... just a thought. Spend the extra money and put another winch up front.
 
Sure will be fun to dig a trench under the truck when it is stuck to feed the rope to the front.... just a thought. Spend the extra money and put another winch up front.

I'm not trying to be negative here but you should really read the posts before commenting. The purpose, point, design of this entire thing is so that one winch does the job of two. The winch cable travels through the sheave block in the rear, through the channel to the front bumper where it resides full time. If you need to winch from the front you pull the cable from the front, there is no need to string the cable under the truck. It's always there.... In the rear, it's always a double line pull as the winch rope is fed through to the front.

This has nothing to do with saving or spending Money. I have 6 winches here in the shop.
 
Sorry, I did not comprehend what I read. I just read the last few post before posting. I was not trying to be negative. I have seen what you describe in the European challenge series races. I am not sure how well they work but they do work. I think it is a lot of extra load on the winch and rope. I hope it works out well. You have some good skills looking at your build so I am sure you will come up with a good plan. Again, sorry for the negative vibes.

Rob
 
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Found a large piece of 1/4 plate this afternoon that I forgot I had, so I think tomorrow I'll cut some tabs for the winch line tube and start on the front bridge that will encompass the Bib hinge. This will tie the front crossmember, frame rails and everything together. This will also be the building point to connect the lower tabs for the radiator bracket. I didn't have a lot of time to work today but I did get a cardboard pattern made up for it. It's a lot of welding but I'll drag up my little roll around stool put in the ear buds and get it done.
 
I like what you are doing and interested is seeing how your winch set up comes together. It seems like getting to it to if you had to maintenance might be tough unless you make a access panel in the floor of your bed. I enjoy watching your build keep it.
 
I like what you are doing and interested is seeing how your winch set up comes together. It seems like getting to it to if you had to maintenance might be tough unless you make a access panel in the floor of your bed. I enjoy watching your build keep it.
Not sure how I'll end up handling that. I am fabricating the bed so I'll most likely build in some sort of access from the top. Then again if the bed goes where I think it will it might not need anything. It will only require 8" of clearance above the winch to be able to remove it. That's not much space. I'll jump over that when I get there. I'm still waiting on parts to arrive for the sheave block on the rear. I have a few key technical issues to work out before I can test it out. I plan to put it into a serious bind with the winch to make sure everything will take the stresses. Of course the winch is rated at 4 times the final goal weight of the truck so it should have zero issue moving it around.
 
The fact is I have less than all the answers on this setup, I've only seen video of it and reverse engineering from there. I am bending the principle to work the best in my configuration. I love the concept of it and of course the weight savings. For me it was just something I wanted to do as this truck is sort of a culmination of a lot of ideas I have had on previous builds for other people and myself over the years. It will have a bunch of weird little things like this, over engineered for simplicity in use is what I call it. This might be the last full frame off I get to do so I am trying to sneak in all the little cool details that I have always wanted to put into one. As I get older, comfort and ease of use are paramount. It's a really simple concept but takes a lot of engineering to make user friendly and tough. In all of this my target weight is 3,000 pounds. I know that is a lofty goal and I will most likely not get there but I am trying. With the end result being the final 300 hp diesel, that's a power to weight ratio of 1:10...
 
I meant to post this earlier but forgot. This is a dyno sheet for an engine that was built VERY similar to mine, he has a few changes and I'll likely make those changes to my engine when I get to that point. I just wanted to post this up as actual fact for some that have questioned me in PM or otherwise about the validity and longevity of a 1.9 with the kind of HP numbers I am planning. Keep in mind, this is all VERY common in the UK. 300 HP is out of this world for us, for them it's just a regular day of the week. This is also the company producing the majority of the parts in my engine. They really know their stuff... This is an apples to apples to comparison as this engine is in a 1Z Passat, exactly as mine (was) Sorry, it's in Dutch but I can interpret for those who can't figure it out...LOL

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OK back to our regularly scheduled program. I was out today and staring at some paint swatches for industrial enamel paint. One of the colors that struck me immediately was the "Ford medium Grey". Now the company makes paint, self etching primer and acrylic clear in spray can, quart and gallons. So I just had to pick up a can of the primer, paint and clear to test on one of the body panels. I know it isn't a traditional Toyota gray but what on my truck is traditional? If you can imagine it appears to be a more "olive" grey than a bright grey. I really dig it. If it comes out like the paint swatches I may be in the money here. I don't have a lot of sheet metal to paint but this color offsets black very nicely.
 
I meant to post this earlier but forgot. This is a dyno sheet for an engine that was built VERY similar to mine, he has a few changes and I'll likely make those changes to my engine when I get to that point. I just wanted to post this up as actual fact for some that have questioned me in PM or otherwise about the validity and longevity of a 1.9 with the kind of HP numbers I am planning. Keep in mind, this is all VERY common in the UK. 300 HP is out of this world for us, for them it's just a regular day of the week. This is also the company producing the majority of the parts in my engine. They really know their stuff... This is an apples to apples to comparison as this engine is in a 1Z Passat, exactly as mine (was) Sorry, it's in Dutch but I can interpret for those who can't figure it out...LOL

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I had a project in the past with that engine not built to that spec. It was in a samurai, unfortunately I had to sell it before I completed it. However I have always wanted to take a ride in it and I know the person who has it and waiting for its completion. W56 Toyota trans with mini truck axles. Was going to run 35” km 2’s I didn't stretch the body but that was on the bucket list. After I sold it reluctantly and a few years later I recovered and started a new project. My stretched 40 to 45. I had considered the TDI but went with the Mercedes 606 an equally strong engine that can produce big HP. One advantage you have is the smaller size and weight which gives you big dividends. Curious what is your projected longevity at that Hp are you expecting, considerations will have to be taken in on how you drive it and at our age I think we will treat both of our engines with respect and not pound the hell out of um. I really like your idea and know it will work well. BTW what transmission and transfer case are you going to use.
Best Skip
 
OK back to our regularly scheduled program. I was out today and staring at some paint swatches for industrial enamel paint. One of the colors that struck me immediately was the "Ford medium Grey". Now the company makes paint, self etching primer and acrylic clear in spray can, quart and gallons. So I just had to pick up a can of the primer, paint and clear to test on one of the body panels. I know it isn't a traditional Toyota gray but what on my truck is traditional? If you can imagine it appears to be a more "olive" grey than a bright grey. I really dig it. If it comes out like the paint swatches I may be in the money here. I don't have a lot of sheet metal to paint but this color offsets black very nicely.
I have always liked the Toyota 1984 Fj 60 color 6H9 an olive gray take a look it is just an option. For mine I am going with a Tacoma 2017 tan very close to sand beige a very common and liked color but just enough difference to notice.
 
I had a project in the past with that engine not built to that spec. It was in a samurai, unfortunately I had to sell it before I completed it. However I have always wanted to take a ride in it and I know the person who has it and waiting for its completion. W56 Toyota trans with mini truck axles. Was going to run 35” km 2’s I didn't stretch the body but that was on the bucket list. After I sold it reluctantly and a few years later I recovered and started a new project. My stretched 40 to 45. I had considered the TDI but went with the Mercedes 606 an equally strong engine that can produce big HP. One advantage you have is the smaller size and weight which gives you big dividends. Curious what is your projected longevity at that Hp are you expecting, considerations will have to be taken in on how you drive it and at our age I think we will treat both of our engines with respect and not pound the hell out of um. I really like your idea and know it will work well. BTW what transmission and transfer case are you going to use.
Best Skip

For me, I have built hundreds of diesel engines but not much in the area of the 1.9 TDI's. I did a couple rebuilds and head jobs along the way but nothing in the way of performance. I was always impressed with the design of them and of course the potential for BIG gains. I was in the UK a couple years back and got to hang out with some diesel gear heads like me and they sent me home with a new found understanding of what the potential really was. There are LOTS of them running 150-200k miles on engines making more HP than I have planned. Once dialed in and setup correctly, which is sort of the magic of it, they forget about them. I met a guy that was daily driving a cooper mini, one of the older ones, with a 560hp 1.9 TDI full mechanical engine. That thing SCREAMED BY THE WAY...holy jesus… in a 1200 pound car. It had been in there for a couple years at that point and his only complaints were the clutch. He was still trying to work that out and I don't know what transmission he was running but he was only getting about 10k miles on a clutch before needing replacement. I initially picked up a W56 for my build after some thought and listening to others who have gone before me I scrapped it and picked up a rebuilt R150. Diesel conversion specialists here in montana made an adapter for it and with the larger clutch and heavier internals I think it was a good choice. The clutch came from Marlin Crawler and it is a hell of a thing. I haven't ran it but it's a nice piece.
 
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I have always liked the Toyota 1984 Fj 60 color 6H9 an olive gray take a look it is just an option. For mine I am going with a Tacoma 2017 tan very close to sand beige a very common and liked color but just enough difference to notice.
I dig this color...Gloss ford Gray, although its actually called "medium ford grey". It has that olive sort of sheen to it that I really like. I just shot a test panel with it on a spot that I will be sanding right back off. This was a couple coats of the primer, three coats of paint and three clear. All in a spray can, which makes it really easy to play with. This is on the side of the tub where i had already sanded but I will likely pull off an apron and do it correctly to see what it looks like in the daylight where i can walk around and look at it.

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I really hate those days when you spend hours cutting and finishing a bunch of heavy steel for a piece you're building and the batteries in your welding hood are dead. This cold here just kills anything battery operated. Need to make a trip to town so all I got done was tacking up when I should have been welding. sucks.
 

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