Builds Meet Ivy, 1976 FJ40 w/VW TDI, 2.8 CRD, OM606 (6 Viewers)

[Vandal FJ]

I know this word is taboo... but I was going to try a jeep mounting system on the driver side that moves the seat way forward, as the mounts and the sliders both move, but specs seem to make them too tall.. I might have to write to them and see exact mounting measurement. But the would make access to the back quite a bit easier I would think!

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[HandForged]

I know this word is taboo... but I was going to try a jeep mounting system on the driver side that moves the seat way forward, as the mounts and the sliders both move, but specs seem to make them too tall.. I might have to write to them and see exact mounting measurement. But the would make access to the back quite a bit easier I would think!

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13201.01 Seat Riser Bracket is on sale at Rugged Ridge with a Low Price Guarantee and free shipping! Check out specific images and videos to make the perfect buying decision.

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Not sure on that one. I have owned a few heeps with that setup and the one thing I always hated was the stability of that mount. When it's locked in place, no problem but it will lean a good bit with weight eventually. That and the rattle it makes. I think with a different seat it might work out. I would find something like than on ebay cheap and give it a try before making a final decision. You might also be able to redesign it a little and make it work for your application.

 

[fjdiesel]

@Vandal FJ I completely agree that that would be awesome!! I can see that will be an issue already, having the kids climb on the seat and center console to get in... Please keep me posted on what you come up with.

I did test fit the rear seat out of an 85 military Blazer the other day and it fit perfect. It will seat 3 across. With my Aqualu tub the seat will sit on top of the fender wells. I will take some pics of that when I get to mounting it.

 

[Vandal FJ]

Not sure on that one. I have owned a few heeps with that setup and the one thing I always hated was the stability of that mount. When it's locked in place, no problem but it will lean a good bit with weight eventually. That and the rattle it makes. I think with a different seat it might work out. I would find something like than on ebay cheap and give it a try before making a final decision. You might also be able to redesign it a little and make it work for your application.

I was just thinking that. I should be able to find a mount at the junkyard, and give a shot at fabbing something up. I could see the rattling noise being a problem, but I'm gonna give it a shot. My seats are very nice 2nd gen Camaro high back buckets, so hopefully they would work. If not, I'm sure there's a Camaro owner out there that would buy them! lol

 

[fjdiesel]

It rained yesterday so I figured the roads were cleaned off enough to run her to work!! Pretty happy about that.

 

[fjdiesel]

The last few days I got the front seat belts mounted. I think they will work out nicely.

I need to see if I still have covers for the top. I assume there was covers...

 

[fjdiesel]

The last couple days I have been reading about how to keep the NWF black box cooler for road driving. It gets hot enough it will melt the shift fork pads... I will post up about that as I start bringing parts in to upgrade the cooling of it.

 

[fjdiesel]

Trying to get things buttoned up for driving this thing this summer!! Got the bigger cooler/heater put on the VW motor this morning. And drove it to work again.

 

[fjdiesel]

No way to tell this story without throwing myself under the bus.

When I modified the factory radiator support I made brackets for the ac condenser, intercooler, and power steering cooler to all mount to the support. It worked out perfectly. Until now, when I started to mock up ac lines... I mounted the condenser upside down... I didn't even know there was a top or a bottom... So, I started fixing that yesterday, it was snowing outside and pretty chilly, so I figured a good day to tear it all apart and modify mounting.

Here is the radiator and support out figuring out how to mount new brackets..

 

[fjdiesel]

I got the AC condenser flipped.. Now I can start measuring up the lines.

I put new OME springs in the rear. I believe when I ordered them they were stock to 1" lift.. My suspension is all fj60 so that's what the springs were for. I figured when I was setting it up that I would need to pull springs and sure enough I did. I pulled the bottom 2 leaves out. Now the rear rides pretty nice. I have a few bags of sand in the back to make up for no tire carrier or spare yet.. But pretty happy with the ride now!!
I will hang on to them in case I need to put one back in down the road.

The front springs are the factory fj60 fronts from 1985. And they seem to work great in there wore form. lol.

I really wanted to drive it to work today... But I have to deliver some shelves to a customer so I needed my pickup....

 

[fjdiesel]

The last few days I have rounded up the parts to put a steering stabilizer on. Not that it steers bad, but with the spring bumpy roads, you can feel it just a little more than I would like. So we will try this out. I also like Bilstein products, so I did some measurements and determined that this model will fit the swing of the 60 gearbox. This steering stabilizer is for a Ford F-350 for a lot of years. So it should be a good part number for a long time.

 

[fjdiesel]

Been busy all week hauling stuff out of our place, giving it away, scrap, whatever. Because we are listing our house next week. This morning I was loading another load and I buried the skid steer. No one was awake yet to help me pull it out. Which worked out perfectly for me!!

Because it gave me the extra time I needed to finish the stabilizer shock!!

And, another win, since I couldn't get the pickup loaded, I got to drive the 40 to work!!!

I can't remember being happy before about burying a piece of equipment. But it sure is a nice day to drive the 40 to work!!! All smiles here today!!

And unbelievable how the shock took out the little wiggles in the steering wheel. An awesome upgrade for sure!!

 

[fjdiesel]

Made a bracket to mount a breather block for the diffs, trans, and t-case. And mounted a PSC catch/can/expansion tank for the black box. This was a recommendation from NWFab. So I will be ready when the new case comes to get it all plumbed in. It is surprising how many little things need to be wrapped up yet....

And a friend of mine brazed a couple ac adapters together for me so I can start running ac lines.

 

[FJBen]

Been busy all week hauling stuff out of our place, giving it away, scrap, whatever. Because we are listing our house next week. This morning I was loading another load and I buried the skid steer. No one was awake yet to help me pull it out. Which worked out perfectly for me!!

Because it gave me the extra time I needed to finish the stabilizer shock!!

And, another win, since I couldn't get the pickup loaded, I got to drive the 40 to work!!!

I can't remember being happy before about burying a piece of equipment. But it sure is a nice day to drive the 40 to work!!! All smiles here today!!

And unbelievable how the shock took out the little wiggles in the steering wheel. An awesome upgrade for sure!!

Did you steering wheel have "wander" before like you were correcting a lot? Is that what you mean by wiggle?

 

[fjdiesel]

@FJBen No, it didn't really "wander" more of I would get a little wiggle in the wheel when I would hit bumps. And a big wiggle when crossing RR tracks, etc. I hope that makes sense. Before the shock, the wheel felt like I was driving a $6k vehicle. And after the shock it felt like I was driving a $30k vehicle. Lol.

 

[fjdiesel]

Filled up this morning after driving my first tank full. 26.4 mpg. Not too shabby. Was hoping to crack the 30 mark, close, but no cigar. Not one trip on this tank was over 15 mi. And they included 2 stop signs each trip. So once I get the black box cooling figured out I will take a longer trip. I would think it would be better going down the hwy anyway. We will see.

 

[fjdiesel]

Got the new case yesterday from NorthWestFab. Looks pretty nice. I do like that it is one piece. One less gasket to leak. Now to get it installed and put a pump and cooler on it... Kris up at NWF has been pretty cool. Sent new gaskets and everything. No charge. I am glad they are helping out. Still bummed that I have to have a pump and cooler to run on the road long distance... It is what it is..

 

[White Stripe]

Have you thought about adding a temp sensor to the nwf box?

 

[fjdiesel]

@White Stripe yes sir, I agree, it is almost mandatory at this point... The idea is not etched in stone yet. As I am sure it will change as I put it together... But, right now I am planning on using this DD fan controller to control the pump for the cooler. Electronic Fan Controller 70 Amp with Bluetooth Control It does have a digital read out for temp while in setup mode. You can't read the temp anytime. But I could check it a few times and see where it's running. Or at least that's how I think it will work. Lol. Before I install the new case I am going to drill and tap another port for the sensor. Which I haven't looked up yet...

 

[Godfather90]

The DD sender is 1/8" NPT but its quite long. if you wanted maybe you could make a drain plug with a magnet and a port for the sender:

I'm not sure what your gearbox looks like.

You could get the BIM modules from DD and plumb them into your cluster, or I worked with them make me an expansion display that I'm sure they could replicate:

They can use the same sender for the fan controller, and display the value.

I have alarms set to go off at certain temperatures for each box depending on the bearing ratings, so if you wanted you could leave it in the background and have an alarm set so it would display the value only once its gotten above the threshold.

It would be interesting to see your numbers! (for me )

Mike