My kid wanted a Jeep, she's getting a 77 FJ40 LS Swap instead

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So here’s the latest update. I did a bunch of research and ordered a transmission oil pan for a H3 hummer. It was too good to be true to find an oil pan that had the proper clearance for the drive shaft. Well, turns out it was too good to be true. The bolt pattern and slope would've worked but my transmission had a module in the rear where the slope was the steepest. I had two options, cut and weld or hammer the old oil pan for the necessary clearance. In the third pic I went with option B. I did however need to use the H3 oil filter to make it work so all was not lost.
I also started the process of adding the Wolfbox back up camera, I dont need one but its more of an insurance peace of mind for me.
I splurged for a new dash pad too. I pulled the dash pad bracket from the donor truck, I plan on installing it in the white one as the Topnault tubs dont come with it.
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I pulled the exhaust Y-pipe from Manifold to the first junction. The shop did a good job building it, I noticed two little holes in the welds that need to be touched up this week.
I ordered two new hard top sides as the donor truck sides would be a lot of work. I really needed the hard top and glass. The rear seats are prepped and awaiting new foam and covers.

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The donor truck is starting to shrink and the rusted parts are starting to fill up the trailer. I snagged the passenger pedestal as I was breaking down the carcass. My Topnault tub didn't have one so I fabricated it on the build.
If I am crazy enough to do this again I will have what I need. Its the little parts that count, lots of small items that I had to purchase on the build. The donor truck had almost everything intact.

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JKIII FJ40 said:
Another issue to resolve as I head to the finish line is my engine fan coming on at about 100-120 degrees. My Dakota digital sensor is on the passenger side, my sensor for the motor is on the driver side. I believe its one of three things, air pocket on the driver side, bad sensor, or my tune is off for the fan to come on. I did crack the driver side steam port and it took a little bit before antifreeze weeped out. I also checked the top hose and after squeezing it I believe its full. I did some reading online and I am thinking its the tune settings. Now, I need to find someone to check it. Sounds like fun.
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Following up on this note, I reached out to BP automotive (BTW I think they are sick of me by now) to figure out why I had power to the OBDII port but no data. They think its my TCM so I ordered one. Fingers crossed this is the fix.
 
sedonut said:
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Vortec-Powered 1970 Toyota Land Cruiser FJ40

Bid for the chance to own a Vortec-Powered 1970 Toyota Land Cruiser FJ40 at auction with Bring a Trailer, the home of the best vintage and classic cars online. Lot #232,662.
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This one brought $44,000

Sell the 40, buy your daughter a jeep, ask her what color Jeep she wants. Stick a rubber duck on the dash. Pocket the difference for your next project or her college fund.
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Had several conversations similar to this, she is dead set on the 40 for now. She actually spent about two hours yesterday helping me on the build.
 
JKIII FJ40 said:
I installed the Jump seat belts. I mocked up the jump seats and had to add a couple of Rivet nuts as only 4 of the 8 required fasten points were there. The passenger side didnt have any upper welded nuts so I had to install them.
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Rivet nuts aren't generally acceptable for either seats or seatbelts. Of course I'm not sure how much good a seatbelt really does in a jump seat in the back of a 40 in a serious accident. You've done a stellar job on researching everything else in this build; just thought you might want to reassess those connections.
JKIII FJ40 said:
Had several conversations similar to this, she is dead set on the 40 for now. She actually spent about two hours yesterday helping me on the build.
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I taught all four of our children (1 daughter, and 3 sons) to drive in a 1985 4Runner because I wanted to them driving slow and also wanted them to learn on a manual. That being said, I did agonize a lot over the fact that it had no modern safety features like air bags. I never allowed them to have other passengers in the car unless there were adults involved. I also moved them all off the 4Runner before they went away to university and into more modern vehicles. I'm sure your daughter will be okay and she will definitely be the coolest kid in school; but like others have suggested, I would certainly give safety every thought before turning her loose with that much HP in such a short wheelbase.
 
WarDamnEagle said:
Rivet nuts aren't generally acceptable for either seats or seatbelts. Of course I'm not sure how much good a seatbelt really does in a jump seat in the back of a 40 in a serious accident. You've done a stellar job on researching everything else in this build; just thought you might want to reassess those connections.

I taught all four of our children (1 daughter, and 3 sons) to drive in a 1985 4Runner because I wanted to them driving slow and also wanted them to learn on a manual. That being said, I did agonize a lot over the fact that it had no modern safety features like air bags. I never allowed them to have other passengers in the car unless there were adults involved. I also moved them all off the 4Runner before they went away to university and into more modern vehicles. I'm sure your daughter will be okay and she will definitely be the coolest kid in school; but like others have suggested, I would certainly give safety every thought before turning her loose with that much HP in such a short wheelbase.
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Thanks for the input. The rivnuts are on the side channel for the up right portion of the seat on the passenger side and on the front side bottom legs of both seats. As there was no welded nut anywhere (Topnault tub), I didn’t have much choice. I did however use the wider rivnuts that hold pretty well. The bottom seat is anchored by one weld nut on each side and the driver side has welded nuts on the channel. The seat belts are anchored to the roll cage bars as how the factory ones are.
This will only be driven around town, and not at highway speeds with passengers.
 
I rechecked the tensil strength of the rivnuts I used, I went with the bubble ones as they really hold in most projects and probably exceed the welded nuts from Topnault.
“ M8 bulbed (or "plus") rivnuts offer exceptional strength in thin materials, with tensile strength typically around 5.7 kN for aluminum and exceeding 10 kN for steel, while shear strength ranges from 3.6 kN to over 8.5 kN. Their multi-leg "bulge" design provides superior pull-out resistance in plastics, composites, and thin sheet metal. “
 
The chevy colorado oil pan comes with an in built notch for the drive shaft. Using it on my build which has a 4L60E
 

I used this yoke and flange from Advance Adapters and a narrow Tom Woods driveshaft. It didn't require any modifications to the transmission oil pan.​

​

TOY L/C FRONT D/S 19SPL T/C​

SKU: 716369

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As I near the finish line I was having an issue where I was throwing random codes and the engine fan was coming on. I spoke to BP automotive and they recommended replacing my TCM. My little hand held scanner wasnt pulling up the water temp nor RPMs, I bought an ICON T7 scanner and was able to see everything including what was going on with my TCM. The TCM was showing a code for internal mode switch fault, after several days of research (2008 was the last year of the external mode switch) I was more confused than ever. On some sites it listed the IMS inside and the others were outside. I changed the PRNDL switch and it made no change in the codes after confirming my 2008 4L60E was external and not internal. I reached out to BP again (by now they cringe when they see anything from me) and the new TCM was set up for the 17 pin configuration internal IMS and not the 15 pin external IMS and was the reason for the code. I now need to ship the TCM off to get changed. I can throw the old one in so at least the truck isnt immobile. I was also able to see the temps as well, my ECM is reading 172 and the fans are kicking on, my dakota digital gauge is reading 110 degrees and I can place my hand on the radiator. I either have a bad sensor or an air pocket on the driver side head. I will unhook the steam vent line and see what comes out, hopefully thats the issue.
I installed the FJ80 parking brake handle too. And I started rebuilding the exhaust. The exhaust shop did a great job but really necked down the pipe size and I didnt want to choke the engine so I decided to rebuild it.

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In the last pic you will see new brakes for the 4runner. The original plan was for the 4Runner to be traded in when my new Land Cruiser comes in. The family had a consensus and now we are keeping it. The 77 Land Cruiser will be for the kid to tool around local (10-20 mile range) and for late nights when shes working or something important she will use the 4Runner. We also have another daughter who will be driving soon so that was an additional reason to keep it. The 4Runner has been great for the past 7 years and I really havent done anything to it and was hoping to send it on its way without spending any money. Scratch that, I just did the brakes again (2nd time in 156k miles). I also changed the steering shaft, would prefer to rebuild knuckles to doing that again. I will need to put another set of tires on it this summer too. Well, I have heard these run for well over 250k and you can get a sticker at 200k from Toyota so we will find out.
 
Here is the last update for the evening. I removed the soft top to test fit my Topnault hard top sides, epic failure. Passenger side wasnt bad and with a little work were able to work. The drivers side is gonna take a lot more work than i am capable to do, I will drop it off to the body man who knows how to convince it to work. Luckily I have both a spare tub top rail and sides so he can match the profile. I flopped the windshield too, I plan on installing the dash pad shelf (Topnault tubs dont have these, I removed it from my donor truck). It appears I can rivet it in without affecting the windshield. I will do a few tests and go from there.

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fireflyr said:

I used this yoke and flange from Advance Adapters and a narrow Tom Woods driveshaft. It didn't require any modifications to the transmission oil pan.​

​

TOY L/C FRONT D/S 19SPL T/C​

SKU: 716369

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Added bonus of probably running a 1310 ujoint, which you can find anywhere. That's what's in my Tom Woods driveshaft anyways
 
You really did a lot of progress John, haven’t seen this thread in a while….. awesome hard work here!
This build is making me very jealous as I am in a standstill with mine …..Good seeing you and meeting the Pilot …..
🥂
 
dr_dobro said:
You really did a lot of progress John, haven’t seen this thread in a while….. awesome hard work here!
This build is making me very jealous as I am in a standstill with mine …..Good seeing you and meeting the Pilot …..
🥂
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Daniel, thanks for the compliment. It was great seeing you again and thanks again for the trans/transfer case. Let me know when your heading north again, I am just north of Albany. Looking forward to the 1HD adventure, very jealous.
 
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