- Thread starter
- #61
correction, steering relay is what I am trying to figure it out.
My kid wanted a Jeep, she's getting a 77 FJ40 LS Swap instead (1 Viewer)
- Thread starter JKIII FJ40
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- #62
I reached out to Cruiser Outfitters today through their online contact us thingy but ended up with more questions than answers. I will try and call tomorrow to follow up. Of course I referred to the steering relay as a drag link, total amateur move....LOL
I agree. If that rear overhang is as extreme as it appears in the photos then I’d recommend cutting off and positioning your own mounts. Fortunately you have another cruiser to reference! But before you do that make sure your front panels will align if you make that shift. There’s a limited amount of front to back adjustment that you can do with the fenders/grill/hood.
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- #64
In my first 40, I had Wally in VT build me a 3/4 tub out of steel. Basically the same thing as an Aqualu tub with no ribs. Of course he made it much more stouter than OE and compared to the rusted relic I started with, I didnt miss the ribs at all.
Back to the body mounts discussion. Aside from the ones over the wheel well I should be able to shift everything forward 1/4 inch or so without much effort. I am however puzzled on the wheel well, if someone has time I would like to see what its really supposed to be like by the arch of the frame. The welded nut seems great for something on the top side to secure too but doesnt work at all for anchoring the body to the frame. Unless the welded nut is needed for something I will most likely remove it.
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- #65
good point, I have a set of fenders I can throw on and that should gauge how far I can go forward. I should get out the tape measure and do some more checking. Its funny, the front two mounts seem to attach and align fine. The third one back was way off so I removed them with plans to reattach once I happy with the location. Over the wheel well seems about right except the welded nuts are just at the edge of the mount tab. The rear outer holes lined up but the inner two rear did not. Not sure if I mentioned but I replaced both the rear gusset and two support gussets. I doubt that is the reason why the rear of the tub is slightly overhung. The rear gussets and such bolted up with minimal effort.
Horizontal cross bracing under the bed. I tapped the reinforced wide areas that sit over the frame mounts, countersunk the body mount and inserted a washer/nut so the mount is bolted to the body and rides on the frame. I can take more photos of this is helpful?
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- #67
oh cool, thats a lot better and stronger than how its on my tub. For me, removing the welded nut isnt a big deal, it just didnt make sense why it was there. My first thought was to expand the frame mount perch to align to the tub hole. The rear overhang still has me stumped. Overall the tub is better than previous ones I have seen online in the forum.
You got me curious so I walked out to look and snapped a few pics. I bet those captive nuts are for you to have something to screw the body mounts into.
I’m not an expert on 40 series steering stuff, but I do know that you can put a 60 series pitman arm on the 80 box.
Someone out there has to sell the bushing you’d need to run stock tie rod ends on that pitman arm.
Awesome project by the way, and awesome she doesn’t want a Volkswagen Beetle or something like that!
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- #70
thanks for checking, looks like the welder on the line made a guess on where they shouldve been. No biggy to remove them.
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- #71
I am the king of searching for stuff....bahahahahaha.
Found the article I was looking for, Rare Parts makes the relay rod I need.
33 1/4' long with a 17mm LH end and a 23mm RH end
forum.ih8mud.com
Found the article I was looking for, Rare Parts makes the relay rod I need.
33 1/4' long with a 17mm LH end and a 23mm RH end
Power steering kit
Hi guys ,looking for power steering conversion kit for my 71 fj40. Was thinking little truck kit or else. Mounting 33 at the moment but might go bigger in future. Any websites or sellers ? Based in W.A. Autotecnica steering column fitted. Thanks
forum.ih8mud.com
Just to make it a little more muddy, I really like the steering links I had made through Front Range Offroad. They cut to length and thread the desired pitch. Just another option.
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- #73
many thanks, I was wondering how you did your install. Did they make it with the two different sizes?
What tie rod did you use on the pitman arm side, was it the 80 pitman arm?
It’s a bit convoluted-I have an 80 box/pit arm and mini truck steering arms. The minitruck arms are the same taper as fj60 arms, so I have a fj80 tre at the pitarm and fj60 tre at the arm. Clear as mud?
I don’t remember exactly, but when I was doing my setup someone here had some advantage to keeping the 80 pitman arm. Might have been the shape. Whatever it was it convinced me to mix and match the tre’s and get custom links made. If I build another 40 series, I’ll do it the same way again- except maybe port the box for hydro assist…
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- #75
Tub adjusted, found a new way to lift the tub with my engine hoist. Not ideal but as long as I use a foam block it rests fine and I am able to safely move it by myself. I reamed out some holes and was able to shift the tub a 1/4 forward. I still need to add the 3rd mount to the back and address the #4 mount. I also drilled new holes in the Bumper for the rear mounts and that lined up nicely. Thats enough for this week, just a tad bit chilly.
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- #76
On todays episode, I cut off the one remaining stud and then ground both nubs flat. I then drilled new holes sliding the bracket to the passenger side about 1/2 to 3/4 of an inch. I tacked the bolts too. I removed the four broken exhaust manifold bolts, I guess its an LS thing. Three of the four weren't bad to get out. The last was a true PITA, had to break out the welder and convince it to leave. I mounted both exhaust manifolds too.
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The exhaust studs on an ls are like birfields on 40’s- eventually everyone has to do it. I went straight for the welder and it went pretty fast.
I’m impressed you got the rear dump headers to work. I had to use center dump and route it around the front of the oil pan. I’d love to see pics of the finished product.
He is using auto trans..
True, but the problem is the output of the transfer case and the space between the frame rails- at least in my head. I wasn’t able to run the p/s exhaust backwards due this restriction. Instead I used a center dump header and routed around the sump and over to the d/s into a home made collector. Far from pretty, but it works. The only problem I have with it is the down tube off the p/s header has been self clearanced by the driveshaft. Once again- Far from pretty, but it works.
Perhaps the extra length of the auto opens things up and this would be intriguing.
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- #80
The broken studs weren't bad, two of them only took 5 minutes each. The one I had to weld was another story, had over a half an hour drilling before welding. Hopefully the exhaust manifolds will work, I have read so many articles on the forum that saw these on some ones rig and decided this was the path to take. I imagine a good exhaust shop can figure it out.
