My UZJ40 Build - 2UZ iForce V8 and a750f 5spd auto

[RWBeringer4x4]

She has been extremely supportive and helpful, and loves my project. She's never once complained about the time or money I spend on it. She loves hanging out in the garage and helping when she can.

Definitely great to have a girlfriend/wife/fiancé who is supportive of the hobby. Mine pretty much lets me do what I want, when it comes to time/money invested in the 40 (mostly because I try to keep it within reason), but you wouldn't catch her dead in the garage! She's used to the "project car widow" lifestyle - her dad has about 7 classics in various stages of completeness. The only grief I ever get is "you spend more time with my dad than you do with me!" and "You're only marrying me for my father." All jokes, of course.

All that aside, you chose wisely - excellent choice of vehicle, woman, and desert environment to preserve the 40!

 

[Weber Sarge]

Yeah , sounds like you got two keepers there , good job .
Sarge

 

[TheHardWay]

Dude, you're teasing us in more ways than one...
Lovin' it!

 

[78fj40mg]

Great story! She's one of a kind, so glad you decided to...Marry Her!

 

[allan man]

Riley thanks for taking me on a ride yesterday for the first time in the uzj40.....WOW! That thing is amazing!
Great job indeed!

 

[777Gage]

X2 on a great significant other

When I sold my first 40 a few years back my little boys never let me forget about it. Then one day early last year I get a text from my wife and it's a picture of a 40 in the lane next to her with, "You should get another FJ40"

All right then, I'll get right on that.

When I met her she was driving a J**p and was from Texas, didn't get much better than that. Now she's driving my 40 whenever she wants.

Back to Riley's ride:
I'm finding my self jealous that there are rides being given........maybe a 5 hour road trip to LV when my clutch is fixed.

 

[Solace in Solitude]

I just realized, I've been remiss!!

Shondell is even prettier in person than in the photos!! Sweet disposition and a wonderful person!! Riley's one lucky guy!!

 

[cult45]

I want your life. Swap? Australia's pretty good this time of year..

 

[winnie]

In Build Post 1 you mention that you spent countless hours searching the west coast for the right platform ... in addition, you must have spent countless hours researching what Toyota components would work best for your build, and tracking them down ... you obviously have great mechanical skills, but I think what really makes this project is your research and planning ability ...

 

[Solace in Solitude]

In Build Post 1 ..... you obviously have great mechanical skills, but I think what really makes this project is your research and planning ability ...

Exactly!! Most wouldn't even be able to envision what Riley has built!!

He, not only dreamed it up, using parts from seemingly disparate platforms, he is actually bringing it to fruition!!

The first time I saw his 'UZJ40' (last March or April), I didn't know much about FJ40s, in particular, nor mechanics, in general.

I couldn't really grasp how anyone, other than an automotive engineer, could conceptualize what he was building... and he already had the engine in it, at that point.

I met @allan man the same day I met Riley and I'm sure Riley bounced some of his ideas off of Allan. I got quite a leg up on thinking outside the 'FJ40 box' that day and have learned a lot since then.

But, I will never, fully understand everything that came into play in designing and actually building Riley's 'concept UZJ40'!!

When Riley called me last week (to get directions to where my Daughter works), I could hear the excitement in his voice. He had just made his first cruise around the neighborhood!! There was also a touch of 'relief'... just knowing that what he envisioned was actually really working!!

He also sent me a short video of his 'drive by' and I could hear Shondell exclaim, "WOW!!!", as he drove by!!

Congratulations to Riley, Shondell and to Allan for his support as well!!

 

[winnie]

I'm not technically savvy enough to know the ins and outs, but I certainly appreciate on a basic level Toyota electronics idiosyncrasies, especially when the rear locker in my FJC won't engage until its damn ready because of some gremlin (likely the cold) or the actuator won't let 4wheel drive engage ... getting it all to work in a build is a huge accomplishment in my view ... wow x2 ...

 

[allan man]

Did anybody notice the sky blue 40 across the garage?
Hmmmmm?

 

[Solace in Solitude]

Yep... but don't want to give anything away... I think it's another teaser...

 

[UZJ40]

View attachment 1024597
Did anybody notice the sky blue 40 across the garage?
Hmmmmm?

Did anybody notice the Samurai Life tab open in Allan Man's browser window?!
Hmmmmm? Traitor!

 

[Solace in Solitude]

I actually missed that!! But... I heard a rumor...

 

[allan man]

Okey so I wandered in the suzuki forum...... Enough with the hijack lets get back with the sky blue 67 40
I mean the uzj40 damn!! I'm confused now to many 40s in that garage!!

 

[UZJ40]

Yeah , sounds like you got two keepers there , good job .
Sarge

Thanks Sarge. You're right!

Dude, you're teasing us in more ways than one...
Lovin' it!

I'll try to keep it up!

Great story! She's one of a kind, so glad you decided to...Marry Her!

Yep, as of yesterday, only 100 days till the wedding!

Riley thanks for taking me on a ride yesterday for the first time in the uzj40.....WOW! That thing is amazing!
Great job indeed!

Any time!

X2 on a great significant other

When I sold my first 40 a few years back my little boys never let me forget about it. Then one day early last year I get a text from my wife and it's a picture of a 40 in the lane next to her with, "You should get another FJ40"

All right then, I'll get right on that.

When I met her she was driving a J**p and was from Texas, didn't get much better than that. Now she's driving my 40 whenever she wants.

Back to Riley's ride:
I'm finding my self jealous that there are rides being given........maybe a 5 hour road trip to LV when my clutch is fixed.

There are always reasons to come to Vegas! Let me know next time you're here!

I just realized, I've been remiss!!

Shondell is even prettier in person than in the photos!! Sweet disposition and a wonderful person!! Riley's one lucky guy!!

You're right Danny, she's one pretty girl and I'm one lucky guy! Still don't know what she sees in me! She has loved motorsports her whole life, thanks to the exposure from her parents. She's the only girl I know that paints her fingernails almost every single day, but would rather be outside than sitting at home.

This is her at 22 yrs old (the one on the red Honda). You'll also see her Honda in numerous pictures of my build. Everyone that comes over assumes it's mine!! Haha

In Build Post 1 you mention that you spent countless hours searching the west coast for the right platform ... in addition, you must have spent countless hours researching what Toyota components would work best for your build, and tracking them down ... you obviously have great mechanical skills, but I think what really makes this project is your research and planning ability ...

Thank you, I appreciate that. I can't even begin to add the hours of research before I even started. I had no idea how much work it would be to basically redesign a vehicle from the ground up.

 

[UZJ40]

Okey so I wandered in the suzuki forum...... Enough with the hijack lets get back with the sky blue 67 40
I mean the uzj40 damn!! I'm confused now to many 40s in that garage!!

Ok Allan Man, since you brought it up, I'll post this picture, then back to business! Allan swung by for a photo shoot....

Allan Man's beautiful 78 on the Left, mine in the middle, and my fiance's 67 on the right.

 

[UZJ40]

BUILD POST SEVEN

After we moved to Vegas, it was time to get started on the body work. I had every intention of doing the body work myself, but quickly became frustrated by my progress. That, and I remembered how much I dislike sanding!

First things first though- get everything sand blasted. There are not many things in my build I would have done different, but not sandblasting earlier was one of them. I spent countless hours with sanders and wire wheels trying to strip the body, but in the end, I came to the realization that I would never get all the corners and seems thoroughly.

The first time in my build the body wasn't at my house:

Every panel too, of course!:

Taking it back home for a couple hours. I had my paint guy on standby though, he was ready to shoot epoxy primer that evening. Luckily, the humidity rarely gets much above about 10% in Vegas.

Our new puppy, Onyx, approved the epoxy

 

[UZJ40]

BUILD POST EIGHT

Now some more technical stuff! As I stated earlier, I used a 2WD 4Runner ECU and wire harness because I wanted complete manual control of my transfer case. Being that the 100 series is full time AWD, and need to get a part time kit. I ordered and installed a part time spool from Mark's Off Road. The spool is extremely nice, and was very easy to install.

Very well made item:

How am I suppose to get any work done around here?

Mark's spool installed:

For those of you unfamiliar with the kit, it's still necessary to keep the center diff lock actuator. Normally this would be no big deal, bu I did not have the computer or switch (not that I would have used them anyway!). So time to experiment...

The inside of the CDL actuator has tracks on it that basically limit the amount of travel. Once they get to their limit, electricity no longer passes through and it stops. Using two relays, I was able to copy what the computer does. The biggest issue is that if you do not use the limits, the CDL will bind up and you have to unbolt it from the transfer case to reset it.

Here are a few pictures to show what I'm talking about....

Under side of CDL actuator:

The gear it drives with the 'jumpers':

Playing with switches:

I custom ordered all my switches. They are a wide array of on/off, on/off/on, momentary, single pole, double pole, single throw, double throw, etc. The one I got my my CDL is momentary on/off/on with an INDEPENDENT led light. I connected the led light in the switch to the position switch in the transfer case. So, when I press the button to lock my center diff (put the vehicle in 4WD), it will spin the CDL until it hits it's limit. At that point, it will have already engaged the gear, lighting up the light on the bottom of my switch. The opposite is true for disengaging 4WD

Here's a short video, probably much more clear than I can explain!