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- Jan 12, 2008
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- West MI near GVSU
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- www.mcdesignsoffroad.com
By the way, very cool write up. I'd considered the same thing before abandoning my old frame and tub for a California set.
Project Elsie - 1978 FJ40
- Thread starter mikeymouse
- Start date
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- Thread starter
- #22
I scrounged for some steel bits in my pile of junk. I came across some galvanized sheet metal some time ago that was bent at a perfect 90 degree angle in short 6" lengths. Someone was going to pitch them, so I took them. It worked perfectly here. I just made a slice in the bend and bent the tabs over to form the bottom of the outer panel, placed it on the white paint, marked it, and grabbed the cutting wheel and grinder. I'm not the best welder so it took a few rounds, but I got it. here's the completed repair...
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- #23
We've been calling our 40 that for about 10 years too. My whole family, including the in-laws call "her" that. No worries. I'm not the only Matthew, but I may be the only Baldylox...(old Air Force flight line nickname-I'm bald!)
HAHA! Nice! Yeah, a friend of mine came up with it (stole it from some other truly clever person) right after I bought it. It's clever, not everyone gets it, but that's how I weed out the regular folks.
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- #24
The next morning was cool, I decided to take off the Aluminum quarters that were (dangling) riveted to the old tub. Aluminum rivets are really easy to remove.. It was fun (horrifying) to see what was behind the facade. Never judge a book by it's cover. The old tub looked marginal from the outside... it was not even safe to drive actually.
It went really well, and I was stoked at this point so I fired it up and rolled it outside. I checked my supply of sawsall blades, and decided to shift into a full-on hack fest. This was actually a lot of fun.
Years of getting the back of my head wet in a rainstorm... IN the FJ... with the hard top ON!!! I was getting even...
It went really well, and I was stoked at this point so I fired it up and rolled it outside. I checked my supply of sawsall blades, and decided to shift into a full-on hack fest. This was actually a lot of fun.
Years of getting the back of my head wet in a rainstorm... IN the FJ... with the hard top ON!!! I was getting even...
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- Thread starter
- #25
And it continued...
For hours....
For hours....
- Thread starter
- #26
By now everyone is awake, and looking outside at what the crap all of that noise is about. My neighbors are really impressed (completely fed up with my reckless insanity) with the progress. People wave (point and laugh) at me as they drive by, it was a great day!
- Thread starter
- #27
The fun part was driving it into the garage with essentially no body left on it. I wish I could have taken it to White Castle for lunch, but I was really hungry, and I didn't want to deal with the cops.
It turns out that the only thing that keeps Attention Deficit Disorder at bay; is a Sawzall. Who knew!
After lunch I took a closer look at the rest of the a-pillar and it was rough without all of that crap hiding it. But it had to be done... I scrounged a piece of steel from my magical junk pile and set out rebuilding the lower portion of the channel.
A little tack weld, grinder action, help from the high-lift. It's in place, attached to something and looks better than it did!...
It turns out that the only thing that keeps Attention Deficit Disorder at bay; is a Sawzall. Who knew!
After lunch I took a closer look at the rest of the a-pillar and it was rough without all of that crap hiding it. But it had to be done... I scrounged a piece of steel from my magical junk pile and set out rebuilding the lower portion of the channel.
A little tack weld, grinder action, help from the high-lift. It's in place, attached to something and looks better than it did!...
Make sure to have plenty of ventilation (like a fan) when welding galvanized, the white smoke that comes of can be bad for you.
Cal-
Cal-
- Thread starter
- #29
Yea, it's gnarly, the yellow/white powder left over is a little spooky too. :/
Google galvanized welding. From what I understand there is no long term effects, but it can make you really nauseous. Drinking milk is supposed to help. It's just zinc , same stuff in those cold remedy lozenge. Best to just wear a respirator in a well vented area. Good luck !
- Joined
- Jan 12, 2008
- Threads
- 292
- Messages
- 3,502
- Location
- West MI near GVSU
- Website
- www.mcdesignsoffroad.com
Stopped by Mike's last night. Very cool 40 and great guy.
- Thread starter
- #32
Thanks for coming over I hope you can make it to the Hoosier Hoedown! Sorry it was so damn hot! =) I got the 350 running today... Pics soon!
I can sure see why the aluminum tub replacement was a must!
I've just started a 350 swap in my '73 FJ40.....and I'm subscribing to your thread to keep up with your conversion.
My donor vehicle is a '91 GMC truck.....any thoughts on the wiring harness differences between the G20 and what I have in the truck (if there is any). My plan is to just dig in and make it work. My FJ has a 305 TBI in it right now.
Dave
I've just started a 350 swap in my '73 FJ40.....and I'm subscribing to your thread to keep up with your conversion.
My donor vehicle is a '91 GMC truck.....any thoughts on the wiring harness differences between the G20 and what I have in the truck (if there is any). My plan is to just dig in and make it work. My FJ has a 305 TBI in it right now.
Dave
- Thread starter
- #34
Dave, I'm not sure what differences there would be. The G20 that I had was a conversion van. I have to assume from the factory it was bare bones and the conversion company added all of their bells & whistles. I do know that GM had seperate wiring harnesses for the cruise control system. I did not find any extra wires in my harness. With that said... the 91 should have the DRAC module as well as all of the other modules. (ECM, Hot Fuel, and Spark control) The '89 didn't have that feature it just sent a signal right to the ECM. What year 305 TBI do you have?? I do know that the ECM is a different fuel map calibration and the throttle body is different, but the harness should be the same. As long as your connectors fit, it should fire right up. TBI is pretty straight forward actually, not many changes have been made to the function of it, just tweaks, and emissions adjustments.
I found a lot of information on the Jags That Run website. I got my VSS from there. I also purchased the book from them just to have it. I wouldn't have needed it if I weren't so type-a.
I built this cable for an old XP laptop with a serial connector on it. I use WinALDL to check codes and watch the ECM run. It's pretty neat, but I haven't had any problems yet. No code is a good code. =) I still have to get a chip that removes the automatic transmission tables, but so far, it's rockin'.I was able to start my TBI the other day. I have to install the slave cyl, and driveshaft and it should move on it's own. I have to re-do the heater box somehow. I have a few ideas, but no action yet. it's 90+ degrees right now, so I'm just going to pull it and deal with it in the fall, it's just too hot out in the garage & I just want to drive my 40. I'll get some photographs up here soon as I've done a lot of work to it lately.
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- #35
Ok so, 350 swap. This will be worth every busted knuckle.
So I got the creeper van, engine out, on the garage floor, and the FJ backed into it's final, oil burning, place. Time to pull the old engine. Lets check the savings account and order the kit from AA. I got mine through Georg (OrangeFJ45) which was awesome. George was very patient with my annoying nagging, thank you sir! I didn't expect that there would be a 5 week lead time on the kit! Snap! That's ok I have PLENTY of work to do before I worry about mounts and adapters.
I ordered the Howell fuel pump, Mallory fuel filter, and Blue Sea fuse panels. I'll sort that business out while I'm waiting for the kit...
I ended up having to move the pump and filter from where this photo shows, and I noticed that the filter was after the pump, which is fine for the TBI unit, but not for the pump. So I placed the filter between the pump and the tank to protect the pump as well.
So I got the creeper van, engine out, on the garage floor, and the FJ backed into it's final, oil burning, place. Time to pull the old engine. Lets check the savings account and order the kit from AA. I got mine through Georg (OrangeFJ45) which was awesome. George was very patient with my annoying nagging, thank you sir! I didn't expect that there would be a 5 week lead time on the kit! Snap! That's ok I have PLENTY of work to do before I worry about mounts and adapters.
I ordered the Howell fuel pump, Mallory fuel filter, and Blue Sea fuse panels. I'll sort that business out while I'm waiting for the kit...
I ended up having to move the pump and filter from where this photo shows, and I noticed that the filter was after the pump, which is fine for the TBI unit, but not for the pump. So I placed the filter between the pump and the tank to protect the pump as well.
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- Thread starter
- #36
I finally got the AA Kit, again thank you very much Georg for all of your help. This is a great product. I wouldn't expect less from AA. I looked it over and there were a few things that I wanted to clean up before moving forward. The engine mounts have awesome welding on them, however with any MIG welding the base metal melts into the weld. this can leave sharp little fish-hook-esque burrs on the steel. I know for a FACT that if I were to leave this as-is I would end up ripping the daylights out of my fingers at some point so a few minutes at the bench grinder they were spot-on...
I wanted to put it all together that day, but the pilot bushing had to be soaked in oil overnight according to the instructions (yes I read them). So I soaked it while I tinkered around with the other do-do items on my list.
I wanted to put it all together that day, but the pilot bushing had to be soaked in oil overnight according to the instructions (yes I read them). So I soaked it while I tinkered around with the other do-do items on my list.
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- #37
While I was soaking the pilot bearing I had some time to find the alignment pins from the old bell housing. I installed them with a little thread locker for good measure. They were actually kind of loose in their holes, so it just made me comfortable. Yes I know I'm particular, but that makes for a better experience, at least in my head.
I had built a case saver plate for my 4-speed transfer case. Now was the time to get that on the box. It turns out that it wasn't the right time, but that's because I really enjoy taking things apart 15 times before it's all said and done.
I had built a case saver plate for my 4-speed transfer case. Now was the time to get that on the box. It turns out that it wasn't the right time, but that's because I really enjoy taking things apart 15 times before it's all said and done.
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- #38
The next day brought on the pilot bushing installation, assemble the clutch & pressure plate, and bolt the pieces together. I was fuddling around and (luckily) noticed that the transfer case mount brackets were different than the engine mount bracket. This detail is probably in the instructions, but I didn't read them THAT closely. =)
A little bit of detail that I researched throughout the planning phase was the exhaust system. I was going to go with block hugger headers, but at the last minute I decided to go with the ram horn style manifolds. I'm really glad that I chose the manifolds. They were a little more expensive, but worth the extra $50. I figured that I got the engine for free, so why not. I got mine from Jegs...
The Wysco Ram Horn manifolds worked really well. They look sharp, they fit nicely, and the exhaust came together really well also.
A little bit of detail that I researched throughout the planning phase was the exhaust system. I was going to go with block hugger headers, but at the last minute I decided to go with the ram horn style manifolds. I'm really glad that I chose the manifolds. They were a little more expensive, but worth the extra $50. I figured that I got the engine for free, so why not. I got mine from Jegs...
The Wysco Ram Horn manifolds worked really well. They look sharp, they fit nicely, and the exhaust came together really well also.
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- #39
The next day I found myself with a litany of marking, measuring, and taking photos. It's pretty critical to get the positioning of the engine mounts correct. I am using an electric cooling fan, so I wasn't concerned about the engine driven fan alignment at this point. I may regret that later, but there are plenty of people that have a normal experience with the electric fan, so I'm confident that it'll be fine. I decided to weld the scab plates on the frame and bolt the brackets on. Toyota did a lot of riveting, which is permanent, but I wanted to be able to unbolt the brackets just to get them out of the way. The engine mounts have a 1" hole drilled on the outer frame rail opposite the nut for access and the transfer case brackets have the nut welded to the scab plates, so there's no need for the outer hole. It was a royal pain in the arse to drill a 1" hole in the frame, but it works well and looks normal.
By this time I was sure I would never have to install the assembly again... This engine hoist is being a real trooper.
By this time I was sure I would never have to install the assembly again... This engine hoist is being a real trooper.
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- #40
It took a century to install the front mounts, and I just wanted to get the damn thing in there. Patience is key. Unfortunately it took 5 weeks to get the kit, so by now it's pushing 90+ degrees outside. The temp in the garage is WAY higher than that. But this is the Land Cruiser! So it's all worth it. Welding is up next! I didn't get any photos of the brackets installed, but here's the scabs and the engine back in the frame.
