Builds Project Everyday.... 10/72 FJ40 the descent into madness..... (1 Viewer)

[ETX FJ40]

I found it in a barn in 2009. F motor with 3 on the floor. The restoration took a back seat to life events (Wedding/Kids/Work). Trailered it for 3 different house moves. Almost Sold it... twice.

Which brings us to the current day. My scope for this project will be to make it an everyday local (<40 mi) driver.

Wife is fully on board and excited to see it develop as she grew up and learned how to drive on a 73 FJ40.

My brother came in to help me run a compression test and we got the following:

1 135
2 135
3 135
4 140
5 135
6 145

I will be doing an oil pressure check this week and get those results posted. Thanks to this forum I do have the 1/8th BSPT adapter.

I took off the oversized front bumper and was greeted with a bent front drivers side bumper support?

Anyone have and method they are willing to share about removing the rivets on it and getting the support fixed.

Looking at the frame only it appears to not be bent, but I will have to take a closer look.

Random question does anyone know what the blue gem is for that sits between the fuel and the temp gauge on the instrument cover?

I will also be putting together a "to-do" list for it but at this point i think i will be taking it all the way down to the frame.


The Descent Begins!

 

[Green Bean]

High beam indicator.

 

[ETX FJ40]

High beam indicator.

Thank You!

 

[ETX FJ40]

Trying to get a feel for how bad it is .....I will google for dimensions to measure against.

 

[Deebo]

Alright so I'm his brother and going to help him out with a fair deal of it lol. Pending the oil pressure results is going to determine if we do a basic rebuild on the bottom end, but the compression results were super suprising so that's positive. It needs a head job to fix leaky valve guide seals and I'd like to replace the rocker bushings while we're in there getting everything cleaned up. Get the head skimmed and built back up. The whole drivetrain does really need to come out of it to either do a 4 speed swap or reseal and rebuild the transmission. The transfer case also needs new seals. He's got some plans for the axles so we're going to find a reputable shop either in DFW area or Houston where I live. I usually do stuff that Goes Fast™ but it'l be nice not to have to jack up a vehicle to get under it lol.

 

[pb4ugo]

Rivets? A grinder with a cut off or grinding wheel if you're carefull, then a big punch to drive them out. Or punch and a drill. I might grind a flat spot then punch. It looks like the brackets are bent. The frame might be ok.

What's wrong with the axles?

 

[ETX FJ40]

All the seals are shot. I have replaced the gear lube only to have it leak out when I got a flat for having it sit too long.

Seriously entertaining the idea of changing out the 4.10 ring/pinion to 3:70 to bring the rpm’s down planned cruising speed 60-65 between 2400-2600 rpm

but this will all depend on the oil pressure results. If they are not good might be looking to do the 2F H55F route if I can find the parts.

 

[dmaddox]

All you need to rebuild the axles at cruiseroutfitters Shop by Category - Front Axle Parts & Rebuild Kits - Page 1 - Cruiser Teq - https://cruiserteq.com/front-axle-parts-rebuild-kits/ 4:10 with those larger tires should be fine unless you're really wanting to get up to those speeds with lower RPM. I'd do the math before tearing into the diff's.

Everyone will chime in with advice, but keep it on the road, avoid the tear down. Hit the knuckles, seals, valves, etc.. to get it dependable and road worthy and enjoy it for a while...then make some decisions from there on a phase 2 punch list. This way you can have fun with it and it won't end up a pile of parts and a potential third sale. Good luck!

 

[pb4ugo]

@dmaddox is spot on. Be sure to checkout an rpm calculator. You might consider upgrading the frt end to Toyota stk frt disc brakes while your going thru it. You should be servicing the knuckles anyways. You're planned actual measured tire size will be critical if you're using the h55 and 3.70 3rds with the stk 6cyldr. With actual measured 29" tires 4.11 diffs and the h55, running 60 mph puts you at 2400rpm.

You're 40 looks to be in great shape, get it mechanically going, running, driving and stopping and enjoy it. Installing a 5 speed is great plan, but make sure you can actually use 5th gear.

I run a sbc, nv4500, 3.70 3rds, and measured 32" tires and run 1700 rpms at 60mph. The nv4500 does have a deeper 5th gear at .73 than the h55, which I think is at .854. My sbc is fine in that rpm range,
but I'm not sure about the stk 6.

 

[ETX FJ40]

@pb4ugo and @dmaddox thanks for the replies. I ran a few RPM calculators and got the following with my current setup :

31in tires 4.1 gear and 1:1 3rd gear came out to 2890 +\- at 65mph and 2666 +\- at 60mph.

I don't know that sustained (30-45min) dive in that 2600-2800 RPM range is a problem for an F motor.

Thoughts ?

Front Disc brakes will be going in this ride ...100%

 

[Deebo]

IMO the frame is fine, we can probably drive it by a body shop and have them yank the bracket square with the frame puller.

I'm reaching out to someone in Pharr, TX about a 4 speed with a SBC bellhousing adapter and a tcase on it. It'll need a 4 speed bellhousing from a 2F correct?

 

[Living in the Past]

On the left frame rail not seeing any reason to drill out the rivets. Top plate can be replaced. Porta-power can straighten the side bracket. The frame itself is a solid piece all the way to the back. I see more problem with the frame rail than the side bracket. Would worry about that first. Have ideas about that if you don't take it to a shop.

I'm in the same boat with a 73. Had mine twenty nine Years. Had it listed on mud back in 2007 for $3,500. One interested party in Vermont. That was it. Couldn't figure shipping so just kept it.

 

[pb4ugo]

I think the you need a stk Toyota 4 speed to stk 6 clydr bellhousing. The sbc/4speed ones have bolt pattern for a sbc. Downey used to sell a bellhousing that was sort of a stk GM bellhousing with a plate on the back of it for the 4 speed and Advance adapters sells a cast one specific to the conversion. If its a deal and comes with the Trans and t/case you can always sell the bellhousing. I know Downey buys his up and refurbishes & resells as a kit or you can place an ad in the classified section. You can also place a wanted ad in there for a stk housing if you need one, or you can post a thread in the clubhouse section specific to your area. I think the 4 speed and the h55 5 speed fit the same b/h. Others can confirm.

 

[Deebo]

I think the you need a stk Toyota 4 speed to stk 6 clydr bellhousing. The sbc/4speed ones have bolt pattern for a sbc. Downey used to sell a bellhousing that was sort of a stk GM bellhousing with a plate on the back of it for the 4 speed and Advance adapters sells a cast one specific to the conversion. If its a deal and comes with the Trans and t/case you can always sell the bellhousing. I know Downey buys his up and refurbishes & resells as a kit or you can place an ad in the classified section. You can also place a wanted ad in there for a stk housing if you need one, or you can post a thread in the clubhouse section specific to your area. I think the 4 speed and the h55 5 speed fit the same b/h. Others can confirm.

Ad mention's it's the advance adapters SBC one, and that looks like the 4 speed to me but i'm still learning to spot the differences. Yea we'd need to sell the bellhousing, or just hang onto it for later.

 

[pb4ugo]

Yep, AA B/H and propeller style crossmember. See if you can get the engines motor mounts too. Then you'll have pretty much a complete kit except for the weld in frame mounts which are basically gusseted angle iron and rubber donuts.
It appears to be a stk 4speed, 1 piece t/case piece case which is stk. The clutch fork, hub and pivot ball are Toyota. Its my understanding you can use all 3 speed clutch linkages or all 4 speed linkages. They don't intermix.

 

[pb4ugo]

Also, see if he has the inspection cover for the bottom of the b/h and the sheetmetal that goes across the lower vertical part of the bell B/H. It should have a hole for the nose of the starter to go thru. Then it would be really close to being complete.

 

[Deebo]

Also, see if he has the inspection cover for the bottom of the b/h and the sheetmetal that goes across the lower vertical part of the bell B/H. It should have a hole for the nose of the starter to go thru. Then it would be really close to being complete.

Awesome, when he gets back to me I'll see what he's got

 

[ETX FJ40]

Whelp Just spoke with @Deebo and we are pulling the trigger on that tranny/transfer case set up. Thank you @pb4ugo for the confirmation on the parts.

Looks like we got a road trip coming up.

 

[pb4ugo]

So are you still going to run the stk 6?

 

[Deebo]

yep. head job and sniper EFI it for better dailying. the v8 bellhousing and associated driveshafts will probably wind up for sale to offset the cost of the stock 6 housing