Purist Bone Stock FJ-55 - The next chapter!!

[jynx]

So I probably should have started this thread a while ago but I really didn't have much to add to the story. I picked the truck up from @fountainhead in November of 2020. The short version is that after the NotCrawl 2020 and realizing that most of the folks we knew were in either dedicated or much better built rigs and so the Mrs and I started talking about our options and after a couple of messages, I talked to JT and found out this was still in his garage. We talked a lot, exchanged a lot of messages and after some negotiation, a deal was struck and I was working on arranging the pickup.

As he has noted in the past and based on our conversations, this truck truly has a very special story and as JT has stated, you really become a caretaker of this truck, not an owner.

From his for sale thread a few years ago here are the specs:

Chassis -

• 1975 FJ-55 - original title and currently registered, tagged and insured in TN.
• Built several years ago by the metal magician in NorCal
• Full cage tied into the frame in multiple locations
• FC fab motor mounts, front bumper/winch mount, and frame reinforcements
• Custom aluminum dash with autometer gauges
• Chevy Steering column
• Hunsaker Racing seats and harnesses

Drivetrain -

• 350 TPI
• SM-465
• 2 speed Atlas 5.0:1

Running Gear -

• GM Dana 60 front - 4.10:1, Detroit, Made in the USA 35 spline chromoly inners and outers, Yukon super joints, ECGS drive slugs, RockCrusher diff cover (most of those upgrades from the past year or so)
• 14 bolt rear - 4:10:1, Detroit, disk brakes, RockCrusher diff cover
• allied beadlocks - 8x6.5, 3.5" BS
• 39" BFG red labels with about 50% tread left
• 39.5" Irok spare...old but never been on the ground

Suspension -

• FJ-55 rear springs up front, Chevy 63" springs on the rear
• FC fab wrap bar
• Bilstein shocks
• Air bumps

Steering -

• Complete steering setup from PSC - Scout style gear box, new 1.75" hydro assist ram, new smaller pulley, pump, and reservoir

Other Misc -

• WARN winch
• dual yellow-top optima battery setup with selector
• york compressor mounted, but not plumbed

I am sure there are other things that I will figure out along the way, but since the original build thread was on Pirate and apparently FC was notorious for getting pissed and deleting entire builds, I am learning as I go.

Here is the day I picked it up in 2020. The old WarPig is a helluva a beast.

I haven't gotten to put near as many miles on it as I would have liked, but I am trying to change that. I have a few upcoming projects to do and I figured now was as good a time as any to get a thread up to document what I add to the story.

This truck may not be what todays world of coil-overs, links, and stupid horsepower might build, but the damn thing works and works well and is honestly just a really good piece of hardware and will serve our family for many years to come.

I will add to the story the best way I can and will do my best to keep track of it here.

 

[jynx]

Here are a few other ones from the last year or so.

 

[fountainhead]

Awesome....thanks for keeping the story alive, Matthew!

 

[Lifelong40Fan]

Wow, warpig is a very appropriate name. Looking forward to following along.

I'm not too far from Eagleville. If you ever head west on I40 going through Jackson, let me know.

 

[jynx]

Wow, warpig is a very appropriate name. Looking forward to following along.

I'm not too far from Eagleville. If you ever head west on I40 going through Jackson, let me know.

I'm originally from Carroll County and my folks are still there. We are over that way on occasion, next time we're that way I will try and let you know.

 

[jynx]

So after I picked up this beaut, I realized that a one ton front-end with 39" reds makes for a WIDE track. So we picked up a new trailer for hauling the pig around. Got a deck on the neck and mounted a gigantic RTT on the neck. Makes for a pretty nice setup, figure it's a precursor to a crawler hauler.

So our first trip was to be to Choccolocco last spring, but lucky for me somebody f'd up the pipeline and we didn't want to end up stranded in Alabama with no way home, so that trip got bumped and our first trip ended up being to GSMTR hosted by STLCA in June last year. That was a great learning experience for me.

Second day there the fuel pump started making some noise and since you can't buy Wilbro pumps ar autozone, I hunted around and found an inline pump that would "work" but I knew it would be short lived. Also, and this one has been a learning curve, I "thought" I was having some overheating issues.

JT and I chatted about this one and he said he had dealt with it a couple times and was planning to swap back to a factory clutch style fan. So the learning curve comes in the fact that a TPI corvette 350 runs hot, like way hotter than any of us are usually comfortable with. The temp guage has 180° straight up, like most every other gauge on the market. Thing is a TPI motor runs a 195° thermostat from the factory, and some reading has revealed that the electric fans on most don't kick on til over 200 and some of the vetted aux fans don't kick on until north of 230... so that is a hard idea to drill I to my old-school 180° mind.

So after GSMTR I hatched a plan. I ordered a new wilbro pump, filters and new lines to hopefully address the fuel issue. I'll likely add a spare pump to the "spares box".

So with fuel bits gathered up I then shifted to the cooling. First step was to check the thermostat and confirm that it wasn't stuck open. Pulled that and found it did have a 180° installed, so I swapped in a 195° unit as a first step. Now that and the knowledge that these motors run hotter would likely be enough. But since JT had already fabricated a beautiful new fan shroud and after talking to @FJ60Cam about his go-to, I made a couple calls and picked up a SPAL brushless fan and harness.

The brushless unit runs off a VFD and speeds up and slows down based on demand. Kicks on at 190° and ramps to full speed at 210°. So this coupled with the aluminum radiator that is already installed, at the very least I can say I have done everything within my power to keep it cool.

Other than those two things, I have also picked up a teen seat, an action packer mount.

Those are on the when I get there mods. I also have one of those "last ever Toyota gas cans" that I intend to mount in the back when I have time.

 

[55guy]

Nice to see this rig again , I"m very familiar with this rig ,,, I got it from Bill Stayner , I owned it as a stock 55 with out engine or transmission , It was stored in my back yard for years , At this time I owned two 55s, So when Markus (RIP ) wanted to build a 55 I sold it him , It went right to F C fab , unfortunately Markus never got to enjoy this awesome build .
I always told Don that 55 looked like it was going fast sitting still ! at the time it was state-of- art .
Enjoy it , and keep us updated

 

[jynx]

@55guy awesome to hear. I knew Bill was in the mix somewhere. I tried to get the mods on pirate to find to old build thread, but they didn't seem interested in helping me find it. May have been one to many server upgrades ago.

I'm looking forward to getting it back out on the trails and enjoying it.

 

[jynx]

Few more I found. Stretching his legs a little.

 

[onemanarmy]

Since it is so wide, could you swap some more appropirate backspaced wheels (H2s) and or narrower tires?

 

[jynx]

Maybe, but for now I need to get more seat time in it. Don't want to go mucking with it before I really get a good feel for it.

 

[PabloCruise]

I love this Pig - so cool!

Congrats....

 

[jynx]

So this afternoon I started by pulling the old fan and shroud out so I could start working on the new one.

Figuring out how to get the old power wire out was a trick. Turns out these metri pack relay connectors go together from the top, so I couldn't unpin it, I finally cut the power wire so I could pull the fan.

The new SPAL harness needs a 3/8 NPT port for temp. Since the one in the intake has a computer sensor in it and FC used the drivers side for the gauge, I will use this one on the passenger head for the SPAL sensor.

Found the center of the shroud and marked the hole locations.

And the set the new fan on there to see how it would all go together.

So now I need to figure out the best way to cut the hole. Thinking a power metal shear to get the rough un, then a wheel on a rotary tool to get the final shape. I don't have a plasma or similar, so figure that might be easiest. I could drill a million little holes in it then clean it up, but that seem like it might take a long time. I've also read about using a jig saw. I'm open to suggestions on that one.

Once I have the fan mounted and the shroud bolted in, then I'll start working thru the wiring. I think I have that worked out in my head, but I want get the fan and sensor in before I start routing all that.

I also need pick up a square drive plug socket to get that block plug out. It is smaller than a 3/8, so I'm going to get a set of those.

I hope to get these misc bits this week and get the fan sorted next weekend.

 

[jynx]

After I hit a road block on the fan, I started fiddling with some of the other bits.

Scepter water jug in one corner and a Toyota can in the other.

Then I wrestled the prp seat and action packer up in the back and mocked them in place.

The only thing I'm wrestling with is the location of the seat in relation to the rear halo bar.

I don't anticipate little bit wanting to ride on anything crazy. Mostly just a place to sit and ride with mom and dad. Looks like plenty of head room, and she has a helmet. I also need the seat to be removable since I don't expect she will want to ride along a lot and may not even go with us very often.

Once I get the fan sorted, next on the list will be the fuel pump replacement and then I'll fiddle with this interior stuff.

 

[bobm]

So this afternoon I started by pulling the old fan and shroud out so I could start working on the new one.

Figuring out how to get the old power wire out was a trick. Turns out these metri pack relay connectors go together from the top, so I couldn't unpin it, I finally cut the power wire so I could pull the fan.
View attachment 2951637

View attachment 2951648

The new SPAL harness needs a 3/8 NPT port for temp. Since the one in the intake has a computer sensor in it and FC used the drivers side for the gauge, I will use this one on the passenger head for the SPAL sensor.
View attachment 2951642

Found the center of the shroud and marked the hole locations.
View attachment 2951638

And the set the new fan on there to see how it would all go together.
View attachment 2951640

So now I need to figure out the best way to cut the hole. Thinking a power metal shear to get the rough un, then a wheel on a rotary tool to get the final shape. I don't have a plasma or similar, so figure that might be easiest. I could drill a million little holes in it then clean it up, but that seem like it might take a long time. I've also read about using a jig saw. I'm open to suggestions on that one.

Once I have the fan mounted and the shroud bolted in, then I'll start working thru the wiring. I think I have that worked out in my head, but I want get the fan and sensor in before I start routing all that.

I also need pick up a square drive plug socket to get that block plug out. It is smaller than a 3/8, so I'm going to get a set of those.

I hope to get these misc bits this week and get the fan sorted next weekend.

1 hole jig saw done!! Shrouds Aluminum will be easy . Could be done by time it takes me to write this

 

[55guy]

jig saw sounds good to me get the right blade

 

[RUSH55]

Git er duuuuuuunnn!!!

 

[jynx]

@bobm FTW

Still got to drill the holes, but dropped right in.

And yes, it probably took you longer to type that.

 

[bobm]

SWEET

 

[jynx]

Well after much fitting and fiddling I got the fan mounted into the shroud and the shroud mounted in the truck.

Now I have to get all the wiring sorted. I think I can get all the wiring hooked up and use the switch over-ride to see how it pulls while I work on getting the plug out of the block for the sensor.

Side note, I ordered a 4x Inovations can holder for my scepter water jug and was hoping it would fit over the neck and cap of the Toyota can. Well, I've confirmed that, so now I can order a second one for the back of the pig.

Wiring tomorrow and then I can move onto the fuel pump.