Quad Cab - 4 door coil sprung shortened troopy/extended swb build

[Sporty Forty]

A bit more done on the 2009 79 series. Getting the dash out is a long process, a lot of wires going all over the place. But only got the A/C unit and heater to go. Needs to be de-gassed first then it can come out and I can pull the last of the wiring out and start on the engine bay and other bits. Will have to use the ignition barrel as it has a lock out do dacky thing with the key fob, so will have to graft that into the steering column somehow.

I've been labeling the connections as some day I need to put it all back together.

Anyway, as the cabin stands now.

 

[FouadHafeez]

This is going to be one awesome build. A big thumbs up!

 

[Sporty Forty]

A few more hours today.

Got the radiator out and A/C one as well. Got the heater unit out and a bit more of the wiring. Computer is now on the floor awaiting for the day when it will get installed into the 40 body.

Going to widen the chassis by 140mm by the sounds of it. Fabrication guy for the suspension bits came around and measured up. Going to have to pull the engine mounts welded to the 79 series chassis and also use the gearbox mount too. The more toyota stuff the more the engineer will like it and the more he likes it the easier it will be to get registered.

Hope to get some more of the body panels off tomorrow and then I should be able to chop the cabin down to the floor as all panels have a dent in them. The rear panel is okay so I will be careful with that one and sell it to someone doing a ute chop.

Cabin pretty much empty now. Pedals will come out tomorrow all going well too.

The engine exposed.

as the car stands today.

 

[Sporty Forty]

Got 2 more hours today and have the body off the 79 series.

Getting close to hoisting the engine and gearbox out and then cutting out some brackets that I will need for the transplant into the widened 40 series LWB.

Engine is 170cm in length, pretty much the same as a 2F and 4 speed box. Interestingly the gear lever hole seems to sit about the same place back from the fan, 122cm as opposed to 120cm for the 2F. These measurements were approximate though, so all going well, the gear lever should come out in roughly the same place. I will be cutting the panel around the gear lever of the 79 series and welding that into the 45 so I can then use the seal that goes around the gearbox lever and transfer case lever.

On;y a few more wires to unclip. As these were ones that disappeared underneath the body. One went to the fuel tank sender and the other went to the speedo sensor that runs out of the rear of the transfer case where the 40 one use to but this is electric. I will take the speedo to a speedo person and get them to put the workings of the 79 series into the 45 cluster so that I will have a speedo that works off electric pulses rather than the cable driven one.

Will make a trolley to move the engine and gearbox around in otherwise it will be stuck wherever I dump it, and I will be tripping over it for a while I guess.

Used the engine crane again to lift the body off. Handy thing to have.

The engine and gearbox is a big unit. I guess anywhere upwards of 350kg's

Its pretty wide as well. Looking at adding 140mm into the width of the chassis to enable a low fit.

Cabin off and petrol tank out from underneath it. Will use this tank in the new body and I will have another tank up the back somewhere. Should hopefully have 200L of diesel on board that should see 1500km+. I sit here and wonder if the last person that drove this car parked it like this, as there isn't a straight panel on the thing and the bent chassis as well.

 

[chappohj47]

I think they parked it like that too

 

[Vossie]

have i mentioned i covet that engine yet?
since ive seen this thread every car breaker i see in town i stop at and ask about rolled 70 series cruisers

 

[Sporty Forty]

have i mentioned i covet that engine yet?
since ive seen this thread every car breaker i see in town i stop at and ask about rolled 70 series cruisers

Yes you have!!. It is a good engine, time will tell as to whether or not it is like the 12HT or 1HD-FT but we will see in the years ahead.

The starter being in the top of the valley is a pain if you have starter issues, as it's about a 3 hour job to get at it, but at least you shouldn't have as many starter issues as it's not down low. My starter issues I've had have all been because they are full of mud.

 

[Usernametaken]

I am so subscribed to this thread.

 

[lenross1]

nice build any more progress?

 

[Sporty Forty]

Well, little has progressed with the kids going back to school but I did manage to get the engine out of the 79 series.

In speaking with a roads engineer, the guy who approves changes to cars here in Australia, he had a big issue with cutting the 45 chassis and widening it and also the body work I was doing. He seemed to think that it wouldn't be able to register and that it needed an 'identity'. After some thinking as he said about this 4 door body was it done by the manufacturer. I went back to him with information about the FJ45V that came out and said this was what I was looking at reproducing. Anyway, its back in his court. (and I can't use the 79 series chassis as it is shaped like a banana and the chassis can't be registered again, ever, statutory write off - damaged bad enough to be deemed unsafe by registration authority)

Been measuring the engine, it's 800mm wide at the top and 530 wide near the bottom. There is the turbo hanging on the side as well. The 45 chassis is 610mm wide between the rails so it will be a close fit on the turbo side but can be done. The innerguards will have to be a custom fit to go around the width of the engine and still have room to get hands down the side etc...

It's at the rear end where I am going to have problems in running the Patrol coil sprung rear end. As the engineer wont allow the chassis to be widened the spring hats are right smack bang where the chassis rails run. This causes people to cut the chassis at this area or move the spring perches on the diff. I don't really want to change the axle set up and cutting into the chassis is also a right pain in the backside to get engineered now. If I was going the 45 with Patrol axles, I would have to pass the swerve test, where the car has to pass between 4 sets of cones in a lane change scenario. It's done with driver and then done fully laidened up to the GVM. Interesting to say the least and I would have to drive the car doing the test!.

So, think I might take another look at the 80 series chassis I have here as it might be easier to use that. I would have loved to have kept it all 40 series, but I won't get the end result that I am looking for by using it without cutting the 1 tubular section and removing the 2 riveted sections and replacing with wider bits. The chassis strength would not be compromised, but as both engineers I have spoken to say, widening the chassis is a big no no. As the 80 already has the spring hat setup I save a bit of time and money fabricating the suspension bits, but will have to look at adding 200mm (8") to the wheelbase by either moving whats there or adding it into the chassis.

Overall, the 80 chassis is looking the better and easier option although meeting the 1996 ADR's adds a few complication in, but that shouldn't be too much of a drama. These are things like collapsible steering columns (the 79 series has one I can use) child seat anchor points, it's a non abs car so that doesn't change anything there and possibly a few other things that I need to get my head around, but it will give me 660mm in the engine bay between rails, manufacturers coils suspension set up on the +'s on the -'ves a shorter wheelbase, (can be engineered lengthened chassis) more ADR's to meet, full registration ($650pa) for another 8 years until the thing is 25 years old, then it qualifies for club rego ($80pa) and some moving of the chassis mounted body brackets (I have a few to choose from as I will have the 79 series ones as well as the 45 ones to use as well as the existing 80 series ones)

Anyway, I'll chat to the engineer again. Would love him to come back and say, stuff it, lets widen the chassis, but he wont as they sign off on the thing and can be in serious trouble for dodgy engineering certificates. So, decision time again soon as to which way I head.

At least lifting the engine and box out didnt pull the shed roof down, but it did creak a bit.

Ready for the trolley I made up for it the other day.

80 series chassis I have sitting out back. Luckily I held onto it, was going to sell it a few months ago after I made my mind up on using the 45 chassis and widening the thing. 80's chassis are good for flex so just a matter of wheelbase and what to do. Bloody stupid rules and regs we have here.

 

[Usernametaken]

Considering the work you're doing, could it fall into ICV class?

EDIT: http://www.bonneville.com.au/icv

 

[Sporty Forty]

I have asked the engineering dude about that as well. But ICV is this years current ADR's and that would be ABS, Airbags, the traction control part that stops you going sideways around corners plus a whole heap of other issues.

If they aren't that bad, I'd do it this way and do what I want not what I have to work with inbetween the current chassis.

 

[cult45]

I spoke to my engineer about a UZJ45 (80 frame, 45 body, LS3) and he said I should throw the 45 body on the 80 frame with the 1FZ, then swap the motor after registration to avoid Qld Transport getting too uptight about classing it as an ICV. He reckons too many changes makes it an ICV.

 

[Sporty Forty]

yep, I'm thinking the 80 chassis will be the way to go given the need of width for the 1VD-FTV.

Will look at adding 200mm into the wheelbase though. I have a unregistered rolling chassis here so I'm sort of starting from scratch and cant change it after it's registered.

 

[Sporty Forty]

Decision made.

After much too'ing and fro'ing I will be using the 80 series chassis as it will be easier to get the thing on the road in the format that I want the car to be in. Too many issues with getting the 45 series chassis passed and allowed to be registered.

The bad points about using the 40 chassis were mainly the widening of it to suit the wider engine and the wider Nissan Patrol axles. The good points were that the body mounting points were already there and it was a genuine 40 series chassis, club rego saving $500-600pa. The engineering would mean the lane change test and this is going though cones set out at a distance with one person on board (me) and then fully laiden to GVM. This was required to do the axle part of the thing and would take the engineering certification to as much as the purchase of the 79 series ute. If it was the 1vd-ftv engine in the 40 chassis with leaf springs then no issue at all and it would be done as an engine swap, simple.

The 80 series on the other hand will attract some ADR's, but will probably be collapsible steering column and a few other bits that I should already have the bits for in the donor 79 series. The +'s of this chassis are the width through the engine is 50mm wider than the 40 series (50mm narrower than the 79 series), the front and rear suspensions will remain as is, factory. The -vs are the wheelbase and that I will have to locate the body mounts to suit, but having another 40 around will help this and I will add 200mm (8") into the wheelbase to get it to 120".

I will be using the GU front axle and putting the GU center into the rear axle. This will give me the same ratio's F and R and allows me to go to 4.6:1 if required, but will probably be 4.1 or .3:1. I will also be using the GU steering box as the thing is twice as big as the 80 series one.

As for the body, still planning on the 4 door version but will see how much grief the engineer will give me. Told them that I am aiming to do a FJ45V.

Anyway, on with the build.

 

[Sporty Forty]

Got the engine, gearbox and body loosely placed into the chassis.

There's a few mm of space between the shock towers and the turbo hoses so they might be re-routed but the shock towers and spring pads will be moving out a few mm as the wider GU Patrol diff, 1630mm as opposed to 1600mm for the 80 series, means I can move the shock towers 15mm each side to be in line with the spring mounts. This will then ease the congestion through this area.

As the length of the engine and gearbox and gear lever location are approximately the same, 2cm difference, there should be no issue with the lever location. In saying that I am thinking about turning it into an auto, using a 6LE90 6 speed box. It bolts up to the same x-member location on the 76/8/9 so once the engine is located it should be a simple swap.

The chassis will be lengthened 8", 200mm, to bring it sort of back to the length of the 45/47 wheelbase. (I was going to move the axle location a bit anyway on the 45).

The body placement of the body will be dictated by the placement of the front wheel guards. I will be measuring my yellow 40 and using that as a template and once the body is located then the engine and gearbox can be done to suit. I have seen a few swaps where the front wheels do not look the best and since I am taking this back to a pretty bare chassis I will do the bracket location to suit this placement. The rest will follow on from that, well that's the plan!!!.

Been searching through the net and found that these engine can get up to 1100NM and 250+kW at the wheels by a new turbo and chip. I'll be looking into this. I have purchased a new cross over pipe to take the exhaust from the non turbo'd side over to the turbo. The current pipe is about 1 1/2". The new pipe is 2" and should allow the engine to expel it's exhaust gases a bit more freely. I already had the 3" exhaust from the 79 series donor there to use so will look at using that or parts of it.

Will still be grafting the GQ rear into the 80 series rear axle. In doing this I can get the 30mm back in the axle offset and also allows me to run the same centers. The outer of the rear will still be 80 series and will have reinforcing brackets welded along it.

Anyway, still a long process to go, but stage 1 is getting closer to being completed. Thats the engine and gearbox in.

Here's some pics.

Engine and box sitting in chassis. Front held by makesift mounts and the rear held by engine hoise until I fabricated up some brackets to keep it in place for it's trip to the fabricator guy.

Shot down our passenger side(US drivers side) showing closeness of the turbo piping to the shock tower. The ipe is restrictive in places so a more open system might be made up. Still have to get the 40's guards in there as well.

Our drivers side (US passenger side). I have to squeeze a steering column in there but towers will be moved out 15mm. Wonderful engine mount, old piece of tube lying around. Did the job though. The correct ones will be used, 79 ones are the same as 80 series ones by the way, but will probably have a different bracket on the engine to suit the factory mount.

Body sitting on 8" blocks of wood being used for transporting the project. Should be in roughly the correct location. Fitment at the back of the engine is like a typical V8 swap fitment. I have about 5" at the back of the LS1 in my yellow 40. Aiming for the same.

Heads will come close to the steering column so it may run through a dog leg type thing. Won't find out until the engine is located correctly and we can go from there.

 

[chappohj47]

Looking good mate wish it was my project

 

[78fj40mg]

Excellent work!

 

[Sporty Forty]

As I am placing the body on a chassis without the 40 series body mounts already in location, I had to measure the distance from the centerline of the front axle along the front guard. It worked out to be 385mm measured at right angels from the front of the guard. As my yellow 40 has the front diff moved forward an inch or so, I checked with the unmolested LX I have and found the measurement to be closer to 400mm.

This measurement will dictate the rest of the position of the body as I have seen a few conversions where the front wheel is tucked too far under the guard and it doesn't look 40y'ish. I am trying to make it look exactly the same as if it was on a 40 chassis as the front of the 40, in my opinion, gives it a nice looking stance. (left camera in garage so will get later and put photo's up).

 

[VKYOOT]

Wat a ripper build!!!! Plenty of time effort an thought going on im very impressed! Beat me to the build tho....iv been having evil thoughts about my ex mines vdj76 and a hj47 ute. Ill be keen to see this project progress!!!!!