red beard (2 Viewers)

[franklin40]

i’ve got a more involved fj40 build going on but i bought this 72 off a friend a year and a half ago with the intent of making it safe and ready for when my kids are old enough to drive. i’ve got 5 years. nothing pretty. keep it reliable and something i’m not scared to take into the bush to go fishing

first thing suspension. it came with terrible bias ply tires and combined with worn springs and bushings it felt like it wanted to kill me any time i drove it. it was hairy to drive (hence the name). today we installed all new old man emu springs and bushings. man what a difference it made. tight and comfortable steering is back and combine that with some older bf goodrich tires off my fj62 it feels like it’ll be fun to drive again.

tomorrow starts the beginning of the drive line swap. it already has a 350 swap in it mates to the stock three speed. i had another 350 in my shop that my son and i rebuild so i know it’s refreshed. i also have my 4 speed from my 77 build so i’ll mate it to my new 350 and put that in. maybe over the weekend i can get that done. then we’ll do some electrical. hard to believe but the brakes are great so i won’t have much to do there for now. then ALL the seals need to be done.

 

[Drake2]

Making some awesome memories there!

 

[rkymtnflyfisher]

Did someone say something about fishing?

 

[franklin40]

engine is out. thankfully other than a few poorly executed items everything else seems to be ok. my rear pinion is loose though. now howling or anything so ill just tighten up the nut for now and change the oil. if there’s metal it’ll come out and i’ll drop one of my extras back in. that might be necessary anyway. for now it’s just getting a driveline back in so i can get it out of my garage. then we’ll work the wiring details and sealing it up etc. i just hope i can mate my new 350 to my 4 speed with the adapter and clutch i have on this old engine with out needing extra parts. i do have the 4 speed bell housing. from what i’ve read the clutch and tranny input should work the same. please tell me if i’m mistaken though.

here are the two poorly executed items. the winch mount is crooked and the tranny hump was severely violated

 

[jim land]

It should be easy to find a use @Downey conversion 4 speed bell housing

 

[franklin40]

hit a roadblock. i made the assumption based on my reading that the 3 speed bell housing would have the same pattern as the 4 speed at the engine block but if need to use the 4 speed bell housing to mate the 4 speed transmission to it. well when i got the engine out it looks as though an adapter was used for a chevy bellhousing to the 3 speed and it won’t mate to my 4 speed but there’s also no block side adapter in my stuff to allow my 4 speed to mate either. now i have a bunch of parts that won’t mate!! it looks like i may have to buy a belhousing from advance adapters unless someone can make heads or tails of this for me!!

here’s the 3 speed

here’s the adapter plate to the bell housing

here’s my 4 speed

and here’s the bell housing that came out of red beard

was this maybe an early downey adapter before the fancy custom bell housings were made?

 

[bikersmurf]

Downey did make plates, but that is likely a home brew plate. They are not recommended as the alignment is spotty at best. I’ve been running aB aluminum Downey 360* bel housing for 24 years now with no complaints.

 

[franklin40]

trying to find one. if not i’ll get an AA one ordered up

 

[Downey]

franklin40, that is a stock Chevy bellhousing, and what you are calling an adapter is actually no more that a spacer plate. 1st. the Landcruiser 3 speed tranny has almost the same bolt pattern as that Chevy bellhousing, all you do is open up the bolt holes in the 3 speed tranny, then it bolts up to the Chevy bellhousing. 2nd. the spacer plate is needed since the Landcruiser 3 speed tranny input shaft is longer than a Chevy input shaft, soooo the tranny must be spaced back. The spacer plate does not machine align the Landcruiser tranny to the Chevy bellhousing, without some alignment feature at the transmission's front bearing retainer, bolt pattern alignment only would result is roughly .016" to .019" out of alignment, way too far out of alignment, tranny input shaft would lean against the tranny input oil seal, and you'd have a serious leaker. If you can find a used Downey (or buy an AA) adapter, it will have the built-in alignment you need.
As far as your alternator mounting, your old V8 must be using the short water pump since the alternator can not be mounted in front of the cylinder head, had to be mounted out to the side. Problem with that is the belt tightening bracket will vibrate soooo violently that it will keep cracking right at the alternator bolt that tightens against the bracket to hold belt tightness. We use to weld two brackets together, that proved to be a remedy. If your new engine has the long water pump, the alternator will mount in front of the cylinder head, tucked in snug to the engine, does not vibrate. NOTE: all engine pulleys are different depending upon water pump length, so you have to have a matching set of pulleys to match length of your water pump.
Finally, don't let anyone talk you out of your righteous seven bladed air conditioning fan blade on a fan clutch. The coolest running Chevota I ever owned had exactly what you have, I didn't even need to run a fan shroud. Those fan blades have a real heavy pitch, they create the hurricane inside the engine compartment needed to blow engine heat out of the engine compartment.

 

[franklin40]

franklin40, that is a stock Chevy bellhousing, and what you are calling an adapter is actually no more that a spacer plate. 1st. the Landcruiser 3 speed tranny has almost the same bolt pattern as that Chevy bellhousing, all you do is open up the bolt holes in the 3 speed tranny, then it bolts up to the Chevy bellhousing. 2nd. the spacer plate is needed since the Landcruiser 3 speed tranny input shaft is longer than a Chevy input shaft, soooo the tranny must be spaced back. The spacer plate does not machine align the Landcruiser tranny to the Chevy bellhousing, without some alignment feature at the transmission's front bearing retainer, bolt pattern alignment only would result is roughly .016" to .019" out of alignment, way too far out of alignment, tranny input shaft would lean against the tranny input oil seal, and you'd have a serious leaker. If you can find a used Downey (or buy an AA) adapter, it will have the built-in alignment you need.
As far as your alternator mounting, your old V8 must be using the short water pump since the alternator can not be mounted in front of the cylinder head, had to be mounted out to the side. Problem with that is the belt tightening bracket will vibrate soooo violently that it will keep cracking right at the alternator bolt that tightens against the bracket to hold belt tightness. We use to weld two brackets together, that proved to be a remedy. If your new engine has the long water pump, the alternator will mount in front of the cylinder head, tucked in snug to the engine, does not vibrate. NOTE: all engine pulleys are different depending upon water pump length, so you have to have a matching set of pulleys to match length of your water pump.
Finally, don't let anyone talk you out of your righteous seven bladed air conditioning fan blade on a fan clutch. The coolest running Chevota I ever owned had exactly what you have, I didn't even need to run a fan shroud. Those fan blades have a real heavy pitch, they create the hurricane inside the engine compartment needed to blow engine heat out of the engine compartment.

thanks for that knowledge. my new 350 will have the alternator tucked in in front of the head. i also planned to use that fan again.
if i can’t find a used downey or AA by the end by the end of the week i’ll order a new AA. you don’t have any kicking around for sale by chance do you?

i must say that this work is a little hard on me. on my real build i’m not cutting any corners or using anything old that can’t be made new. i have a hard time bolting used greasy things together just to make them work. that’s why i’m not using the spacer or a hack job mating system. there are a few things i want to do 100% fresh and right. it’s not going to be a show truck so i don’t mind using using mismatching parts here and there as long as they are safe and work right.

 

[franklin40]

bought a mini truck power steering box. i have all the 350 accessories. just need to get the proper mounts to go along with the long water pump that i purchased. i think the last thing i need to do is figure out how i want to attach my steering column to the new box. the early one piece columns seem a little more difficult than the later rag joint ones. jtoutfitters has a rag joint adapter i might get unless you guys have a simpler solution. i havent been able to find the right thread showing how to do this. maybe i’m searching the wrong terms or something but most threads discuss mounting the box and hoses. not a lot of detail on the early columns adaptation.

my bellhousing should be here in a week or so as well to pick up where i left off. ebay!!

 

[franklin40]

new 350 set in place. used the bread technique to get the pilot bearing out and put in in the new engine. fly wheel clutch and pressure plate on. next this afternoon is transmission. hope it all fits!! i may need to make some adjustments to the fit of motor but once the tranny is in i’ll do that.

 

[franklin40]

4 speed almost in. my bolts are just a little too short

 

[franklin40]

got the crossmember on finally. was a bit of a pain but it’s in. now my frame mounts are too far forward and the shifter is hitting my heater. ill have to move it all back a little. i still have room in front of my cross member. just becoming a way bigger/longer job than i had hoped it would be. it’ll be worth it though.

 

[franklin40]

i’ve got it moved back again to where things clear. i need to move my crossmember frame mounts now. didn’t have the energy to do it tonight though. maybe tomorrow

 

[Living in the Past]

A FJ60 H42 top cover would move the transmission shifter back. If you wanted a H55F five a new one would already have the shifter further back. I run stock six cylinders F engines but if I ran a V8 I would run a top from from a 60 series. The transfer case shifter from the later 60 series to suite the five speed is getting harder to find because the H55F more popular. Think the earlier version should be easier. It will move the transfer lever back some too.

 

[Downey]

Better to leave your engine forward, and put a dog leg bend into the shift lever to clear the heater. Reason: a Chevy V8 engine crammed into the firewall will run about 240 degrees on the coldest day of the year, heat leaves engine, hits firewall, then bounces right back into the engine. You need prop wash area behind the cylinder heads.
Next, what are you going to do with your 3 speed 4WD floor shift, I'd be a buyer.

 

[franklin40]

i can get a top plate and shifter from an early bj60 for about $300 cad. is that a fair price. i have no idea how much i should expect.

i kind of feel like i might be able to get away with just bending the shifter but then think of how much work it’ll be to move it later if its overheating and it makes me want to just do it right now.

 

[Living in the Past]

i can get a top plate and shifter from an early bj60 for about $300 cad. is that a fair price. i have no idea how much i should expect.

i kind of feel like i might be able to get away with just bending the shifter but then think of how much work it’ll be to move it later if its overheating and it makes me want to just do it right now.

Would just be sure it'san 8/80-9/82 BJ60 with four speed. 10/82+ would have a five speed in Canada. Any BJ60/FJ60/HJ6X with either a H41/H42 will work and move shifter back.

 

[franklin40]

found a fj60 top for the tranny and got it in tonight. that was good advice. i was able to move the engine forward quite a bit and got the tranny crossmember where it was before. i got one motor mount cut off but then had a gas spill. gotta let that evaporate and clean up before more grinding or welding. oh well. bed time anyway. this thing really is hairy. so many things done wrong/poorly but i’m glad to be taking time to do it right and fix it. i want it safe and strong