Shifter for an 87 4 speed (1 Viewer)

This site may earn a commission from merchant affiliate
links, including eBay, Amazon, Skimlinks, and others.

Scott68FJ40

SILVER Star
Joined
Mar 16, 2003
Threads
156
Messages
1,033
Location
Olympia, WA
Website
www.myblueheaven.com
Thought I would ask here before posting over in the classified section. Does anyone have a spare shifter for the post 85 FJ60 4 speed? This is for the longer transmission that has the shifter more to the rear of the top plate.

Let me know if you have one, and what you want for it.
 
What makes this shifter different. I thought they were all the same. I see SOR shows a 4/85 to 8/87 shifter. They also show three different boots. I know I have one of the early boots and a few from after that but now I'm not sure from what years. I know the fat shifters I have are two pieces and will work on the early four speeds including the H42 in the one piece transfer case. I;ve had these from back in the nineties when I stripped them out of cruisers in junk yards.
 
The 85 to 87 transmission is longer than the earlier ones, same dimensions as the H55, and the shifter sits quite a ways back from what it does on the earlier models. I really don't know if there is an internal difference.
 
I thought the shifter stayed in the same location. The spacer fits behind the transmsission. In the FJ40 the the shifter fits in the front half of the shift tower. In all FJ60s it's in the back half of the shift tower. On the H55F there is a rod that run out of the shift tower to the back and operates the overdrive gear.
 
The transmission I am using is out of a FJ60. Will the FJ40 one swap with it?
 
The one from a FJ60 will work if you have the split transfer case and crossmember to mount it. The flanges on your drive shafts wouldn't match beside the driveline lengths needing to be changed. On a 68 the crosmember behind transfer case might need to be removed also. Don't forget you lose the hand brake on the transfer. There is a kit to add the brake to the split transfer case. But I understand they are getting harder to find and very costly. I picked up everthing I needed out of a 82 FJ40 to make it work. Including the drivelines and rear axle.
 
I realize all that, but I still need a shifter for the FJ60 transmission. :) I didn't mean to ask if the FJ60 tranny would work.
 
Doing a little search of SOR site it look like they show the same cover plate for both the single piece and split case mated transmissions in the FJ40. Plus they only shows one cover plate for all the US imported FJ60. If this is true why not find FJ40 cover plate and change it out and keep the shifter in the same location. That is unless you mating this to a V8. Then the 60 series location is better. But in that case the FJ40 shifter would still be okay since the transmission is further forward. Looking again at SOR site they show a different gasket for 4/85 to 8/87 cover plate. :confused: If it was me unless I planned on going with a H55F in the future I would go for a pre 4/85 transmission and use a FJ40 cover plate. Should be less work to install with shorter transmission.
 
I'm going with the V8 now, and you hit it on the head in your post. My future plans is to go with the H55 and is why I wanted the year of 4 speed that I have.
 
I would do a little reseach and see if the FJ40 shifter might work. The 60 series shifter plate would be the route I would go if I was going a V8. You see many FJ40 V8 conversion where the shifter is bent because it would hit the heater. Still have to deal with transfer case shifter. I might look for a transfer case from a A440F with the vacuum shifter. The high/low range is easy to move back. If I could find one I've kicked around the idea of using one myself with a H42 in a FJ40. I also looking for a good 3FE to mate with my A440F I picked up from Tim in the mid nineties with only 30K on it. That is for my FJ45 since this combo would be to long for a FJ40. Too many projects and just not enough time.
 
Give Tim a call..
 
Have you even tried FJ40 shifter to see if it will work for you. Beside being thicker I thought the only other difference is shorter. I plan on using the 60 series shifter in my FJ40 mainly because I like the shifter boots better on the later model 60 better.
 
No, I have the shifter that is in a 4 speed from a 40, but that tranny is sold, so I don't want to mess around with it. Since I am going with the SBC and the longer transmission, I think that the rear mounted shifter will be perfect.
 
I wasn't talking about the shifter plate just the shifter handle. If you have it it wouldn't hurt to see if it will fit your late 60 series transmission. If I could remember what year I stripped the shifters from I might have a answer for you.

I would use the 60 series shifter plate with a V8 conversion. Like I post before the Fj40 shifter is to far forward with a V8. I do remember Marks out of OZ use to make a fat flywheel that put the transmission back to the stock location but with the longer transmission you wouldn't want one. Have you got a build thread started yet? I remember on my 68 when I switched to a four speed it moved the transfer case back 3 1/2" Curious where you will end up with this setup.
 
Have you got a build thread started yet?

https://forum.ih8mud.com/40-55-series-tech/387163-sancha-rebuild-project.html

I haven't really posted a lot there yet, but there are a few pics of where I am at. I do have a couple more pics to post when I get back home tonight from work. I expect that the project is going to slow down quite a bit over the next few weeks though, as is life, a few unexpected things over the last week have swallowed part of my already tight budget. Gotta try and save a few dollars over the next few weeks.
 

Users who are viewing this thread

Back
Top Bottom