Oh I am continually impressed with the low end of this thing on the trail. 200 rpm? No problem. 50 rpm? Easy. This engine is crazy. You can ask some of the people who have ridden with me. The engine has literally stopped going up a rock and then once I hit the top it started up again and kept going. Now that I have installed a tach it's fun to watch how low it will go. Probably not too good for it, but driving down the highway at 3300 rpm probably isn't either. Either way it doesn't seem to care. I love my tractor motor.
"The Fantastic Distraction" a '72 V8J40 buildup thread
- Thread starter Combat Chuck
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did you get late model hinges for the windshield? those are different
looks good!
looks good!
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thakns!
I haven't. I've heard that newer frame + older hinges = broken hinges If I fold down the windshield. I may just have to bite the bullet and find some. Right now, the stock bolts are rust-fused into place, and I'm a little afraid to drill 'em out. heck, I'll do it.
That's another aspect of this build, all body bolts and screws will be replaced with hex-head bolts, If I had a nickel for every phillips head I've stripped in the disassembly phase, I could quit my job for good and play nintendo until my fingers ached...
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don't worry, you'll be spinning the heads off of plenty of hex-head bolts by the time you're done with this
oh yes. If there was a PETA for bolts, I'd be tarred and feathered.
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Progress Pics... and a plan.
I've got some pictures here for my update. Getting the doors assembled and working, and the windshield frame up. I'll buy a whole mess of bolts when I get out of the gym tomorrow, and get the frame bolted up right, as well as a strip of garage-door floor gasketcut to serve as the windshield pad. From here, the bulk of my body work is done.
I've been talking to Gary at Mudrak's in Sonoma, CA, and will be getting some estimates for what I need done for the driveline. Here is my three-phase plan for getting the best out of this rig.
Phase one: Conenct the s-10 column and wheel to the stock steering GB. The Carb has been rebuilt by yours truly, and it weren't as hard as I'd thought, re-mount the q-jet and go carb for now. Replace the brake booster/master cylinder, and one brake line, bleed the system, and get the brakes a-running. Acquire a new clutch slave/master, install, and bleed it. See if my cousin will help me weld in the new MAF rear crossmember I have sitting here, and then I'll replace the rear sill. Install the MAF radiator setup, finish my wire harness, build, and install my custom control panel. buy the 28-gallon tank from MAF, and get everything roadworthy. Acquire a late-model guage cluster, and using Amaurer's kit, give it a wee bit of a facelift. New seats in the front, I'll worry about the rear later. Overall, I'd say my goal to get her running, and roadworthy, then take her out to Mudrak's under her own power.
Phase Two: (at Mudrak's)
Rebuild the front axle, and convert to discs. Replace rear axle with one from an FJ60 with discs and full floater, all around, regar to 3.73 gears which I now have en route. Install power steering G/B and 4X4labs "frombe" steering sytsem. Rebuild SM465 and mate it to the stock T-Case*, with a Ranger Torque Splitter/Overdrive between the engine and tranny. Finally, give her a 3" Old Man Emu lift, with OME shocks, greaseable shackles, braided steel brake lines.
Phase Three: (more than one year down the road)
Rebuild the motor all the way, or just buy a GM crate motor, I haven't yet decided. (I'm leaning toward the crate, just so I know all that has been done to it)
Give her Vortec heads, overhead with cams, TBI manifold, AFI harness, Megasquirt II computer, Dual alternator setup, dual battery setup, home-brew snorkel. Arb Lockers, Forward and Aft. Northwest metal Products 22-gallon reserve tank in the rear, with a transfer pump between the main and the reserve.
*Gary showed me this really cool adapter setup that, unlike the AA unit, is only about an inch and a half thick, and a whole lot simpler. Instead of slapping a spud shaft on the end like AA, you just replace the mainshaft, and bolt the Tranny and T-case onto this billet plate in the middle. It's freaking awesome!
I've got some pictures here for my update. Getting the doors assembled and working, and the windshield frame up. I'll buy a whole mess of bolts when I get out of the gym tomorrow, and get the frame bolted up right, as well as a strip of garage-door floor gasketcut to serve as the windshield pad. From here, the bulk of my body work is done.
I've been talking to Gary at Mudrak's in Sonoma, CA, and will be getting some estimates for what I need done for the driveline. Here is my three-phase plan for getting the best out of this rig.
Phase one: Conenct the s-10 column and wheel to the stock steering GB. The Carb has been rebuilt by yours truly, and it weren't as hard as I'd thought, re-mount the q-jet and go carb for now. Replace the brake booster/master cylinder, and one brake line, bleed the system, and get the brakes a-running. Acquire a new clutch slave/master, install, and bleed it. See if my cousin will help me weld in the new MAF rear crossmember I have sitting here, and then I'll replace the rear sill. Install the MAF radiator setup, finish my wire harness, build, and install my custom control panel. buy the 28-gallon tank from MAF, and get everything roadworthy. Acquire a late-model guage cluster, and using Amaurer's kit, give it a wee bit of a facelift. New seats in the front, I'll worry about the rear later. Overall, I'd say my goal to get her running, and roadworthy, then take her out to Mudrak's under her own power.
Phase Two: (at Mudrak's)
Rebuild the front axle, and convert to discs. Replace rear axle with one from an FJ60 with discs and full floater, all around, regar to 3.73 gears which I now have en route. Install power steering G/B and 4X4labs "frombe" steering sytsem. Rebuild SM465 and mate it to the stock T-Case*, with a Ranger Torque Splitter/Overdrive between the engine and tranny. Finally, give her a 3" Old Man Emu lift, with OME shocks, greaseable shackles, braided steel brake lines.
Phase Three: (more than one year down the road)
Rebuild the motor all the way, or just buy a GM crate motor, I haven't yet decided. (I'm leaning toward the crate, just so I know all that has been done to it)
Give her Vortec heads, overhead with cams, TBI manifold, AFI harness, Megasquirt II computer, Dual alternator setup, dual battery setup, home-brew snorkel. Arb Lockers, Forward and Aft. Northwest metal Products 22-gallon reserve tank in the rear, with a transfer pump between the main and the reserve.
*Gary showed me this really cool adapter setup that, unlike the AA unit, is only about an inch and a half thick, and a whole lot simpler. Instead of slapping a spud shaft on the end like AA, you just replace the mainshaft, and bolt the Tranny and T-case onto this billet plate in the middle. It's freaking awesome!
Ambitious plan...I like it. I found that once I started in on mine (the TBI conversion) I couldn't seem to pull myself away. What was planned as a quick project to get her running a little better has snowballed. The 
is thrilled that all house projects have ground to a near halt in the last 8 months. You're younger than me tho and this is probably not a concern 
.
The 28 gallon tank is the underseat one, right? Curious, why that one?
is thrilled that all house projects have ground to a near halt in the last 8 months. You're younger than me tho and this is probably not a concern .The 28 gallon tank is the underseat one, right? Curious, why that one?
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Ambitious plan...I like it. I found that once I started in on mine (the TBI conversion) I couldn't seem to pull myself away. What was planned as a quick project to get her running a little better has snowballed. The
The 28 gallon tank is the underseat one, right? Curious, why that one?
Yeah, this rig participated in the downfall of one relationship with a girlfriend, and I'm not too eager to find another until Phoenix is roadworthy, I've got a very one-track mind.
As far as the 28-gallon (and eventually an additional 22-gal reserve) is because I tend to take alot of trips, I'm a fairly active Assistant Scoutmaster, and I dream of being a trail-guide-for-hire for backpacking and hiking, and want to be best equipped as far as fuel for trips. I'm also taking a liking to these expeditions I've seen in some of the offroad mags, where you drive across somereally open spaces. That's what I'd like to get into with my '40, crawling across rocks and up crevasses is cool, and I can give nothing but appluase to those folks who make that their bread and butter, but I'd rather just kick gravel (or snow) around on some trails hardly anyone sees, and when I do, I'd like to be ready.
"Be Prepared" - Lord Robert Baden Powell.
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y'know, I've been debating that one myself, I know that an extended wheelbase is just perfect for stability offroad, but I don't savor the idea of having to hack up the rear fenders to do it. I draw the line on mods that really tear into the body, or leave it irreparably marked. Then also I worry that the new axle placement will interfere with my hopes for a rear tank, Otherwise, I do like the idea.
While I'm here, talking about rear axle shtuff, does anybody know what circumstances are best for adding a traction bar? I'd heard that a traction bar helps to prevent axle-wrap, which is a huge probem for V8 conversions. What kind of use would make it a requirement to have one?
