The Sancha Rebuild Project (1 Viewer)

[Scott68FJ40]

All of the needed drive train parts are now in Tim's very capable hands. I did snap a pic or two while we were there. Really nothing I haven't already posted, but perhaps a little more "complete" view.

 

[Scott68FJ40]

The rolling chassis is coming home tomorrow morning from Tim's. The only part of the fab work that is not done yet is the power steering install which will come soon. Tim sent me a few snapshots this morning.

These first 2 are of the shackle reversal now that the 4" springs are installed. I will be replacing the front axle with the disk brake axle from the 1978 that I recently rebuilt the knuckles on.

 

[Scott68FJ40]

These next 2 images show the transmission cross member and the bracket used to attach it to the frame. The crossmember itself is from a pre '85 FJ60 and the transmission is from a 1987 FJ60.

 

[Scott68FJ40]

This final image shows the final drive train mounting.

 

[Cdaniel]

What's the reasoning behind the FJ60 trans, good 1st gear?

 

[Scott68FJ40]

I had a 4 speed from a 40 in my garage for a long time, but made the decision that I wanted to go with the split style transfer case. When I started looking for one, I decided that I wanted to go with one out of a post 85 FJ60 so that I could later bolt in a 5 speed if I found one for a good price.

 

[Cdaniel]

I had a 4 speed from a 40 in my garage for a long time, but made the decision that I wanted to go with the split style transfer case. When I started looking for one, I decided that I wanted to go with one out of a post 85 FJ60 so that I could later bolt in a 5 speed if I found one for a good price.

That's planning ahead!

So what will you do for a P-brake?

 

[Scott68FJ40]

That's planning ahead!

So what will you do for a P-brake?

I don't know yet. Every time I think I know what I want to do, I read something negative about it. I figure I have some time to sort that out.

 

[Scott68FJ40]

I got the frame back from Tim this morning. Something just feels "right" about her being back home

Sorry for the crappy IPhone pic but my computer is going through a rebuild right now as well.

I ordered some body mounts today so I can get the tub back in place to set the power steering up.

 

[Scott68FJ40]

Made some real progress today. Thanks to the help of a few of the guys from Copper State Cruisers we were able to get the tub lowered back on to the frame. This is just a temporary thing though so we only put mounts at the 4 corners.

When I took the tub off, I had to cut a bunch of the mounts off, the bolts had simply been in there way too long. I had to break out the sawzall again this morning to get the old mounts off of the body.

I ended up buying the Energy Suspension body mounts. I don't really think I would buy these again. They are considerably cheaper than some of the others I was looking at, and it is pretty clear as to why. The stock mounts are sort of a C shape that you place on the body and then bolt up through the frame into. These mounts are all separate pieces and it takes a bit of effort to get them to line up. I also had to grind down a couple of the nuts to get them to fit in the very limited space available. The final problem was with the plating on the metal hardware. It makes the bolts VERY hard to get started and driven into place. I will probably run a tap through all of them before I mount the rest of them permanently.

 

[Scott68FJ40]

As I said, a few of my fellow CSC members came over to give me a hand, which I REALLY appreciate. It was nice to see so many cruisers in front of the house. There were actually a couple more not pictured here.

I am really happy with the stance I am getting with 4" lift. The fitment of the engine and transmission are exactly where I wanted them to be. I never really had any fears of that, but it is nice to see with your own eyes what the tape measure has been telling you all along.

We finished today's work up with some beers and by destroying a couple pizzas.

 

[Cdaniel]

Cool! Another bite of the elephant.....

Nice to have the CSC crew thats easily bribed.

 

[Scott68FJ40]

Cool! Another bite of the elephant.....

Nice to have the CSC crew thats easily bribed.

Yeah, even though it is a temporary install, it really does feel like a lot got accomplished, and part of me really likes that it looks a little more like an FJ40 at the moment.

I still have a HUGE amount of work ahead of me on this project, but I am getting very close to the point where things should start going back together for the final time.

 

[Cdaniel]

How thick of a scab plate did Tim use here?

 

[Scott68FJ40]

Just went out and measured it. 1/4 inch.

 

[Scott68FJ40]

I knew that the UPS guy was bringing me an exhaust manifold and a steering column tonight so I decided to wait in the garage for him, the dogs go nuts whenever the doorbell is rung. I was enjoying a cold beer and listening to the radio when it struck me that I really should see how things would look with the "new to me" tailgate mounted up. I had been looking for one that I could afford for 10 years, but guess I had been patient enough.

Of course it will be coming off again very soon, and will eventually be blasted and painted, but it was really cool to finally see a real tailgate back there. I have no idea how many years it has been since the original one was removed, but she has been wearing a piece of diamondplate for the last 10.

 

[Scott68FJ40]

A few more pics of the stuff that UPS brought me tonight. The manifold is one of the Dorman ram horn manifolds from China. The price was right, and it is one of the 2.5" models used on Corvettes. It looks like I will have to cut off the end to make it fit with the serpentine setup I will be using.

 

[Scott68FJ40]

One last pic of what I did tonight. I got the serpentine stuff bolted up. I am doing all this to make sure that the power steering setup will clear everything. Once the power steering is done, everything will be getting torn back down.

 

[myKIDStoy]

One last pic of what I did tonight. I got the serpentine stuff bolted up. I am doing all this to make sure that the power steering setup will clear everything. Once the power steering is done, everything will be getting torn back down.

It would be nice to see all that aluminum nice and clean. You gonna blast that?

 

[Scott68FJ40]

I plan on cleaning and polishing all the aluminum parts, and cleaning and painting the engine as well. I had actually meant to do the serpentine stuff awhile ago, but just never got around to it.