VTcruiser60's Spring Build--Much to do...

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Well hopefully the ceramic does it. If not, then it sounds like some asphalt based, foil backed insulation is going to be your option. Even just on the bottom of the trans tunnel would help a ton, I'm sure.

Keep up the great work!

West Marine and Hamilton Marine make some great foil faced foam insulation for boat applications. It is not on their website, but they have it
 
Maybe you should have wrapped only the top half of the muffler, and pipe. What you did may 'trap' more heat than you need to.

I would have cut some of the shields off, and butterflied them open. Put a 1/2" kinda of spacer on the pipes on each end of the muffler, and then clamp the shield a 1/2" above the muffler. This should leave enough space to let the air circulate between the shield and the muffler, and again between the shield and the tub...thereby making a bigger difference.

I've thought of this problem as well, and this is what I was thinking of doing ;)
 
Maybe you should have wrapped only the top half of the muffler, and pipe. What you did may 'trap' more heat than you need to.

I would have cut some of the shields off, and butterflied them open. Put a 1/2" kinda of spacer on the pipes on each end of the muffler, and then clamp the shield a 1/2" above the muffler. This should leave enough space to let the air circulate between the shield and the muffler, and again between the shield and the tub...thereby making a bigger difference.

I've thought of this problem as well, and this is what I was thinking of doing ;)

Good thoughts.

The pictures are deceiving. The shields only cover 50-60% of the exhaust. The lower half of the piping is open, as is the muffler. I picked shields that are somewhat corrugated, that contain bends that create spacers between the shield and the heat source. There is at least a 3/8ths to 5/8ths air gap around the heated area. The shields should reflect a great deal of the heat.
 
Good thoughts.

The pictures are deceiving. The shields only cover 50-60% of the exhaust. The lower half of the piping is open, as is the muffler. I picked shields that are somewhat corrugated, that contain bends that create spacers between the shield and the heat source. There is at least a 3/8ths to 5/8ths air gap around the heated area. The shields should reflect a great deal of the heat.

Oops :o

Looking forward to reading an update once you hit the road with it :beer:
 
Keirnan, The engine/tranny/transfer are mounted by rubber and may flex different than the frame and may cause the shifter to pop out. I built my own twin stick for about $30$

Gary...thanks for your note and concern. You very well could be correct. There seems to be a fair amount of play in the existing linkage, though the pivot point is stable. I am hopeful that it will stick just fine.

Twinsticks are the better solution....I know.
 
Got the dash all back together last night.....probably a 3-4 times longer time suck than anticipated...for those following.

I also rolled on the first coat of the duraliner bedliner on the tub. One quart provides a healthy first coat across the complete bed. It looks good. Rather than using a chipping brush for the detail work, I think I will just purchase a spray can of the same product....seems like it will be an easier solution.
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Looks very good.

I too, am a little concerned about that shifter tied to the frame. There is a lot of movement there under low speed high torque situations.

Remember you don't want any pressure against the linkage as it wears out the flats of the shift fork and then it will pop out of gear.

Anyway, that color looks good and reminds me of the light green some of the early FJ40s came it.

BTW-I saw your Orion at Gerog's before it shipped out. It looked like he had done a nice job with it.

I went back and looked at your pics-you have the shifter pivot bolt on the tranny-why not use a 74 up shifter? It would slide right on that bolt, and would be independent of the frame?
 
I went back and looked at your pics-you have the shifter pivot bolt on the tranny-why not use a 74 up shifter? It would slide right on that bolt, and would be independent of the frame?


Fugh....I am stupid. Why the simplest solution eludes me sometimes....I don't know. Thanks.
 
A huge thanks to VTGreg for giving me a late 70's transfercase shift linkage. I picked it up last night and got it all installed. I am in business and ready to start dicking with mounting up the tub. I just need to pick a neighbor to help me get it onto the truck.
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Not so much time in the shop on the cruiser...but did fab up a sweet pig spit for a bbcue this past weekend....
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Not so much time in the shop on the cruiser...but did fab up a sweet pig spit for a bbcue this past weekend....

Now that you tested it I think that you are the official FG pig roaster.
 
Now that you tested it I think that you are the official FG pig roaster.

Thanks for the vote Lane.....I would certainly bring it down there....if someone had access to 115v and brought a slaughtered pig, or side of beef, or something....

Anyway, I got my tub on this evening and about halfway bolted down. I had to make a run to home depot for some more bolts. I turned my attention to the Aqualu tranny tunnel, cutting a hole for my PTO shifter, priming it for paint etc. The heater pipes look like they are going to be a problem as the tranny tunnel does not leave enough room for hoses. I posted up on the 40 series board hoping someone had seen this issue and had a solution.

Making progress....maybe 3-4 days away from a test run around the neighborhood.
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Hey now that's pretty cool...can't wait to see a pic of it outside in the sun :cool:
 
Been a while since I posted...but I have been poking along.

I am pretty proud of how nicely the pto shifter looks. I know it is a bit of bling, but I kinda dig my fabrication. I got the rig out and around the block last week or so.....just a shake down run to make sure all was ok before buttoning up the tub and tranny tunnel.

With any luck Rabid will be over this weekend to help me center the rear spring hangers and get those welded shut.

It seems like I have to do the following before the FG.

Install gas tank, run new fuel lines
Install seats
Fit and tack up the Roll cage
Remove roll cage and weld the s*** out of it.
Install painted roll cage
Finish painting my truck with pale green graffiti spray paint...I just love saying that.

Then I need to find a local trail to make sure I am really ok before the FG.

i am sure I missing something....
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Very clean nice work. It looks like it will be a great truck.
 
Very clean nice work. It looks like it will be a great truck.

Thanks...means a lot to me. I like the project, especially since it is coming to a reasonable end. But in truth...I am excited to get it out into the woods and stretch the legs...so to speak. I am really curious what the Orion can do on our narrow New England trails.

No welding the springs as I ran out of shielding gas.

And I am still trying to finish up the gas tank installation....course I did take time to wire wheel the tank cover, add some bedliner and a sweet decal. Froggy fresh....

It all looks great now....but a little mud, dirt and abrasion will certainly add character.
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I'd be afraid to take this in the woods after all the work you've done!

Looking very nice!
 
x10, this truck is CLEAN!

Yeah...not really. You'll see it is a rattle can job for sure. AND now I have some authentic peeling paint to point out as well.

Last night while siphoning gas from the old tank to the new one, I freaking tipped the old one and must have spilled 3-5 gallons of gas across the bed of the 40 and my garage floor. I didn't panic, but started unplugging lights, doused my hookah, turned off my phone....and looked around for.......packing blankets, anything to start picking up the gasoline. What a freaking mess.....course my wife pops her head out about 30 min later telling me the whole house stinks and how it is interrupting her movie. I was calm as I didn't want any sparks. So.....around 10 pm, I got out some dish soap and washed the whole tuck down so I didn't loose any real paint or the bedliner due to the gasoline....looked pretty much fine this morning. I was that guy....the one that neighbors think is so obsessed with his truck that he washes it by hand after 10pm at night

Moving onto the roll cage this Saturday morning.....
 

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