'67 FJ40 Buildup
By Jim Van de Ven
Drop me an e-mail: jim_vandeven@hotmail.com
Clicking on any of the pictures will link to a large image.
In March of 99 I came across a right hand drive '67 FJ40 in the newspaper.
The truck was basically complete and original, but had not been on the road in 15
years. The price was right and I could not pass it up. Here are a few before
pictures of the truck.
I was able to get the original F engine running, but a compression test revealed no compression in cylinder 3. Removing the valve cover yielded a bent pushrod for the intake valve on this cylinder and a valve that was stuck open. I decided to make this vehicle a project truck and turn it into a one-of-a-kind toy. One observation on the trail is that a large percentage of maneuvering in the rocks is to get the rear end of the truck on a specific line. I wanted to create a 4wheel steer truck so that the line for the front end would not necessarily need to dictated by the rear end. To allow for the rear wheels to turn, the frame would need to be narrower in the rear than stock. Instead of trying to narrow a standard frame, I decided to build my own frame from 2x4" and 2x5" .25" wall rectangular tubing. I wanted to run dual transfercases and a Cruiser 6 cylinder engine. This lead to stretching the frame to allow for the longer drivetrain.
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As shown in these pictures, the frame consists of two parallel rails. The width of the frame is the same width as the front section of an FJ60 frame, which is just slightly wider than the front of an FJ40 frame. For added strength, I put doubler patches on the frame at all the welded joints. To allow for the longer set of gearboxes, I stretched the frame in the center section 9". In addition to stretching the frame in the center, I reversed the rear shackle hangers and built the frame to end at the shackles. With the combination of these two adjustments, the frame is the same length as a standard FJ40 frame. |
For suspension I went with a similar spring-over to my other FJ40. I reversed the front shackles, putting the front shackle hangers inside of the frame. For all spring mounts and shackles, I used 5/8" (not 9/16") bolts, along with 1/2" over stock length shackles. The only major addition to this suspension comparted to my other Cruiser was the addition of a rear traction bar.
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In these shots you can see the rear end from a few different angles. The track bar that I built connects by a heim joint to a shackle which is connected to a frame crossmember. This setup allows for fore and aft movement of the axle without a slip joint. I originally saw a similar setup to this on Will's FJ40 at the Black Hills Cruiser Classic '99. The reason that I included a track bar on this truck is because I broke a rear spring from spring wrap on my other FJ40; however I was lucky enough not to break a pinion. I figured with the addition of lower gears, spring wrap would be even more of an issue with this vehicle. When setting up the rear end, I rotated the housing so that the pinion points at the transfercase. I am then using a driveshaft with a CV-joint.
The hydraulic piston for the rear steering can be seen in the lower right picture of this set. This cylinder is controlled by an orbital motor which is usually found for the steering on a tractor. An orbital motor contains flow meters which allow a certain amount of oil to be ported to one side or the other of a hydraulic cylinder based on the amount of shaft rotation. I am mounting the orbital motor in the center console and placing a valve in one of the rear lines. When this valve is closed, a fluid will not be allowed to flow from that side of the piston, which will lock the rear steering. To determine when the rear tires are centered, I am using a magnetic read switch which will cause a light on the dash to illuminate when the rear tires are not centered.
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Above is the rear-end that I built. As you can see in the photo on the left, I started with an FJ40 rear end, then took knuckles out of a front-end and put them into the rear housing to build the appropriate width axle. I am running 4.88 gears with a full-floating ARB locker and an FJ60 width Birfield Eliminator kit.
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In the upper left is a picture of the gearboxes and the shifters I built. Bolted to a 3spd bellhousing is an SM465 transmission, behind that an NP203 transfercase, and behind that a 3spd transfercase with an Advanced Adapters adapter between the two. Also shown in that picture is the crossmember that I built that goes behind the 3spd transfercase. This will help distribute the weight of the gearboxes while reacting some of the torque of the assembly. |
The other two pictures in this set are of the '84 2F engine. On the right side of the engine are two power steering pumps (one for the front and one for the rear). The power steering pump for the rear is from AGR Steering and delivers 1500 psi at 3 gpm. On the left side of the engine is a York air compressor and a 140 amp alternator. Additionally is a Chevy 4.3 V6 throttle body with an adapter I built to go to the 2F intake manifold. This will alleviate the off-camber carburator flooding that is so common in rock crawling.
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The picture on the left show the body in progress. Basically the roll cage is built into the body. The back end of the truck is a flatbed, with a stepped down center area. Both the passenger compartment and the rear are have plexiglass for floor. The body has been inside and out with blue Durabak.