A Time For Blind Faith

Hey All.
It's been a while since the last update to this blog but things have been developing with only a few minor hiccups.  It turns out a bolt in the carrier of the rear differential is somewhat prone to deformation and/or breakage.  The same damage was found in the rear end of both the '72 and the '76.  Weird, hey?  Anyway, I got a used carrier and pin from Man-a-Fre for $75 and I'm having it shipped directly to L & D Transmission to finish the axles with 4.56 gears and the Aussie locker.

When I walked in to Larry's shop after I rolled the '76 Land Cruiser, it was to get a copy of a receipt for the exhaust work they had done so I could give it to the insurance company.  I still had all my stitches in and felt pretty bad mentally and physically.  As you might recall, Larry told me if I wanted to rebuild, I could bring the two trucks to his shop and he'd do all the work for free.  I couldn't believe it and I thought it would be too good to be true.  Larry explained that he appreciated my service in the Navy and that "working on a car" is the least he could do.
Holy crud.
This blog is proof that Larry means what he says.

So this is where I bid my adieu as I deploy today for several months.  I obviously won't be able to update the blog while I'm out and, frankly, I won't have any idea what's going on with my beloved Land Cruiser while I'm gone anyway.  I've dropped off all the stuff I've got, left some useful website info for parts, and given a full vote of confidence to Larry Dempsey and his guys at the shop.  Right now I still have stacks of parts, piles of tires, and an engine on the stand but it really has been remarkable to see the work that's been done and the transformation of the two FJ40's.

As active duty military, it's hard to leave your home and your family to support what can often times seem like an abstract purpose.  The kind of support and generosity that the folks at L & D give has shown me - as well as a lot of members of my crew - has helped me to remember that our efforts support this country's way of life.  This has become a lot more tangible since this project has begun - and for that I am very grateful.

Talk to you all when I get back...

The Product of a Whole Lot of Thought

As you can imagine, there has been a ton of research that has gone into the parts that are going into this Land Cruiser.  I've slipped up a couple times along the way and ordered incorrect stuff but, for the most part, everything is going in just fine.  One place I may have erred (though this is debatable) is with my selection of cam and lifters.  Apparently, the Comp Magnum Cam I got requires a bit of modification to the heads of the 400 small block engine.  Larry sent the heads off to a machine shop up in Brunswick and they came back with a bill for $380.

Crud.

$380 might not seem like a ton of money for engine work but, after tallying up the total cost of the project, every little bit of unanticipated expense is a kick in the hooha.  Anyway, as with any project, a few extra costs are part of the process.

I've also done a lot of research into the tire/wheel setup for the FJ.  Previously I had 37" IROK bias ply tires on the '76.  They were great but they did pull a lot and the super soft compound caused them to wear out early.  On my 2007 FJ Cruiser, I had 35x12.50x18 ProComp mud terrains.  They lasted forever and had really impressive traction off road.  Unfortunately, they don't make them in sizes larger than 35" for a 15" rim.  I ordered a set of 37" Toyo mud terrains but, as fate would have it, Mother Nature didn't want me to have that tall of a tire so she put major delays in Toyo's distribution system with an earthquake and a tsunami.  I thought that was pretty excessive but the message was not lost on me.

I went with the original suspension shackles from the '72 instead of the 2.5" extended shackles on the '76 I had rolled.  In doing so, I lowered the stance a bit which allows a smaller tire to fill the wheel well.  I made a trip to 4 Wheel Parts in Jacksonville and opted to get the ProComp mud terrains again.  I had them mounted and balanced on a ProComp series 152 steel wheel.  The result is a tire/wheel combo that weighs in somewhere around a gajillion pounds.  As a reference, they're much lighter than the old 37" tire combo I ran.

Finding the right wheel was a trick in and of itself in that the stock Land Cruiser rim was a 15x8 wheel with 6x5.5 bolt pattern.  They had a large center bore and a 3.5" offset.  The ProComps I went with are 15x10 inch wheels with a 3.75" offset.  They barely clear the tie rod on the '72 but had a little more clearance on the '76 with the disc brake set up.  I've learned that I definitely would not go with more than a 3.75" offset with the stock steering components.  Anyway, here's a picture of the wheels and tires along with a bunch of the other junk in my garage.

If you see anything in the background you might want, chances are pretty good it's for sale!

That's it for the build for now.  As a side note, I read an article in the latest issue of Off-Road Adventures yesterday about an event to help Gulches Off Road park in Laurens, SC.  The recession has hit the off road industry pretty hard and the folks at Gulches are no different.  Skip Wilkenson and his wife own the park and they are really great people.  Whether you've got an extreme rock-crawler, bogger, or a stock pickup or jeep, the park is top notch and has every level of difficulty available.  If you have the opportunity to visit Gulches, please make the trip.  I've even got a video on youtube from my trip there in my 2007 FJ Cruiser.  That's Skip you see spotting me.

A Shift In Vision, a Vote, and a Confirmation

So Larry at L&D has been great about this whole project and offered to paint the FJ40 too.  As you may recall, my original vision was to combine a rat rod, the family station wagon, and the Grave Digger.  I think I'll still be able to nail 2 of the 3.  With the new paint job, I believe the truck will be slightly more refined than a rat rod.  I'm almost sad to get a nice paint job but this Land Cruiser is going to be really top notch when it's done.  I've been really thinking hard about what color to do and I think I've narrowed it down to a few options:

Snowman white.

I think it would look something like this.

Cubbie Blue.

Here's my old Cubbie Blue car.  I miss it a bunch.

Dinosaur Brownish.

Like this.

Or some kind of silver or gray color again.

What a pickle.  If you have a preference, let me know and you'll probably help me decide!

Lastly, I'd like to wrap up the loose end concerning the big winner between the blog photos.  In case you're not up to date, I had two consecutive posts to gauge how marketable different photos were in terms of traffic to the blog.  The first was of Laya Bella:

And the second was of Schlitz beer:

Not surprisingly, Miss Bella beat out the beer.  As an interesting note, however, these two posts were the most popular pair by a really wide margin.  Haha!  I would click on these pictures too.  For a blog about rebuilding an old truck, it's funny how few people will read the post if it's accompanied by a picture of the vehicle itself.  Weird, hey?  This week we'll see how Frosty fares.

Next post will have pictures of the newly assembled transmission and transfercase as well as the engine as it comes back together...

A Study In the Parts of the Car That Connect the Wheel Thingies to the Dooliejab

A note to those who have followed this blog:  As you may have gleaned from this post's title, the following is highly technical.

So stuff doesn't fit right.  I'm not horribly surprised really.  Toyota changed the FJ40 fairly substantially between 1972 and 1973.  They also had a transitional period between 1973 and 1975 where they combined new parts and old parts together before it was all new in 1976.  Weird, hey?  Combining a '72 and a '76 figured to have some bumps but it's kind of interesting to see what unexpected hiccup pops up.  I believe I've sorted through the nonsense and have even come up with a few different avenues for those who are trying to combine an early and a late model Land Cruiser. 

My original plan was to use the entire driveline from the '76.  The motivation was that the '76 has a good 4 speed transmission that can take me on the highway while the '72 has a 3 speed that will get me run over.  The '76 axles are a little stouter and the differentials have a 4.11 gear ratio while the earlier ones had a 3.70.  With bigger tires, I would prefer the 4.11.  Plans change, however, as facts begin to present themselves.

As the wrecked '76 was being pulled around from the back of the shop, I noticed an interesting phenomenon.  One rear wheel was rotating in the opposite direction as the other.  I don't claim to be an automotive genius, but I did get an engineering degree - the labors of which have given me the education and background to assess the vehicle as being crapped up.  My diagnosis was affirmed as I overheard one of the mechanics make the comment to his pal,  "whoa, that things crapped up."
Upon closer inspection, the drive shaft had been jammed into the differential and had snapped off such that half of the pinion gear was inside the differential precisely 90 degrees off of its designed orientation.  "Yup, that's crapped up," I thought.  Just in case, we took off the differential housing and cover for look-see. 

For those of you who may not be familiar with some of the technical jargon I've used thus far, I've included photos of what a "crapped up" differential looks like. 

As a rule, it is undesirable to see shiny metal chunks and massive gouges in gears with relatively tight tolerances.  This is a good thing to keep in mind regardless of the application...

The decision was made to use the rear axle out of the '72 and everything else from the '76.  This required a little creativity.  I got 4.56 gears for both differentials and master install kits.  I got a locker for the rear differential and I picked up cool flanges from cruiser outfitters in Sandy, UT that fit on the fine spline aftermarket pinion.  I was pretty cranked because they have the bolt pattern for both early and late model drive shafts.  They make the flanges for the transfercase side too so I'll be able to run my newly ordered drive shafts full time with the ones from the '72 as a freely interchangeable standby. 
In a word, bitchin'. 
For you Land Cruiser buffs, I found a cool kit at JT Outfitters that allow you to mate the early model transfercase to the 4-speed transmission.  It's about $135 and allows you to run the 2.3 low end ratio of the early model instead of the 1.9 of the later ones.  I found this kit too late though and, alas, I now have two or three transfercases that I'll be able to squirrel away.

In a nutshell, I'll be using the late model front axle with disc brakes, the late model transmission, transfercase, and drive shafts, and an early model rear axle with the stock drums.  All the gearing will be perfect for the large tires and will still allow the truck to be comfortable on the street.  I'll have a locker in the rear for taking it off road and, when everything is put together with new seals and gaskets, it will be far less crapped up and, hopefully, all the wheels will roll in the same direction.

A Few Observations

So Blogspot.com tracks how many people view your blog and which country they're in and some other stuff that I can't imagine anybody cares about but it turns out there's a handful of people from France who have taken an interest in an old Toyota muscle truck build.  Pretty cool, hey?  Bonjour to you my Frenchy friends. 

Another interesting side note: I discovered this blog shows up on my facebook page accompanied by the photo in the post.  My last post had a picture of Laya Bella and, as it would turn out, I had the single biggest spike in page views since I started this buildup!  Haha!  I guess cars are cool but girls are better!  This time I might try another unrelated photo so as to rope in the target demographic:

Anyway, the engines have been pulled from both Cruisers and I feel like I've definitely made the right choice in terms of which engine to keep. Both trucks are pretty much gutted and we're ready to start doing the upgrades to the 400 small block. 

                                         Chevy 400 small block before upgrades

          '76 Land Cruiser underside with the guts out.  Yup that's the ceiling you see.

                        '72 Land Cruiser being used for nothing but storage - for now.




I sold the 350 for $500 which is a screamin' deal but now I don't have to worry about it.  I've also been able to sell the top and doors from the wrecked truck for a fair price too.  That helps me out with:
1. Buying more parts, and
2. Rationalizing my buying more parts
The roll cage from Metal Tech 4x4 got delivered today too.  Jeff at L&D is a bad dude fabricator and is going to weld it all up with frame tie-ins, front hoop, and stinger. 

So far my biggest concern has been the drivetrain for the new truck.  The '76 has better components but some stuff was wrecked in the accident.  What a pain.  The next post will go into the details of bypassing the compatibility issues between the two models.  Most people probably won't care but a few Cruiser buffs might be interested to know what I found out.  Au revoir mes amis.

p.s. In my verifying the French phrase above, I typed it into google and the following forum post popped up:

"Hi, I'm doing the radio show again tomorrow and this week I've got to do a "can't speak French" item on the zoo!

I think the following phrase is correct but I thought it would be better to be safe than sorry! After all, I'm far from brilliant at French!

"Au revoir mes amis morts"
(I'm looking to say "goodbye my dead friends" - as in literally dead [they were eaten by leopards])

Thanks,
Dillins"

Hahahahahahahahahaha!

An Apology and a Small List of References, Resources, and Supplies

Well, it's been a while and, as with most automotive projects, this one is panning out to be a bit of a pain in my arse.  I'm sure it will be worth it though.  I've been able to look at close to every piece and part of both trucks to figure out which one will be used and which one goes in stand by.  I've settled on the following:

- '76 4sp transmission, transfercase driveshafts, axles, steering box, shocks, and uhhh, driver's side seat bracket
- '72 frame, body, steering components, leaf springs, and passenger's side seat bracket
- Chevy 400 small block engine
- Comp magnum cam, lifters and springs
- March pulley set (solely for looks, thank you very much)
- Rochester Quadrajet carburetor
- Full roll cage from Metal Tech 4x4
- 4.56 Sierra Gears for front and rear differentials
- Aussie locker for the rear differential
- Corbeau front and rear seats with 5-point harnesses in front, 4-point in the rear
- Wiring harness from EZ Wiring
- Body mount and bushing set from Energy Suspension
- Winch mount bumper from JT Outfitters
- Optima yellow top battery (why the hell not?)
- Warn m8000 winch
- 35x1250xr15 ProComp mud terrain tires
- 15x10 ProComp steel wheels

For those of you who don't care much about car stuff, this list is fairly mundane and boring.  For car folks though, this is a pretty fun lineup of stuff to have on one vehicle.  I will concede, it is all probably more interesting when it is all put together and, of course, that is the final destination of this project and blog.

I have received nearly all the parts listed above with the exception of a couple of items and whatever else I get a bug to pick up (hopefully not too much as my budget is dwindling).  I have fortunately been able to get a bunch of recommendations from the folks at L & D in addition to some good technical data from Land Cruiser buffs around the country and a few of my references.  I've consulted only the most reputable publications for my build.  These include Haynes manuals, Summit and Jegs catalogs, Off-Road Adventures, Hot Rod magazine (the girlie issue), and a couple Archie comics that have proven invaluable. 

- A quick note on the Hot Rod magazine, Laya Bella is pretty darned attractive and has been banned from the house so as to not distort my daughters' conception of the female form thus damaging their self image.  Haha!
 
All apologies to those readers who might be youthful and impressionable.


Anyway, I digress.  While tearing apart the '76, I've found a lot of issues that have popped up with the wrecked Land Cruiser that I didn't anticipate.  Both driveshafts have snapped along with the gears in the rear differential.  In all likelihood, the transfer case has gone south as well but I'm checking to see if it's salvageable.  In the mean time, I've purchased new driveshafts from www.cruiserparts.net as well as a transfer case off ebay.  It might work out where I have a ready spare.  This deluge of parts also means that I've got a ton of stuff that I won't be able to bring with us when we move.  I've been throwing a lot of stuff on craigslist.  If you know anybody that would like an entire driveline from a 1972 Toyota, you might refer them to this blog and perhaps they will owe you a drink or something.

The Engine Plan.

We're starting with the engine build and swap.  The FJ I rolled had a Chevy 400 small block engine with an Edelbrock intake manifold, Holley carb, and custom fenderwell headers dropping to dual exhaust.  The new FJ has a Chevy 350 with Edelbrock everything but block hugger headers that are a little rough.  Most hugger headers don't breathe much better than the stock exhaust manifold so the 350 has some upward potential by bolting up my headers to it.  I decided I liked the 400 engine a little better in the truck so we're going with that as the primary engine and boxing up the 350. 

Larry over at L&D thought that replacing all the seals, polishing up the valve covers and intake manifold and repainting the block would make it look like a brand new engine.  I agreed but thought a Comp magnum cam and new lifters, springs, and timing assembly would help too.  I get the feeling this thing is going to be scary fast when it's done...
We'll clean up the welds on the motor mounts in the good Land Cruiser, repaint the engine compartment, and swap the built and polished 400 into it.  Here's the spot this monster power plant is going in:

When the dust settles, this Toyota will be pushing around 400 hp.  That should be just barely adequate to make it to and from the grocery store! 

A Note on Silver Linings...

OK, so by now everyone knows about the accident that prompted this whole rebuild.  As it would turn out, car wrecks completely suck but I wanted to write about some really cool things that have come out of it.  The day it happened, my 6-year-old daughter, Nora was pretty upset.  She didn't see me before she went to school and she started crying once she got there.  That night, she brought home about 10 drawings that kids in her class had colored for me to help me feel better.  Pretty neat, huh?  About 20 guys at work offered to help with the rebuild and my buddy Andy offered to keep my wrecked up Land Cruiser in his driveway while I worked on it.  Complete strangers I talked to because they had been selling Toyota parts on Craigslist were emailing me to make sure I was alright and checking to see if they could help.  I even had someone make me a cake which fell victim to their cat prior to delivery but, hey, it really is the thought that counts!  Of course, Larry at L&D Transmission has been unbelievable with his generosity and his willingness to help.  He has offered to do work to the truck that I would have never even considered.  Of course, both Land Cruisers are being stored at his shop and all he has asked for is parts and some referrals.  Done and done.  I can't really express how appreciative I am for all the support I've received.  I suppose I can start by just saying 'thank you'.  The next post will cover our specific plans for the rebuild.  They're pretty bad ass, actually.

The Starting Point

So as I said earlier, I got in a pretty decent rollover accident when my steering went out in a turn.  I hit a curb at a weird angle and over I went.  This was the rather unfortunate result:

Yikes!  The truck has a ton of good parts on it and the frame might be pretty good still.  I had big plans to buy it back after the insurance company totaled it out.  The engine is still good and I've got shiny new fenderwell headers in there too.  The payout was good and the salvage price was fair so I took what I had and bought a 1972 FJ40 from Chad in Florida.  I really wanted to put the two together to make the best running Land Cruiser possible.  Chad had a similar vision for his '72 I think.  He put a nice Chevy 350 in it and painted it rattle can black with rat rod red trim.  It looks pretty sweet actually.

This is the part where I talk technical mumbo jumbo so if you don't care about that stuff,
  1.  I'm surprised you're reading this blog at all and,
  2. You can probably just skip this whole section

The black Cruiser has a real good body and a solid frame.  Overall it's a real nice FJ40.  The only problem with it is that, prior to 1974, Toyota Land Cruisers had a 3 speed transmission and a differential gear ratio of 3.70:1.  1974 and later models (like my crumpled up '76) had a nice 4 speed tranny and a 4.11:1 gear ratio which is better for bigger tires.  1974 was, in fact a big year of change across the board for these trucks.  Other big differences include:
The older transfer case has a low range of 2.313:1 while the newer ones have a 1.992:1
The flanges for the driveshafts are different
The driveshafts themselves are different diameters by .01" (wow!)
The rear tailgate in the '72 has half doors while the '76 had full ambulance doors
The engine in the '76 is a 2F Toyota that has a little more oomph than the F engine in the '72.
The hard top is different as a result of the different rear doors
There's a bunch of other little differences that I've been grappling with too and they all play in to which chassis I'll be using as my starting point.  Fortunately I had some expert help to help me figure it out!

Here's where I get to give my shameless endorsement of a local repair shop that I stumbled onto when my clutch went out a while back.  L & D Transmission in Kingsland, Georgia is a good shop that sticks to their price quotes and won't fill you full of hot air.  I appreciated that so I got a few repairs done there.  My wife went to the shop to pick up a copy of an exhaust receipt for the insurance claim and the owner, Larry, told her that if I brought both Land Cruisers to the shop, he would do the body swap for free.  For free??  I thought there was a breakdown in communication somewhere but he was absolutely serious.  It turns out he wants to help out a guy in the military who had a cool project.  He and I have gotten along pretty well but I can't believe somebody would be willing to do so much for a random customer.  I suspect he's pretty amped up about the truck too.  He hasn't let on too much though...

The Vision...

OK.  One thing I've learned at my limited experience at car shows is that nobody votes for a Toyota.  British cars might have a remote chance but a Japanese truck hasn't got a prayer.  I get a lot of good comments on the Chevy small block and kids go nuts for big trucks but if it's not domestic, it's probably not going to win. C'est la vie, it turns out trophies aren't the coolest part of having a special car.  The truth is, the greatest thing about having a nice car is when kids and their dads will point at it in a parking lot and start talking together about it.  Some people might get it and some people might not, but cars are a part of American culture that have brought parents and kids together and turned strangers into friends for generations. 

That being said, when building a car from scratch, you need to have a pretty specific vision as to what it should it should be before you start or else you'll end up driving yourself nuts every time you decide to go down a different path with it.  I love going off road (not mudding, but rock crawling and trails) and I'm completely nuts about the rat rod culture.  I really like the idea of a wicked engine and driveline dropped in a vehicle you don't mind scratching up when you drive it through guard rails or plate glass windows.  This rollover experience of mine has also reminded me of the importance of safety measures.  It'd be cool to take the kids in the truck too so we can take it to the beach or camping when we wanted.  I've been able to identify three vehicles from which I can glean some inspiration for the build of my Land Cruiser: 
A classic rat rod,

a family station wagon,

and the Grave Digger monster truck.

I think this seems reasonable. 

Next I'll show you the starting point with the silver one I rolled, the black one that will be my saving grace, and the field in which the magic will happen.

A Little Background...

I suppose this all started about 12 years ago when my brother, Jarrod picked up a 1970 Toyota Land Cruiser for me to drive while I stayed with them in Colorado.  It was bright red and in flawless shape but I had no idea how unique and addictive the vehicle really was until it was too late.

Fast forward a number of years and I picked up a monstrous 1976 FJ40 from a guy in Macon, GA.  It had 35" swamper tires and Chevy 400 small block mated to its original drivetrain.  It had some signs of wear but it was in pretty great shape for a 35 year old truck.  I did a bunch of work to it including new 37" tires, new shocks, steering stabilizers, steering box, headers and exhaust.  I entered it in a couple of car shows and had some good response. 
A car should be driven, however, and as I was rounding a corner into my neighborhood, the steering went out on the truck, hit a curb at the runoff drain and rolled.  I didn't have the top or doors on so I was pretty lucky I didn't get hurt worse than I did.  I did hit my head though, and as I got my first ambulance ride to the ER, I made up my mind that I was going to rebuild my Land Cruiser regardless of what condition it was in.  The decision was in all likelihood one heavily influenced by my concussed haze - but it is one that is now driven by my own pride and a unbelievable showing of support from a whole lot of people.

This blog is a story of how my plans come together...