mar/apr 2009

Custom FJ40 Build

by Steve Dunn

This my 1971 FJ40. I bought it locally 7 years ago. After driving it with a stock 3-speed and other less than ideal components for a couple years, I decided the beast deserved a little updating. I set out to restore and update it. I took nearly 3 years to complete this project and have spent the last 2 years driving and thoroughly enjoying my new FJ40.

We live at the base of Mount Hood in the town of Hood River, Oregon. The area is known for having world-class kayaking, fishing, hunting, windsurfing, skiing and mountain and dirt biking, all within a 30-minute drive. In that we are in the Cascade Mountain Range, we also have an amazing back road and off-road system, including county, fire and logging roads. With forests for endless miles, you can imagine the diversity and challenges for which a rig must be built. As you might guess, my FJ40 is the perfect toy for this area.

This FJ40 has gone through a “frame-on” restoration. It has been completely stripped of all components, bead blasted, painted and reassembled. It has proven to be a truly rust free West Coast rig. It was repainted with DuPont Centari single stage for durability and was reassembled and designed with dependability, performance, driver comfort and aesthetics (in that order) in mind.

The power plant is a Ford fuel injected 5.0 liter HO. This is a 1-year only motor from the Cobra/ Mustang lineage. In 1996, Ford added a torque specific roller cam, dual coils and GT40 heads to the Cobra 5.0 liter motor and made it an option for the Explorer SUV. This small block Ford is rated at 320hp and 358 lb/ft of torque and weighs less than 500 lbs. The stock ECU is maintained with full OBD II diagnostic features. A Howe Racing aluminum radiator and a 2500cfm Flex-a-Lite Black Magic electric fan cool the motor. Even though this motor weighs about the same and gets comparable gas mileage as the original 6-cylinder, dual fuel tanks were added for extended range driving.

The transmission is a 1-ton rated NV4500 5-speed with 5.61 to 1 first gear and a 27% overdrive fifth gear. The NV4500 is mated to the FJ40 low-geared 3-speed transfer case with added t-case saver kit. New Advance Adapter components, hydraulic clutch, Center Force clutch package and custom drivelines were used. Axles were swapped to the later, fine splined Land Cruiser axles including front disc brakes. Stock 4.11 gearing is maintained in both axles. All seals, brakes and bearings were rebuilt or replaced and new Warn hub locks were added. The 40 will effortlessly cruise the highways at 70 mph at 2,100 RPM and yet it will still crawl with the best of them in 4wd.

After much trial and error, the combination of soft ride Superlift 2.5" springs with oversized shackles and Bilstein 5100 shocks were used for the suspension. This has given it over 3" of lift and the road manners I was in search of. Of course, it is still excellent in the tight woods and on the fire and logging roads. It allows me the flexibility to run 33" or 35" tires. In the dry summer months, I run 33"x12.50"x 15" TSL’s on Dick Cepek DC1 wheels. I switch to the deep lugged and siped Wildcats on steel wheels for snow, mud or more serious off-roading. Saginaw power steering and 1" HD solid tie rods keep the steering easy and dependable.

The FJ40 needs to run 4 sets of high output lights, a 600 watt (invisible) stereo system, a Warn XD9000i winch, air compressor, heated seats and an ECU and cooling system for the modern engine. Modern auto amenities require reliable power, which starts with a high output 140-amp alternator. A dual Optima battery system stores the power. To transfer power reliably, all wiring was pulled and replaced with a modern wiring harness with larger gauge, high temp, grease, oil, gas and acid resistant wiring. The new 14-circuit fuse block uses modern spade fuses and has a total system kill switch for emergencies and theft prevention.

 

 

 

 

 

Photos by Steve Dunn