1972 Landcruiser FJ40 Project - TLC Part-I

dieselhead · 25th May 2008, 01:32

This is about one of my many projects involving a beauty of a rust mite and trying to infuse some life into it and in the process getting some always-welcome thrills and excitement. Being a dieselhead obviously involves a diesel engine if not there as original.

During a routine visit to my friendly neighborhood 'Kabadi Wala', I spotted this beauty...on close inspection it was a 1972 Toyota Landcruiser FJ40.He got it on auction from the Health department which got it donated by WHO(World Health Organization).I immediately grabbed the chance and made an advance. Came home with lungs full of excitement and the same night couldn’t sleep but dream and plan about how to go about restoring and converting it into a capable on/off roader.The next morning I woke up early and started planning to close the deal and tow in back all the 40 odd kilometers home. Just when I was about to get into my Gypsy there was a call on the landline from my Kabadi friend. I was dumb when I listened to the voice on the other side. Some local goons had forcibly dragged the TLC from the Chacha(Kabadi) to make some easy quids and he inferred that he couldn’t do much about it but refund my advance as he intended to do business in that area. I was totally heartbroken. After a couple of glasses of cold water and some self-reasoning I still went to the place. The TLC was nowhere to be seen. With a grin I started to put things into perspective. I came back without much hope. But the next day I made up my mind to give it all it takes to get it back. I started making friends with guys who knew the gang. Then I started talking to them and slowly made my intentions clear. We started negotiating at four times the amount which we had earlier decided. After 4 long agonizing but patient months we struck a deal at double the amount. And finally one rain soaked morning I towed the TLC home. Then the phase of planning and browsing on the net started.

The car came with a 4.1 liter straight six gasoline engine with 3 speed tranny.I wanted to have a feel of the stock car so worked on trying to run it for a few months before embarking on the heart transplant and complete restoration. The vehicle was sitting inside some leaking garage for almost a decade. So the carb, brakes and clutch were all gone. I tried to plonck in an Isuzu carb as it too was a twin choke one. I couldn’t get enough power. So I had to call on a specialized carb repair shop. Though the venturi and butterfly was restored, the fuel plunger couldn’t be done. An 118NE plunger came to the rescue. Then came the Brake master cylinder. I could find the repair kit easily for it. But slave cylinders were hell bent on making my life miserable cos the front ones were twin leading types and rear ones were single leading/trailing types. Moreover the piston/bucket dimensions varied. I tried matching them up against all Indian makes as I wanted to source them locally. After almost a month I could find the parts from old jeep and FC models. Believe me once I made the brakes they were even better than today’s disc brakes.

Now came the clutch. Frankly I didn’t want to go through the same painstaking process again. I simply replaced the master/slave combo of a Tata Sumo and bingo! it worked just fine. Well now the rig was ready for a spin after the usually oil and filter change. The oil filter was a prehistoric cotton type. The radiator needed grazing. But when I tried to pour in petrol in the 102 liter tank another surprise was in store. The health department guys forgot to empty her tank before resting her. Around fifty liters of the precious fuel had formed sediment over more than 10 years. I had to cut it open, clean it and weld it back. The day of reckoning. After a few false cranks the big Toyota growled to life. A few tweaks here and there and it settled to a mere purr typical of a straight six with big barrel twin choke Aisin carb.I was really surprised at the idle of the engine. One could really hard pressed to know if the engine is running from a couple of feet’s distance. But open the throttle and it made sure smaller cars made way for the brute.

I ran the car for a lesser period of time as opposed to what I decided before for one and only reason of high petrol consumption. The best I could get was around 3 Kmpl.I shod it with cheap cross ply 7.00X15 tires. I was a happy bloke and this was one of the most difficult of my projects and the car was one of its kind in my home town Bhubaneswar Orissa. I felt like the spoilt brat driving in the TLC.

Next up on the agenda was the transplant. I took out the el-cheapo calculator and derived the max torque and top speed for various locally available diesels. I wanted to keep the tranny intact initially as it had something very unique. One could engage low ratio in 2 wheel drive mode as well. This feature of the transfer case was really unique. The major hurdle in picking up the engine was the final drive ratio of 3.73.I had to look for a low RPM engine which developed max torque at a lowly RPM.I really gave a damn about power and top speed. Even with a 3 speed with third 1:1 ratio I was pretty confident of good top speeds more so even with big fat radials. After much arithmetic and sleepless nights on the internet finally enlightment came in the form of Toyota 13B.The 13B came fitted in the now defunct DCM Toyota LCV.Another option was the 14B which came later. But I opted for the 13B as it had a simple in-line FIP with integrated vacuum pump for the servo. The 14B instead had a Rotary FIP which comparatively was hard to calibrate and the cam mounted pump was fail prone.Ok I got one beauty of a 13B off a truck lying again at my Chachas(Remember my friendly neighborhood kabadiwala ?).He let me have it for a little more than nothing. To my astonishment the engine was pretty good as well. It had done hardly less than half of its overhaul mileage. Now came the most seemingly impossible part of the job. How to mate it with the tranny...I had to keep the Bell Housing for the self starter mounts and the clutch slave cylinder mounting. Interestingly the old setup had the second mounting points located on the Bell housing(1st being the engine mounts).So I had to fabricate the tranny cross member right from scratch and trust me it wasn’t easy as the original gearbox was not designed to have mounting points. I had to figure out bolt-ons which were both stress free on the gear housing and strong enough to locate it against the bending forces of the big tourqy diesel. I had to design an adapter plate at the back of the Bell housing. I wanted to retain the original clutch plate as the dia was more than the diesel's to have enhanced torque. But the clutch was weathered to a point of being rendered useless. Nowhere to source the original clutch, the only option was to use the diesel's but it wasn’t a match for the top pinion grooves. Then came my mechanical engineering knowledge into the picture. I cut of the top pinion from the base and did a slow V cut high tensile strength steel MIG welding with the diesel top pinion.Phew...that made the engine/tranny combo wedlock perfect. I had to reposition the engine mounting foundations, use vibration resistant rubber mounting of the diesel which was very nice. The diesel displaced less at 3.7 liters compared to the petrol but I had to build a taller radiator with bigger tanks and with an expansion tank. Had some difficulty with sourcing hoses as they are the lifeline and need to be perfectly matched for head and discharge. Keeping torque, speed and added weight in mind I replaced the brake master cylinder with the tandem cylinder/Servo unit from Tata 407.I bypassed the servo for the clutch too for less clutch pedal effort.Out went the old oil bath aircleaner and in came a paper element type.The accelerator cable was from the diesel which controlled the air volume through the intake as the FIP had a mechanical diaphragm governor.

The body, upholstery and performance in my next post….

NOS Power · 25th May 2008, 06:41

Thats a whole lot of work my friend. and hats off for getting all that done.

looking forward to further updates.

karlosdeville · 25th May 2008, 21:02

This should make for very interesting reading, keeping a close watch here

I see you have (possibly) retained the WHO logos - way cool!

Cyrus43 · 25th May 2008, 21:44

WOW i have always loved the FJs..As karl said, its gonna be some nice reading here!!

phamilyman · 25th May 2008, 23:34

Captivating!

PS: a uno wasnt around in '82 as the first pic shows!!

dieselhead · 25th May 2008, 23:43

Quote:

Originally Posted by phamilyman

Captivating!

PS: a uno wasnt around in '82 as the first pic shows!!

Hahaha...well observed but I owned the TLC during 1999 till 2004 and this pic was taken in 2002.My Fiat Uno is still there...Its a Uno S 1.7 Diesel 2000 Jan model still going strong...

Moreover the Yashica had some fungus problem thats why the date error.

JayD · 26th May 2008, 08:58

Quote:

Originally Posted by dieselhead

Hahaha...well observed but I owned the TLC during 1999 till 2004 and this pic was taken in 2002.

So, u've sold her now??

dieselhead · 26th May 2008, 10:38

Unfortunately yes my dear friend.I see the car around Bhubaneswar.The guy who owns it has totally done away with the hard top and I heard that he has changed the drivetrain to 2WD.Now shod with big radials on ugly alloys its a pity that my baby is seemingly doomed now.
But hey I am still in the look out for an original....

dyer_made · 10th July 2009, 12:38

Quote:

Originally Posted by dieselhead

Unfortunately yes my dear friend.I see the car around Bhubaneswar.The guy who owns it has totally done away with the hard top and I heard that he has changed the drivetrain to 2WD.Now shod with big radials on ugly alloys its a pity that my baby is seemingly doomed now.
But hey I am still in the look out for an original....

See that's what happens when you abandon babies with out a better home for them....Aaaah. anyway I am sure you must have had your reasons,but congratulations to you for such great work and for possessing the knowledge which enables you to do it.
Congratulations once again and tell us some news. Have you got any other 4x4 projects going on?

PAVAN KADAM · 10th July 2009, 21:37

Quote:

Originally Posted by dieselhead

This is about one of my many projects involving a beauty of a rust mite and trying to infuse some life into it and in the process getting some always-welcome thrills and excitement..

Way to go buddy,

Your thread and the pics shows your passion.

Congratulations on your restoration journey, that itself is a big high for car enthusiasts like us. Nothing else comes close

keep it going.

chanu · 16th July 2009, 22:43

Hey dieselhead that was an interesting post!! I felt great reading the whole story & what went thru.....you have good narrative skills. Although It was technical & the write up little more detailed, I could visualise the happening of your project, the trials & tribulations.....the highs & lows of your undivided attention in bringing it to form. Whole hearted appreciations.....Kudos......the whole thing is awe inspiring.....

If you are looking for another project, I have a LAND ROVER in my mind, which is lying near my village. seems to be an original one with engine & aluminium body (as per a local mechanic) it seemed to have got most of the original fitments with it, the only thing missing which I could make out was a door on the left side & rear bottom door

if you think it can be a substance for your next project then I am at your service buddy

.
I'm all ears.....

wanderernomad · 17th July 2009, 11:27

@Chanu can you post some pictures of the vehicle in question? and the asking price please?

chanu · 17th July 2009, 12:00

one pic of its monogram as of now, rest will be posted after my village trip.

Jaggu · 17th July 2009, 12:02

wow a very interesting thread, cant wait for the next edition of narration and pictures.

dyer_made · 20th July 2009, 12:57

Quote:

Originally Posted by chanu

one pic of its monogram as of now, rest will be posted after my village trip.

Now this is sheer torture!!! KLPD

25th May 2008, 01:32	#1
dieselhead BHPian Join Date: Oct 2007 Location: Bhubaneswar Posts: 105 Thanked: 93 Times	1972 Landcruiser FJ40 Project - TLC Part-I This is about one of my many projects involving a beauty of a rust mite and trying to infuse some life into it and in the process getting some always-welcome thrills and excitement. Being a dieselhead obviously involves a diesel engine if not there as original. During a routine visit to my friendly neighborhood 'Kabadi Wala', I spotted this beauty...on close inspection it was a 1972 Toyota Landcruiser FJ40.He got it on auction from the Health department which got it donated by WHO(World Health Organization).I immediately grabbed the chance and made an advance. Came home with lungs full of excitement and the same night couldn’t sleep but dream and plan about how to go about restoring and converting it into a capable on/off roader.The next morning I woke up early and started planning to close the deal and tow in back all the 40 odd kilometers home. Just when I was about to get into my Gypsy there was a call on the landline from my Kabadi friend. I was dumb when I listened to the voice on the other side. Some local goons had forcibly dragged the TLC from the Chacha(Kabadi) to make some easy quids and he inferred that he couldn’t do much about it but refund my advance as he intended to do business in that area. I was totally heartbroken. After a couple of glasses of cold water and some self-reasoning I still went to the place. The TLC was nowhere to be seen. With a grin I started to put things into perspective. I came back without much hope. But the next day I made up my mind to give it all it takes to get it back. I started making friends with guys who knew the gang. Then I started talking to them and slowly made my intentions clear. We started negotiating at four times the amount which we had earlier decided. After 4 long agonizing but patient months we struck a deal at double the amount. And finally one rain soaked morning I towed the TLC home. Then the phase of planning and browsing on the net started. The car came with a 4.1 liter straight six gasoline engine with 3 speed tranny.I wanted to have a feel of the stock car so worked on trying to run it for a few months before embarking on the heart transplant and complete restoration. The vehicle was sitting inside some leaking garage for almost a decade. So the carb, brakes and clutch were all gone. I tried to plonck in an Isuzu carb as it too was a twin choke one. I couldn’t get enough power. So I had to call on a specialized carb repair shop. Though the venturi and butterfly was restored, the fuel plunger couldn’t be done. An 118NE plunger came to the rescue. Then came the Brake master cylinder. I could find the repair kit easily for it. But slave cylinders were hell bent on making my life miserable cos the front ones were twin leading types and rear ones were single leading/trailing types. Moreover the piston/bucket dimensions varied. I tried matching them up against all Indian makes as I wanted to source them locally. After almost a month I could find the parts from old jeep and FC models. Believe me once I made the brakes they were even better than today’s disc brakes. Now came the clutch. Frankly I didn’t want to go through the same painstaking process again. I simply replaced the master/slave combo of a Tata Sumo and bingo! it worked just fine. Well now the rig was ready for a spin after the usually oil and filter change. The oil filter was a prehistoric cotton type. The radiator needed grazing. But when I tried to pour in petrol in the 102 liter tank another surprise was in store. The health department guys forgot to empty her tank before resting her. Around fifty liters of the precious fuel had formed sediment over more than 10 years. I had to cut it open, clean it and weld it back. The day of reckoning. After a few false cranks the big Toyota growled to life. A few tweaks here and there and it settled to a mere purr typical of a straight six with big barrel twin choke Aisin carb.I was really surprised at the idle of the engine. One could really hard pressed to know if the engine is running from a couple of feet’s distance. But open the throttle and it made sure smaller cars made way for the brute. I ran the car for a lesser period of time as opposed to what I decided before for one and only reason of high petrol consumption. The best I could get was around 3 Kmpl.I shod it with cheap cross ply 7.00X15 tires. I was a happy bloke and this was one of the most difficult of my projects and the car was one of its kind in my home town Bhubaneswar Orissa. I felt like the spoilt brat driving in the TLC. Next up on the agenda was the transplant. I took out the el-cheapo calculator and derived the max torque and top speed for various locally available diesels. I wanted to keep the tranny intact initially as it had something very unique. One could engage low ratio in 2 wheel drive mode as well. This feature of the transfer case was really unique. The major hurdle in picking up the engine was the final drive ratio of 3.73.I had to look for a low RPM engine which developed max torque at a lowly RPM.I really gave a damn about power and top speed. Even with a 3 speed with third 1:1 ratio I was pretty confident of good top speeds more so even with big fat radials. After much arithmetic and sleepless nights on the internet finally enlightment came in the form of Toyota 13B.The 13B came fitted in the now defunct DCM Toyota LCV.Another option was the 14B which came later. But I opted for the 13B as it had a simple in-line FIP with integrated vacuum pump for the servo. The 14B instead had a Rotary FIP which comparatively was hard to calibrate and the cam mounted pump was fail prone.Ok I got one beauty of a 13B off a truck lying again at my Chachas(Remember my friendly neighborhood kabadiwala ?).He let me have it for a little more than nothing. To my astonishment the engine was pretty good as well. It had done hardly less than half of its overhaul mileage. Now came the most seemingly impossible part of the job. How to mate it with the tranny...I had to keep the Bell Housing for the self starter mounts and the clutch slave cylinder mounting. Interestingly the old setup had the second mounting points located on the Bell housing(1st being the engine mounts).So I had to fabricate the tranny cross member right from scratch and trust me it wasn’t easy as the original gearbox was not designed to have mounting points. I had to figure out bolt-ons which were both stress free on the gear housing and strong enough to locate it against the bending forces of the big tourqy diesel. I had to design an adapter plate at the back of the Bell housing. I wanted to retain the original clutch plate as the dia was more than the diesel's to have enhanced torque. But the clutch was weathered to a point of being rendered useless. Nowhere to source the original clutch, the only option was to use the diesel's but it wasn’t a match for the top pinion grooves. Then came my mechanical engineering knowledge into the picture. I cut of the top pinion from the base and did a slow V cut high tensile strength steel MIG welding with the diesel top pinion.Phew...that made the engine/tranny combo wedlock perfect. I had to reposition the engine mounting foundations, use vibration resistant rubber mounting of the diesel which was very nice. The diesel displaced less at 3.7 liters compared to the petrol but I had to build a taller radiator with bigger tanks and with an expansion tank. Had some difficulty with sourcing hoses as they are the lifeline and need to be perfectly matched for head and discharge. Keeping torque, speed and added weight in mind I replaced the brake master cylinder with the tandem cylinder/Servo unit from Tata 407.I bypassed the servo for the clutch too for less clutch pedal effort.Out went the old oil bath aircleaner and in came a paper element type.The accelerator cable was from the diesel which controlled the air volume through the intake as the FIP had a mechanical diaphragm governor. The body, upholstery and performance in my next post…. Attached Thumbnails Last edited by ajmat : 25th May 2008 at 07:37. Reason: Divded into paragephs to make it more readable
	(3) Thanks

25th May 2008, 06:41	#2
NOS Power BHPian Join Date: Jun 2004 Location: Kolkata Posts: 404 Thanked: 81 Times View My Garage	Thats a whole lot of work my friend. and hats off for getting all that done. looking forward to further updates.
	() Thanks

25th May 2008, 21:02	#3
karlosdeville Distinguished - BHPian Join Date: Jul 2006 Location: Pune Posts: 12,143 Thanked: 18,964 Times View My Garage	This should make for very interesting reading, keeping a close watch here I see you have (possibly) retained the WHO logos - way cool!
	() Thanks

25th May 2008, 21:44	#4
Cyrus43 Join Date: Nov 2006 Location: London Posts: 5,019 Thanked: 230 Times View My Garage	WOW i have always loved the FJs..As karl said, its gonna be some nice reading here!!
	() Thanks

25th May 2008, 23:34	#5
phamilyman Senior - BHPian Join Date: Jul 2007 Location: Gurgaon Posts: 5,975 Thanked: 4,673 Times	Captivating! PS: a uno wasnt around in '82 as the first pic shows!!
	() Thanks

26th May 2008, 10:38	#8
dieselhead BHPian Join Date: Oct 2007 Location: Bhubaneswar Posts: 105 Thanked: 93 Times	Unfortunately yes my dear friend.I see the car around Bhubaneswar.The guy who owns it has totally done away with the hard top and I heard that he has changed the drivetrain to 2WD.Now shod with big radials on ugly alloys its a pity that my baby is seemingly doomed now. But hey I am still in the look out for an original....
	() Thanks

16th July 2009, 22:43	#11
chanu Senior - BHPian Join Date: Feb 2009 Location: APX to AP 29 Posts: 1,483 Thanked: 150 Times View My Garage	Hey dieselhead that was an interesting post!! I felt great reading the whole story & what went thru.....you have good narrative skills. Although It was technical & the write up little more detailed, I could visualise the happening of your project, the trials & tribulations.....the highs & lows of your undivided attention in bringing it to form. Whole hearted appreciations.....Kudos......the whole thing is awe inspiring..... If you are looking for another project, I have a LAND ROVER in my mind, which is lying near my village. seems to be an original one with engine & aluminium body (as per a local mechanic) it seemed to have got most of the original fitments with it, the only thing missing which I could make out was a door on the left side & rear bottom door if you think it can be a substance for your next project then I am at your service buddy . I'm all ears..... Last edited by Rehaan : 17th July 2009 at 16:27. Reason: 2 smileys max. Please read the Team-BHP rules before continuing. Thanks.
	() Thanks

17th July 2009, 11:27	#12
wanderernomad Senior - BHPian Join Date: Jul 2007 Location: Bengaluru Posts: 2,552 Thanked: 1,296 Times View My Garage	@Chanu can you post some pictures of the vehicle in question? and the asking price please?
	() Thanks

17th July 2009, 12:00	#13
chanu Senior - BHPian Join Date: Feb 2009 Location: APX to AP 29 Posts: 1,483 Thanked: 150 Times View My Garage	one pic of its monogram as of now, rest will be posted after my village trip. Attached Thumbnails
	() Thanks

17th July 2009, 12:02	#14
Jaggu Team-BHP Support Join Date: May 2004 Location: Bangalore Posts: 20,383 Thanked: 17,295 Times	wow a very interesting thread, cant wait for the next edition of narration and pictures.
	() Thanks