Project FJ-Rankenstein.. rebuilding a drivetrain, toybox and more...

[baxter650]

Love the bumper build, looks great!

[fj-rankenstein]

thanks sir!  i am in full swing of things!

just a quick pic update..

a pic showing the stops and slides to prevent metal on metal.


here are the stops and rests that i made..


welded completely inside and out..


its got arms that are welded on!!


me making a spirograph!!  actually, its for the tire holder


the upright is upright


looks like it works..


still have some work to do but its almost done..

[THK Matt]

That is SICK!

[Nimyad]

Looks sweet! But is it going to take that heavy tire bouncing? Or are you going to brace more?

[fj-rankenstein]

i still have to build end caps for the bumper and tie it back into the frame for a bit more rigidity but overall its very good.  it will have 5 different mounting points when it is all said and done..         you should have a look at the 4x4 labs bumper.. there is even less support than mine and it is built out of thinner material..  i should be able to drop the truck off of a building and the tire will still be holding onto that rack when i am done..

just because i enjoy overbuilding though i am going to put a removable support on the top of the tire mount to the top rail of the box tailgate and hook it with a hitch pin for easy removal..  i cant describe it any better so i will have to show you with some pics tomorrow..

[Nimyad]

Sounds like a good idea. Only asked cause my dad build a tire carrier for his jeep that was centered and the bar was like this /|\ and it wobbled a ton.

[fj-rankenstein]

got the turbo almost done tonight.. i just have to make up the pressure line to the turbo, connect the downpipe to the original exhaust, fill it up with oil and see if it works..  i have to hook up my piro and boost gauges but i am hoping to get most of this done tomorrow..

here are a few quick pics..

newly painted manifold..

[Wainiha]

Is this your home garage?  I'm jealous of all the metal

Nice bumper.  Also that turbo set up hard to look at-I need some boost too.

[Quintin]

  This is really a very nice build.

[toyotech]

love the rear bumper. im still lacking one and need to have someone make me one. the angled arm for the swing out is awesome.

[fj-rankenstein]

YAY!!  i made it back with not too much problem..  i will fill in the details later with the trip to the Blackhills cruiser classic but in the mean time i made this video because i was bored..


TURBO POWER!!!!


http://smg.photobucket.com/albums/v203/Jayp/fj-rankenstein/?action=view&current=turbo1.mp4

[hansi530]

that is a bad a$$ turbo set up

[Dooner]

Sweet Video! "Thanks for watching this important message!" Your too much LOL! What kind of EGT's are you showing on your pyro gauge?

[fj-rankenstein]

Sweet Video! "Thanks for watching this important message!" Your too much LOL! What kind of EGT's are you showing on your pyro gauge?

thanks guys..

egt's are good at the moment..  when we were coming back from the states and it was 104 degrees out, the hottest the egts would get is about 1075 on a long steep grade hill..  it is more my engine coolant temps that i have to worry about..  with every day normal driving in the city and on the highway the temps stay within check but long steep highway hills on exceptionaly hot days makes the engine get pretty warm..  its not an issue if i am not heavy on the pedal but if i am enjoying my new found power and climbing hills in 4th gear where as before i could only get up them in 2nd than things get a bit warm..  the wastegate was supposed to be set at 8-10 psi from factory on this turbo but i can easilly peg my 15 psi gauge if i want..  things get fun about there.. i still havent done much with my fuel setting yet too.. once i tune this up i should be able to get some more out of this engine yet..
i will adjust the external wastegate down to 14 for the meantime when i am not feeling lazy...
i am quite happy with the results so far though..
i am hoping to rebuild my rad and get the rad shop to make a 4 core rad out of my 2 core..that should help tons.  also, i still have to install the intercooler so that also will help.. all in good time..

[Cruiserhiggs]

This is an awesome build!

[fj-rankenstein]

i have no real updates yet.. i bought a set of aluminum half doors from aqualu industries and am waiting for some goodies.. more info soon..


also,

we have a car show that our shop puts on every year..   this was from today...   

this is my truck with armour-all on the tires..    hahhahahahahahahahahahaahahahaha!!!     

this is also the first time washing the truck this year as well..   mabey not, but i have idea when the last time was... 

[fj-rankenstein]

I got tired of looking at a bench and another makeshift bench full of tranny and t-case parts so its half steam ahead now on project Rankenstein..
i started to assemble the tranny.. i would like to get most of this together soon so i can move onto getting the truck back into the garage for the big teardown..

its nice to not have to think about any real wheeling trips till next june..  i feel i have some breathing room to enjoy building this truck some more..  it always seems like i am finishing everything at the very last minute with no chance to test anything before i go on any trips..  with the real possibility of having to drive this truck down to the Rubicon next June, i want to make sure this truck is in top shape..  (mechanical wise anyways..)
this being said, my rear axle is the last thing to have not been rebuilt yet and i know the axle shafts are failing at where they ride on the outer axle bearings.. damn semi floaters..   i am seriously looking at getting at least a rear full floater from this truck..  also seriously thinking of going 80 series cruiser wide as well..  it will only make me about another 2 inches overall wider which i can easily deal with..

[fj-rankenstein]

i ended up needing some more parts so this is where i ended up yesterday..

[fj-rankenstein]

i am working on the t-case end of this toybox till i get some 5th gear parts for the tranny..  here is what i am doing..

here is a pic of removing the factory breather..





and i didnt need to drill it out to 7/16 for my 1/4 inch pipe thread tap.. it ws already close enough so i just tapped that hole.  oh yeah!



the t-case plate wants to share the same space as the toybox..




i had to do some grinding with my new aluminum carbide burr to get the splitcase t-case plate to mate up with the toybox..



it fits now.. here i am dry fitting everything and checking for any potential clearance issues..



the 4 big spacers and 3 shims that marlin sent were exactly the right thickness to get the gears aligned with each other..




well, thats it for tonight..  i am going to the shop to sandblast all my parts now that i know that they fit..  tomorrow i will install the throwout bearing front plate, bellhousing and maybe finish the tcase or get real close..

i have to figure out if i need the 5th gear oiler cup or not between the split case and the toybox..  i am assuming yes being that it will direct oil towards the crawler gear bearing...

[fj-rankenstein]

i am working on my h55f tranny/toybox/splitcase and need some clarification..     So here is my question..  do i need the 5th gear oiler cup installed between the tcase plate and the toybox??  there is room and it doesnt interfere with anything when i dry fit everything.   

i am assuming it needs to be there for extra lubrication for the bottom crawler gear bearing but i just want to make sure.. my oiler cup is broken and i will have to order one tomorrow if i need it..








i see that the MC24 marlin plate has it machined directly into that plate so obviously the plastic one isnt needed behind the tranny but i dont know about the one between the t-case and the toybox..

[suprawheeler]

Nice build! I really like the rear bumper build.

[fj-rankenstein]

i did some sandblasting the other day.   everything should go together good now!!!!

[fj-rankenstein]

BAM!!!!





the tranny is rebuilt..  just gotta sandblast and clean the shift cover..

t-case is tomorrow..

[fj-rankenstein]

i didnt get as far as i wanted to today..   i got sidetracked with the wifes car and my 4runner today getting everything winter ready..

i did get a bunch of parts cleaned this evening and i even put a couple coats of paint on the tranny and some other parts as well..  i should have a good chunk of it all together tomorrow or next day hopefully..

[Zs Confederate Toy]

Damn that looks good. Almost looks like a display model haha.

[fj-rankenstein]

i finally have time to tear the truck back apart.. after a great summer of wheeling and just enjoying the truck it is now it to get started on the upgrades..

the other bit of motiation for getting the truck together is because the wifey and I are going to attend the 25th Rubithon and this time we are going to drive the truck down to California..   the last time we were there (on our honeymoon..) we were able to trailer..   it is going to be about a 7500-8000km trek so i want the truck to be in tip top shape..

i ordered two arb lockers (rd142's), compressor, chromo rear axles, a custom diamond front diff with matching chromo inners and i am going to also pick up a couple of 80 series rear full floaters for the truck as well all next weekend in Montanna!!   i am pretty excited!!

as for what i am doing right now, i have got rid of the fuel tank in the cab of my 45 and mouted a cell in the back of the truck and i am cutting the floor to get my newly rebuilt drivetrain including toybox in...

here are a few pics to catch everyone up..











dirty tranny on the floor.. umm, yeah..



flywheel needing a good resurface..






here is what it will look like when on.. i still have to drill and tap some holes in the mounting flange..



and now the beginnings of my fuel fill thingy.   i could have just went to a junk yard and found something that might have worked.. thats not the way I roll..  i wanted to make one being that i have never made one of these before..   it took waaaaay to long to make though..



and here it is in its glory.. not quite done but a good start..



and the backside..  i started to tig this piece but then chickened out and used the mig for the rest..  silly tig noob i am..



ahhh, crap.. what did i do...



ok, not too bad now..  i still have to drill some mounting holes and get some stainless steel bolts to mount this thing.. its just hanging in the hole right now..



and the mess on the backside.. the fuel cell is officially too thick and if i want to keep it more or less flat with the bottom of the truck and not have it hang down like a rock magnet than this is what has to be done.. i have to make a small riser in the box because the fill tube wants to share the same space as the floor..oh well, it wont look too bad when i am done..



the new saw..



the fuel system is getting closer...



it doesnt fit!!



another view of things not fitting..



here is what happens when things dont fit.. they get cut..  keep in mind the whole drivetrain still has to go back another few inches yet so this hole will get bigger..

[THK Matt]

Now thats what I like seeing, i love seeing new updates pop up of your builds man.

[Zs Confederate Toy]

Everything is looking great! Nice work on the diamond plate filler.

[fj-rankenstein]

BAM!!!

this was a weekend of travelling for me..  when the travel advisory says "travel not recommended" they pretty much mean it..  i am a trooper in my 4runner though and ended up driving between 40-60 km/hr for well over 200 miles in four wheel drive on the highway  .. it was a super long day on the road yesterday..
So i ended up going to the states and picked up a big big order from 4 different vendors and met one person to exchange some parts straight across..    i ended up bringing back two rear 80 series full floater axles that looks to be in excellent shape along with a pile of stuff from other vendors that include Marlin Crawler, Longfield superaxles, nitro gear and Diamond axle.. 
I also ended up getting some brake parts being that the parts are way cheaper in the states than they are here and they were on the shelf at the Napa store which was nice..

anyways..  by the looks of this picture, i have a lot of work to do..

[THK Matt]

Where in the states did u go, city wise

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