fj45 rat rod (ish)

[Heath]

Not really keen on a std trayback so have been trawling for ideas and an old stepside bed (chevy c10 style) might be an idea. Have to make one from scratch but it could work with the right guards and a tojo tailgate to finish it off.

Gotta run guards though as it will be too young to go fenderless, which is fine as the ifs fronts are ugly so have to hide them somehow. Makes fitting headers that come out over the guards hard to sort though...

[juz]

tort sum uz fullas wood lick ths pixture.

I dunt. That is all.

[Heath]

Any one dealt with this guy from Tauranga with his engines on trademe jk1968

[Heath]

Small block 350 on its way.

Got my eye on a rear diff (with discs and calipers) and am looking for a transmission but might get an old one and try doing a rebuild for shits and giggles.

[surf10]

Ive just finished doing a rebuild on a th350. Got a B&M rebuild kit off summit good price at 200hundy and come with all the parts you will need and intsructions

I had never built one before ether and it seem to go back together alright i did pick up a haynes manual as well tho had better pictures

[Heath]

Well my 350 has grown into a 350 with th350 trans. All warranted and complete (actually still bolted together) and all in good condition (just reconned the trans).

Bonus, but now I have to tell the missus I've spent more than I was allowed to.

Easier to beg forgiveness than ask permission sometimes.

[Dirtydog]

not to be rude but how much did the engine and trans cost?

still looking around at prices for mine lol

[Heath]

PM sent.

[Heath]

Picked up the engine today and after a bit of mucking around it is in the garage sitting on the engine hoists legs (on its pallet) so I can move it around. Its a big looking bugger, but that may just be all the junk on the front (aircon, emissions thingee,) and the large air filter housing.

Has a quadrajet carb (in need of TLC as secondaries seem sticky and have some play in the butterfly shaft - probably junk, but we shall see), also has viscuss hub fan (not sure if that is a bonus, but it will do for now). The exhaust manifolds are going to go as they have the exhaust emission junk in them (and a butterfly valve in one side)and are rear facing outlets, but I want something different (zoomies if I can manage it - not likely but I can dream).

Looks to be some stuff missing (linkages for trans etc but thats small stuff) and a pile of vacuum tubes everywhere which I guess is more emission stuff.

I'll probably spend some time stripping junk off and figuring out what it is before getting too silly with it (wont be tossing anything yet - just in case).

Engine casting number is GM 3970010 followed by a box with M in it and a number 1 following the box. On one side there is a sticker "Mexico" so I am picking this is where it was assembled.

Not sure if it is a 2 bolt or 4 bolt either but I paid a 2 bolt price for it (so if it's 4 then I win).

Can you use pics from facebook here or does it have to be from photobucket?

[Heath]

Yep mexican block from 1969-79 350 2 or 4 bolt (lottery which it is - cant be assed opening its sump to check).

Its missing a dip stick (apart from the owner that is) so I'll have to find a bling one.

[Dr_PC]

Has a quadrajet carb (in need of TLC as secondaries seem sticky and have some play in the butterfly shaft

FInd a carb man down there to check it for you, if its a good one keep it, far better than a Holly. If its a dodgy one find a real big cliff and throw it off
Dan

[Heath]

Shit the starter motor and air con pump on this thing is huge.

[Heath]

[Heath]

So now I have this big lump sitting there I want to hear it run.

How do I do this. Its still attached to the pallet and the auto's fluid lines have been cut.

I assume I have to join the fluid lines together and make sure its in park.

The dizzy has a plug off it so I assume that I have to figure out which one is live to get a spark.

Where can I put some fuel to fill the fuel bowl? Maybe I'll just plumb up the fuel pump and draw some fuel from a small bottle.

The intake manifold and carb are covered in vac pipes which some are not connected and to be honest I have no idea where they might go.

Power from a battery with jumper leads would go where? Earth (-) from the engine mount or solid surface. Pos(+) onto the starter motor and up to the dizzy, with a shorting wire for the starter solenoid.

I assume doing this outside would be a better idea than in the garage (more for the wifes benefit than mine)

Anything else?

[tomsoffroad]

jumper leads = + to starter motor and + on coil. If the is only one wire coming out of dizzy then plug that into the - on coil. Earth from block to battery.
If it has a mechanical fuel pump, plumb into that. May need to tip a splash directly down carb too.
Just use a screwdriver to jump power to the starter motor exciter terminal.
DONT give it a big rev..... It'll try to flip upside down
Dont run it for more than a few seconds without a cooling system.
Just plumb the trans cooler hose together.

Have fun

[Heath]

Pretty sure the coil is built into the dizzy but I get the picture.

Cheers.

[kiwipete]

Slightly off topic, but while you are waiting for bits n bobs for your "rod", here is something to ponder to fill in time. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GfY_BKyWEfo&feature=endscreen It'd be a simple cut n tuck

[Heath]

Hmmm interesting build (or is that squash?) Cool idea but had no guts to make it stand out. Twin turbos with NOS or something to make it "stand up" and go.

I think I'll stick with the boxy cruiser than the beetle. Actually that thing scuttled along like a beetle (or maybe a cockroach).

[Heath]

Built a wooden frame to make moving things around easier (yeah I know - wood is a bit "flintstone old school", but I had it already and its cheaper than steel ). It should be strong enough to hold things while I run the engine (idle only - hold the engine at the mounting points) and gets it off the broken rotting pallet (and off my engine crane).

Dragged it out onto the drive and tried all the degreasers I had on hand to get the years of acumulated crap off. Long story short simple green was pretty good, chemical degreaser in cans was okay and the stuff you mix with water was a waste of money. Water blaster helped but I think maybe a steam cleaner would've been better (but I dont have one).

Carb cleaner does a good job (cleaned the carb and had a quick spray to see how it went), but too expensive for degreasing.

End result was a marginally cleaner engine and transmission and a dirty drive (:oops: ).

Also bought some bits so I could start the engine up (before my warrantee period elapses) and check how it runs and sounds (oil press and any knocks). Got a new electric oil press gauge, filter and some oil (penrite hpr30 20-60) from repco while their sale was on.

So one step closer to driving.

[Dirtydog]

that simple green is great stuff,

in concentrated form its what i use to strip paint off of model tanks and miniatures.

not cheap though.

hope your going to take a vid of it going to show us

[Heath]

that simple green is great stuff,

in concentrated form its what i use to strip paint off of model tanks and miniatures.

not cheap though.

hope your going to take a vid of it going to show us

Damn right it'll be videoed (I guess I load it to photobucket like pics or should I use Utube?) . Motivation to keep moving forward and also to prove its state (good or bad) should the need arise.

[niblik]

I'm lookin forward to seein this ratrods Morgan inspired chassis. Go the wood!

[Heath]

Might throw some wood on the deck but thats about where I envisage the "woody portion" of the build stopping.

After removing some of the crud from the trans I noticed the pan has a big dent and crease in the side which goes all the way through so more bling for the project. Need to get a replacement so may as well get chrome. Also need to sort the cooler lines in and out of the trans as they are buggered (bent right on the connection). Might just hunt down some new fittings and run some fuel hose (or similar) in a short loop just to allow me to run the engine.

Oh yeah the carb needs a new fuel line too as the hard line has been crimped at some stage and split, but has a piece of hose with a hose clamp to stop the leak. It works but I think maybe a new line there too will be in order.

Just waiting for my rochester carb books to turn up so I can "tinker" a little.

[Heath]

Bugger I guess I'm going back to repco to grab some transmission fluid now and a new filter too (unless it comes with the new pan)

Forgot about that - bugger - more money down the gurgler...

[Dirtydog]

owell its money well spent.

Nothings better than running an old v8, ya gotta love the sound.

[meatc]

While you are at epco get some trans cooler line. Dont use fuel hose, it wont last and trans line is about the same price and more likely to be the right size.

[Heath]

While you are at epco get some trans cooler line. Dont use fuel hose, it wont last and trans line is about the same price and more likely to be the right size.

Cheers mate.

Gotta get some Dextron 2 or 3 not sure how much though (dont know what a quart is - LOL). Maybe a couple of placky packs will do for now.

[Heath]

Had a chat to a clever bugger today and while chatting about my project mentioned welding onto the cruiser chassis and he suggested it might not be a good idea as the chassis is made from spring steel (so welds will be prone to cracking).

He then asked wy I was upgrading a leaf sprung wagon chassis when i could just start with a Safari chassis and get; power steer box, coils and disks all round. And later on the rear coils could be swapped easily for air bags. The front end will be removed of course for the rod front so matching wheels and stud patterns might be a bit hard unless I can graft the nissan knuckles on the front. Just worried about the width of the axles (dont want it too wide).

[nstacey]

http://lmgtfy.com/?q=1+quart+in+litres

[Heath]

Cheers for that . I wasnt asking for exact conversion (or asking at all - just mentioned I didnt know what a quart was), but thank you anyway for caring enough to google it for me.

I have a conversion program somewhere on my old PC that I need to put on this pc.