FJ40 I call Shipwreck

[SuperBuickGuy]

Is that a crack on the pressure plate?

I don't know... I'll have to look at it closer

[SuperBuickGuy]

Shiney new parts (woohoo)

There are at least 2 companies that make adapters - Advanced Adapters and Novak. The AA adapter is actually an entire, new bellhousing and costs about $150 more - but it's a new bellhousing.. or the Novak. I went with the Novak for a few reasons... cost, I already had a bellhousing, and interchangeability.... with the Novak system, I can put any bellhousing in front that bolts to the GM 4 bolt set up... heck, I can even do a Ford and just be missing one bolt (yeah, no Fords happening here, but it's an option). Some irreversible modifications have to happen to the transmission though (pictures of that later today)



best of all about my bellhousing, it already has provision for a hydraulic clutch... now, if I only knew what it came from (guess is Chevy truck) as it doesn't appear to be offset like the Camaro



mods needed

[SuperBuickGuy]

I don't know... I'll have to look at it closer

they're scratches... they sure looked like cracks on the picture

[SuperBuickGuy]

onto tonight
where I started tonight



but first, I'm looking for the ring for the bellhousing


this ring


search the shop, the yard, the house (because Bloodhound).. nothing, dammit
oh wait... it's attached to the bearing support... d'oh


to put the adapter on, it requires cutting off the hydraulic throwout support


and cutting down the collar... on a Jeep, this is also part of the bearing support


only requires maybe 1/4" cut off
then I ran into a problem.... the AX15 for a Colorado is different than the one for a Jeep.... it appears it's simply GM cast the housing to mimic the 4L60e 6 bolt design


so I have to either make or find another adapter... not really a big deal, actually.. just annoying it's not easy


so this is it mostly together


One real benefit to using the GM Colorado transmission is warner (as in borg-warner) was involved with Aisin, so the input is 26 spline and the bearing is stock GM ST-10... otherwise, I'd have to buy a custom bearing from Novak.

the bellhousing is 90s Chevy truck... should be easy enough to find a clutch arm for it... I'll go with a hydraulic slave cylinder like is on my Corvette, or get a Jeep hydraulic cylinder (the chevy truck one is that cute all-in-one master cylinder/slave cylinder design)

put that didn't prevent putting the flywheel on


and putting the power steering pump together



so the intake is painted, and put on.... along with a test-fit Qjet


I also cured the EGR vacuum leaks

[silver_bullet]

Cool! we are not sure as to whether or not to set the High Expectations Project up as a Manual, but are leaning towards the 700R4 that Sean just rebuilt...Your progress is inspiring tho...

[SuperBuickGuy]

here's the interesting, to me, bit...the manual AX15 transmission is interchangeable with the 4L60e - If I hate the manual transmission, swapping will be pretty straightforward since the automatic will bolt up to the transfer case through whatever adapter I buy or make - smart manufacturing move on GM's part because the AX 15, standard, doesn't have the same bolt pattern thus when GM got it they redesigned inputs and outputs to match what they were already producing... .

[SuperBuickGuy]

love it, I'm on the phone with Novak - and they have to go pull a couple adapters out to see what I'm talking about.... SuperIveseenthatbeforeGuy

[SuperBuickGuy]

so after sundown, I got a little more done... makes me chuckle, the reason behind doing the motor mounts was I needed the water pump for the engine...

[SuperBuickGuy]

time to get to the nuts n bolts... the motor should be completely assembled tomorrow, I should have the transfer case, and I can get started on the adapter... then the suspension... to do that, I need a hole.... a big hole


and the brackets for the endeavor




in looking at it tonight, there's a lot of stuff to go in the itty-bitty hole.

[SuperBuickGuy]

it arrived... woohoo.


however, I need an adapter for this end too... tomorrow I'll know whether or not the transmission has a powerglide bolt pattern (yeah, powerglide)... but the input on the 300 is 23 spline, whereas the output on the AR6 is 27 spline.... ah well, there are good reasons to use this transmission (such as the input/output of the AX15 is 10/23) so I get more strength... and I'm using my general rule of thumb on GM validation. You can safely double the hp rating of the transmission (granted, the stupid have to divide by two), and it will live just fine.... thus, the 380ish torque rating should be fine with the 450 (on its best day) torque of the 350... fingers crossed, but since no one loves these transmissions, they're still about the cheapest 5 speed/highest torque spec out there (they also come in a 2 wd flavor behind the Solstice, Sky, Cadillac cts, and several toyota cars).
Of course, the honey-do list on the Heep came first (seat heaters)

but I quickly got that POS out of my shop and got to work again on the motor


I didn't adjust the valves since it may not be fired until spring... though, the evil part of me wants to hoon this thing sooner than that - we'll see, I'm still without the axles I want...

this ring will likely be modified to work

[SuperBuickGuy]

more trail fitting




17" driveshaft if I leave the axle where it is... uh, no, I'm moving the rear axle back 3 1/2" and the front ~2" forward to give the tires clearance (so they center in the opening)... the big thing is the suspension will be 4" or so upward travel and 12" or so down travel in an effort to maintain a reasonable CG. Also, the rear of the transmission is going down at least 2"

but here's where it all is now - the end of the tape is approximately the closest the output shaft will be to the transmission... with the adapter, I expect it to move back about 1" more


'

[SuperBuickGuy]

Didn't do much on the '40 tonight, just did some assembly to both get parts in one place and to start with the radiator support...

[yellomalibu]

I am inspired by the fearlessness you seem to have at any project.

[SuperBuickGuy]

I am inspired by the fearlessness you seem to have at any project.

according to Pirate4x4, it's stupidity

[DanStokes]

Fine line.......

Dan