74 Cj6 Aussie Rebuild.

Yep it is going to be longer.
Around 4 1/2 foot long roughly.

The rear drive shaft will end up being about the length of a CJ5 rear shaft.

 

More progress.

Got the gearbox and engine together.
Old blue dog had to approve before it went together.


Sat the combo in the chassis and started to adjust heights.


Settled on the engine being on a slope of almost 4 degrees.
Top of engine is about level to the radiator.
Plenty of clearance to the front axle.


As is normal with conversions there is a compromise that needs to be reached.

To get the engine clearance over the front axle and not have a silly looking down slope, the gearbox actually ended up sitting a touch higher than the jeep original.

The angle to the rear diff is not excessive.
I think the 3B was a bit worse.

I'll need to adjust the angle of the rear pinion or use a carden type of uni joint but the rear drive shaft will be a around 22 inches to the uni centres.

 

So having settled on this arrangement I made and welded the engine mounts to the chassis and started to convert the Nissan Patrol gearbox crossmember for the rear support.

 

Made some more progress since last post.

Drive shafts done.
Nissan on top and 1310 series jeep ones at the diffs.

Front one is longish, internal spigot at the joint.




Rear one is shown at full extension of the suspension.
Angle is similar to the 3B's or a CJ5 rear.


Used the Nissan part at the top and sleeved it all together down to the jeep end.
Straightness is within 0.25mm on both drive shafts.

Lifted the rear diff angle using shims to match the angle of the new engine gearbox combo.
Need to double check that angle once the weight of the body comes back on.



Moved on to the fuel supply system.

I am using the Ford, in tank fuel pump because it is already matched to the engine as far as delivered fuel pressure goes.

However in the sedan the full tank is below the rear seat and is around 8 inches deep, with the rest of the fuel tank extending up behind the rear seat back in a big L shape.
So the pump is not a great fit in a square style tank.

Looked at rebating the original tank but that would lose capacity in an already small tank so figured it would be nearly as easy to make a new tank.

It fills the gap in the chassis more efficiently and incorporates the original jeep fuel sender / pick up.

The pipes in that have been crimped and welded.

A little adjustment of the float arm gives it full travel in the higher tank so I am hoping I'll have a fuel gauge that works reasonably well.


Tank is the same depth below the chassis but higher on top as I have lifted the body a bit.
Capacity is slightly more than original.


Then used the original fuel hard lines and hose connections and bent them to suit the obstacles on top of the chassis.

Needed to extend the hard lines by TIG welding about 12 inches in.


Even managed to use the Ford clips that held the fuel and brake lines to secure the lines.

Canister half way along is a filter.


Also got the exhaust done but that is not very interesting.
Although it does require routing from the manifold, under the sump to the left side to get away from the drive shafts.

 

Oh, think some of you will enjoy this as well.

The 3B on our last trip.







We were trying to go along the road way rather than in the rough washed out stuff.
It was a steep angle but then the road surface collapsed under the front wheel a little bit and the rear wheel got to it and completely collapsed the mini sink hole.

No injuries.
A few scrapes on the windscreen frame and bent the canvas stiffener along the right side.

 

If you can't afford a lift to get at those drivelines, just drive it down that road! Its freee and very effective!

Did you just leave it there? Need some help retrieving it? I would be more than happy to show up and help you out!!! HA!

 

Winched it back on it's feet and went again.

Had plenty of help.

 

No, it stresses me out.

 

Whoopsies, no harm no foul! I bet if you were driving a new JL it wouldn't have gone so well, lol.

 

The first time is the worst. After that, it’s no big deal.

 

Not looking forward to it.

 

Just keep your hands inside. I've been in two rollovers now. Amazingly I wasn't driving either time!

 

When you wheel with Steve on the Rubicon this summer...... your going to want to keep an eye on him. He could roll over at any time and you don't want to miss the show!

 

Glad to know we are not the only ones to have become gravitationally embarrassed.



Have been trying to get the engine running over the weekend.

But not having any luck.
Have spark, but no injector pulses or fuel pump trigger out of the computer.

It seems I have got an issue with the computer not retaining in its memory, that the ford security lockout had been modified to work outside the sedan.

I've got everything temporarily hooked direct to the battery and have triple checked connections, asked for help from a facebook group dedicated to these type of engine conversions and it seems that the fuel shutting down is a common symptom when the Passive Anti Theft System (PATS) is still operating.

Shot of the wiring spaghetti.


So I decided to not let that delay me and moved on to the body alterations until I can get the guy who did the computer modification to take another look at it.

Brought the body down and chopped out the tunnel and firewall to clear the Barra engine and Nissan gearbox.




Lost around 3 inches of the toolbox area and all of the left side tunnel.
Made sure I have plenty of clearance around the engine rear.







If you did not need a cooling fan it would have fit without chopping into the firewall.






Got lucky in a few places.
The intake manifold clears the wall by about 1 inch, and the rebate in the firewall is perfectly positioned to clear the fuel rail pressure regulator.


The other spot it worked out well is at the handbrake drum that is at the rear of the transfer case.
Perfect fit under the ledge where the floor steps up to the rear cargo section.



Overall, the height the big gearbox intrudes into the cab area was not as bad as I was expecting.



Next step is to mock up the new tunnel.

 

Nice work! Good luck with the wiring gremlins, I am sure you will have a handle on it!

 

This is fantastic! Where in AUS are you? My wife is from Ferny Grove, Brisbane.

 

Hey truckee4x4.

I am down near Newcastle in NSW, so a bit away from Ferny Grove.

 

So here is the new motor installed and wired up for the final time. Hopefully.

Air filter is not attached permanently just yet.
I know these motors are not commonly found over where most of you guys are but it looks like a good option for us Aussies.

https://www.facebook.com/video.php?v=3797342050343665

 

First move out of the workshop.

Doesn't take much of a throttle move to make things go at the wheels.

https://www.facebook.com/video.php?v=3797363753674828

 

The videographer was wagging a finger at me about doing little skids.
But it was hard to resist.

https://www.facebook.com/video.php?v=3797365113674692