BJ74 TD Build Thread - Stoffregen Motorsports

[Stoffregen Motorsports]

Here it is guys. Thanks for patiently waiting.

About a year ago I was contacted by a customer in the SF Bay Area who wanted me to do some work to his BJ74. Honestly, I had to google BJ74 to determine exactly what it was. I love 70 series LC's and when I saw his truck, I was hooked.

We went back and forth on the actual details - custom axles, FJ80 axles, Toybox, Blackbox, links, leafs, etc. The truck was dropped off and we started gathering parts. The Diamond axle housing (FJ80 based was the first thing we ordered. The housing was ordered FJ80 width, but I had the diff moved to the passenger side about an inch so we could get the truck down real low without concern of the diff hitting the oil pan. The Blackbox was ordered from NW Fab, knuckles from Hellfire and a handful of other parts sourced from Toyota, Front Range Off Road, shock towers from 4Wheel Undergound, etc. Coilovers were the easy choice up front, but we still didn't know if we were going to link the rear of use custom leafs from Deaver or Alcan.

Here are some pics of the truck in stock form.

 

[Stoffregen Motorsports]

Measurements were taken, axle centerlines marked and disassembly began.



Parts were mocked up.





Assembly of the Blackbox was challenging. I am a smart guy and nothing scares me, but receiving a package of expensive CNC'd, anodized parts without any instructions always makes me a bit nervous. A few calls and emails later and I had enough info to start mocking up the t-case. The t-case is always where I start on a build because it determines where the lower links will be placed, both for performance and for clearance issues.



The tailshaft had to be cut.






Obviously a new t-case mount had to be built. I have tried different methods over the years and I always try to keep in mind driver comfort when building a t-case mount. Too rigid and the driver feels the engine vibrations. Too loose and the motor flops around and can cause other problems. Using some massive poly bushings, this is what we built.

 

[Clintnz]

Will be following with interest - I used to have a BJ74 that looked almost exactly that one, LX model though.

I like the look of that transmission mount, I recently installed some Mark's adapters low range gears in my t-case & have been thinking about beefing up the mounts - I may steal your ideas there

Cheers
Clint

 

[Stoffregen Motorsports]

Will be following with interest - I used to have a BJ74 that looked almost exactly that one, LX model though.

I like the look of that transmission mount, I recently installed some Mark's adapters low range gears in my t-case & have been thinking about beefing up the mounts - I may steal your ideas there

Cheers
Clint

Thanks!

The one feature I really like about this Blackbox is that once assembled, you can now install and remove the t-case without disassembling it. Just remove six nuts, the shifters and driveshafts and this case comes right out.

 

[Clintnz]

The Blackbox is a nice unit for sure - I would have given serious thought to one of those rather than re-gearing the t-case but with a SWB 70 there's not enough length in the rear driveshaft. If I was to start my project again I'd probably go with a MWB.

I'm loving the 80 series rear suspension I swapped into my rig along with the axle. If you are looking for a relatively simple solution to coil the rear I can definitely recommend it. Only downside is the crappy park brake.

Cheers
Clint

 

[cruiseroutfit]

Very cool

 

[Stoffregen Motorsports]

While I had the t-case apart, it was time to drill the flanges for the new mini truck CV's. I would have liked to use the larger stock LC joints, but the slip yokes are so short. The mini truck CV's and u-joints are super strong as long as the driveline angles are set properly. I also swapped the flanges on the diffs to the smaller mini truck flanges.

Here are a couple comparison shots of the flanges and slip yokes. Also a few shots of the completed t-case.

 

[marshal]

this is fantastic, can't wait for more updates

 

[Mushin_Noshin]

Watching!

Sent from my SM-G920V using Tapatalk

 

[Stoffregen Motorsports]

Let me express my dislike for Photobucket. I'm having persistent problems uploading pics that I have to iron out. I'm trapped though. I have so much content with them that if I don't keep it up, I will lose.

Photobucket...you suck.

 

[borison]

Supercool, I'm not familiar with these. The BJ74 appears to be more what Toyota should have been releasing here if they wanted a Wrangler-contender, rather than the FJ-Cruiser.

 

[Stoffregen Motorsports]

Sorry for the delay guys. Photobucket had a legitimate problem and they took a few days to fix it. And now it's Christmas time so...

After the holiday I will get back on it.

Here's a teaser pic until then.

 

[Box Rocket]

Those tires aren't going to cut it.

 

[Mushin_Noshin]

Such skills!

Sent from my SM-G920V using Tapatalk

 

[Stoffregen Motorsports]

Right, those tires are for mock up only. As a matter of fact, they are the old wheels and tires off my Dodge. This truck is not going to have 8 lug axles.