Reed 78 FJ40 Rebuild

[reaper71]

Pic #1. This will be the new ring for the shift boot.
It was a much larger version the the stock one so I made my own.

Pic #2. After cutting,drilling etc. it was shot in wrinkle black to match the rest of the components.

Pic #3. The finished product.....just like factory

Mark...

[reaper71]

Pic #1. I started to fit the new gauge and gauge panel and if you look close (center area ) you can see that it will need to be trimmed to be able to fit a gauge through the hole.
That was problem #1. The second one was that you would have to wire all gauges after they were installed (under the dash) and as you can see not alot of room.

Pic #2. This was after I trimmed etc to get the gauges in place.
Normally when I do a gauge cluster I always wire all gauges then install as a unit.

Pic #3. My fix....I ended up trimming the dash opening to allow the cluster to be installed as a complete unit, in doing so I had to make this plate to extend down to cover the opening.

Pic #4. The finished product, with the dash pad covering the new extended plate it looks almost factory.


Mark...

[Advanced Design]

That was a good solution and the results look right...clean, balanced...well done Mark!

[reaper71]

Thank's Doug.
This has become a trend with this build, figuring out how to get things that don't belong to work properly!

Mark..

[reaper71]

The next project was to get the new 9500 lb winch mounted to the bumper.

Pic #1. is the mounting plate for the fairlead, I tig welded it to the top of the bumper.

Pic #2. This is the mounting plate for the fairlead.

Pic #3. The new mounts made up for the winch and the control box.

Pic #4. The new tow hook rings were then welded on.

Pic #5. Here I didn't go into detail, But I ended up trimming the bumper ends to match the rear bumper and then capped them off, and now ready for powder coat.

Mark...

[reaper71]

Update...

Pic #1. This was part of the O.E. Battery tray it was on the passenger side fender. Since it now has a small block in it, the room has gone away.
hence the new location.

Pic #2.The mockup of the new tray.
it will be welded to the top of the old mound and then bolted to the fender for extra support.
(it is also mounted to the shock mount bracket)

Pic #3. This was after it was cut,bent etc

Pic #4. Mounted in the truck.

Pic #5. The finished product.

[reaper71]

Sorry for the lack of updates, just been doing wiring and a few other things. The truck has made alot of progress just have not posted.

Pic #1. The Speedhut gauges wired up and lit.

Pic #2. The front end has had more work finished up, the bumper came back from powder coat, the new winch has been mounted and the new driving lights have been mounted as well.

Pic #3. In this shot I had to make up a box for the relays for the lights, fan etc.
and I also made the cover.

Pic #4. It will be mounted on the firewall.

Pic #5. The cover mounted to both hide and protect.

Mark...

[Advanced Design]

Nice work Mark. The cover came out really well.

[reaper71]

Thanks Doug, I wanted to at least take away the "ugly" haha.

Pic #1. These are the switches used to control the driving lights.
They are from Watson's street works they call them hot dots they come in 2 sizes and these are the smaller ones.

Pic #2. The lights all hooked up and working, they are Stupid bright!!

Pic #3. The box all painted to match the firewall.

Pic #4. I also was able to get the winch all wired and operating as well, onto the next item.

Mark...

[reaper71]

Pic #1. worked on the headlight wiring, I ended up having to run them through a relay (using push button switch for H/B) instead of stock dimmer. After all the wiring was finished up this was the look.
Halo on when you turn the key on or DRL.

Pic #2. Pic #2. Looks fine in the pic right?
Well they only work on H/B no L/B, so after checking and re checking things I have found out the lights are wired wrong from the factory, I put straight power to the light separately from a different source and they only have H/B
anyway they still look really cool and will have to get a new set.

Mark...

[reaper71]

Update...

Pic #1. The new Headlights came in, The 1st set is on the left (chrome background) and the new on the right (black background)
the new set also has amber turn signal instead of white.

Pic #2. The lights with DRL in white.

Pic #3. This was taken in mid blink.

Pic #4. I also used LED bulbs for the tail lights.

Pic #5. The customer decided to go with the FITech injection since we were the guinea pig on Dad's truck (Oldman 3 ) have not done the wiring yet and am waiting for the fuel system to show up.

Mark...

[Advanced Design]

Continued nice work. You guys will be very experienced with FITech installs.

[RockinKees]

I like the "black" headlights more then the white if I may say so

The Fitech looks like a really nice setup!
Never heard of it until Oldman 3 talked about it.
Bummer on his damage!!

[reaper71]

Doug, Thank's
Yeah I think it will be an easier task from here on out.


Kees, I picked out the black style for him and after I sent that pic. he loved them even more.
As far as the damage goes I have a ton of work ahead of me right now I hope to be able to get his in fairly soon.

Mark...

[reaper71]

Update...

Pic #1. The FITech fuel system finally showed up.

Pic #2. The pre,post filters and fittings these are the push-lock style fittings.
I have never used them so I hope they work as advertised!

Pic #3. The pump with the new fittings installed, The inlet is -8 (on the right) and the outlet is a -6 it also comes with a billet mount for the frame etc.

Pic #4. The pump all mounted to the underside of the truck, per the instructions it has to be lower than the tank and on these the tank is under the passenger seat, that's why I put the pump here fairly easy as placement goes

So I was able to get the main line and the return lines ran Yesterday and will start on the wiring in the morning.

Mark...

[RockinKees]

Clean!!
Are you mounting a plate of some sort to prevent damage to the pump?
Or is it never going to see gravel, sand and dirt roads?
It's high enough tho...

[Advanced Design]

Good pump placement for service. Any difficulties assembling the push lock fittings?

[reaper71]

Kees, It sits fairly high and it is well under the body and if you look close in the last pic the step bar/rock slider is right below it.
That being said no shield to cover it,I don't see this thing doing any hard core off roading.

Doug, I had my doubts about the push lock fittings (have never used before) but I tell you these will give you a workout putting together. I did have to take one apart and I ended up cutting the hose 90% at the barbed end and it still wouldn't come off, only when it was cut 100% did it finally come apart so we will see how they perform.
The hose is rated for 200 psi though.

Mark...

[Advanced Design]

I splurged and bought one of these today while at PRI. Convinced myself because they have free shipping....

[Zoomin]

Absolutely insane build!

[reaper71]

Very nice tool find Doug, Until I use these style hose ends more (if I like them) that would be an option.
I did see another style for pressing these on will look into it.
Thank's.

Zoomin...Thank's, This has been really fun doing this build and challenging in several ways and test's my skill's.

Mark...

[reaper71]

Pic #1. This is the throttle cable mount for the side of the Throttle body unit.
The issue I was having was when bolted to the rear stud it was turning and causing the cable to go out of alignment.

Pic #2. My fix...drilled a hole for a 1/4-20 button head and a lock nut the nut will go right up the the base of the TB and keep from turning (so simple it's stupid)

Pic #3. The finished project, in this shot you can see the button head just below the fuel inlet.

next up the O2 sensor.

Mark...

[reaper71]

Pic #1. the O2 bung that comes with the FITech unit is not the best I've used and it it designed to be clamped on and I do not care for it.
I did however weld Dad's on (the plate they send is stainless) Did not realize this till later as it was hard to weld because I used carbon wire and stainless doesn't like carbon wire.
So I bought these from Summit for $5.99 each versus from Oreilly's for $25!!

Pic #2. Find your spot (I went 12" from last tube)drill A 7/8" hole and weld it in.

Pic #3. and the finished product tucked away.

Mark...

[reaper71]

Doug these were what I saw the other day,don't know how good they would be they are made by Aeroquip from speedway for $40.00
#6173632

Mark...

[RockinKees]

All looks nice Mark!

Are those for making flexibel fuellines and so, the pics Doug and you are showing?