It's hard to beat the advantages of an FSJ. They're not quite a real fullsize truck and not quite a mini truck so they fit on most trails, yet are big enough to be comfortable. Many FSJs have 1/2-ton truck drivetrain or better including V-8s, stout axles, and truck transmissions. They really don't need much work to be solid trail rigs. For us, the J-truck pickups have several advantages over a typical utility vehicle. The most obvious is more storage space in the form of a bed. Last issue we covered the lift, tires and wheels, and fender trimming of our recycled truck. This issue we we'll cover all the doodads that make our truck a reliable, convenient and capable off-road rig.
When we bought our J2000 it...
When we bought our J2000 it already had an HEI ignition conversion installed on the AMC 360 V-8. However, it was a cheapie import version that was a complete pile. The mechanical advance was not working properly and we tried everything to fix it. Ultimately it had been assembled with the wrong parts. The advance mechanism would make contact with the underside of the rotor. This resulted in pathetic engine performance over 1,500 rpm.
By far the best bolt-on performance...
By far the best bolt-on performance mod you can make to an AMC V-8 is an ignition upgrade. The factory ignition system is anemic and problematic, and as we found out the overseas HEI conversions were questionable at best. We ditched the crappy non-functioning HEI that came with our truck and slapped in a blueprinted Performance Distributors DUI ignition (PN 40820). The DUI is tuned specifically to our engine and now our V-8 revs like it should. The increase in reliability, power and torque is well worth the effort and expense.
We also added Performance...
We also added Performance Distributors LiveWires (PN C9076) and billet aluminum wire separators (PN 9100) to our V-8. The wires are numbered for each cylinder and feature chaff-resistant sleeves to protect them from damage. Don't forget to smear the included dielectric grease on the inside of the plug boots and increase the spark plug gap to 0.050-0.055 inches for best performance.
Since there isn't a lot of...
Since there isn't a lot of room behind the seats in an FSJ truck we wanted to add a box to the bed for tools, recovery gear and spare parts. A quick trip to eBay revealed this used Delta tool box (PN 819000) that we snatched up for $150 locally. We then fabricated a spare tire mount to hold our 37-inch Goodyear MT/R.
The spare tire is held in...
The spare tire is held in place with a urethane ORI retainer, a large 7/8-inch Home Depot bolt, and a bracket we built and attached to the underside of the bed. If you're not a fabricator you can get a similar ready-to-bolt-in version of our mount from Kartek (PN ORI-994440).
This is the underside of the...
This is the underside of the bed and our home-fabricated spare tire bracket made from a 7/8-inch nut welded to some 3/16x2-inch strap steel. The bracket is bolted to the bed and allows a smooth bed interior when the spare tire is removed for hauling junk. We drilled a 1/4-inch hole at the end of the 7/8-inch bolt so we could add a padlock to make sure our spare tire doesn't find itself a new owner.
We had previously pulled this...
We had previously pulled this Holley two-barrel Pro-Jection 2D system (PN 502-20S) off of another Jeep truck project and put it into storage. So we dusted off the box and put the used EFI system to work on this truck. The Pro-Jection 2-D requires somewhat frequent adjustment (depending on altitude) and is a far cry from the most advanced throttle body conversion available, but that's what we like about it. It's really simple to install and tune. However, it's only good for 275-hp. If you plan on daily driving or you're building a high-revving performance V-8 you'll likely be much happier with a throttle-body conversion from Howell EFI or the Edelbrock MPI kit.
OK, fine, chastise us now....
OK, fine, chastise us now. Our winch isn't used or inexpensive. We didn't want to cheap out since, at least to us, it's a pretty important piece of equipment. Our truck came with an old (no longer manufactured) Warn front bumper that was originally designed for the Warn 8274. So we filled it with the newer version of that winch, the Warn 8274-50. Even though the basic design is over 50-years old it's still the fastest and one of the most durable winches available today, and that's why we chose it for the front of our truck. Plus if you ever need replacement parts (for any Warn winch) it's as easy as going to the Warn website and ordering exactly what you need from detailed exploded diagrams. Try that with your import winch!
Last but not least we needed...
Last but not least we needed more traction so we added an Auburn ECTED electric locker to our Dana 44 rear axle. It's a clutch-type limited-slip that acts like a spool with the flip of a switch. Considering our heavy FSJ truck, 360 V-8, manual transmission, and 37-inch tires we're asking a lot of our new locker. So far the performance of the limited slip has impressed us and the locker has worked flawlessly. Keep an eye out in an upcoming issue of Jp for the ECTED's installation and a long-term performance evaluation.