1985 FJ60 "Restomod" (1 Viewer)

[murf]

Restomod probably isn’t the most correct term but it is the closest that I can come up with that describes what my goals are in bringing back this 60 series to its former glory (and then a little more). The idea here was to be loyal to the original Toyota vehicle but do a few modifications to make it better suited for what I was going to use it for (lift, tires, stereo) and some safety modifications (lighting, handling, etc).

I purchased this from the original owner in Paradise valley, AZ that bought it for the weekend getaway rig for the family. He immediately had a 6 point roll cage installed being that he had some teenage children and they liked to “go up those hills”. Unfortunately they liked to also bump into things like trees. Every panel and bumper had some kind of scrape or dent!

 

[murf]

Fortunately, the father was a stickler for detail and was the kind of guy who kept everything like the original window sticker, key fob, canceled check for the purchase, etc. The record keeping was nothing short of impressive and he kept the vehicle maintained at the local Toyota dealer at a level that was top notch. Whatever was recommended, he would have done to this rig.

Fast forward to 2011, his kids are long out of the house, he has 6 vehicles in his garages and his wife cannot drive anymore. Time to thin the herd. While the vehicle was nothing to look at, mechanically the vehicle was a diamond in the rough. He bought it into our service department here and decided he didn’t want to put anymore time or money into it. It sat on our lot for a month and happened by one day to find out I was a Land Cruiser fan. We met and convinced me (easily) to purchase it from him. The mileage is 167K for a 26 year old vehicle!

Replaced within the last 40K miles by OP:

Clutch, rear main, ps pump rebuild, starter, carburetor rebuild, radiator, alternator, wheel bearings repacked, f&r brakes, trunions /axle resealed and packed, all drivelines fluids changed, etc. A good base to work from. So I bought it about 1 year ago and started picking away at it.

 

[murf]

While the servicing on this rig was impressive, there were some items that needed attention. These immediate needs were addressed:

• New carb parts, egr repair, vac switch valve, vac advance repair, replace vacuum lines, adjust carb, repair air injection system, gas filter, Replace RF door handle, Replace power steering pressure hose, repair wires to carb fan, service diffs, transfer case, & transmission fluids. Install 2.5 suspension lift kit, new suspension bushings, new shackles, greaseable pins, install shocks, install larger steering stabilizer, alignment. Lube driveline, 12/11
• Added ½ “ body lift for a total of 3 inches of lift.
• Built new inside spare tire carrier 1/12
• Fuel pump 1/12 167070 miles
• AC expansion valve, receiver dryer, evacuate and recharge ac system. Replace hoses, Tstat, Tstat housing, bypass hoses, New transmission mount, replace all four front steering tie rods, alignment, 02/12 167655 miles
• Found 5 used 33-1250’s to mount on “period correct” 15x8 aluminum wheels.

Got it to pass emissions with flying colors – it turned out the carb was already gone over in the past and all it needed was vacuum hose replacement and correct rerouting, a vacuum valve replacement, and getting the air pump and egr to be plumbed right. I also burned up the old gas and ran premium.

Heck I might go from 7 mpg (really, it was REAL rich) up to 11?! Woot!

Found hatch strut / bolt replacements through Reid supply off of the 60 FAQ's. Great info as usual on MUD.

 

[murf]

At first, I told myself I would keep it wouldn’t put too much time and effort into it other than making sure it was excellent mechanically. That didn’t last too long ~ The Cruiser head in me kept tinkering and looking to make it better and better. I took it on several group runs with the Copper State Cruisers and it performed well. A broken trans mount allowed the T-case to jump out of gear and steep off-camber climbs on the first run and was promptly fixed the next day at the shop.

Concerning the steering, initially it wandered pretty bad while driving down the road which was quickly improved by tightening the nuts down on 2 tie rods, Still some wander but much better.

The difference in going from tightened down tie rods to new ones was just as substantial. Kurt at Cruiser outfitters finally got a set of the 555's in and sold me the set of four. I typically am Toyota parts loyal but in this case the price difference was substantial and the build quality of the 555's were very impressive. Bottom line: Now the truck steers straight and feels very tight. I can truly relax driving down the road.

After this I also installed a new set of BFG KO's with the white letters out (old school - 1985 was all about the white letters and is appropriate for this IMO )

Driveline: I’ve been dealing with a vibration from the undercarriage (after the lift) that would start right above 65 mph and get worse as the speed increased. The vehicle would vibrate and create a booming sound in the cabin, which was almost deafening at 75mph.

I replaced the u-joints with Toyota joints and sent it out to be balanced. Upon the subsequent test drive, the noise was eliminated! You may wonder why I even need to go over 65? Each time I bring the 60 on a group run, in order to keep up with the other club members on the freeway I must go approx 75-80. A bunch of law-breaking speed demons!

Trans mount: Props to MikeOB1 who suggested I check my Transmission mount after hearing that on the recent March run the transfer case popped out of 4WD once on a tough off camber situation. It didn’t do it on a couple more runs up the same hill but Mike said he has seen this same issue. Back at the shop, sure enough after removing the big skid plate we found the trans mount was bad. The new mount now holds the assembly tight in place and took away the excessive movement that lead to this problem.

 

[murf]

A/C - my expansion valve decided to stop working so upon replacement, we took the opportunity and also cleaned out the evaporator of 27 years of dust. Some new o-rings, reciever dryer, schrader valves, it now blows 26 degrees on low fan speed! Gotta love R-12...


Now I added some other items to the list and was fortunate to find a 60 about 100 round trip miles away where I scavenged a lot of parts off of and upgraded many damaged or weathered parts on my LC which included: straight rear bumper, taillight lenses, left rear inside panel, rear tailgate carpet cover, headlight washer bottle, dome light cover, tailgate carpet, and rf/ rr mudflaps. A good haul!

New additional parts include: new front grill emblem, all 4 side marker lights, gas cap, hood stops and stays, window tint, air cleaner inlet hose, dash bulbs, right side view mirror, console catch assy, wiper arms, roof bars and rack.

The last picture finally shows the new tires but you can also see while the original paint shined up well, the rig is pretty dented and scraped up...

 

[klinetime574]

Very nice restoration

I rock the white letters out. Only way to go

 

[murf]

I decided to upgrade the sound system with a new Pioneer CD deck with Ipod connect and new door 6.5” coaxial speakers. Rear 6x9 triaxial speakers in boxes. Speakers are all Rockford Fosgate.

A 10” Sub & JL audio 250 monoblock amp just added last week for better tunage .

I had the interior re upholstered, and finally decided to have the body completely fixed and painted which took several months at the body shop. A new dash cap was added, Bosch H4 55/60w headlights (Big difference!) and LED interior, tail/brake lights, a 62 series dash grab handle, and installed a 62 series front bumper. A set of 1.25 spacers were also added due to some very slight rubbing on the inner tie rod and on one of the rear inner fender wells.

 

[murf]

the new 62 front bumper, grill logo, and h4's updated the front. Interior seats redone in cloth with new vinyl and second row seat new carpet on the backside. The upholsterer also put new foam in the drivers seat bottom so I dont lean to the left anymore !

 

[murf]

The dash pad really made a huge difference and for the money is a nice upgrade.

 

[murf]

Some pictures of the outside after paint/body >

 

[murf]

Now to protect the new bodywork (!) I took a set of Trail gear rock sliders and one of the club members modified them with some grating installed along the top to keep feet and dropped items out and rocks/debris from shooting up not to mention protecting the new body work.

 

[murf]

Picture of the welds to the body, gusseting, and also of the grab handle mounted last week.

The exhaust manifold has been ticking since I got it and decided to address this issue. I have the new manifold assy for installation and will be installing it next week. It has been cleaned and machined for a good flat surface to mount up. New gaskets and Ill be rid of that bothersome ticking sound under acceleration.

The body sway on a lifted 60 is a bit more than my wife is used to on corners (most 60’s don’t have rear anti sway bars) so I sourced a used assy which bolts right up and also installed all four extended sway links to offset the lift. These parts should be arriving in a couple weeks and will be worked on after the manifold is done.

Ill post some pictures up.

 

[srogers]

Looks fantastic - great job

 

[klinetime574]

We have similar tastes! Sliders with mud flaps, BFG A/T with white letters out, FJ62 grab bar, alloy chrome wheels

I need to get mine painted and then it will look as good as yours. Again, good work.

 

[gregnash]

Wow great looking cruiser there dude! So you went with ~3" total of lift between the suspension and body lift? Any chance you can take some measurement from ground to middle of fender in the wheelwell.

 

[Big Cruiser Guy]

Really nice rig. Great job.

 

[murf]

Thank you gentlemen...really fell in love with the 60.
Ill measure up the lift ground to fender and post up.

 

[Clonestocker]

Murf,

Where were your wheeling pictures taken? thx matt

 

[murf]

Wow great looking cruiser there dude! So you went with ~3" total of lift between the suspension and body lift? Any chance you can take some measurement from ground to middle of fender in the wheelwell.

Gregnash, the front measures at 37.75 and the rear 37.25...

Murf,

Where were your wheeling pictures taken? thx matt

Matt: both runs are with the Copper State Cruiser club in AZ. The run without snow is Red Creek and here is the run thread if youre interested in more pictures> https://forum.ih8mud.com/az-copper-state-cruisers/551171-red-creek.html?highlight=red+creek

The run with snow was Montana Mountain trail and we had a suprise snow storm (in AZ?! earlier this year). The thread for this run (suggest checking out page 5 for some great pictures): https://forum.ih8mud.com/az-copper-...hly-trail-run.html?highlight=montana+mountain

Im lucky to be a part of such a great group of people in CSC

We had a wide selection of trucks on this run including a really sweet 55, some 40's, 60's, a couple 100's and many 80's - good times!

 

[murf]

The manifold arrived, removed the old one and will install the good one tomorrow. Cant wait to not hear the exhaust leak anymore.

has anyone done the 62 rear sway bar mod on thier 60? Any feedback or suggestions?