[n2666s]

Carlos, love the pix of your really cool rig, have got a lot of inspiration from your thread......like the way the aux tank sits; have my 12 gal aux tank but still trying to figure out how to plumb it

Lou

[RHINO]

they are a love hate relationship sometimes,,,, looks like your doing real good, just keep at it. snow pics are cool, maybe cause i dont have any.

[Lucy_FJ55]

Originally Posted by RHINO

they are a love hate relationship sometimes,,,, looks like your doing real good, just keep at it. snow pics are cool, maybe cause i dont have any.

Speaking of 'love/hate', the ol' gal died on me tonight. Even worse, my wife had to pick me up across town- she laughed at me all the way home. I think the alternator may have crapped out. I'll have to get the cruiser back in the garage tomorrow. :(

[jp_waltz]

sorry if you have already posted this somewhere! I am thinking about getting a 55 for a project and I am curious as to the approximate $$ amount that it has taken to get that pig looking as great as it does. I dont have the mechanical ability as you from the looks of things so I probably wont go to the same extent as you. I know that these are an addiction and Im just trying to get an idea of cost on things. Sorry if im being to general. Thanks for the input.
Paul

[caldentey]

carlos, you get the princess running? Let me know if you need a hand.

[Lucy_FJ55]

jp_waltz/Paul-
I apologize for leaving you hanging for a couple months...I conveinently forgot about this thread for awhile, and I wasn't sure how/if I wanted to answer that question. I can tell you this, I paid more than 10k, but less than 15k for it originally. It looked pretty and ran well but had a lot of good miles behind her. I have no paint/body skills so I always thought I would learn by practicing on my trail pig, but that never happened. I wasn't even looking for a new pig or car of any sort. I stumbled across this pig while digging for a pristine FJ40 for a friend that was looking for a cruiser. I was told about this '55 and of course I wanted to check it out because I heard it was in decent shape/fresh body work. I was a bit sceptical until I saw it. I then had to figure out how I was going to be able to afford it. That's where my rationalization skills really shine. Within minutes (in my head) I had convinced myself to purchase this 'ol pig for a 'princessly sum'.

I have spent thousands of dollars in addition to that in parts alone- not including the value of my own (and others) time. That said, I only spent about 2k on my first pig and I have seen some great non-restored pigs pop up here on Mud and Craigslist for a decent price. You'll find the right one, just be patient.

Good luck with your search, let me know if I can help in any way, and post up some pics when you bring your piggie home.

OINK! OINK!

[dsa03cjj]

keep up the great work

[Lucy_FJ55]

Originally Posted by dsa03cjj

keep up the great work

Thanks dsa...I appreciate that. Just trying my best.

[Lucy_FJ55]

By the way, I recently replaced the old/dead alt with a new/reman Toyota alt I purchased through CDan. Easy, inexpensive fix. I have been thinking about replacing my OEM alt with a higher amp alt as part of my dual battery upgrade, but I just don't have the time or money right now. I needed to get this cruiser running ASAP!

She runs well again and I drive her almost daily.

Anyhoo, here's a pic...

[Lucy_FJ55]

I had a chance to go camping just outisde of town a couple days ago and found a sweet little spot by a creek for a night. Grabbed the wife and the dog, some camping gear, food, and we were on our way. We drove up a cool dirt 'road', lots of overgrowth, worse than usual road conditions due to winter storms, and a bit of low gear.

Here are a few pics from our latest excursion.

I will update folks with some tech updates soon. Not too much to report lately other than weekend errands and the occassional cruiser outing. Been bike commuting but have a bunch of new ideas/plans for the cruiser...

[Lucy_FJ55]

...mas.

[Lucy_FJ55]

...y mas.

[cml25]

Beautiful pictures and a great thread. Lots of good information! Hope the princess is running good.

[animaldevictor]

Hi Carlos que buenas fotos!!!! with that kind of landscape it really worth to have pig, one day I will go to Oregon

[Lucy_FJ55]

Wow, I remember this thread...

Thanks guys for the kind words. Gracias Animal...you are always welcome to come visit.

Yes, life is good. Oregon is a beautiful place and my cruiser runs, what more can I ask for? Hmmm, maybe a 2F for my Trail Pig...

Honestly, not much else to update...she is running well. I have been driving her occasionally to work, to the dump, to Home Depot, etc. I have a few maintenance issues to work on during the winter, tighten the head bolts, valve adjustment, oil/oil filter change, maybe some new plugs, tinted windows eventually, etc. I'll post when something happens.

Cheers, Carlos.
OINK! OINK!

[Lucy_FJ55]

I have been daily driving this pig for the last couple of months and have begun to finish some more of the details. I finally brought the Cruiser to a local shop and had them deal with my turn signals and brake lights. My right brake light and left turn signal have never worked since I've owned this pig. I have tried cleaning/checking grounds, replacing bulbs, etc. and have been frustrated with it. I finally had the shop replace the dash-mounted hazard switch and the turn signal switch found just beneath the steering wheel. It all works great now. Thank you NuclearLemon for the parts!

I also installed an aftermarket windshield wiper/squirter kit, but it never worked. I had the shop fix it and they ended up using a bright red aftermarket switch mounted in a hole in the dash. I was hoping they could make the original wiper switch work, but apparently it too has issues. I may find another used OEM switch and have them swap it out and make it right.

I'm still having gas tank venting issues. I recently purchsed an OEM vented gas cap hoping that would work, but it still whistles on a hot day and pressurizes. I've been reading up about this and will be tackling it soon...

I have just about decided to swap the Safari 4" lift and U-bolt flip kit from my Trail Pig to this one. I have SS extended brake lines to install, along with a new master cylinder, clutch slave, etc. I plan to run 33x10.5's on the stock steelies. I'm not sure if I will be OK with the stock gearing in the diffs, or if I should plan more upgrades. I plan to upgrade both the brakes and steering when I toss the lift on of course. Any thoughts? Do I need to swap ring and pinion gears if i go to 33's?

I have a few more ideas and parts to install soon. I'll keep folks posted.

[PabloCruise]

Very cool you threw down and fixed those annoying little bugs.

FWIW I run 33x12.5 on my 40 w/ stock 4.11 gearing and it feels very nice on the road and trail. If I ran really steep stuff I may want 4.56's

Have fun with your Pig!

[Lucy_FJ55]

Thanks for the advice PabloCruise. I think I will go with the larger tires and see how she performs. I do drive this Cruiser up into the nearby mountains regularly and I am most concerned with the combo of steep hills, taller tires, and stock gears. From a little research, it sounds like my taller tires may help with highway speeds (on flat stretches), which would also be nice. I guess I'll try it and upgrade eventually when needed.

I currently have 4.56 gears in my Trail Pig and have been toying with the idea of swapping those axles under this rig when I swap the lift over... More ideas, still gathering parts and trying to decide what exactly to do. Thanks again for all the advice folks.

Cheers, Carlos.

[Lucy_FJ55]

Well, I had a bit of a scare this last weekend. I took the pig out for a mellow cruise with the local Cruiser club/mob, and noticed on the way home that the engine had NO OIL PRESSURE!!! I immediately pulled over to check the oil level. It was a little low but still registering on the dipstick. This made me less worried and I tossed another quart of oil in for the 3-4 mile drive home. Parked the rig overnight and then futzed with it last Sunday. Noticed I needed another quart of oil and the level was now full. Still no pressure. WTF.

When I originally pulled over to check the oil, I also noticed the bungee cord that held the battery in place had failed and the battery was swimming in the dual tray and the negative cable had come loose. Zoinks. So, I decided to toss the second battery in the tray to properly tie them both down. I hadn't done this yet because the tray is designed specifically for Optimas and they apparently need to sit a certain way to work with the tie-down. My negative and positive cables are currently too short to allow for the proper placement of the batteries. I decided to flip one of the batteries and clamp them down as best as possible. It works well enough for now. Eventually I'll have to finish the dual battery set up completely. Here's a pic of the dual batteries in the super-sweet stainless tray. I also have the valve cover off because I wanted to be sure the top end was getting oil.



I finally found the oil pressure sending unit and realized I had snapped the wire to it while wheeling. No big deal. I still need to fix it however...

[Lucy_FJ55]

I have finally decided to swap the suspensions of my pigs. My Trail Pig is running a 4" SUA Safari lift from Man-A-Fre with OME shocks and anti-inversion shackles. It also has a shackle reversal and a u-bolt flip kit. My Princess Pig is sporting the origial suspension, maybe newer shocks. The orig. leafs are old, soft, saggy and are perfect for a spring over.

My plan is to strip the 4" suspension and u-bolt flip kit from the Trail Pig and swap it over to the Princess. I'll run the 33x 12.5' on it for now, but they will be up for sale and I'll probably purchase a set of 33x 10.5 BFG Mud KM2's on the steelies. Soon-ish.

This will allow me to use the orignal springs from the Princess for a SOA on the Trail Pig! I will meld the two together... It seems to be the obvious, least expensive, and smart way to 'further' both my trail rig and my DD/overland rig.

[Lucy_FJ55]

Can't remember if I mentioned before... the tailgate window decided to crap-out a couple days before McGrew this past July and has been stuck in the up position ever since. With the help of Gary's article in Toyota Trails I dug up from my stash, I was able to swap out the infamous plastic gear that typically breaks in everyone's tailgate. I had performed this task many moons ago on my Trail Pig when it crapped out, so I figured I could handle this too. I assumed it was mechanical and not electrical. Well I sorta guessed and lucked out. I'm not too bright when it comes to electrical. Sure enough, the plastic gear was split in half and about to grenade...

Anyhoo, its all buttoned up and works great now!

[Lucy_FJ55]

And so it begins again...

I disassembled the rear end on the Princess Pig and have PB Blasted everything for tomorrow's onslaught!



Saggy srings and old shocks are stripped form the rear end...



4" Extended SS braided brake lines will be installed tomorrow...



No air tools. It has not been bad at all actually. No real rust at all under this pig. High desert score! Everything has come off, thus far, quite easily. Let's hope that's the case tomorrow.

[Lucy_FJ55]

Got about 2 1/2 days into it thus far. Slow and steady progress. We only have both rear ends stripped. I have part of the sway bar that won't budge on the Princess left to deal with. I plan to remove it all together since I haven't used it on the Trail Pig and it has worked swell. I have removed the steering stabilizer on the Princess but not the Trail Pig yet. I have replaced all 4 brake lines with SS braided lines. We had some tough nuts, but the U-bolts have been the biggest pain so far. Here are a couple more pics to please the eyes...


Wasn't too bad, just slow. One of the hurdles we had to deal with, a pair of U-bolts on the rear of my Trail Pig that would not budge. I actually had a spare so we sawzalled the old ones off after trying forever to free them.



Last pic of the night... springs and shocks basically removed from Trail Pig. We are now ready to install
both rear suspensions. Gettin' there.

[DWitcher]

Awsome!

[OinkOinker]

sorry if i sound like a sook but! shouldnt you be supporting the back of the pig?? those front axle stands look aweful far up the chassis there (acting like a fulcrum), i know most of the weight IS in the front of it. but id hate to see her turn into a see-saw....

[Lucy_FJ55]

Originally Posted by OinkOinker

sorry if i sound like a sook but! shouldnt you be supporting the back of the pig?? those front axle stands look aweful far up the chassis there (acting like a fulcrum), i know most of the weight IS in the front of it. but id hate to see her turn into a see-saw....

You are probably right. Looks scary doesn't it! I usually have the tire/rims under the rig while I'm working on it but removed them overnight so they would not get stolen. Once I climb underneath again I'll toss the big 'ol tires underneath for a back up. I would like to have another jackstand under the rear bumper, but I ran out of 'em... I should probably at least toss a high-lift under the rear bumper.

Good point, and I don't want to get crushed. I'll toss something else under the back end.

[Lucy_FJ55]

My boss is WAY COOL! Basically insisting that I take the time to finish this while I can, before the weather rolls in. So, I stayed home today again and worked on the pigs. I made a little more progress. Re-installed the old saggy springs and shocks on the rear of the Trail Pig. I will eventually get to a SOA on this rig, but that's another thread. I also jacked up the front end of the Trail Pig and almost finished removing all the suspension components.

I can now basically work in the garage and not worry about the weather.



I thought about rollin' this way for a few days and then decided against it.



Last pic of the day...

[Lucy_FJ55]

Interesting development. I paid a shop to originally install the 4" lift, OME shocks and stabilizer, and the u-bolt flip kit on my Trail Pig while they performed some other work years ago. When I pulled the two front tires off the Trail Pig today, I noticed someone had installed some 1/4 spacers behind the rims sometime in the past. I assume they were needed for clearance of the aftermarket front disc brakes and rims. Never knew they were there. I assume I will probably need them when I install the bigger tires and lift on the Princess Pig. I'll double check...



I have a question for the masses. The lift kit originally needed shims under the front springs as shown in the pic below. The original set-up also had a front shackle reversal... but the Princess Pig does not. So, I assume I need to flip these front springs when I bolt them up to the Princess. Do I also flip the shims?! In other words, do I keep the shims with the high side to the rear of the rig, regardless of which way the springs are installed? Shackle reversal or not? Please enlighten me.

[OinkOinker]

Originally Posted by Lucy_FJ55

You are probably right. Looks scary doesn't it! I usually have the tire/rims under the rig while I'm working on it but removed them overnight so they would not get stolen. Once I climb underneath again I'll toss the big 'ol tires underneath for a back up. I would like to have another jackstand under the rear bumper, but I ran out of 'em... I should probably at least toss a high-lift under the rear bumper.

Good point, and I don't want to get crushed. I'll toss something else under the back end.

a big ol' stack o' tyres should do the trick! work safe

(damn, workplace health and safety is infecting my personal life too! )

[tucker74]

Originally Posted by Lucy_FJ55

I assume I need to flip these front springs when I bolt them up to the Princess. Do I also flip the shims?! In other words, do I keep the shims with the high side to the rear of the rig, regardless of which way the springs are installed? Shackle reversal or not? Please enlighten me.

Yep, those shims are for caster correction with the 4" lift and you want to swap the orientation if you reverse the springs to maintain the proper angle

Tucker