Family haulin'

[boots4]

Thanks, I appreciate the support.

[beav]

Great thread.
I just read it while watching the superbowl.
How much did you end up spending on the project?

[boots4]

The project is not over yet but I planned for ~$10K. That included the cost of the FJ60. One of these days I'll get a closer estimate but since I still need to buy a few things I don't want to scare myself away.

[boots4]

Originally Posted by Tapage

Just wondering if you thought your rear spring pack setup it's enought heavy to support the weight of all family stuff on it and your family with enough shackle clearance from the frame to the spring eye ..

Well Tapage you called me on that one. Once the rear springs settled I found that the leaf was hitting the frame.

This is with some weight on the back. It doesn't contact at ride height but when the springs start to compress they hit the frame.



You can see that the springs still have more compression to go through so a lengthening of the rear shackles was in order.



So I pulled them off and decided to add an inch which now makes the holes 7" apart. Instead of cutting new ones (my 9/16" bit has had it) I'm just going to do a little surgery.

New section in the middle. I also cut out some more plate for support.



Welded and grinded ready for paint.



Painted up. I had some wire feeding issues when welding but got that resolved.



Still have the engine hoist so I used that to lift up the rear end enough to slip the bolts in and out of the shackles.



Shackles are in and droop is being limited by the retaining bolts in the leaf pack. I'm sure on a trail it will be forced more than this and if it doesn't satisfy I can remove those retainer bolts and get a little more. I'd rather test it as is and decide later.



I've been thinking about the shifter linkage for the doubler and t.case for a little while and have passed by a certain isle at the local hardware store that looked like I could find some parts to work. This is what I brought home: One 1/2" NF grade 8 by 3 1/2", Four thick 1/2" washers, Three 1/2" set collars, Two 1/2" jam nuts, One 1/2" nut, and three zerk fittings. Only cost me $13.50.



I had some round stock waiting to become shifters so I grabbed some measurements and did some cutting. The silver piece goes over the tranny, bolting to existing holes and is the base for the shifters. I picked a spot to put the bolt through the base and welded it on the backside. I then choose a spot on the shifters to mount the set collars and welded those on. I heated the shifters up with a torch and bent them to clear each other and test fit them.



The shifters were still hitting each other so I grabbed the grinder and took of a little more material. You get the idea in the following pic.



Once they all moved without rubbing I welded on some tabs for the linkage. I spent some time grinding and sanding and painting. I coated the top with clear and hit the bottom with beige (cummins theme). After they dried I put in the zerks. The thread size was close but the pitch was wrong. I just cranked them in and don't plan on taking them out; they won't be holding any pressure. This gives me an easy way to grease 'em up. I used the wheel bearing idea to hold the shifters to the shaft and that is to use one jam nut to set some preload, lock the other jam nut to it and hopefully the shfiters won't loosen up and wiggle. That other plate you see is to support the end of the bolt.



Close up.



Looking down through the access cover this is how it fits. I needed to cut a little room out of the hump for the outer shifter.



Side shot



Had to enlarge the hole on the access cover too. I tried to make it fit close to where the original hole was. I got out my paint to touch up the base where I welded on the bolt and I broke the jar so I ended up using the rest of it on various parts which is why the access cover got painted.



Slipped on the boot with the metal piece inside and shaped it to the curve.



Then I pulled the metal piece out to see what it looks like on top and I think I like it on top better. I'll just need to get some nice screws or bolts to hold it down.

[boots4]

Thought about placement of my rear shocks and decided on a location. Here are the axle mounts. The pins are what I cut off the upper mount. I'll need to do something different up there anyways.



I'll try and shoot for the 1/3 uptravel 2/3 down travel general rule. Here is the passenger side. I wanted them as low as possible but didn't want them to be rock anchors so I chose this spot. There is enough room to slide the ubolt behind the mount.



Driver side. I don't think I enjoy welding under the rig laying down. It's hard to get a good angle on the path I wanted to take. Next time I'd raise the axle some for a better position.



Since I was down there with the welder I grabbed a piece of exhaust and did some bootyfab to route it passed the axle. I couldn't get that flex piece off so I just used it to my advantage. I do have intentions of replacing at least the muffler out to the back in the future, but for now it'll do.



Little Shake Down:

Later that day I went and picked up my trailer with some wood on it. I was interested to see how it towed. To get around the line pressure on the tranny I hooked a hand-helded vacuum pump to the modulator and put on 8-10" of vacuum. 1st and 2nd were more responsive so I was excited to go try it out. Since I still don't have shocks on I didn't goose it and was careful. I had my wife tail me. My trailer was only 2 miles away so it would be a quick test. I hooked up and started back home. I have the boost gauge hooked up but never really saw it move so I was starting to wonder if I got it in right. With a little load (I estimate 1500-2000lbs) I was able to see the gauge register around 5-6 psi when taking off. There is a small hill on the way back with a stop light before the steep part. I took off normally from the light and gave it more gas and was able to see the boost gauge register 15-16psi. I love hearing that turbo spool up and make some boost. When we got home I asked my wife about that part and she said she couldn't keep up without stepping into it. I still had throttle left so I know it will pull harder. I am really going to like the power of this 4bt

As for noise, I think I will be looking into more sound insulation and I'll probably start in the engine bay. That tranny access cover isn't insulated yet and I could tell sound was getting in from there.

I took better pics of the entire rig so I'll just post those up.



Close but no rubbing when the trailer was on. I'll be trimming to put on the 38s, just waiting for it to warm up a little before I do some body work.



Front axle forward



I plan to paint the lettering on the "TOYOTA" either silver or original white.





Getting closer...

[Project60]

Nice work as usual!

[Kavik]

Damn Boots! This thread covers just about every cool mod that can be done to a 60.

I really like the t-case shifter set up. I did not catch where you got the crossmember that goes over the tranny. Built or bought?

Another question you probably answered before...Rear springs 63" chevy 1/2 ton or 3/4T?

Again, great work. This thread is a monster for info!

[boots4]

Originally Posted by Kavik

I really like the t-case shifter set up. I did not catch where you got the crossmember that goes over the tranny. Built or bought?

Another question you probably answered before...Rear springs 63" chevy 1/2 ton or 3/4T?

Again, great work. This thread is a monster for info!

I'm just waiting for you to start on your drivetrain swap!

I built the base myself. I just got a piece and started bending until that thing came out. I put some braces on it to give it a little more rigidity since it's just a flat strip cut out of a crossmember on my stepvan frame.

As for the leafs they are 3/4T. The 1/2s will have 3 leaves plus overload and the 3/4s will have 4 leaves plus overload. They did well towing my trailer that was tongue heavy (load was all forward of the axle line).

You know, once I'm done it might be a good idea to make a table of contents and post that at the front of this thread. That way it will be easier to reference. Maybe I'll start that soon and just keep it updated as I keep adding on.

[GLTHFJ60]

I'm sorry for the dumb question, but why do you have three shifters for your transfercase? I can only think of one shifter for high-low and one for 2wd-4wd. What is the third one for?

Excellent project by the way!

[boots4]

The third one is to engage my nightrider turbo boost mod...


Seriously, I have one for H/L on the doubler, one for H/L on the tcase, and one for 2wd/4wd on the tcase. Thanks for looking.

[Kavik]

Originally Posted by boots4

I'm just waiting for you to start on your drivetrain swap!

I built the base myself. I just got a piece and started bending until that thing came out. I put some braces on it to give it a little more rigidity since it's just a flat strip cut out of a crossmember on my stepvan frame.

As for the leafs they are 3/4T. The 1/2s will have 3 leaves plus overload and the 3/4s will have 4 leaves plus overload. They did well towing my trailer that was tongue heavy (load was all forward of the axle line).

You know, once I'm done it might be a good idea to make a table of contents and post that at the front of this thread. That way it will be easier to reference. Maybe I'll start that soon and just keep it updated as I keep adding on.

Right on. I'm trying to find an extra splitcase so I can build my drivetrain in the garage before I pull the 2F. In my mind, I plan to do the swap all in one piece (pre -assembled).

I'm really liking the idea of the 63" chevys. It seems like a great fit. And, by studying your pictures, the hangers miss the factory body mounts well. I originally wanted to french in the hangers using the 60 springs, but the body mounts are in the way.

I think there are a bunch of recent builds that would make great additions to the ih8mud tech links. I may end up w/ some server space soon, and I might try to host some of them there and request some links be added in the 'mud tech page.

I am sure you will have permagrin once you can really heavy foot that diesel.

[4x4rob]

awesome write/build up Boots

[jeffsclan]

Hey Boots, where did ya get the boot? Ya know the ones on the new shifter you made. Very good reading by the way!

[boots4]

I searched for triple boot on ebay after asking Mace where he got his. They are sold by JB custom Fabrication and they ship from Salem Or.

[jeffsclan]

Very nice! Drooling over your rig is helping me get through winter. Gives me something to look forward to. The ongoing saga.

[Captain23]

Hell Yeah Mike! Now all you need is a set of these:

[Grolar]

Originally Posted by boots4

I have one for H/L on the doubler, one for H/L on the tcase, and one for 2wd/4wd on the tcase. Thanks for looking.

Great anti theft device. Before the bad guy figures out how this stuff is working... BTW, with an "L+L", you now have an ultra-low gearing ratio, right?

[boots4]

Micah - Yeah those little fj60 mirrors don't offer much visability so some upgrades like you've posted are a good idea. I'll probably add that to the mods down the road. How is that 6bt monster?!

Grolar - True, I could put one or both of them in neutral, but without an emergency brake I better be on level ground. For now the trans brake is keeping me stationary. Having gone through the tranny I now know how that works and it's mechanical linkage so I'm not too worried about letting that be my parking brake until I figure out what I want to do for the ebrake. You're right again with the L+L. It will give me 47:1 without the t.converter multipication. The t.converter multiplication generally being 2:1 will bump me to a 94:1 ratio. I believe that will be lower than I'll need most of the time but when I need it, I'll have it. Like Brokenparts has stated, "wheeling an auto is like cheating."

[brokenparts]

oooo... that reminds me. you should hook up your shifter to be able to start in any gear. Its a nice feature to have when you are parked on a serious incline and want to just "bump over" or hold yourself using the starter when you cant get your rig to start. Make sure to tell your wife about that though.


... and I still stand by my statement about using an auto to wheel.

[boots4]

I could see how that would work well for a manual tranny but having an auto that needs line pressure to engage clutch packs and friction bands might not work as well as a manual, but I've never tried it either. I'll have to try it out and see if I can start it in gear. I don't have any "saftey" switches on the tranny or the shifter to interupt the starter/ignition signal so I might be able to do it already.

If I didn't want the starter to actually start the motor I suppose I could put a kill switch on the 12v source going to the injection pump or keep the manual shut-off pulled out (planning on hooking up my old choke cable to the manual shutoff lever on the injection pump for an emergency stop in case the fuel switch burns out).

Want to swing by this weekend so I can ramp up on a 39.5" tire and get my measurements for shock placement?

[brokenparts]

you know what... I've never tried it since the auto switch. I bet your right, it wont probably work since its not spinning enough to lock it up. I'll have to give a go when I get home tonight.

I might be able to get Sat sometime (going to cannon beach Sunday and Monday) but let me check with my social director about Sat. I'd really love love love to see that thing in person!

Zach

[boots4]

PM'd

[brokenparts]

Pm'd back.