Hi -
I just picked up a '76 FJ55 original 2F bored .040 over connected to a 4 speed with ambulance doors and a Ramsey 8000# winch. Side note, this thing is geared so low that when I get it all reved up in 1st low, I can walk faster! 60 mph is about top speed, although I only go up to about 55! I'll do a proper intro later with photos when my computer is working again, but here goes the story.
I bought the Pig in Santa Cruz - lowlands - 1400 ft and in following two days drove it over the mountains (about 12,000 ft passes) into the Cochabamba valley I live in - at 8400 ft. The fuel pump started going out after we crossed the first pass. I had to drive the last 400 vertical feet on the second pass in 4 low 1st gear 'cause I didn't have enough juice unless I got it to WOT and 3500 rpm. I had backfire through the carb and afterfire through the worn out muffler. I had problems accelerating down a 10% grade! It was quite a ride and we mainly coasted down the hill and my dad towed me in our support rig - a 70 something Ford Hi-boy - the last mile. So now I have a new fuel pump and won't go into the hills without a backup.
Long story short, the suspension has cracks in the spring hangers in a couple of places, the front end has been welded, the motor mounts are funky but intact and there is no major rust. The body is cracking on all the pillars and is so bad that the A pilllar pass. side actually moved back and forth about a 1/4" where it meets the hood when my wife was driving over the bad sections! (Good wife
)
The good news is that I got it for $2000 (a screamin' deal down here) and were I to buy another 8000# winch, it would cost me $950 (T-max) or $1350 (Warn) or a PTO (out of the paper, $1000 +/-) so if all I come out with at the end is the winch, I've made money. The body can be welded up here for almost nothing and I can do the frame work - leading to the sticker - follows in the next post...
I have a friend who is selling a BJ60 ($5000) with a gutless 3B in it (no turbo at this altitude is worse than you can imagine) but the ride quality absolutely rocks - it is actually better on cobblestone than it is on uneven asphalt. I'm tempted to buy it, put it in the shop, install a 15B-T with a H55 and sell the Pig when it is ready. After all, who doesn't want a 155 hp turbo diesel? But as you know, Pigs are pretty nifty, so I'm not sure I want to go there especially since the 15 and tranny would run me, installed, in the neighborhood of $4000.
Ok, here's the question. I don't see any great structural differences in the suspension between the two. The Pig currently has bias ply 7.00R16 which are 30 inches tall and about 6 inches wide (truck type tires or pata cabras) with poor or nonexistent shocks. The BJ60 has 31x10.5 BFG A/Ts on it with some Japanese shocks. I want that same cushy ride on the Pig that my friend's 60 has. Can it be done?
I will be driving under 50 km/hr (30 mph) on cobblestone, gravel or dirt 95% of the time and airing up/down isn't a problem. The other 5% of the time I might kick it up to 100 km/hr (60 mph) when I drive down to Santa Cruz.
More important to me than flex, droop, and even traction (remember, I've got a winch and you can get lockers here) is that ride quality be as Caddy as it can be.
Can I get a sweet ride with OME Nitros (got a local source) and aired down bias ply? (The durability and ease of working on the bias ply with tubes is very attractive)
I can also get BFG M/T 31x10.5sR15 or Hankook 30x9.5R15 or Hankook 235/85R16 radials here, but I'm worried about their sidewalls giving out if I air down much from rocks and broken concrete.
So let your opinions rip - Thanks
Ben
I just picked up a '76 FJ55 original 2F bored .040 over connected to a 4 speed with ambulance doors and a Ramsey 8000# winch. Side note, this thing is geared so low that when I get it all reved up in 1st low, I can walk faster! 60 mph is about top speed, although I only go up to about 55! I'll do a proper intro later with photos when my computer is working again, but here goes the story.
I bought the Pig in Santa Cruz - lowlands - 1400 ft and in following two days drove it over the mountains (about 12,000 ft passes) into the Cochabamba valley I live in - at 8400 ft. The fuel pump started going out after we crossed the first pass. I had to drive the last 400 vertical feet on the second pass in 4 low 1st gear 'cause I didn't have enough juice unless I got it to WOT and 3500 rpm. I had backfire through the carb and afterfire through the worn out muffler. I had problems accelerating down a 10% grade! It was quite a ride and we mainly coasted down the hill and my dad towed me in our support rig - a 70 something Ford Hi-boy - the last mile. So now I have a new fuel pump and won't go into the hills without a backup.
Long story short, the suspension has cracks in the spring hangers in a couple of places, the front end has been welded, the motor mounts are funky but intact and there is no major rust. The body is cracking on all the pillars and is so bad that the A pilllar pass. side actually moved back and forth about a 1/4" where it meets the hood when my wife was driving over the bad sections! (Good wife
)The good news is that I got it for $2000 (a screamin' deal down here) and were I to buy another 8000# winch, it would cost me $950 (T-max) or $1350 (Warn) or a PTO (out of the paper, $1000 +/-) so if all I come out with at the end is the winch, I've made money. The body can be welded up here for almost nothing and I can do the frame work - leading to the sticker - follows in the next post...
I have a friend who is selling a BJ60 ($5000) with a gutless 3B in it (no turbo at this altitude is worse than you can imagine) but the ride quality absolutely rocks - it is actually better on cobblestone than it is on uneven asphalt. I'm tempted to buy it, put it in the shop, install a 15B-T with a H55 and sell the Pig when it is ready. After all, who doesn't want a 155 hp turbo diesel? But as you know, Pigs are pretty nifty, so I'm not sure I want to go there especially since the 15 and tranny would run me, installed, in the neighborhood of $4000.
Ok, here's the question. I don't see any great structural differences in the suspension between the two. The Pig currently has bias ply 7.00R16 which are 30 inches tall and about 6 inches wide (truck type tires or pata cabras) with poor or nonexistent shocks. The BJ60 has 31x10.5 BFG A/Ts on it with some Japanese shocks. I want that same cushy ride on the Pig that my friend's 60 has. Can it be done?
I will be driving under 50 km/hr (30 mph) on cobblestone, gravel or dirt 95% of the time and airing up/down isn't a problem. The other 5% of the time I might kick it up to 100 km/hr (60 mph) when I drive down to Santa Cruz.
More important to me than flex, droop, and even traction (remember, I've got a winch and you can get lockers here) is that ride quality be as Caddy as it can be.
Can I get a sweet ride with OME Nitros (got a local source) and aired down bias ply? (The durability and ease of working on the bias ply with tubes is very attractive)
I can also get BFG M/T 31x10.5sR15 or Hankook 30x9.5R15 or Hankook 235/85R16 radials here, but I'm worried about their sidewalls giving out if I air down much from rocks and broken concrete.
So let your opinions rip - Thanks
Ben
