10 years with the 60

[David Yerema]

I have had my 1989 hj61 for 15 years. She has been parked since 2011. Now back on the road with new suspension and tires.

 

[brian]

a dremel does make short work of the trans mounts.

 

[brian]

so the rear quarters are pretty rusty and i've been thinking about doing a quarter cut on them...but i really don't care for that look.
solution? cut them off for and easy rust fix, then cover the works up with a 4x4labs bumper, problem solved....ordered a kit this evening.

 

[Earwigg]

Are you planning body or drive line onto new frame first?

 

[brian]

Its looking like the procedure is going to be.
Pull engine and trans.
Jack body up off the frame
Remove springs and axles from frame
Slide old frame out the rear
New frame under it
Axles and new springs
Body back on frame
Replace drive line.

In no particular order
New frame mounted brake and fuel lines
New clutch
Valve job on the head
New coolant hoses....have entirely too many 30 year hoses on it yet.
Rear heat delete
A little rust work
Rain gutter reseal
Windshield replacement
Replacement dashpad

 

[Earwigg]

Frame swap sounds much easier than the reality. A massive shop and a forkhoist would make this much more simple.
I had a few thoughts of doing a body swap when I did a motor swap recently.
Looking forward to following along.

 

[NeverGiveUpYota]

Will you replace the 30 something year old body mounts too?

 

[brian]

Will you replace the 30 something year old body mounts too?

thats kind of a given

 

[brian]

Frame swap sounds much easier than the reality. A massive shop and a forkhoist would make this much more simple.
I had a few thoughts of doing a body swap when I did a motor swap recently.
Looking forward to following along.

yeah ive been procrastinating for nearly three years on it.
the hardest part is going to be shuffling the frames around, if i can find help it might not be that bad, but solo will be a job.

 

[NeverGiveUpYota]

Excuse my silly question above. Here’s another, once you separate the frame from the body, how easy is it to lift the body? Are the sides at risk for buckling? The whole process is kinda amazing to me.

 

[brian]

There is alot of underlaying structure beneath the sheet metal that you cant see.
The body are not tinfoil.
I'm planning on using 4 railroad jacks to raise the body as high as the garage will allow. I'll then support it with wood 4x4s to some stands spread as far apart as possible.
If you have the overhead you can lift the body with straps through the front and rear door openings.
The A,B and C pillars are at least 2 to 3 layers of sheetmetal.

 

[brian]

this showed up today.

 

[brian]

Finally got around to starting something.
Removing the rear crossmember will certainly be easier before the body is on the frame.
Yeah I could just chop the rear crossmember up and get it out of the way faster ....but I like a little more finesse....besides I may be to move it along to someone that needs a clean rear.

 

[joebattle1]

I’m pretty sure i just passed 10 years with my 60.

 

[onemanarmy]

Looking forward to the progress.

Really like the grey stock wheels too

 

[brian]

at the rate it's moving, you'll be disappointed.
something needs to happen, it hasnt been driven more than a few dozen miles the past year...but im writing the big book of procrastination here.

 

[Cruiserdrew]

at the rate it's moving, you'll be disappointed.
something needs to happen, it hasnt been driven more than a few dozen miles the past year...but im writing the big book of procrastination here.

I hope procrastination is normal.

 

[brian]

Crossmember is off.
4x4 labs set to take its place.

 

[brian]

got the trans cross member tacked back on.
i thought that setting them was going to need to wait till i had the engine out of the truck, but found some measurements here on the forum.

 

[DKSchrute]

Looking good! Happy to lend a set of hands if needed!