1985 FJ60 "Restomod"

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Man, is it nice to be exhaust leak free! :)

My daughter and I took the pooch up north last weekend and did some stomping around. Sat on the tailgate and had some lunch.
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you did a great job.. a inspiration to get off my arse and work on mine !!!!
 
Thanks guys!

I am working on assembling the parts for the rear sway bar assembly currently. Has anyone done this mod on a 60? Im curious of the before vs after handling. Otherwise Ill post up after I do it. All bolt on from what Ive read ans seen on the truck.

The old girl runs well and was considering a H55F 5 speed until I upgraded to the 33" tires. Currently at 67 mph, I am running at 2500 rpms which is very doable for long stretches. With the low end grunt of the 2F, even without regearing I can crawl just above idle without stalling. Gotta love the torque of a straight six :cool:

Besides the H55F is mucho dinero! :eek: I think it falls into the "want" versus "truly need" category.
 
...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.

Thanks again, glad to hear they tightened things up :cool:
 
Wow - You have done a ton of work on your FJ. Looks great and thanks for sharing all the information, I see a couple of things you did that I need to do on mine.
 
I finally got the rear sway bar installed and it made quite a difference in how she drives. the body roll is under control now in corners (cant scare the wife anymore ;)) and feels more like my 80 in corners now :clap:. Due to the lift I installed front and rear extended links with the front being the ball joint design link which adds some additional flexibility off road.

Now you see it now you dont ~ I had the local muffler shop change out my front exhaust pipe from the manifold collector to the cat. It had developed some pin holes in it and the exhaust leak that the manifold fixed was now back in the form of a leaky pipe. He changed out the front pipe and while he was at it, I had him reroute the exhaust pipe from the muffler to the tip. Without the Spare tire to be in the way the tailpipe is now tucked up under the truck to give additional clearance and avoid the dreaded smashed exhaust tip.:doh:

Shes quiet now and tucked up ready for the trail as you can see in the before and after pictures.
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Early Xmas present from the :princess:, replaced the low stock center console with a Smittybilt unit that has cupholders, ample storage, and locks :D.

Also replaced the seatbelt recievers with used units from back east (Cruiserparts.net) that have the plastic that holds up the latch still intact. The old ones the plastic sheathing rotted off from the sun and the ends flopped around. With the taller new console, I needed to be able to easily locate the latch and not have to dig around to find it.

The console still needs bolted down which will be done today.

A good source for reasonably priced used parts.
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About how much did your body work cost? My 62 is in good condition, but has similar body stuff. A few dents, just a slight few spots of rust, and a quarter panel with some heavy oxidation.

I want to get that stuff ironed out and redone, but out of pocket I'm more than worried about the dough it's going to set me back.
 
Murf,
It was good to see your rig in person the other day, it sure is a well care for FJ60, as for the H55 being a "want to have" vs a "need to have" I think you may want to rethink it. I love the new upgrade of my five speed.

You have put a great deal of work into that rig and your idea of the rear sway bar is one that I want to look at as soon as I order my new lift for the cruiser.:cheers:
 
About how much did your body work cost? My 62 is in good condition, but has similar body stuff. A few dents, just a slight few spots of rust, and a quarter panel with some heavy oxidation.

I want to get that stuff ironed out and redone, but out of pocket I'm more than worried about the dough it's going to set me back.

It was through a friend so price may vary ;)

Murf,
It was good to see your rig in person the other day, it sure is a well care for FJ60, as for the H55 being a "want to have" vs a "need to have" I think you may want to rethink it. I love the new upgrade of my five speed.

You have put a great deal of work into that rig and your idea of the rear sway bar is one that I want to look at as soon as I order my new lift for the cruiser.:cheers:

Good to see you too. Your 60 is one of the cleaner ones Ive seen. In comparison, with your 31" tires and in 5th gear at 65 youre running 2200 rpm. With my 33's at 65 Im at 2500 rpms. Not enough to consider for the price of the 5 speed at this point for me. One of my initial concerns when moving up to the taller tires was that I would have to regear but with the original low gearing and the incredible torque of the 2F, I can still literally crawl at idle through rocks with little to no fear of stalling.

I can only imagine the stock tire size in fourth gear at 65.:eek: Probably wanted to scream above 3K rpm? I think that was when the speed limit was 55mph (back in the 80's) so didnt matter in their eyes?

Lastly, I wouldnt mind going for a ride with you once you finish up your Dynamatting. Just knocking on the doors was enough to suprise me on the difference.

See you around!

Murf
 
Murf-

Your rig is fantastic. Super clean! Your pics have single handedly motivated me to get off my butt and get the lift, body work, and new shoes going on my FJ. Keep the pics coming!
 
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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?

Use polygraphite spring and shock bushings. Not only do they add a ton of stability to the truck, but I took my sway bars off and noticed absolutely no difference in road handling. Great part is my springs will still flex when needed and thanks to the graphite, they don't pop like normal poly bushings. No sway bars for me :D
 
Spook,

Where did you get those, Polygraphite Bushings. I never heard of them.

Thanks, Ron

When I ordered mine, the only place I could get them was www.p-s-t.com (no affiliation). This was about three or four years ago, so there might be more companies marketing them now. Mine are still in excellent shape though, and the graphite impregnation eliminates the need for greasing, so no need to buy greasable shackle pins. I did cheat when I installed mine though and sprayed all metal surfaces that contact them with Slip Plate, a spray-on graphite coating. This made installation a breeze, and helped reduce popping while they broke in.

Sent from OBAMAPHONE!
 

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