Builds 1986- FJ60 Overland build. The Epic Saga of the "Dazzle Cruiser"

[DerfO4]

Hello Mudders!

I wanted to start a thread to document the rebuild and upgrade of my 1986 FJ60. I purchased what was named "Brownie" mid of 2016 from @MicahMan. I have been wanting to do so many things to her but having three kids and working offshore in the oil and gas industry makes time for upgrades and new things to install delayed from planned time frames.

I am still a noob when it comes to most things pertaining to the fun that is the FJ60. That being said.....

I got started on acquiring parts and pieces to upgrade just after it was delivered from Utah to South Dakota. I found that these classics are not exactly easy to shop for. The effort put into the acquisition makes it all the more satisfying when you find a sweet score of goodies.


So, here I am with a new to me 60. I felt it was a good idea to upgrade the interior lights to LED and make it brighter at night. Well the dang rear passenger door switch wouldn't work. Being a noob I went right to the ole inter webs and bought a new door switch. That had to be it, NO Doubt!!! Why else would only one door not activate the light, right? I got the new switch in a few days later and changed that bad boy out, all excited to whip a problem.... no light came on after the new switch was installed. WTF!?!?

Introduction to the grounding system of this beast was a lesson about to be undertaken. Further review of the schematics from the manuals so nicely downloaded from @Trollhole , which are greatly appreciated, would be done.

I delved right into the manual and traced out the passenger rear door switch. Loh and behold it runs down and around the rear of the vehicle. Time to explore and figure this thing out.

This is what I found.

So apparently when one of the POs decided to install the trailer hitch light rig, it got the old twist and tape. This method is a failure waiting to happen, especially along the under side of an offload vehicle. 3 hours later, I cut out all the bad wires and replaced sections that were toast. I used the solder, heat shrink and then waterproofing taped the spliced sections. After the cables were repaired they were loomed into at plastic wire harness tubing to keep them organized.

Amazingly the door switch worked, but now none of my tail lights or reverse lights did. So back under the truck I went again with a multi-meter hunting the grounding issue. Armed with the rest of the schematic from the manual, I was able to get all the lights operational and much more robustly secure to ground where needed.



The next project undertaken was the rear shoulder belt installation.
There is no way to describe this other than it sucked. Seemed pretty straight forward from all the other posts I saw. This So didn't go to plan. I attempted a method that involved the running up the nut with a cable, and it was really frustrating. The hours of effort and , it all paid off. Got both new seatbelts from SeatbeltPlanet.com installed making the old girl safer for the kids to ride in the back. (sorry didn't take pics)


I drove the Cruiser for a couple months when I started experiencing sluggish throttle response and sputtering during deceleration. Tapping into the power of the forum, I felt like the carb needed a rebuild. So, here we go...

Pulling carb to find why its being funky.

Pulled all the vacuum hoses and labeled them and pulled the carb. Disassembled the carb and found the power valve was completely stuck in the mid-way position. Completed the breakdown and soaked the competed that were nasty in a carb dip. It was time to rebuild the carb and install it.

Rebuilding carb on supper table

Hooking up linkage to test it.

Well the testing went well. It had all kinds of never felt power (seat of pants meter) but after a tank of fuel I realized this truck gets horrible milage. Like bad. Like 7-9mpg. this was unacceptable for an overland vehicle unless I planned on towing a fuel trailer with me everywhere. This was not going to get it done.

Begin search for viable alternative.

Well one day I came across a few leads and found my way to talking to @ChrisSchutter from @Wink4x4 out of the Netherlands. After much negotiation I had made the most epic purchases for an upgrade I could think of.....

Mystery box of parts boxed up and being shipped to me..

Since I can not load any more pictures to this post, you will have to wait for the next episode( tomorrow) for me to upload what is in the box...

What could it be?

 

[NookShneer]

Hello Mudders!

I wanted to start a thread to document the rebuild and upgrade of my 1986 FJ60. I purchased what was named "Brownie" mid of 2016 from @MicahMan. I have been wanting to do so many things to her but having three kids and working offshore in the oil and gas industry makes time for upgrades and new things to install delayed from planned time frames.

I am still a noob when it comes to most things pertaining to the fun that is the FJ60. That being said.....

I got started on acquiring parts and pieces to upgrade just after it was delivered from Utah to South Dakota. I found that these classics are not exactly easy to shop for. The effort put into the acquisition makes it all the more satisfying when you find a sweet score of goodies.


So, here I am with a new to me 60. I felt it was a good idea to upgrade the interior lights to LED and make it brighter at night. Well the dang rear passenger door switch wouldn't work. Being a noob I went right to the ole inter webs and bought a new door switch. That had to be it, NO Doubt!!! Why else would only one door not activate the light, right? I got the new switch in a few days later and changed that bad boy out, all excited to whip a problem.... no light came on after the new switch was installed. WTF!?!?

Introduction to the grounding system of this beast was a lesson about to be undertaken. Further review of the schematics from the manuals so nicely downloaded from @Trollhole , which are greatly appreciated, would be done.

I delved right into the manual and traced out the passenger rear door switch. Loh and behold it runs down and around the rear of the vehicle. Time to explore and figure this thing out.

This is what I found.
View attachment 1582897

So apparently when one of the POs decided to install the trailer hitch light rig, it got the old twist and tape. This method is a failure waiting to happen, especially along the under side of an offload vehicle. 3 hours later, I cut out all the bad wires and replaced sections that were toast. I used the solder, heat shrink and then waterproofing taped the spliced sections. After the cables were repaired they were loomed into at plastic wire harness tubing to keep them organized.

Amazingly the door switch worked, but now none of my tail lights or reverse lights did. So back under the truck I went again with a multi-meter hunting the grounding issue. Armed with the rest of the schematic from the manual, I was able to get all the lights operational and much more robustly secure to ground where needed.



The next project undertaken was the rear shoulder belt installation.
There is no way to describe this other than it sucked. Seemed pretty straight forward from all the other posts I saw. This SO didn't go to plan. I attempted a method that involved the running up the nut with a cable, and it was really frustrating. Many hours of effort and , it all paid off. Got both new seatbelts from SeatbeltPlanet.com installed making the old girl safer for the kids to ride in the back. (sorry didn't take pics)


I drove the Cruiser for a couple months when I started experiencing sluggish throttle response and sputtering during deceleration. Tapping into the power of the forum, I felt like the carb needed a rebuild. So, here we go...

Pulling carb to find why its being funky.
View attachment 1583000


Pulled all the vacuum hoses and labeled them and pulled the carb. Disassembled the carb and found the power valve was completely stuck in the mid-way position. Completed the breakdown and soaked the components that were nasty in a carb dip. It was time to rebuild the carb and install it.

Rebuilding carb on supper table
View attachment 1583005

Hooking up linkage to test it.
View attachment 1583008


Well the testing went well. It had all kinds of never felt power (seat of pants meter) but after a couple tanks of fuel I realized this truck gets horrible milage. Like bad. Like 7-9mpg. this was unacceptable for an overland vehicle unless I planned on towing a fuel trailer with me everywhere. This was not going to get it done.

Begin search for viable alternative.

Well one day I came across a few leads and found my way to talking to Chris Schutter from @Wink4x4 out of the Netherlands. After much negotiation I had made the most epic purchases for an upgrade I could think of.....

Mystery box of parts boxed up and being shipped to me..
View attachment 1583011

Since I can not load any more pictures to this post, you will have to wait for the next episode( tomorrow) for me to upload what is in the box...

What could it be?

I'm Hoping that's a 12ht. Looking forward to your build.

 

[DerfO4]

After the big box of awesome was packed up, branded(w/ Wink4x4 logo) and loaded on a ship, it departed for Minneapolis Mn (the closest international port to me). Then I started to freak out. The anticipation of the crate coming was unreal. It was like all the Christmas's, birthdays and surprises I have ever gotten rolled up into one. The only difference was I knew what was inside, but I still could not believe it.


If any of you have ever had something shipped to you via a freight liner, you know there can be delays and unforeseen issues that slow the process down. This shipment was no exception. The vessel left Rotterdam headed for the Good Ol'e US of A. Day1- Estimated transit to delivery time 28 days.

OK, I could deal with waiting a month...... a long, long agonizingly long month but I was at work in the Gulf of Mexico anyway, not like I was home to do anything about it if it got in early. The first of its stops was in Noofie. Supposed to be a two day turn around and head west. Two days turns to three, four, six. Being an Offshore guy who works on vessels all the time, I utilized a ShipFinder app to track the vessel. When that dot wouldn't move for days on end, I would get itchy. is the ship broke, did it run into custom issues delaying the departure... WHAT IS TAKING SO LONG!!!!!! the reality is it was there 2 days unloading and 4 days reloading, which apparently was pretty standard, but it felt like eons when your waiting for some of the cargo to come on over another 1000+ miles of water ways.

The ship had to stop in several ports along the way, the last one being Minneapolis. 36 days after she set sail with all my Cruisers hopes on it, the vessel finally arrives in port. I get the notification that is is ready to clear customs so I head out the next morning at 0300 to make it to MN and back in one day.
I pick up the crate from the bonded warehouse and its a lot bigger and heavier that it looked in the pictures. My 2000 Dakota is squatting with the big ole box in the bed. I am ecstatic at this point.

Up until the moment I pulled up the drive way at my house, it was like a hunting trip. You know when you spends hours, days or even weeks glassing fields for that perfect opportunity to fill your tag. You track and learn the pattern of that monster you want to fill your tummy with and hang his rack on your wall. Finding him slipping and in your sights, BANG. He's down, your heart pounds, jubilation takes over...... Yeah its like that.
AS I pulled in the drive, it was the shot... All my hard work tracking this trophy had paid off. Its landed. No way its not mine. I OWN THIS....

Like a monster white or muley, the hunt is the fun part- the best part. After that shot is done ringing in your ears, your heart slows back down and the reality hits, " I just landed a beast", that just happened.

Only this beast isn't a muley, That my friends( as you all can see) is a 12HT fresh off the boat from the Netherlands. I am stoked. I have never made an international purchase, dealt with the hassles and headaches. Was it worth it, hell yes it was.

This is that point in the post where I get to go..... But wait... Theres more!!!!

Wait, what.. there is more to this deal.. Yes my friends. Who would spend all that money getting parts shipped over the ocean and only get an engine? NOT ME.
Engine goodies..... but wait... what's that in the top corner there....

(Forgive the mess in my garage, many projects as a husband, father and multiple vehicle owner)

So, in this picture we have a 12HT, H55 and a bunch of crap in my garage. Oh and there is Scout, the family friend/hunting dog. A Jack Russel Terrorist. Way in the back you got my old ride an 02' CVO Wide Glide(Traded for 16' BMW 1200R GS ADV), a 2000 Dakota(yes its ironic I drive a Dakota and live in Dakota) and the beast to be the 86' 60. (Still haven't named it officially yet, was liking Shinobi, but not sure) I digress. lol.

There are all kinds of odds and ends that came with the purchase that I figured I should get all at once vs chasing it later. It was available so I paid and here it is.....Laundry list 1.0

12HT
H55 w/T-case
Gauge Cluster for Turbo/61
All Gauges 24v
Full wiring harness from the engine bay to the dash
Secondary Battery tray
12v starter
Custom A/c Bracket (no a/c needed in Netherlands lol )
Motor mounts
stock turbo
Wink 4x4 Custom turbo - See one in action in Chris's Sweet 45-

<iframe width="560" height="315" src="Fj45 12ht - YouTube" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>

 

[DerfO4]

This cornucopia of goodies that I received was off the charts cool. Having to utilize my Pittsburgh "Northern Tools" hoist to pull the 12HT and H55 out the big box. Began organizing the bits to stack them in my already stuffed garage, but you got to put it somewhere right?


Pre-staged 12HT and H55 in the corner to be ready to get to work on them. In the bottom on the picture you can see the new stand I had to get and assemble to handle the weight of this donk. My old stand would have folded up like a taco if I tried to mount it on there.

After assembly of the stand and mounting the 12HT on it, I started to tear it down. I did get a pretty good deal on this bad boy because the #5 cyl. was low in a compression test. From what I have read, this is typical of a these motors from 86 with 350k on the clock. The piston rings are usually busted up and need to rebuild the engine or run it till it dies. I am going for the rebuilding.

When I get back home, ill finish the tear down and see what depth of rebuild kit it will need, but most likely will do the complete/master one. Lead times for the rebuild kit suck in the states, so I might try to order it now so it might be there before I have to come back to work. Hopefully, on a fresh rebuild, with an intercooler and injector pump adjustment with a Wink 4x4 turbo this old beastie should out put around 600nm torque range. (thats 442ftlbs) That much pull in a 60 will be mind bending compared to my tired 2F. Which will be for sale when I get it pulled. I will be letting go of all things pertaining to the 2f and 4speed from the 60. I do have a few extra bits I have picked form a pull-a -part junk yard that would go too.

The Turbo upgrade will be amazing. To illustrate what it is they are doing at wink.

Turbo will have much better lower and top end performance than stock. When paired with appropriate sized intercooler... it will be nasty.

I suppose I should have actually started this thread with a big disclaimer, but didn't think about it until now.

I am not sure as to the time frame of this build. I hope to finish it over the winter time(March-ish), but we shall see. I am not a formally trained mechanic, welder or fabricator but will be doing all my own work. I also work offshore so I am gone a month at time or more and when I am home I have piled up honey-dos to sort out and kids to play with. When I got my time, The 60 will be getting it.


The build will consist of:
1) Rebuild the 12HT
2) Go through/rebuild H55
3) Remove 2F/H42 (Sell them and all parts pertaining)
4) Body work and engine bay prep
5) Install 12HT/H55
6) Interior Upgrades
7) Custom Bumpers / Roof rack

A very large list and optimistic time frame. I hope that I don't hit to many road blocks, snags and SNAFU's but its a 31yr old truck and engine. ti will be fun.

 

[DerfO4]

A few more pics of the goodies I got to install in the 60.


Wire harness , gauges, motor mounts and cluster surround in this pic.

Custom A/C bracket made for the 60series compressor to adapt to the 12HT. I sent a schematic of that the mount points were to Chris and I got this in...

Should work out just fine. Ill need to get new A/C hoses... oh well.


So to show you the rig, pretty much as it is today..
externally she is how I bought her. I installed the black aftermarket bumper( someone built custom), but it came with it when purchased. It was just not installed due to some frame damage on drivers frame horn( not sure I that term is right) I sorted the bent portion out and got the bumper on to help to protect it in the event I run into anyone /thing.LOL.

My wife being 4 months preggers at the time, ripped the arm rest smooth off the passenger door thing to pull herself+1 into the rig. I couldn't get mad. She really enjoys riding in the 60 and it is fun for us to go cruise. However, I wasn't going to sit back and watch her either A. Fall out the truck or B. keep ripping the rest off. Ergo- O-Sh!7 handle install.

Yeah, I know, I know...... Maybe should have cleaned the rig up a bit before photo time... pfft, its a truck that is in progress of being made better. I mean who goes any where with out a Drill, white lithium and a multi Meter? LOL.

You will also notice one of the PO's decided 62 seats in the 60 was a good idea.. I don't like them and will at some point replace/recover them. If someone had 60 seats (brown stripes) Id trade in a heart beat.

Typical of the era and where it came from, its got a light bit of leprosy.

I have already got the replacement panels at the house waiting for me to have time to cut out the bad metal and replace them. I am not a body guy, but this isn't going to be a show truck either. I did the wheel arches in my 2000 Dakota and painted the entire thing flat black(John Deere-Blitz Black). Ill take my lessons learned there and apply it to the 60.

When I got married I told my wife, " I will never own a vehicle I won't drive like I stole it or a gun I won't shoot like a Marine".
I fully intend to be hard on all my gear, and it better hold up or I need new gear.
The FJ60 is the perfect size to weight ratio and fully capable. The fact that they are still rolling today and being off-roaded like they just came out, 30+ years after they rolled off the assembly line is awesome.

 

[HemiAlex]

We've got the same rust. I like it.

 

[TexasBlue]

Add A pillar grab handle for your queen..just a suggestion

 

[gregnash]

Add A pillar grab handle for your queen..just a suggestion

Yup, 2nd this... added one for mine, being that she is all of 5' on a good day and me putting a mild lift on the truck makes things a little harder for her to get in and out (plus the PT Cruiser seats sit a bit higher than the old ones) these have been a life saver for her.

 

[DerfO4]

Add A pillar grab handle for your queen..just a suggestion

Dude, Awesome idea. What would you suggest as a handle? Ill have to peruse the forum for that one. THANKS.

 

[DerfO4]

Yup, 2nd this... added one for mine, being that she is all of 5' on a good day and me putting a mild lift on the truck makes things a little harder for her to get in and out (plus the PT Cruiser seats sit a bit higher than the old ones) these have been a life saver for her.

My little lady is 5'2" unless she don't have shoes on. I will be taking your and @TexasBlue 's advice. I didn't think to put one on the Pillar. Adding that will only make it easier for my vertically challenged partner in crime to enter and exit the 60. Thanks Dudes.

Ill have to begin searching the pillar handle mod and get the parts to the house while I am on this trip offshore.

 

[NookShneer]

Dude, Awesome idea. What would you suggest as a handle? Ill have to peruse the forum for that one. THANKS.

FJ60, FJ62, FJ80 A-Pillar Grab Handle - OEM

 

[HemiAlex]

Honestly I bought a small foldable stool for my 82 year old dad, it works wonders. It also helps to keep in the back for any underhood work.

 

[cwwfj60]

This is going to be a cool thread!

 

[gregnash]

My little lady is 5'2" unless she don't have shoes on. I will be taking your and @TexasBlue 's advice. I didn't think to put one on the Pillar. Adding that will only make it easier for my vertically challenged partner in crime to enter and exit the 60. Thanks Dudes.

Ill have to begin searching the pillar handle mod and get the parts to the house while I am on this trip offshore.

FJ60 FJ62 FJ80 Land Cruiser A-Pillar Grab Handle - OEM | eBay
Purchased mine on ebay and put it on the A-Pillar as I was able to feel around and find where the threaded inserts were in the pillar. Look back through my build thread and you will see. Even threw some paracord wrap on it for her to give it a little extra grip. Sliders will definitely help when I get around to building some but that really is going to come down to when I have the time and money. I dont wheel that much or that hard so sliders are more of a "nice to have" at this point. Actually an EFI system (AFI or FiTech) is on the radar for next year.

 

[DerfO4]

Thanks for the advice and encouragement y'all. I hope to not disappoint with the build thread. I am really looking forward to get home and get back at it. The 12HT is calling me....

 

[CenTXFJ60]

You’ll really enjoy the new drivetrain. A few guys that have done the transplant recently are @bdyer12 and @roma042987 these guys will most likely have answers to questions that may come up . Many more on here too but these two come to mind right now.

 

[DerfO4]

You’ll really enjoy the new drivetrain. A few guys that have done the transplant recently are @bdyer12 and @roma042987 these guys will most likely have answers to questions that may come up . Many more on here too but these two come to mind right now.

Cool, thanks for the tip. Everything I have read on them is amazing except finding parts and getting the rebuild kits.... Speaking of which... Has anyone priced one to the US lately? Got any insider help on getting one with Alphin inserts with out breaking the bank?

 

[CenTXFJ60]

Cool, thanks for the tip. Everything I have read on them is amazing except finding parts and getting the rebuild kits.... Speaking of which... Has anyone priced one to the US lately? Got any insider help on getting one with Alphin inserts with out breaking the bank?

I do not but two others I just thought of are @cwwfj60 and @mcguirejohnson
These guys have done the conversions as well.

 

[DerfO4]

Almost have the 12HT torn down. Hoping to finish up before I have to head back offshore. Only been off three days and head back Friday or Saturday.

 

[DerfO4]

Found many broken piston rings on several pistons.