Builds 1988 BJ74 “Number 1” (2 Viewers)

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@cruiserdan

Here are some pictures of that overhead console. It's made out of fiberglass but I think a wood version could be pretty easily made and I like how the visors tuck up into this one. I can get some measurements if anyone wants them. I'm going to take the top off soon so I needed to take this off to do so.

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That Yoko-uno tire combo looks awesome!!
 
That Yoko-uno tire combo looks awesome!!

I've heard quite good things about these tires. They will be my first Yokohama's so I will see how they do.
I've had the following tires for land cruisers. Would be a good size for @Cowboy45 's cruiser.

BFG All terrains: 30", 33", 35" good road tires, good dirt road and off-roading, great tire life, smooth, good in snow. Terrible in mud or soft dirt, not the greatest a mountains/rocks, when older they get really slick, small for size

BFG M/T's 33" 35" good off road and in mud. Decent highway performance, great tire life, not great in snow, they run small as well

Goodyear MT/R's: 37" balanced good, good traction, wore pretty quickly and had reputation for soft sidewalls, I never had issues

Trxxus 35" a bit loud, wore down really quick, good traction but hard to keep balanced.

TSL Swamper 33's. BIG TOUGH TIRE, Bigger than my 35" BFGs, excellent traction off road, LOUD, flat-spot overnight, hard to balance, LOUD, heavy, wear pretty quick on road...did I mention loud?
 
Mickey Thompson Baja MTZP3 is by far my favorite. I can't wait to wear out the BFG KM2s I have now.
 
Mickey Thompson Baja MTZP3 is by far my favorite. I can't wait to wear out the BFG KM2s I have now.

Those were on my radar until I found out they didn't have 255/85r16. They look like a great tire. 285's wouldn't have fit on my stock 70 rims and I wasn't going BFG again. You might have a long wait wearing those BFG's out.
 
They are showing their age and are cracking like all BFGs seem to do. They came on the truck, I would never buy them.
 
They are showing their age and are cracking like all BFGs seem to do. They came on the truck, I would never buy them.

I’ve been looking at the MTZP3’s as well. Looks like a great tire, not sure if I’ll be getting them this time around. Kinda sold on the Yokohamas
 
New Tires installed!

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These measured 32 5/8" (32.62") installed.

Initial review. They look awesome. I wasn't sure how much I'd like the tall/skinny after owning all the 285's, and 315's, but they look awesome. Great looking tire.

Power: They do zap a little power. It's not terrible by any means, but you can definitely feel it over the 30.25" tires that were on there.
Ride: They ride better than the BFGs. Soak up way more bumps, and just feel better. They seem to track better as well.
Noise: Noise levels are up, the M/T noise, but it's not that much louder than the other tires. A lot of reviews have said these are quiet, and I agree.

65mph is now 2300~2350 rpms. It appears my sometimes bouncing speedometer is only off a few kph 3-4 at most it appears.

Dirt road traction: MUCH better than the BFGs. I don't slip or follow ruts near as bad. More rock flinging, but thats no surprise.

Sand traction: We went to the lake which has beach sand. Some hard packed, most sugary sand thats deep. I went to meet my wife and kids there. There was a Ram 1500 lifted on 35's, Ram 3500 diesel, Dakota 4 door and our Tundra on the sand. They were having to rev and high-rpm spin and slide and barely moving all over the place. Especially the diesel. The tires on my tundra Michelin LTX are getting older sold they aren't the best in the powder stuff, but it did ok. The BJ74, walked everything in first gear no, almost no slipping. My kids were laughing because of all the trouble everyone else was having and this thing just plods right along. No doubt with the BFG's I would have struggled more.

MUD: We ran into yet another damn hail storm. I was a bit panicked as all the houses have been destroyed around here by hail, (including our roof) and we got stuck in the open in the storm. I flew into a muddy ditch, much the same as when I got buried last time, to tuck up close to some trees. marble and quarter size hail pummeled me for 20 minutes. ( I didn't get pictures, I was too annoyed and worried I was going to have a hammered cruiser) When done I backed up the ditch in 2wd but put the rear locker on and almost made it without much momentum before starting to dig it. Next time got more momentum and went right up.

So far, I'm impressed with these tires. They balanced well, have great traction so far, drive great on the highway, so far looks like a winner. 50mile report is very happy with them, will continue to update.

Lake Entry: the lake is 22 miles long, and 4 miles across. 143' at deepest.
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Driving on the edge of the lake.

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Poser shot

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65mph is now 2300~2350 rpms. It appears my sometimes bouncing speedometer is only off a few kph 3-4 at most it appears.


Is that GPS verified?
 
On mine I see ~2,500 at ~65 MPH by the Garmin. With half-worn BGF 285/75 16 KM2.
 
On mine I see ~2,500 at ~65 MPH by the Garmin. With half-worn BGF 285/75 16 KM2.

Well they are BFG, so it wouldn't surprise me if those 285's were more in the 31-31.5" range or less.

My previous 235/55r16's are supposedly 31.7" by measurement....but in reality half wore down they were 30 1/4". Even new they wouldn't have been 31.7"
 
Awesome job! Glad to see it up and running! I put the Cooper ST Maxx in 255/85-16 on my UZJ100, and they are a fantastic tire. (I run them on my 3500 Cummins work truck too). On the 100 I should have gone to 285/75 though. The 255/85s are a bit to skinny for 5500 lbs with V8.
 
Awesome job! Glad to see it up and running! I put the Cooper ST Maxx in 255/85-16 on my UZJ100, and they are a fantastic tire. (I run them on my 3500 Cummins work truck too). On the 100 I should have gone to 285/75 though. The 255/85s are a bit to skinny for 5500 lbs with V8.

Thanks! I was going to do the Cooper ST Maxx, but I have 4 miles of dirt roads that get slick and muddy. Especially like today after multiple days of rain. On the 100 I can see running 285's. They almost look too skinny on the BJ74, but it's cool in an old school foreign cruiser way.

So far really happy with them.
 
The ST Maxxs are fantastic in mud and snow too, but nothing is ever wrong with going MT!
 
Thanks! I was going to do the Cooper ST Maxx, but I have 4 miles of dirt roads that get slick and muddy. Especially like today after multiple days of rain. On the 100 I can see running 285's. They almost look too skinny on the BJ74, but it's cool in an old school foreign cruiser way.

So far really happy with them.
Is this the old FJBen from years ago/early days of MUD? Your old avatar used to be you playing a guitar?
 
Ugh. I remember that s*** show from years back. Man, what a loss that one was.

Glad to know you are back in the fold.

Yeah that changed a lot of things for me. I had planned on keeping that pig a long time. I was really lucky I didn’t get seriously hurt or killed.

Thanks for the welcome back and good luck in the new job!
 

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