1990 FJ62 165k miles... mostly stock...

[DenverFJ62]

lived nevada and colorado most all of her life... very little rust...

I love this truck. I've been tinkering with her for years just keeping her going and she runs as good or better than ever.... wondering if I should invest in a lift or not... she does pretty good on 31"s without a lift.. just a little squeaky with original springs and shackles...

any advice?... seems vendors are moving away from supplying any affordable 60 series parts/supplies?

I don't have enuf time or money to make her a beast, but any easy and cheap upgrade ideas would be appreciated... especially any performance upgrades that could make her climb I70 over 50mph.. lol

 

[White Stripe]

A old man emu lift kit is a nice upgrade. For engine performance I would test all your distributor functions and make sure it's operating correctly and timing is set right. A new o2 sensor may be a good idea as well as a free flowing exhaust system and high flow converter. If u really want more power, then get a 2f shortblock and aftermarket camshaft. That will wake it up considerably.

 

[DenverFJ62]

A old man emu lift kit is a nice upgrade. For engine performance I would test all your distributor functions and make sure it's operating correctly and timing is set right. A new o2 sensor may be a good idea as well as a free flowing exhaust system and high flow converter. If u really want more power, then get a 2f shortblock and aftermarket camshaft. That will wake it up considerably.

don't think I have the time or money to replace the 3FE or transmission...

exhaust, timing, and sensors are certainly a good idea to look at... and definitely considering the lift kit... any advice on best supplier (and/or installer) of old man emu kit in Denver area? I can do some minor work myself, but the wife and kids limit my availability (and spending)... lol

 

[LAMBCRUSHER]

Cruiser Outfitters... Kurt is your man.

 

[LAMBCRUSHER]

if you really want to know your 3FE, put a manual transmission behind it.

 

[FARMAN33]

+1 for Kurt. It seems now that most are going with a mild lift when replacing stock springs that are old and flat. There are a couple of good ones out there Rough Dog and the ARB OME lifts are all well tested and liked. With these lifts, 33s are the wheel of choice and offer quite a bit more offroad capability BUT... with the stock gearing and larger tires, you can kiss any hopes of +50mph on I70 goodbye!

 

[White Stripe]

don't think I have the time or money to replace the 3FE or transmission...

exhaust, timing, and sensors are certainly a good idea to look at... and definitely considering the lift kit... any advice on best supplier (and/or installer) of old man emu kit in Denver area? I can do some minor work myself, but the wife and kids limit my availability (and spending)... lol

Colorado Toyota Specialists is a small cruiser shop near Denver and both sells and installs old man emu stuff. They are also pretty good with tuning older cruiser motors. Cruiser Outfitters is great but they are in Utah, not Really close to Denver

 

[Haggis]

A mild lift is all she needs. Really gives it a better stance and ride. Beautiful rig!

 

[3_puppies]

any advice?... seems vendors are moving away from supplying any affordable 60 series parts/supplies?

which vendors? affordable is vague term. Landcruiser parts weren't cheap 30 years ago, but there are still a lot available new from Toyota and when installed they will last another 20-30 years.

 

[greenbeast]

Hate to share my experience climbing I70 when I transported my 62 series with H55 when moving from Oklahoma to Steamboat. SLOW, all right lane and I honestly didn't recall making it to 50mph. Ran like a bat out of hell on other side though!!!

You have beautiful rig there. I have always put OME 2.5" lifts on the rigs. Always pleased with Kurt and his staff at Cruiser Outfitters. Think Ive bought 4 kits off of him.

 

[Devils Paw 80]

..You have beautiful rig there.

Where? I don't see a photo of OP's truck. So, my advice is to post a pic or two.

Note that those advocating lifts have manual transmission FJ60's or H55 transplants into FJ62.

If you do lift, be sure not to "screw the pooch". I've seen some OME lifts with a terrible stinkbug look, and some folks complain about steering/handling issues afterwards. So my advice would be to get it from Cruiser Outfitters and have an experienced hand do the install.

Got tranny cooler? That's a good, inexpensive upgrade recently discussed in this forum.

 

[greenbeast]

Where? I don't see a photo of OP's truck. So, my advice is to post a pic or two.

Note that those advocating lifts have manual transmission FJ60's or H55 transplants into FJ62.

If you do lift, be sure not to "screw the pooch". I've seen some OME lifts with a terrible stinkbug look, and some folks complain about steering/handling issues afterwards. So my advice would be to get it from Cruiser Outfitters and have an experienced hand do the install.

Got tranny cooler? That's a good, inexpensive upgrade recently discussed in this forum.

I swear there was a pic of a silver 60 in a cool appearing garage with several license plates on the wall. Don't think it was a hallucination but it may have been!!

 

[Devils Paw 80]

I swear there was a pic of a silver 60 in a cool appearing garage with several license plates on the wall. Don't think it was a hallucination but it may have been!!

Yes, that was Farman33's.

 

[FARMAN33]

I deleted the pic because it was confusing people. Sorry!

 

[Kleatus]

Best performance upgrade engine-wise (beyond keeping good tune-up) that I did was a better flowing single 2.5" exhaust with a single aftermarket cat and generic turbo muffler. Cheap and noticeably effective, especially at higher RPM's.

Tranny cooler was already mentioned; do it, now.

As for making the mountain passes at speed - tune it up and run the smallest, least aggressive tires you can stomach the sight of.

A lift will make you want even bigger tires.. which make it even slower, but if you use it much off road the trade off can be worth it. Lots of guys run 31's with OME or other lifts though.

Mine is lifted and on 33's and desperately needs an H55 or 4.88's. Flat ground is OK but I feel like I am really punishing the transmission in the mountains. If you want larger tires than stock I would highly recommend planning for a re-gear or 5-speed swap, considering your current complaint of speed on grades. Drive a few others set up different ways if you can.