2017 Rig of the Year - FJ60Cam’s 1985 FJ60

[FJ60Cam]

I figured the V8 would allow me to bomb across the country, wheel for a week or so, then bomb back home.

I tried to convince my wife that this made sense. She just shook her head and rolled her eyes in that sweet way that I thought said go for it.

I started doing some research on past swaps and took mental notes about each system that would need to be touched and which solutions seemed to be the best. I had no idea what I was doing, but figured that shouldn’t stop me.

I picked up this clean, low mileage GenIV 5.3 and started ordering parts...

 

[FJ60Cam]

I’ll spare you the details (you can read those here: Cam's FJ60 is Gittin' a Heart Transplant), but we basically yanked out the 2F, cleaned things up, and tossed in the Vortec (I wish it was that easy!)

 

[FJ60Cam]

After a long battle, we had a victory...

 

[FJ60Cam]

It’s not totally done under the hood here, but it was running & driving.

Inside, it looked stock other than the slightly different shifter.

 

[FJ60Cam]

Finished:

 

[FJ60Cam]

For its maiden voyage, we drove from Memphis to Reno to join up with the NorCal crew. We would travel 700 miles off-pavement in an attempt to reach the mythical mountain town of Jarbidge, NV.

 

[RiverCityDave]

Oh man I concur that this truck deserves rig of the year. I LOVE this story.

 

[OGBeno]

V8.

Pussy.

 

[FJ60Cam]

To find out if we made it to the promised land, or why you shouldn’t take a Subaru to Subaru Meadow, to learn what a stallion pile is, or whether it’s spelled ‘Jarbidge’ or ‘Jarbridge’... you’ll have to click HERE to see what happens next.

Here’s the trailer:

 

[FJ60Cam]

Oh man I concur that this truck deserves rig of the year. I LOVE this story.

You’re going to love what happens next.

Pussy.

Things do get softer and squishier from here!

 

[klinetime574]

Enjoying the read so far. I remember seeing you on the forums back when I first joined (2006) but didn’t see many posts. Good to finally hear the story! I’d love to take a trip with my Dad some day in mine.

 

[FJ60Cam]

In late 2015, I made a random visit to Craigslist, and came across a cheap 80 series. I was daydreaming, thinking how cool it would be to have my 60 on the 80 series suspension.

I quickly snapped out of it, remembering that I don’t even have a proper shop, nor the political capital at home to pull off such a stunt. My family still remembered how little they saw me during the engine swap, and surely this would be a repeat.

Plus, how would I dispose of the body? Cut it into little pieces and feed to the trash every week?

 

[FJ60Cam]

I texted my friend about the truck, who texted his friend, who said he had already struck a deal with the seller for way less than the already cheap price.

They were buying it to get some random parts, and needed nothing from the chassis - if I wanted the rolling chassis, it would almost be free. This guy owned a chop shop, so I wouldnt need to worry about dumping the body. I could just walk away with what I needed.

Damn. It’s like the universe was talking to me.

I would have to come up with the ultimate sales pitch to my wife. She would have to put up with a huge eyesore in the driveway, plus a missing husband, for quite a while.

 

[FJ60Cam]

I had dreamed of the FJ140 for years. I had watched lowtideride’s Project Uranus thread...

@MANUCHAO’s frame swap thread...

and the infamous Project X^2, which sadly went the way of our Jeep Cherokee shortly after it was completed...

 

[FJ60Cam]

But, I didn’t have access to a lift, and had no way to take the body on/off the hundreds of times it would require. Plus, I would have to completely redo the engine swap into the 80 frame. No way I had that kind of energy or spare time.

However, I had seen 88Chevota’s swap where he cut the bits and pieces of the 80 and grafted it under his 60. He made it look simple - he was done in a matter of days.

In no time at all, he was out flexin’, stuffing 35’s into the fenders with ease. This was exactly the vision I had for my truck. His was even the perfect color - another sign from the heavens...

 

[FJ60Cam]

I cautiously approach my wife, sharing my dream, inviting her to be the best wife ever and to bless and participate in this project.

She negotiates a few honey-dos out of it, and I verbally commit to the rolling chassis, stressing to my bros that I am in no hurry. They can take their time parting it out.

 

[FJ60Cam]

A few months pass and I get a frantic call that we need to come get the 80 stuff ASAP. This chop shop is actually in a residential neighborhood, and the code department is trying to close it down.

Me and my homies make a mad dash to the chop house to get the loot and GTFO before it gets hauled off.

Luckily, they were properly equipped with a forklift and we were able to make quick work of separating the body & engine from the frame.

I cut the frame in half so I could move it around like a wheelbarrow and we hauled it back to my carport.

 

[FJ60Cam]

New Years Eve, 2015, the irreversible gender-reassignment surgery began...

I rang in 2016 laying down a thicc coat of paint on my new axle...

I had cut all the pieces off the donor frame, and had a ‘kit’, ready to reinstall on the 60 frame...

 

[FJ60Cam]

We were without a proper garage, or any idea of what we were doing, but that didn’t stop us from tearing into it full speed...

We would use intuition, a plumb bob, and calibrated eyeballs to line things up...

 

[FJ60Cam]

By the end of the weekend, the full weight of the front was sitting on the coil springs...

From there, it was a matter of attaching the bracing & steering box...

Finally, the sway bar...

...and then it was able to be driven into the street and turned around for the rear surgery...