Builds 40 Series Chassis, 80 Series Suspension - Kept it Simply (2 Viewers)

[watrob]

I kept to the 40 axles (have lots of spares), the front diff is a reworked 80 series rear housing diff with a Harrop/Eaton E-locker installed. Rear has Lokka installed as the 40 is permanently on the beach. As my fj43 body is all fibreglass I would have a width problem with 75 axles anyway. I will run solid disc rotors on the rear (Hilux), its an easy kit and an easy bolt on (currently run the same kit on my leaf chassis).

My main concern with the shocks is the rebound which will be totally different to a 40 series standard leaf chassis setup. So its not a matter of buying shocks to suite a 40 series, I think with this chassis the shocks will play a very important roll in the overall ride and handling, I will have a pretty heavy frontend (steel, gall dipped ARB bulbar), fairly direct steering and a medium weighted rearend.

I will run the front 80 series coils and the standard 80 series coils on the rear, the rear will be my main problem, with a heavy diesel, the 12ht is a little heavier than a 2H (the engine sits behind the front axle also), 5 speed which sits about 50mm further back in the chassis than 4 speed, 110 litre fuel tank tucked under the front bucket seats, rear bench seat (even the front bucket seat are closer to the rear axle than to the front), steel roll cage , rear towbar and 6" of extended rear tub I need the rear to be a little firm as there is a bit of weight there.

My current leaf chassis has medium leafs in the rear as light weight leafs were to soft and the rear tended to drop. So you can see the shocks will be interesting to get right?

 

[Delancy]

Personally, I'd wait on shocks until the chassis is loaded on the 80 coils and measure.

Without knowledge of engine, fiberglass tub, or other weight variances, it's an assumption, but 80s are heavy pigs and doesn't sound like you'll be nearing their inherent obesity.

Since it wouldn't be feasible to move the upper coil tower, it might be prudent to insure the 80 coils don't result an odd stance or too much lift, again all stated without having direct knowledge of the finished GVW or biases.

Considering the depths you've gone to this far, commendable and awe inspiring by the way, I'd wait until the finished weight is sitting on the coils to check RH, then shock length, then order Kings or Radflo's built to fit.

I may be out of turn and all this may have been considered, already, but, at the very least, think consideration for custom shock, built for length and weight, should be a consideration.

Believe Glenn still operates in South Africa and know there several King dealers in Australia, so shouldn't cost anymore than in the US.

 

[watrob]

Personally, I'd wait on shocks until the chassis is loaded on the 80 coils and measure.

Without knowledge of engine, fiberglass tub, or other weight variances, it's an assumption, but 80s are heavy pigs and doesn't sound like you'll be nearing their inherent obesity.

Since it wouldn't be feasible to move the upper coil tower, it might be prudent to insure the 80 coils don't result an odd stance or too much lift, again all stated without having direct knowledge of the finished GVW or biases.

Considering the depths you've gone to this far, commendable and awe inspiring by the way, I'd wait until the finished weight is sitting on the coils to check RH, then shock length, then order Kings or Radflo's built to fit.

I may be out of turn and all this may have been considered, already, but, at the very least, think consideration for custom shock, built for length and weight, should be a consideration.

Believe Glenn still operates in South Africa and know there several King dealers in Australia, so shouldn't cost anymore than in the US.

I was thinking along those lines, the feeling is the front coils will mostly be fine, heavy 6 cylinder turbo'd diesel & steel gal coated ARB bulbar, the rears will probably have to made to order "Kings" The chassis was built and jury rigged with 80 series coils in place all round at the time so heights & travel were checked & set to give a good 2" lift

Its the rear coils that will be the problem, the standard rear 80 coils will be too stiff I feel. The front will come down with the 1,000lbs of weight.

I feel my biggest problem is shocks, brand, type, valving. It will be easy enough to measure length but the type of shock is the dilemma. Coils are not that expensive but the shocks will be the drama, get it wrong and it's order another set? Will need to make a few phone calls and see which companies are out there in Brisbane.

 

[Delancy]

At least you've the benefit of multiple resources familiar with 80 coil production.

We've one in the US that can do custom, and they requested the vehicle presence, so ordered mine from Australia.

Shocks may be a different story, although I don't know what custom companies there are in Australia.

An off the cuff guesstimation would be to mimic 80 valving, since the coil rates are usually a bigger variable.

It might be worth an email to a custom producer, to see what criteria they typically suggest from and know that Glenn at Radflo may be able to offer insight into, and does with fervor.

Killer build, by the way.

Considered similar for a Pig, except using locked 70 axles.

 

[Mace]

Any coilover company makes rebuildable and adjustable valving smooth body shocks. King, SAW, Fox, FOA, etc..

Spec out your length and then tune the shocks to what you want. Easy peasy.

 

[watrob]

I started to put the feelers out today and did bit more research on shocks, Fox are available but the company itself has no actual representation here in Australia, just importers and highend offroad retailers, so to a degree any mistakes made will at my expense, although you can buy valving kits. They are offering lift sizes 2", 3", 4" & 5", around $1750 for 4 shocks. The only problem I see is the braided line which I think is only 304 stainless steel, won't last 12 months on the beach, needs to be 316, what photos I have seen on cars the lines are rusted.

 

[Aussie FJ40]

I started to put the feelers out today and did bit more research on shocks, Fox are available but the company itself has no actual representation here in Australia, just importers and highend offroad retailers, so to a degree any mistakes made will at my expense, although you can buy valving kits. They are offering lift sizes 2", 3", 4" & 5", around $1750 for 4 shocks. The only problem I see is the braided line which I think is only 304 stainless steel, won't last 12 months on the beach, needs to be 316, what photos I have seen on cars the lines are rusted.

what about KONI adjustables?im running them on my MAN truck and i am impressed,i wonder what valving kits are worth for the FOX,bit of science in shock technology and setup,at least with KONI you can adjust,it is only a small cost in the scheme of things though considering what you have done with the build

 

[watrob]

The problem I am facing with shocks is they need to handle the corrosive nature of being permanently on the beach. Steel shocks will last about 3 years if lucky (even when I repaint them, the steel has been originally power coated without any primer being used). The salt, humidity, dampness and within months the tell tail surface rust starts, been their done that.

Alloy shocks, as long as a protective clear coat is applied or if they are painted will hold up a lot longer, protective plastic boots over shafts is a must otherwise the shafts will pit. Next is if a canister is attached to the shock with along braided line it needs to be 316 stainless, 304 breaks down & rusts. Tested this all ready, used a 304 SS brained water line at the beach house connected to ball float to keep the underground pool overflow tank full, 12 months and it started to fall apart.

So what brands does that leave me, Aussie FJ40 I will look those KONI adjustable's? what others in the high end category are there?

 

[Mace]

Do you need remote res shocks?

http://www.radflo.com/moto/default
http://www.bigshocks.com/shocks-1.html

Also, there is no reason you can't use a non stainless hose between the res and the shock body. Or at least one with a protective covering. Primarily, as you know, you can't save stuff from salt water. It's going to need to be replaced occasionally.

You will find that all mistakes you make will be up to you with just about any shock. However, the adjustable valving and rebuild-ability of the shocks makes that pretty much a non issue. If you want the best shock for your truck, you will have to mod whichever shocks you get. Stock valving is very standardized.

 

[Aussie FJ40]

The problem I am facing with shocks is they need to handle the corrosive nature of being permanently on the beach. Steel shocks will last about 3 years if lucky (even when I repaint them, the steel has been originally power coated without any primer being used). The salt, humidity, dampness and within months the tell tail surface rust starts, been their done that.

Alloy shocks, as long as a protective clear coat is applied or if they are painted will hold up a lot longer, protective plastic boots over shafts is a must otherwise the shafts will pit. Next is if a canister is attached to the shock with along braided line it needs to be 316 stainless, 304 breaks down & rusts. Tested this all ready, used a 304 SS brained water line at the beach house connected to ball float to keep the underground pool overflow tank full, 12 months and it started to fall apart.

So what brands does that leave me, Aussie FJ40 I will look those KONI adjustable's? what others in the high end category are there?

if you are in that environment why not get a reasonable priced shock that works and ditch it after it gets rusted out,alloy will eventually pit and corrode to the stage where you won't be able to use it anyway,i also use Ensis DW 6055 from Blackwoods and it is the best rust proofing around,used it for 30 years,my old man was a beach wormer so we know about rust,and the speed limit on our beaches is 80kmh so really with tyre pressure down to 18 or so are expensive shocks really worth it?that is just my thoughts though,i know what i would do but at the end of the day it is your choice,really not much choice with shocks either here in OZ,i would be interested to see what you eventually get,good luck

 

[watrob]

Ok, have spent the last week deciding what shocks to run, considering it's going to be running on a chopped up beach at reasonable speed dragging a 475kg jet-ski which is a 40km run the shocks on those occasion will take a beating, so I have decided to run FOX Shocks. Getting the Performance Series as they are alloy compared to the Pro Series which are steel, steel does not last on the beach.

Racing Imports are going to re-valve and also put rubber boots on as well to protect the shaft from the sand. The front shocks are pin top and bottom and the rear set has eye's top & bottom. At this point the shocks will have 10" of travel and accommodate a 2.5" lift. As I have fibreglass sports tub I pickup 1" in height due to light weight, I also pickup another inch in the tub spacers too chassis I use.

 

[watrob]

Have ordered the shocks, front & rears!

 

[watrob]

My FOX rear shocks arrived today, the fronts are about another week away, so I will start to put everything together this weekend.

 

[GLTHFJ60]

I'm looking at getting very similar shocks for my own rig and a friend said that unless you go for an external reservoir shock, there's no sense in spending the money over regular bilstein 5125s. Is there truth to that or do shocks like above perform significantly better than their cheaper counterparts?

 

[Mace]

I'm looking at getting very similar shocks for my own rig and a friend said that unless you go for an external reservoir shock, there's no sense in spending the money over regular bilstein 5125s. Is there truth to that or do shocks like above perform significantly better than their cheaper counterparts?

"Better" is relative. The Fox shocks are rebuildable and you can adjust the valving. Bilsteins are not. And for 99% of the trucks on the road a external res is a waste of money. Emulsion shocks work just fine. The only time you need a remote res if you are seriously working your suspension (think 30+ mins of driving as fast as you can on a whooped out dirt road).

 

[GLTHFJ60]

"Better" is relative. The Fox shocks are rebuildable and you can adjust the valving. Bilsteins are not. And for 99% of the trucks on the road a external res is a waste of money. Emulsion shocks work just fine. The only time you need a remote res if you are seriously working your suspension (think 30+ mins of driving as fast as you can on a whooped out dirt road).

Thanks for chiming in Mace. One of my friends commented that it was not worth the money to get fancy shocks unless you get ones with remote reservoirs. My research is contrary to my friend's comment and agrees with your comments here and in the thread below.

https://forum.ih8mud.com/threads/fox-coilovers-what-about-it.143226/

Hijak over

 

[watrob]

Finally got fair bit done to the chassis yesterday, so its gone from this.

To being chemically cleaned & double hot dipped in Gal.

Etch primed.

Gloss Black top coat.

Added 80 series suspension.

 

[watrob]

Rear shot.

 

[watrob]

Hear some shots of the front axle.

 

[watrob]

A few shots of the rear axle assembly.