69 FJ40 - 4" lift. What shocks/ what else?

[wrigh003]

Hey y'all - while slowly gathering parts for my semi-running backyard project truck, I came across a lift kit a buddy didn't need for just a few bucks, so I took that off his hands. Plan for this truck is 35s, the lift, freshen up anything else drivetrain related in unacceptable shape and see how that all does. It's Hell For Stout 4" lift springs and their extended shackles are on there as well, so overall it's mostly just an unbolt/rebolt project. I got new u-bolts and stuff alongside as well. New parts, old truck. Good times, though I have heard the 4" lift rides pretty, uh, solid. It'll work for me and if I need to do something different later- I can.

"While I'm In There," though (y'all know how this goes) I wanted to put fresh shocks on the thing, since I've got no idea at all how old the ones on there are (probably 90s vintage) and there'll be bigger tires in play. Cool Cruisers of Texas was, in fact, cool enough to respond to my email even though I didn't buy the kit from them and recommend Bilstein 5125s - that'll give me ~2.5 total inches of additional front travel (almost 9 total) and one more in back (total of ten).

Any other raves about different shocks, I'm all ears. I'm also looking into what I need to do for bumpstop adjustment and might extend the brake lines if what's on there looks needy or like they are 50yrs old. Drop your thoughts and experiences here - glad to hear it all.

The truck in question:

69 Spring Green - Build Thread

Hey y'all. As Land Cruisers do, they tend to multiply. I've had and been working on a 99 LX470 for several years, and through that, got to know my local Land Cruiser group. And, of course, eventually one of those guys had a project truck that came up for sale at a price I could stand at a time...

forum.ih8mud.com

 

[cruiserkev]

I'm running the 4 inch HFS springs with 35's and Bilstein shocks on my 76. I didn't need to extend the brake lines on mine but your 69 may require doing so. I do still have to extend my front bump stops about an inch but haven't got around to it yet. Tried some cheaper shocks but they blew out within a couple years. Bilsteins are well worth the extra money and helped smooth out the ride tremendously. Good luck!

 

[wrigh003]

I'm running the 4 inch HFS springs with 35's and Bilstein shocks on my 76. I didn't need to extend the brake lines on mine but your 69 may require doing so. I do still have to extend my front bump stops about an inch but haven't got around to it yet. Tried some cheaper shocks but they blew out within a couple years. Bilsteins are well worth the extra money and helped smooth out the ride tremendously. Good luck!

Nice. Yeah I figured for ~$400 new shocks were almost definitely worth it to just go on and do, and the homie hookup on the lift springs makes that easier to justify. What width tires are those? My christmas present from my wife was/ is some steelies similar to those; I went 15x8 for the wheels, but haven't picked out the exact tires yet.

 

[JohnnyC]

Does the kit have the front angle shims? You WILL need those

Shackles come with the bushings?

I would check over all your steering while you’re there … tighten up and replace what’s needed

Check over your front bearings for play and adjust if there’s excess play

 

[wrigh003]

Does the kit have the front angle shims? You WILL need those

Shackles come with the bushings?

I would check over all your steering while you’re there … tighten up and replace what’s needed

Check over your front bearings for play and adjust if there’s excess play

Upside - greaseable shackle pins and pretty new bushings in there, at least on the shackle/ spring side where they were pulled off. I'll need new ones for the truck side, I'm sure, those are half there or empty holes in the springs themselves. I don't think there's a whole lot of years/ miles on this setup, but would rather not have to pull stuff off and replace once I get it mounted, soo... yeah.

Thanks for the heads up on caster angle shims, that makes sense, and yeah - all the steering in this thing is old tractor-style 1969 OEM, so I'll look through all that whenever I get to installing all this stuff, just go through it once... until I try some kind of power steering setup down the road. This particular truck also doesn't have a tire carrier at the moment - didn't come with one. I tend to prefer the tire inside, myself, and will probably fab a mount to go with the rollbar, which this truck ALSO doesn't have. All that makes a difference on which side gets that 3/8" thicker rear spring pack gets located, so just more stuff to think about.