torfab
Supporting Vendor
Torfab has completed a handful of 80 frame conversions, but this isn't one of those stories. I admit that technically putting an 80 frame under something puts it in the grey shade category. It's technically not illegal, but you never know what the boogey man will do when he finds out.
We decided to reverse engineer the 80 series suspension link locations and graft them on to the 60 series frame. The front seemed very straight forward, but crap... the rear part of the frame is way too narrow for a proper coil bucket. I pondered this problem for months until I came across more and more people using universal air bags instead of coils. It opened up a lot of possibilities, because they can compress to 2” and droop to 12” giving these particular bags exactly the specs I needed to get this done.
My staff says, well what happens if you pop one? Well, you can also break an axle, or even a leaf spring. But who gives a F, bring a spare! It’s like four bolts and you’re done replacing it on the trail. Just get on it!
So my crew spent the next 200 hours designing the suspension kit allowing you to basically weld brackets to your frame and then literally bolt FZJ80 axles to the brackets. You just need a set of axles complete with links, radius arms, and panhard bars. From there you order shocks and a set of airbags, but try to grab the coils from the donor 80 series because they’re exactly the right height to give your 60 about 2 inches of lift over stock.
We went to Radflo for the shocks, because they have a great reputation and make a quality product. They custom made a set for the front and one for the rear, and they ride amazing. I bombed through White Foot after overland expo this year at speeds that would put a grin (and absolute fear) on any cruiser lovers face.
The air bags are air lift D2600 and are easily installed on our perches. You can route the schrader valves to the bumper or just leave them on the bags (although it’s annoying adjusting from under the truck). So far I have about 6,000 miles on this suspension including air. I mean real air, like when you go 60 mph on a dirt road over a cattle grate and realize that you’re actually not touching earth any more. I cruised through Nevada going 100 mph plus with minimal steering input, and have scared the crap out of certain customers by showing them what this cruiser can do with 80 axles under it.
So far this has been the number one upgrade to my cruiser so far. I’ve done just about everything to this truck, including the Cummins R2.8 and 6-speed auto trans, but this takes the cake. I’ll post some pics of the kit and install for your viewing pleasure.
We decided to reverse engineer the 80 series suspension link locations and graft them on to the 60 series frame. The front seemed very straight forward, but crap... the rear part of the frame is way too narrow for a proper coil bucket. I pondered this problem for months until I came across more and more people using universal air bags instead of coils. It opened up a lot of possibilities, because they can compress to 2” and droop to 12” giving these particular bags exactly the specs I needed to get this done.
My staff says, well what happens if you pop one? Well, you can also break an axle, or even a leaf spring. But who gives a F, bring a spare! It’s like four bolts and you’re done replacing it on the trail. Just get on it!
So my crew spent the next 200 hours designing the suspension kit allowing you to basically weld brackets to your frame and then literally bolt FZJ80 axles to the brackets. You just need a set of axles complete with links, radius arms, and panhard bars. From there you order shocks and a set of airbags, but try to grab the coils from the donor 80 series because they’re exactly the right height to give your 60 about 2 inches of lift over stock.
We went to Radflo for the shocks, because they have a great reputation and make a quality product. They custom made a set for the front and one for the rear, and they ride amazing. I bombed through White Foot after overland expo this year at speeds that would put a grin (and absolute fear) on any cruiser lovers face.
The air bags are air lift D2600 and are easily installed on our perches. You can route the schrader valves to the bumper or just leave them on the bags (although it’s annoying adjusting from under the truck). So far I have about 6,000 miles on this suspension including air. I mean real air, like when you go 60 mph on a dirt road over a cattle grate and realize that you’re actually not touching earth any more. I cruised through Nevada going 100 mph plus with minimal steering input, and have scared the crap out of certain customers by showing them what this cruiser can do with 80 axles under it.
So far this has been the number one upgrade to my cruiser so far. I’ve done just about everything to this truck, including the Cummins R2.8 and 6-speed auto trans, but this takes the cake. I’ll post some pics of the kit and install for your viewing pleasure.