84 FJ60 - "Nearly Headless Nick" (1 Viewer)

[spakeyourmind]

I wanted to make this to document the life of the FJ I recently acquired. I have 0 experience with them, but a large portion of my motivation for acquiring one is that my brother-in-law who I love and adore deeply is a HUGE Land Rover guy, and I thought this would annoy him the most, because A) it's not a Land Rover, and B) because deep down he knows how cool it is. To acquire this thing, I traded a 2022 Triumph Scrambler XC. I loved riding it, but lost 3 friends over the course of 9 weeks, and decided it just wasn't worth it for where I was at in my life. I run a wedding and boudoir photography brand in addition to my corporate career and thought a LC would be a cool way to advertise it, and could be used in some of the photos as well. I also get really tired of being stuck in the middle of a city and want to be able to go play in North GA. My daily is a pavement princess, and I'm not ashamed to say I want to keep it pretty.

Picked up "Nick" on a Sunday afternoon in Augusta, GA, and started a 120-mile drive back to Atlanta. Made it 103 miles and totally lost the clutch and it wouldn't even hold fluid at that point. The PO told me there was a small leak in the slave cylinder and actually gave me the replacement part to install. Ended up towing it to a friend's garage that was close to where it gave up. Came back Monday, tossed on the new slave cylinder, and he's banging through all 4 gears (the reverse is a little crunchy) like nobodys business. I'll get it back to ATL this weekend, but figured I'd start this in the meantime. Came with an OME 2" and dead shocks, so it's a bit of an adventure to drive. The goal of the whole thing is to have a reasonably reliable rig with an aggressive look, front, and rear bumpers, able to get wherever and just be a little different. Catch some looks along the way, and have fun.

Things that work:
Air conditioning
Lights
All gears
Speakers
Wipers
Locker
Pretty much everything at this point honestly... I'm sure I'll break something though, fear not.

Things I'll have to address:
Wheels / Tires
Shocks
EFI Swap
RUST - this is my biggest issue. The drip rails are toast, the roof is also not worth repairing. Will likely source a good body, cut the roof off and replace it. This is how it earned its name, because its almost decapitated, but hanging on by an oxidized thread.

So my questions as I approach this that I can't solve myself are:

1. I want to run 33x12.5x16-17 tires. I ran Milestar Patagonias on some Jeeps with a lot of success, so that's what I'm hoping to get on there. I can't run a 12.5 on the pizza cutter width of the stock wheel, so does anyone have suggestions for a wheel that allows for manual locking hubs in the front? Be cool if was beadlock / beadgrip without being ungodly expensive.
2. EFI swap - looks like the Holley Sniper is the way to go. Is there a defacto "kit" that kinda has everything in one place so my idiot self doesn't miss ordering something?

 

[cheeese]

Do you specifically need a 12.5 width for the terrain you'll be seeing? Many folks are going toward a 235/85 or 255/85 on these, even if they depart from the OE wheels.

Good luck with the roof replacement, it's a big job but there are threads on it. If the windshield frame and body is good below the drip rail you'll save yourself a lot of work, but plan to pull the windshield anyway and replace the door and rear hatch gaskets… or all the rubber for that matter.

Welcome to Mud

 

[spakeyourmind]

Do you specifically need a 12.5 width for the terrain you'll be seeing? Many folks are going toward a 235/85 or 255/85 on these, even if they depart from the OE wheels.

Good luck with the roof replacement, it's a big job but there are threads on it. If the windshield frame and body is good below the drip rail you'll save yourself a lot of work, but plan to pull the windshield anyway and replace the door and rear hatch gaskets… or all the rubber for that matter.

Welcome to Mud

I don't SPECIFICALLY need the 12.5, but it is just what I've always gravitated to in the past. Most of the tires that I really like are either more affordable in that size or easier to source. I'm open-minded, but I'd like to run 33" tires. And as poorly as it may be received, I do like the aesthetic of it as well. I'm sure I'll be crucified by saying "I like it because it's pretty" by someone who's spent too much time inhaling acetylene if this is anything like some other forums, but hey, I like what I like lol.

 

[cheeese]

well… some folks will definitely give you grief over making an aesthetic choice for sure. But so much about owning and building a 60 is aesthetic even if people don't admit it. There are weight and dynamics compromises by putting that much tire on even upgraded suspension and you might throw a 33x10.5 on your OE wheels while you search for the right aftermarket wheel setup to at least get the height dialed.

 

[spakeyourmind]

well… some folks will definitely give you grief over making an aesthetic choice for sure. But so much about owning and building a 60 is aesthetic even if people don't admit it. There are weight and dynamics compromises by putting that much tire on even upgraded suspension and you might throw a 33x10.5 on your OE wheels while you search for the right aftermarket wheel setup to at least get the height dialed.

I was looking at the 255/85. Seem like they'd do the trick nicely. And less rubber for an engine with 300k on it to push. But damn they're gonna be a pricy buy. Have a few things I need to dial in before that, but I'll get there and keep an eye out on marketplace.

 

[cruisermatt]

You can do a 12.5" wide tire on the original wheels if you can find someone to mount them (or mount them yourself), but be aware these drive substantially better on narrower tires. 33x10.5 works really well.
I have a nice roof for sale in Orlando I need to move if you're interested.

 

[spakeyourmind]

You can do a 12.5" wide tire on the original wheels if you can find someone to mount them (or mount them yourself), but be aware these drive substantially better on narrower tires. 33x10.5 works really well.
I have a nice roof for sale in Orlando I need to move if you're interested.

Yeah, I've been looking at a lot more options like the 255/85. Seems like it would be the least likely to give me issues.

And as far as the roof goes, I'm not going to be ready to jump on that until about this time next year. Currently live in a condo and have 0 space for anything fun like that. BUT moving once I wrap up school to the suburbs and will have a garage, praise the lord!

 

[spakeyourmind]

You can do a 12.5" wide tire on the original wheels if you can find someone to mount them (or mount them yourself), but be aware these drive substantially better on narrower tires. 33x10.5 works really well.
I have a nice roof for sale in Orlando I need to move if you're interested.

But knowing your shop exists is awesome. My folks live in Volusia County, and I go down to help them with their property about every 6 weeks. Knowing not far and I can trailer the LC down in case I really screw something up is helpful!

 

[spakeyourmind]

UPDATE: Went back to Covington to snag the LC, and was pleasantly surprised that the fluid level in the clutch master cylinder reservoir was right where I left it, so the major leak was sorted out by replacing the slave. Good news. Got it back to ATL without any drama, aside from every time I hit a hole or an offset portion of pavement I have to death grip the wheel or the thing tries to go off in whatever direction it pleases. I managed to score some 33x10.5x15 General Grabber X3 MT tires off Facebook brand new for $750 for 5, so those will go on today I think, if my wife is willing to let me mess up the schedule in her head for the weekend lol. Lastly, I pulled off one of the shocks that look as old as I am (which is younger than the vehicle) so I ordered all 4 replacements from OME and the steering stabilizer from 4wp. I did notice a super slight oil leak coming from what looks like the pan or the RMS, so that'll get identified soon. I'd like to pressure wash the whole underbody of the thing, and then start figuring out where stuff is dripping.

Next Up:
Install 33s
Replace shocks and steering stabilizer
Replace oil pan gasket
Replace whatever running bigger tires breaks
Start thinking about EFI...

 

[spakeyourmind]

Busy weekend! 33's went on, and my wife went for her first ride in it! She was... less enthused than I am, but is very happy I have a project lol.

Shocks should be here Wednesday, and I'll have a tag on it then as well. The immediate next step will be repairing / replacing the exhaust. Its pretty crusty.

Pics from the first bath!

 

[caladin]

UPDATE: Went back to Covington to snag the LC, and was pleasantly surprised that the fluid level in the clutch master cylinder reservoir was right where I left it, so the major leak was sorted out by replacing the slave. Good news. Got it back to ATL without any drama, aside from every time I hit a hole or an offset portion of pavement I have to death grip the wheel or the thing tries to go off in whatever direction it pleases. I managed to score some 33x10.5x15 General Grabber X3 MT tires off Facebook brand new for $750 for 5, so those will go on today I think, if my wife is willing to let me mess up the schedule in her head for the weekend lol. Lastly, I pulled off one of the shocks that look as old as I am (which is younger than the vehicle) so I ordered all 4 replacements from OME and the steering stabilizer from 4wp. I did notice a super slight oil leak coming from what looks like the pan or the RMS, so that'll get identified soon. I'd like to pressure wash the whole underbody of the thing, and then start figuring out where stuff is dripping.

Next Up:
Install 33s
Replace shocks and steering stabilizer
Replace oil pan gasket
Replace whatever running bigger tires breaks
Start thinking about EFI...

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The insane steering when hitting bounces and ruts is supposed to be bad caster angle after the lift. I'm in the middle of installing 4 deg caster shims that are supposed to fix it in mine.

A good old school alignment shop should be able to do it too, I'm taking mine to one once it's all back together.

Installing them is enough of a pain, you might be better off going there first, as they can add them too... I also wanted to replace a bunch of the worn out driving stuff (tie rod ends, links/rodsd, etc) I got them all from Cruiser Teq and it wasn't too bad at all.

Hopefully road manners will be drastically improved.

 

[spakeyourmind]

The insane steering when hitting bounces and ruts is supposed to be bad caster angle after the lift. I'm in the middle of installing 4 deg caster shims that are supposed to fix it in mine.

A good old school alignment shop should be able to do it too, I'm taking mine to one once it's all back together.

Installing them is enough of a pain, you might be better off going there first, as they can add them too... I also wanted to replace a bunch of the worn out driving stuff (tie rod ends, links/rodsd, etc) I got them all from Cruiser Teq and it wasn't too bad at all.

That makes sense, that'll absolutely be the next thing I look at. I'd like to see if I can have someone check that out at the same time they do the exhaust. 2 birds with one stone kind of deal.

 

[spakeyourmind]

Shocks going on tomorrow!