'86 FJ60 4in Lift Practicality

[The Machinist]

Im looking at possibly buying this 1986 FJ60. I drove by and spent a couple minutes looking it over after school this afternoon, and everything seems to be the way I pictured it, except that its a bit more lifted than I expected. Its got a 4 inch lift with the man-a-fre shackle reversal kit, and 33" BFG A/T's, 185,000 miles.

I talked to the seller on the phone yesterday, and he told me that he has rebuilt the carb, resealed the engine, added a new water pump, fan clutch, drive belts, new clutch, brakes, catalytic converter, intake and exhaust manifolds and done a complete tune up. He also mentioned that he is a mechanic, so im not to worried about its mechanical condition.

Right now I still have the better part of a school year left in High School, so I don't have a whole lot of money or free time to spend on trips, but when I get the chance I like to go fly fishing in the Sierras with my family. Every time my Dad and I go on a fishing trip, we always see these little dirt roads heading off the main road, seemingly to nowhere. Its my goal to explore those roads.
But I live four hours away from those areas, and I need to know if a 60 with a 4 inch lift is capable of spending that much time on the freeway - safely. I'm concerned because a few years ago we bought an International Harvester Scout 800B that is basically a show truck, but the current suspension makes it feels like a boat at 40.

Anyway, I just stopped by to take a quick look at the truck today, and I'll be meeting with him tomorrow evening... well its past 12pm, so I guess today... and ill be able to test drive it then.

Thanks for any input! ;p

 

[tat2matt]

One thing,just random, but look at the shackle reversal and check that the shackles were welded on not bolted. The picture shows the bolts that are intended to hold the bumper on but has that piece of metal where the bumper is. If they are not have this done sooner rather than later it's not safe bolted not welded.

 

[dbleon]

I don't know why you would do a head gasket if it was not blown... other than having the head off for work.

I actually like what he did on the shackle reversal (SR)... that cross bar looks like it re-enforces the front frame area (a common failure point with SR's)

But as was mentioned...it should be welded.

Other than that with the SR your castor may be off causing steering issues. There is a simple fix for that though, just placing shims between the leaf springs and axle.

If he can show reciepts for all the parts, It may be worth the price...otherwise it's about 2k on the pricey side.

JMHO of course

 

[baldredhead]

I need to know if a 60 with a 4 inch lift is capable of spending that much time on the freeway - safely.

the short answer is yes. There is nothing intrinsically wrong with a 4inch lifted 60 series doing lots of freeway miles. i'm sure i'm among many here that have done it in theirs.

that said, the particulars of how it was lifted can negate my blanket statement above.

this response probably didn't help much.

 

[shancerlelby]

looks like a well built truck. i wouldn't worry about the lift. the sixty series i no sports car so it will be alittle more top heavy and tippy but thats to be expected.

 

[The Machinist]

Well, I have good news. I met with the seller last night, and my Dad and I took it for a test drive. I was worried that it would have the same feel as my International due to the higher center of gravity, but I was really surprised at how flat it cornered, it almost felt as flat as our 00' Suburban... and he doesn't even have the sway bar on it at the moment (need the extended hangers).
The seller has done everything right, and says that he has over 10k in it in the last 8-10 years that he has owned it. He has put a lot of work into this truck, and everything mechanical works great.
dbleon, after talking to him for a while I found out that that crossbar was there from when he towed it behind his motor home. He said he would never do it again though, just too heavy.
I'm training as a machinist right now, and the school i go to has a welding shop right next door, I think I might have one of my friends that's in there weld it up for me in the future.
So, now for what everyone's waiting for, did I buy it... Yes! We agreed to buy it last night, and will be working out when we can get together and finish the deal in the next few days.

[/url] Soon To Be My New FJ60 by Darrell Vaughn, on Flickr[/IMG]

 

[dbleon]

I'm sure you'll make some fond memories in that rig! Congrats and happy Cruising!

 

[steves]

congrats on buying my old cruiser!! just been reading some post's and looks like these guys will give you some good information when needed (i.e welding shackle reversal kit brackets) most of the repairs i made on this rig were preventative in hopes of doing more "back country driving" (i.e headgasket replaced) I am a firm believer in preventative maintenance and that's most likely the main reason I have never been "stranded" someplace with a broken rig ( with the exception of fuel pump going bad in rv...who knew!)
well don't forget what I said when you picked this fine piece of machinery up "If you have any questions don't hesitate to call" enjoy

 

[snowboardonsnow]

congrats on buying my old cruiser!! just been reading some post's and looks like these guys will give you some good information when needed (i.e welding shackle reversal kit brackets) most of the repairs i made on this rig were preventative in hopes of doing more "back country driving" (i.e headgasket replaced) I am a firm believer in preventative maintenance and that's most likely the main reason I have never been "stranded" someplace with a broken rig ( with the exception of fuel pump going bad in rv...who knew!)
well don't forget what I said when you picked this fine piece of machinery up "If you have any questions don't hesitate to call" enjoy

He just got rid of his cruiser and now he becomes a member! haha cruiser head for life, I bet you'll buy another!

 

[The Machinist]

congrats on buying my old cruiser!! just been reading some post's and looks like these guys will give you some good information when needed (i.e welding shackle reversal kit brackets) most of the repairs i made on this rig were preventative in hopes of doing more "back country driving" (i.e headgasket replaced) I am a firm believer in preventative maintenance and that's most likely the main reason I have never been "stranded" someplace with a broken rig ( with the exception of fuel pump going bad in rv...who knew!)
well don't forget what I said when you picked this fine piece of machinery up "If you have any questions don't hesitate to call" enjoy

Yeah, I'm starting to learn a lot about these Land Cruisers from this forum! I'll be posting pics of my progress with the truck on this THREAD , so if you ever want to see how its doing, just open that link.
This morning I had a little time to get started on cleaning up the interior, I'm just about to add a few pics from to that thread.

 

[steves]

may get another cruiser, thinking fj40, would love fj45 but alas married with kids = no $$$$$$

 

[snowboardonsnow]

may get another cruiser, thinking fj40, would love fj45 but alas married with kids = no $$$$$$

I know what you mean about $$$$ my diesel build was put on a 2 year hold when I got married. Now I am about to have my first kid so I am scrambling to lift her before my boy comes haha.

My fj/bj40 will come right after my bj70 if I ever win the lotto!
...and her G-wagon she wont let that one go, never should have shown her those!!!

 

[The Ark]

Pretty cool reading this post on here. Im in the bay area as well, have been recently looking for a Fj60/62 and came across the same rig for sale on Craigslist... I passed it by. I kinda like buying stock vehicles and lifting them myself. I guess that just partof the fun of it for me.. Sounds like you got a good one though.. I ended up with the gold 90' Fj62 in Salinas. Planning on lifting enough for 33's and an eventual 4bt swap..... I havnt done much searching for it on here yet but am pretty sure I need a 4" lift for the 4bt.

 

[The Machinist]

Pretty cool reading this post on here. Im in the bay area as well, have been recently looking for a Fj60/62 and came across the same rig for sale on Craigslist... I passed it by. I kinda like buying stock vehicles and lifting them myself. I guess that just partof the fun of it for me.. Sounds like you got a good one though.. I ended up with the gold 90' Fj62 in Salinas. Planning on lifting enough for 33's and an eventual 4bt swap..... I havnt done much searching for it on here yet but am pretty sure I need a 4" lift for the 4bt.

I'm working on a more detailed thread of my progress here if you want to see how I'm coming.

 

[RunTrout]

WHAT UP SAN HO???

Sorry, I grew up there, just had to say whats up... Congrats on owning a truck that is way cooler than anything ever seen in the bay area. Now you can just drive over all of the lowriders...