Builds '94 FZJ80 "Cotton" (1 Viewer)

[Roxx]

Whattttttt?????

 

[roadstr6]

Nathan and I removed Cotton's original bumper and installed the Short Bus tonight. Install was easy enough. We did run into a problem fitting the winch solenoid between the bumper tubes and the front valence. I will need to relocate the solenoid. I will fab up a bracket and order up a relocation kit. Overall I'm extremely happy with the Slee bumper. It's a quality unit. The material on the outer wings is easily twice as thick as the wings on my 60's ARB bumper. Pull points are real and not for show like on the ARB. The bumper was packed well and got to me in NC from CO six days after I placed my order. Slee knows what they are doing. Great customer experience here.

Next, tires (315's). After that, lift (OME 850J/863) and locked axle swap.

 

[roadstr6]

Last week I decided to finish wiring the truck for lockers with the exception of the last sections to the axles. I pulled the floor harness and replaced it with the one from my '97 locked donor vehicle. Immediately I noticed a few little issues. The backlight on the shifter did not light up, the cold engine idle-up was not kicking on and the ABS light came on. I was not that concerned with the backlight on the shifter. The idle-up was a bit of a concern, but I didn't worry too much because I felt like it was because the battery had been disconnected for several days and once I drove it a while it would come back. The ABS light bugged me though.

I tried swapping the ABS roll sensor under the shift console and the ABS ECU in the kick panel. Neither fixed the problem. Just for fun (if you can call this type of work fun) I decided to disconnect the '97 harness and just lay Cotton's original harness on top of the carpet and plug it back in to see if the ABS light would go out. It did. Not sure why. There is obviously a small discrepancy between the '94 and '97 harnesses. I probably could have left it alone and lived without ABS but the light would be a constant reminder to me that I didn't spend the time to make it right from the get-go.

My ultimate solution was to strip down the '97 donor floor harness, carefully noting the pinout locations of the five locker wires on the plugs on each end. I unpinned these connectors (Mr. T calls them "factory splices"), pulled the wires out, re-bundled the 5 wires together and wrapped them up in electrical tape. I laid the "new" 5 wire harness alongside Cotton's original floor harness and re-pinned the connectors into the correct pins in the plugs on both ends. Once the floor harness (with small locker harness alongside) was re-installed, all my nit picking issues went away. Everything works like it should. Now I just need to swap the locked axles into Cotton. Once I do I will know for sure if I pinned those wires correctly. Fingers crossed.

 

[GLTHFJ60]

Always fun splicing together wiring harnesses!

 

[roadstr6]

I'm planning on getting new tires in the next couple of days. I sourced a well worn 315/75/16 from @Tuite several weeks ago to use as a spare. My spare wheel and tire looked like they've been under the truck since 1994. The tire had lost pressure at some point and the bead pulled back a little from the rim. Dirt and debris had gotten up on the tire/rim interface and as a result, when I pumped it up, the tire leaked at the bead. No big deal for me because I will be removing the OE size spare anyway. There is a lesson to be learned here, though. Check your tire pressure in your spares that are stored under the truck. Keep them at good pressure or debris will interfere with the seal and you won't be able to use your spare when you need it.

My four rolling wheels are in great shape...extraordinary shape, actually. No real scuffs or rash. Good clear. Shiny. My under-the-truck all of its life spare looks like it barely survived a zombie apocalypse. Corrosion has gotten under the clear coat at many of the sharp corners and overall it was not even a close match for my other four. I decided to scuff it and paint it.

Keep in mind that the spray painted tire will be removed shortly. I didn't bother to mask it. I knew I would not be able to match the look of the factory machined wheel so I just chose a color that would not stand out too much. The spare will live in my cargo area for a while until I source a swingout bumper. I think the Graphite VHT wheel paint will look great in my gray interior, and when it gets relocated to a swingout it will blend nicely with the rest of the truck and hopefully not look like a complete afterthought.

 

[fj40z]

I'm planning on getting new tires in the next couple of days. I sourced a well worn 315/75/16 from @Tuite several weeks ago to use as a spare. My spare wheel and tire looked like they've been under the truck since 1994. The tire had lost pressure at some point and the bead pulled back a little from the rim. Dirt and debris had gotten up on the tire/rim interface and as a result, when I pumped it up, the tire leaked at the bead. No big deal for me because I will be removing the OE size spare anyway. There is a lesson to be learned here, though. Check your tire pressure in your spares that are stored under the truck. Keep them at good pressure or debris will interfere with the seal and you won't be able to use it when you need it.

My four rolling wheels are in great shape...extraordinary shape, actually. No real scuffs or rash. Good clear. Shiny. My under-the-truck all of its life spare looks like it barely survived a zombie apocalypse. Corrosion has gotten under the clear coat at many of the sharp corners and overall it was not even a close match for my other four. I decided to scuff it and paint it.

View attachment 1644935 View attachment 1644936 View attachment 1644937 View attachment 1644938 View attachment 1644939
Keep in mind that the spray painted tire will be removed shortly. I didn't bother to mask it. I knew I would not be able to match the look of the factory machined wheel so I just chose a color that would not stand out too much. The spare will live in my cargo area for a while until I source a swingout bumper. I think the Graphite VHT wheel paint will look great in my gray interior, and when it gets relocated to a swingout it will blend nicely with the rest of the truck and hopefully not look like a complete afterthought.

I’ve done a couple of sets of 80 wheels, a set of mini truck wheels and maybe a set of Mark 2 Jetta wheels all with VHT in that same color all have held up well. Planning on doing the wheels on my current 80. You’ll like it.

 

[roadstr6]

It sure does spray on well. Dries pretty quick. Beautiful flake really pops. The clear will bunch up on you though so you have to be careful. It’s a winner in my book!

The graphite looks really close to the darker wheel insets on a 40th Anniversary 80 series. After shooting that one wheel I was real tempted to mask off the other four and shoot the insets...but I’ll resist...for now.

 

[fj40z]

Yeah I have the painted insets on my CE wheels. I’m planning on painting the insets black then the rest with the graphite VHT.

 

[roadstr6]

Big day today. Cotton got new kicks (Cooper STT Pro 315/75/16). I finished the winch solenoid relocation and Nathan helped me remove the gawdawful tow hitch from the rear. Next...lift and lockers!

 

[roadstr6]

Moved Cotton into the shop last Thursday to get it prepped for the rear locked axle swap.

 

[roadstr6]

Today Nathan and I pulled the open axle and got the locked axle most of the way in along with OME 863's. All the heavy lifting is done. I still need to install shocks, sway bar, swap the calipers and rotors off my original axle, hook up and bleed brakes.

 

[stevezero]

whatcha gonna do with your old axle?

 

[roadstr6]

whatcha gonna do with your old axle?

Not sure just yet what I'm going to do. Several folks have asked about wheels, axles, full rolling chassis, etc. It will be hard to get the parts truck out of my yard unless it rolls. All I know is that in a few weeks the wrecked lump and all it's appendages are all going to have to disappear from my yard. If worse comes to worse I will likely loosely bolt the unlocked axles onto the beast, roll it up on a trailer and take it to the crusher. Until I decide how to dispose of the parts that nobody wants (body, trans, transfer, etc.), I will need to keep it rolling. If somebody wants to make an offer on the whole thing, PM me and we can talk.

 

[stevezero]

Roger that. I'm just thinking how nice it would be to pick up a complete axle, do brakes, bearings, seals, etc, and drop an aussie in the 3rd member, all in the luxury of my garage, then slide it underneath like youre doing.

 

[fj40z]

@roadstr6 this is turning into one sweet 80

 

[roadstr6]

@roadstr6 this is turning into one sweet 80

Thank you, sir. I know it will be because I'm following your lead!

Well...except for the oil filter fiasco. Don't want to head down that road if I can help it.

 

[fj40z]

Thank you, sir. I know it will be because I'm following your lead!

Well...except for the oil filter fiasco. Don't want to head down that road if I can help it.

BWAHAAAHAAA!! Can’t blame you there. I wouldn’t wish that on anyone!

 

[roadstr6]

It was a late night last night but I got the "new" rear locked axle buttoned up. Last section of locker wiring is in, shocks, link bolts torqued to spec, driveshaft installed, u joints greased, fresh gear oil, extended brake lines, extended axle breather, Slee sway bar drop brackets, brakes bled. The truck is not lighting up the ABS light so I'm assuming that's a good sign and that the '94 ECU will play well with the '97 ABS sensors on the locked axles. I plan to put the wheels back on this weekend, test the locker and ABS and if everything checks out, I will back the truck in the shop and start on the front axle.

 

[stevezero]

Awesome!

 

[roadstr6]

I'd like to give a shout out to Rustoleum for making what is quite possibly the best rattle can chassis paint on the planet, Rustoleum Appliance Epoxy. I like it even better than the Industrial spray cans and it's cheaper as well. I use it on all things I want shiny and black. It goes on slick and dries with a nice smooth shine. It seems to dry with a harder shell-like finish than most spray cans. I guess that is the difference between regular paint and epoxy. Folks have gone so far as to paint cars and motorcycles with it. It's just good paint. Try it. You'll like it.

Here's some pics off the interwebz of stuff folks have painted with it: