Advice on my 76' 40 (1 Viewer)

[Isotel]

Ok, Finaly i have gotten a FJ-40 and now it is time to Make it the beast it always wanted to be..
http://www.ritchweb.com/isotel/fj40/MVC-012S.JPG
Go to the website for some pictures of it..
I would like any Advice on how to go about A couple of things..
Best way to Clear 35" Tires -- I am thinking 2" lift springs, Then Do Spring over/ Shackle Reversal..
Headers -- Right now it is a Chevy 350 with Side Exit Pipes.. I already Broke off my exuast messin around Driving up on Rocks in my yard I want to Make them go Between the Frame rails and Exit just behind the rear axel.. Performance is not an issue..

Any other advice you guys have would be appriciated..
Trevor

 

[hammerhead]

Do the SOA but don't waste time or money on springs. The soft stock springs are perfect for 35s with SOA. I have great articulation and hardly ever rub. It's high enough to give good clearance but not so high that I spend time on my side. A sapling and a quick thinking friend kept my damage to a broken mirror.
Shackle reversal is up to you. I chose not to, for many reasons. Read the tech links.
I use ram horns and two into one out the back. Good torque. The corvette manifold has nice mounting lugs where I mounted OBA compressor (York).
Power steering if you don't already have it (forgot to look).

 

[Cruiserdrew]

First of all, take a deep breath and count your dollars. Getting to 35 can be cheap or expensive, but cover the bases first. If you don't have power steering, do that first, otherwise you won't be able to steer the 35's. Make sure your brakes are in tip top perfect shape as it takes lots of braking force to slow down spinning 35's. You should re-gear your diffs-to 4.56 or 4.88-be prepared to drop some big coins here. A 2 inch lift won't do it, but a 4 inch will if you cut the rear fenders. Alternatively, you could go right to a spring over, but don't do a half assed botched job trying to save money that will leave you with unsafe handling and lots of other issues.

My best advice is this: make what you have drivable, and spend a year driving it and fixing the inevitable problems. Then you will be in a better position to decide exactly the set-up you want. If you are not going to drive in big rocks, you don't need 35's. You could wheel 33's with stock gearing and get to know your new truck, and you will be amazed where your stock, or nearly stock cruiser will take you. Every area of your truck is going to take money; brakes, cooling, steering, suspension, drive train, and you have to do all of these things before you bolt on the big rubber. Do not skimp on the brakes and steering! Also remember that you will spend way more than you think. Take you worst, most expensive estimate, and multiply times 3. Oh yeah-have fun!

 

[FJ60]

4" tpi lift = $680
Installation labor = $150
35" BFG Km's = $650
total = $1480

no power steering (steers fine)
no rear trimming (probably should)

after getting a labor quote for $3500 for SOA I decided that I could run 35's with this setup for less than half the price. Power steering would be nice but can be added at any time.

 

[Isotel]

THanks for the Advice, obviously we have 2 ways of going about it!

 

[axlechassis]

As you get more into it you will probably find more than two ways. All our rigs have slight variations to the theme.
With a V8 and 35" gearing should'nt be an issue unless you're planning extreme rock crawling(keep an eye out for a 3 spd transfercase for a lower low range). Power steering is a good add especially if you're going to drive alot off road.
For lift the SOA with stock springs will give you the best articulating suspension for the money. There are several methods for SOA. But they can be reduced down to two basic camps on the issue: The cheapo way(which works fine) and the cut and turn shackle reversal way. The cheapo way can be done for under a $1000.00 including new rancho9000 shocks. I stuck with the cheap way partly because most of the crew I run with up here in ak have done them like that with good results.
This is what a SOA 2" body lift and 35" look like.
Here are a few more shots with the suspension flexing
http://www.pbase.com/axlechassis/cruisers

 

[bad_religion_au]

man that's a gangly lookin 40. considering my SUA stock 40 has 33 x 12.5's filling out the guards (completely) it'd be nice to be able to see space in the wheel wells