BamaBleach's FJ40 buildup

[BamaBleach]

Keep me informed about the ride & dates.... just got a new job that I can actually afford to wheel again

Will do and congrats on the job!


Got the anti-wrap bar done. After moving the rear axle back 11" and adding the Toybox (added 6.5") it was going to be pretty much impossible to run my old ladder bar. I used tractor joints on the last one and they were still in good shape so I reused them. It might be a little redneck but they work.

The best mounting position for the shackle side was to tie it into the cross member. I think it turned out pretty good. We reused the shackles and mount block. Axle side didn't change.

 

[JBC0217]

Nice work Phil!

 

[BamaBleach]

Drive shafts and exhaust! That's pretty much all that's left.

 

[JBC0217]

Drive shafts and exhaust! That's pretty much all that's left.

Is this thing your dd yet?

 

[Fast Eddy]

Drive shafts and exhaust! That's pretty much all that's left.

I read this whole build thread looking for drive shaft info. Dammit.

 

[BamaBleach]

It's coming. Tubing has been cut. The ends should be welded and turned down on the lathe tomorrow (maybe!). Trying to get it done for the long weekend!

 

[BamaBleach]

The Cruiser has now been trail tested! We took it out yesterday and it worked great and didn't have any issues.

I didn't get a chance to upload anything from my camera so you'll have to wait till tonight for that.

A lot happen Friday-Sunday to make it happen:

Friday night we got the rear drive shaft built. Saturday I drove the Cruiser to the exhaust shop and got that squared away. Drove it back to the shop and started on the beadlocks. Got two installed and finished up the other two on Sunday.

With the 39.5" TSL's now mounted up we needed to measure for bump stops and trim the front fenders. I also had a 30 spline birf with some interference issues. So we tore down the pass-side of the axle and worked the housing with an air grinder.

So with everything back together, fenders cut, bump tops welded in, we flexed it out on our little test rock pile. The drag link was getting into the frame so we had to take a torch to the steering arm and bend it down with a massive pipe wrench.

So on Sunday night we took it out for a little shake-down run. We had some issues with the 4wd engaging. At first we suspected the shifter linkage but after getting it back to the shop we found the culprit: We had forgotten to install the snap ring that resides in front of the nose cone bearing. So on flat ground it would shift into 4wd without issue, but when you would start to climb any sort of incline it would jump out of gear! We looked through our old parts bin and found the snap ring. Disaster averted! That could have turned out badly.

So after 3 long days that each ended around midnight, it was ready.

 

[BamaBleach]

Got these emailed to me from someone else on the ride (they look even better in high-res ):

 

[Funkytown 40]

Badazz pics!

Looks like you had a successful trail run! Congrats!

 

[BamaBleach]

Quick video clip:

 

[chicago]

FAAAAAWWWWK!
That is AWESOME STUFF bro!
Got any pics or details on the fender trim?
Il like to do that I think.
Did you run a rib or anything around the outer edge of the cut?

 

[chicago]

Is that your fan hitting the shroud makin all that racket?
Nice job getting up the ledge (es).
Im happy for you man. Im soooooo ready to be there its not even funny.

 

[BamaBleach]

FAAAAAWWWWK!
That is AWESOME STUFF bro!
Got any pics or details on the fender trim?
Il like to do that I think.
Did you run a rib or anything around the outer edge of the cut?

I'm uploading pics for the fender trim and other things right now.

I need to adjust my pitman arm and drag link. That power steering sqawk is annoying.

 

[BamaBleach]

Here's some pics of the fender trim:

I'm eventually going to build a stinger and then I'll run some tubing from the bumper to the sliders.

 

[BamaBleach]

Here's some finished shots of the anti-wrap bar. It was very solid on the trail. Much better than my old one.

 

[BamaBleach]

I bought some used Al wheels that had the Sky Mfg DIY beadlocks on it. The outer rings were trashed and coning pretty bad. So I decided to make a new outer ring made of steel. Nick drew up a design in surf-cam and he gave the file to the local tech school. They've got a plasma table and done a fine job cutting them out for me. Went with red so I could complete the Christmas look

And finally here's some poser pics:

 

[BamaBleach]

Before:

After:

 

[waiting for time]

Very nice result looks like you had a lot of fun out there.

Have fun

 

[BamaBleach]

Thanks! And you're right...it was a blast!

 

[LukeZero]

Looks good. I'm glad to see that you're putting that ToyBox to good use.