Barney the Purple Dragon - or, my FJ62
- Thread starter olija
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- #22
Got around to throwing those homegrown shackles in today. Picked up the rear end an appreciable amount, now she's not sagged out anymore. Don't know if it will clear 33's yet because I tried putting one on the front and the inner rim just doesn't clear the TRE. I ordered some 1/4" wheel spacers and will need to use stick-on inner balancing weights to avoid clearance problems there, but other than that I think they should bolt up, not sure how they will clear once flexed and steered. But that knowledge will have to wait. For now- pics:
Stock vs new. 2 1/2" longer.
Passenger (easy)side installed:
The driver's side was surprisingly more seized together, and I needed to use the torch to heat the factory shackle bolts up to break the rust free inside the bushings. I decided not to use my new Energy Suspension poly bushings because these ones weren't as bad as they originally looked, and I think I would have had a tough time getting the bushings in and out without putting the whole spring in the press, in which case I'd rather just bolt entire new spring packs on because it's less work and better results. I have a lead on some used lift springs so maybe I will end up using the new bushings on those eventually.
Also new and exciting- replaced the factory rock-magnet muffler with a Thrush Turbo. It sounds almost identical, but if your factory muffler isn't rotten out maybe it will make a bigger difference for you. I just removed the factory muffler at the 2-bolt flange upstream from it, and disconnected it from the new tailpipe I had previously installed, cleaned up the flange, then welded it to a short extension and a coupler to the muffler inlet. The main improvement here is the exhaust now completely exits from the back of the vehicle instead of somewhere underneath. No more non-catalyzed exhaust fumes! And I guess a few inches of extra clearance doesn't hurt either.
Also replaced the brake line that goes from the LR wheel cylinder to the right side of the pumpkin cause it was leaking. One step safer.
Stock vs new. 2 1/2" longer.
Passenger (easy)side installed:
The driver's side was surprisingly more seized together, and I needed to use the torch to heat the factory shackle bolts up to break the rust free inside the bushings. I decided not to use my new Energy Suspension poly bushings because these ones weren't as bad as they originally looked, and I think I would have had a tough time getting the bushings in and out without putting the whole spring in the press, in which case I'd rather just bolt entire new spring packs on because it's less work and better results. I have a lead on some used lift springs so maybe I will end up using the new bushings on those eventually.
Also new and exciting- replaced the factory rock-magnet muffler with a Thrush Turbo. It sounds almost identical, but if your factory muffler isn't rotten out maybe it will make a bigger difference for you. I just removed the factory muffler at the 2-bolt flange upstream from it, and disconnected it from the new tailpipe I had previously installed, cleaned up the flange, then welded it to a short extension and a coupler to the muffler inlet. The main improvement here is the exhaust now completely exits from the back of the vehicle instead of somewhere underneath. No more non-catalyzed exhaust fumes! And I guess a few inches of extra clearance doesn't hurt either.
Also replaced the brake line that goes from the LR wheel cylinder to the right side of the pumpkin cause it was leaking. One step safer.
Nicely done and strong effort 
Currently I have a welders block, stuck doing the wheel arches but not as bad as you had it.
How is the chassis, At the road check the mechanic has a nasty little screwdriver and punches trough the chassis but that is all fixed now.
Currently I have a welders block, stuck doing the wheel arches but not as bad as you had it.
How is the chassis, At the road check the mechanic has a nasty little screwdriver and punches trough the chassis but that is all fixed now.
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- #24
I spent a good chunk of a day hammering the frame. There was a really good undercoat on there, which must have helped block alot of the rust agents for a long time. By the time I got the vehicle, most of the undercoating was peeling off with a layer of flaky surface rust underneath. After hammering all that off all the way along both framerails, I used an angle grinder on the places I could fit it into and ground it smooth, then hit it with some black spray paint. It looks good again, and I'm not worried at all about the frame rotting through. Seems pretty solid considering the shape of the doors and rocker panels!
The thing I'm noticing about having a TLC is, there's ALWAYS something else that needs doing, but the best way to keep motivated is to look back at how far you've already come and then realize that there is alot less work ahead of you than there is behind you! Next on my to-do list:
-waiting on wheel spacers so I can mount the 33" KM2's
-transfer case output seal started leaking last weekend
-need to replace the Birfields, front axle seals, and knuckle shims, and replace front brakes with early 90's Toyota pickup calipers and rotors and master cylinder
-need to adjust RR brake / unseize brake adjuster
The thing I'm noticing about having a TLC is, there's ALWAYS something else that needs doing, but the best way to keep motivated is to look back at how far you've already come and then realize that there is alot less work ahead of you than there is behind you! Next on my to-do list:
-waiting on wheel spacers so I can mount the 33" KM2's
-transfer case output seal started leaking last weekend
-need to replace the Birfields, front axle seals, and knuckle shims, and replace front brakes with early 90's Toyota pickup calipers and rotors and master cylinder
-need to adjust RR brake / unseize brake adjuster
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- #25
Ok, still haven't got the 33's on but soon. In the meantime, I tackled a few items on the to-do list. The t-case output seal is replaced, replaced the clunky old Birfields with used ones, replaced axle seals, wheel seals, knuckle bearings and shims, repacked wheel bearings, and since I had the brakes off anyways I replaced the FJ62 calipers with early 90's Toyota pickup calipers my brother in law gave me for free! Also while under there, noticed the side plug on my oil cooler was loose, tightened it up, hopefully that cuts down on the mess of oil slathered down the passenger side of the block. Did some easy wheeling in between the last post and now, but the pics are on my fiancee's iPod so I haven't got them uploaded yet.
Helping the future father-in-law pull out this old tiller that has been sunk into the ground for the last 15 years. It was no match for the Cruiser.
Also rigged up the fuel door lock/latch with a cylinder meant for the jockey box on a semi truck because the original latch didn't work with any of the keys I got given with the Cruiser.
Pass side knuckle torn apart:
FJ62 caliper vs 90's pickup caliper:
Helping the future father-in-law pull out this old tiller that has been sunk into the ground for the last 15 years. It was no match for the Cruiser.
Also rigged up the fuel door lock/latch with a cylinder meant for the jockey box on a semi truck because the original latch didn't work with any of the keys I got given with the Cruiser.
Pass side knuckle torn apart:
FJ62 caliper vs 90's pickup caliper:
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- #26
Job done! I wouldn't say I noticed a ton of difference with the brakes though. I didn't change the master cyl because I didn't feel like farting around with the residual pressure check valve for the rear brakes which I remember reading in one of the FAQ threads. I just figured I'd throw these on since I had the old calipers removed as part of the knuckle job anyway!
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- #27
Put the 1/4" wheel spacers on and used stick-on weights on the inner rim, just enough clearance to run my 33x10.5R15 BFG KM2's. Did a flex test on the loading ramp to make sure. Saving up for Hell Creek 2.5" lift kit for a better ride and a little extra clearance.
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- #28
I'm surprised how big the wheel wells are on this thing. Every other vehicle I've put bigger tires on I've needed to do some fender bashing or trimming. Even with the sacked out suspension the 33's don't rub at all. Rides nicer too, due to the added sidewall height.
Looking good! What a transformation!
You have pm
You have pm
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- #30
Here's a few pics of trying the ol' girl out a in a few different places a few different times. This was all before I put the 33's on, so about a month ago or so.
Top of what we call "Radio Road", with Smithers' most prominent landmark, Hudson Bay Mountain in the background
Tried to make it to the lake up the same trail, but got my old holy muffler full of water which stalled my engine in an inconvenient location. A bit of cranking with the throttle pedal floored and she fired up, shooting water about 20 feet out the tailpipe!
And a nice sunny Sunday afternoon running under the powerlines between Smithers and Houston
No pics yet, but 2 weekend ago I drove up to the top of the chairlift on Hudson Bay Mtn, with my fiancee and her big brother and big cousin in the back. I guess my rear leaves didn't agree with the weight of those two big boys, and the left-rear main leaf snapped, leaving my tire dangerously close to the fender. In the meantime, I managed to trade an oil change for a set of heavy-duty aftermarket front leaf springs from a spare TLC axle that my fiancee's brother had sitting around, and I picked up a pair of rear leaf packs from an 89 or 87 Dodge 1-ton 2wd van. The plan with those is to find another set of used rear springs (which I have a line on already), and replace all the leafs except the main leaf with the Dodge leaves. The reason being the main leaf has the correct bushing sizes and it is the correct length. The 1-ton leaves will force the main leaf to follow their stiffer arch, which will result in a bit of lift, a functioning suspension, stiffer spring rate, and alot less $$$ spent. I will post pics when I get to this, which will hopefully be after this weekend.
EDIT: Also, if anyone knows the part # for a shock OTHER than the OME that will work with about 2-3" lift, ie Rancho, Rough Country, etc, please let me know the part #. I'm having a tough time finding any useful info online regarding that.
Top of what we call "Radio Road", with Smithers' most prominent landmark, Hudson Bay Mountain in the background
Tried to make it to the lake up the same trail, but got my old holy muffler full of water which stalled my engine in an inconvenient location. A bit of cranking with the throttle pedal floored and she fired up, shooting water about 20 feet out the tailpipe!
And a nice sunny Sunday afternoon running under the powerlines between Smithers and Houston
No pics yet, but 2 weekend ago I drove up to the top of the chairlift on Hudson Bay Mtn, with my fiancee and her big brother and big cousin in the back. I guess my rear leaves didn't agree with the weight of those two big boys, and the left-rear main leaf snapped, leaving my tire dangerously close to the fender. In the meantime, I managed to trade an oil change for a set of heavy-duty aftermarket front leaf springs from a spare TLC axle that my fiancee's brother had sitting around, and I picked up a pair of rear leaf packs from an 89 or 87 Dodge 1-ton 2wd van. The plan with those is to find another set of used rear springs (which I have a line on already), and replace all the leafs except the main leaf with the Dodge leaves. The reason being the main leaf has the correct bushing sizes and it is the correct length. The 1-ton leaves will force the main leaf to follow their stiffer arch, which will result in a bit of lift, a functioning suspension, stiffer spring rate, and alot less $$$ spent. I will post pics when I get to this, which will hopefully be after this weekend.
EDIT: Also, if anyone knows the part # for a shock OTHER than the OME that will work with about 2-3" lift, ie Rancho, Rough Country, etc, please let me know the part #. I'm having a tough time finding any useful info online regarding that.
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this thread is both scary and inspiring. I think most of us would have sent that truck to the crusher.
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- #32
Why there hasn't been any updates for the summer:
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- #33
Much to the chagrin of most of the advisers here, I forged on: 40 series front springs on a 62- should I reverse the shackle too?
I just cut the original hangers off and took a piece of tie rod from a heavy duty truck and welded it into a relief I cut out of a piece of 2x2 tube, then tacked the tube to the Cruiser frame, reassembled the shackles to the new hangers and tested it on an embankment outside. Once satisfied, I took it back inside and welded it a little better, and cut some triangular gussets to beef it up some more. So far it seems to be working fine- that being said I haven't driven it on the road yet because I've got more work to do on the rear suspension. I think I will need to remove one of the leafs from the pack, and/or the front swaybar because it doesn't flex that great yet.
I just cut the original hangers off and took a piece of tie rod from a heavy duty truck and welded it into a relief I cut out of a piece of 2x2 tube, then tacked the tube to the Cruiser frame, reassembled the shackles to the new hangers and tested it on an embankment outside. Once satisfied, I took it back inside and welded it a little better, and cut some triangular gussets to beef it up some more. So far it seems to be working fine- that being said I haven't driven it on the road yet because I've got more work to do on the rear suspension. I think I will need to remove one of the leafs from the pack, and/or the front swaybar because it doesn't flex that great yet.
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- #35
Haha, SteveH- if only it were that easy. We've killed two cameras in the last 5 months...time for a drop-proof action camera I think.
In the meantime...I tackled disassembling the rear suspension this afternoon. Was a bit of a job getting the spring pins out of the bushings, but using a c-clamp, a pickle-fork, and a few large wrenches, it's actually doable in about 30 minutes per side. That's all for this week.
In the meantime...I tackled disassembling the rear suspension this afternoon. Was a bit of a job getting the spring pins out of the bushings, but using a c-clamp, a pickle-fork, and a few large wrenches, it's actually doable in about 30 minutes per side. That's all for this week.
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- #36
Old Monroe shocks vs new Pro Comp ES3000. Doesn't look much longer in the pic but I think it may not have been fully extended. This was a while back so I don't remember.
Better picture of the new front shackle hangers (just tacked), and a better idea of my shackle angle:
How she's sitting now:
More updates to come soon. I'll probably start driving it again in a month or less.
Better picture of the new front shackle hangers (just tacked), and a better idea of my shackle angle:
How she's sitting now:
More updates to come soon. I'll probably start driving it again in a month or less.
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- #37
Got the beast insured a couple of weeks ago. Finally did the repair for the oil gallery plug, botched it pretty bad by using a bolt instead of a set screw and cracking the outside of the frost plug hole in the head. Ended up cutting the head off the bolt after removing it, slotting it, applying red lock tight, and screwing it in deep with a flathead screwdriver, and then JB welding over the screw and hole to prevent any chance of it falling out down the road.
Now for some pics! Tried out my new suspension on the loading ramp. It's quite stiff, possibly has LESS flex than the broken factory springs. I think pulling the shortest leaf on the front may be necessary, or pulling the front swaybar off, or both. Need to log a few more miles with it to decide exactly what I want to do. Higher up on my to-do list is get the brakes working better.
I guess I probably wouldn't want much more flex than that anyway, otherwise it'll rub, or go into negative arch.
My shackle angles at full flex:
Now for some pics! Tried out my new suspension on the loading ramp. It's quite stiff, possibly has LESS flex than the broken factory springs. I think pulling the shortest leaf on the front may be necessary, or pulling the front swaybar off, or both. Need to log a few more miles with it to decide exactly what I want to do. Higher up on my to-do list is get the brakes working better.
I guess I probably wouldn't want much more flex than that anyway, otherwise it'll rub, or go into negative arch.
My shackle angles at full flex:
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- #38
More glamour shots: took my wife up the town bluff for a nice picnic. Last year I tried wheelin' up there I couldn't make it cause the truck was too low, suspension was too shot, and tires were too bald. Now that I've corrected these 3 things I waltzed up there like it was nothing! No pics of the action though, sorry.
Also attempted an April 1st camping trip which is quite early given our northern latitude, but it has been unusually warm for the last week or so. Found the campsite buried by about a foot of snow still, just out of reach of the sun. Headed home, enjoyed a nice evening Cruise anyway:
Also attempted an April 1st camping trip which is quite early given our northern latitude, but it has been unusually warm for the last week or so. Found the campsite buried by about a foot of snow still, just out of reach of the sun. Headed home, enjoyed a nice evening Cruise anyway:
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- #39
Tech update: Got the rear brakes working better by freeing up the pivot on the rear axle for the ebrake cables. Once this was free I adjusted the starwheels to get the brakes back into proper adjustment and I couldn't believe what a difference it made. I think I may need to lengthen my proportioning valve linkage to get full braking power back to the rear axle but it's already so much safer it's hardly necessary anymore. The other major upgrade I did was remove the shortest leaf on all 4 spring packs, and that made all the difference in the world. It went from a mechanical bull simulator on a gravel road to a stiff-but-smooth ride. With the tires aired down to 18 psi for the trail, it rides very comfortably. I also removed the front swaybar (the rear was tossed at the beginning of the project), but it didn't seem to make much difference.
Photo update: Went wheeling up Dome Mountain with a group of friends and a medley of vehicles including the FJ62, brother-in-law's supercharged 3rd gen 4Runner on 33's, other brother-in-law's 89 F150, an S10 and a late-model Dodge Dakota. The S10 and Dakota did surprisingly well considering they have no ground clearance, lockers, or even half-decent tires. The best part of it is I borrowed someone else's camera instead of using the cell phone or iPod, so please, enjoy some clear, quality photographs:
Breaking timberline:
Nearing the top, I had to stop to capture the rainbow:
At the top. The reflection of the lake in the far background is where our town lies, just under Hudson Bay Mountain.
The view towards the back of the Dome: tons of fishing lakes and camping spots, including Babine Lake in the distance, BC's largest natural lake (the largest being Williston Reservoir)
Photo update: Went wheeling up Dome Mountain with a group of friends and a medley of vehicles including the FJ62, brother-in-law's supercharged 3rd gen 4Runner on 33's, other brother-in-law's 89 F150, an S10 and a late-model Dodge Dakota. The S10 and Dakota did surprisingly well considering they have no ground clearance, lockers, or even half-decent tires. The best part of it is I borrowed someone else's camera instead of using the cell phone or iPod, so please, enjoy some clear, quality photographs:
Breaking timberline:
Nearing the top, I had to stop to capture the rainbow:
At the top. The reflection of the lake in the far background is where our town lies, just under Hudson Bay Mountain.
The view towards the back of the Dome: tons of fishing lakes and camping spots, including Babine Lake in the distance, BC's largest natural lake (the largest being Williston Reservoir)
This thread is a great example of cruiser fixin on the budget.i love the effort u put into it. Great job saving it