Feb. 1987 FJ60
Freeborn Red
Name: Bean
I’ve been putting this off for a while now, but I think the time has finally come to start documenting the continuation of the Bean’s journey.
My wife and I were lucky enough to buy the Bean back in March of 2019 from Theron of ‘This Wild Idea’. It had been a long-time dream of mine to own a 60 series and I was fortunate to be working on a project for Torfab when Theron decided to sell. It was actually my wife that convinced me that we NEEDED to buy the Bean… she was immediately drawn to it!
As many of you know, this truck already had a lot going for it when we got it. It had also been well loved with almost 140K miles put on it in the prior 5 years (many of those on off-road adventures). It was in great shape but needed some refreshing. We have put a ton of work into it over the last two years and I’m going to try to catch you all up with everything that’s been happening!
Here is a picture of what the Bean looked like when we brought it home:
The Bean’s story starts with Theron’s build thread HERE. It’s a good read and has a ton of beautiful pictures of #Beanthefj60 and his pup Maddie. He did a ton to build this truck up to what it is today. Here are the major highlights of what he had done by Torfab for the build:
Here is a list of the more notable things I have addressed since we bought the truck. I have personally done most of the work, but there are a few items on here that Torfab took care of for me. I’ll go a little more in-depth on each of these items in future posts!
A little about my wife and I:
My wife and I live on the Olympic Peninsula in Washington State (about 2hrs outside of Seattle). We were living in Seattle when we purchased the truck and have been lucky enough to get to know many of the cruiser enthusiasts in the area!
We try to get out exploring and camping as many weekends as possible. We have been on a bunch of trips throughout the Pacific Northwest with the Bean and absolutely love it! Our favorite trips have been in British Columbia, central WA, and Bend, OR. The first year we owned it, we put about 15K miles on the odometer. Sadly, last year was a lot less due to COVID and some transmission/transfer case issues we were having. It’s technically my daily driver as well, but I don’t do a ton of daily driving right now.
Here are some pictures from some places we have been:
Up high in the Cascades near Steven's Pass.
We took my parents for a short weekend camping trip into the Olympics.
My wife and I getting friendly with the vegetation in the Western Olympics.
Taking in the views on the Cascade Loop Highway.
Freeborn Red
Name: Bean
I’ve been putting this off for a while now, but I think the time has finally come to start documenting the continuation of the Bean’s journey.
My wife and I were lucky enough to buy the Bean back in March of 2019 from Theron of ‘This Wild Idea’. It had been a long-time dream of mine to own a 60 series and I was fortunate to be working on a project for Torfab when Theron decided to sell. It was actually my wife that convinced me that we NEEDED to buy the Bean… she was immediately drawn to it!
As many of you know, this truck already had a lot going for it when we got it. It had also been well loved with almost 140K miles put on it in the prior 5 years (many of those on off-road adventures). It was in great shape but needed some refreshing. We have put a ton of work into it over the last two years and I’m going to try to catch you all up with everything that’s been happening!
Here is a picture of what the Bean looked like when we brought it home:
The Bean’s story starts with Theron’s build thread HERE. It’s a good read and has a ton of beautiful pictures of #Beanthefj60 and his pup Maddie. He did a ton to build this truck up to what it is today. Here are the major highlights of what he had done by Torfab for the build:
- 5.3L Vortec e-rod (full emissions) engine swap. This engine was a brand new crate engine when he had it installed
- 4L60E auto transmission w/ cruise control & Lokar shifter
- FZJ80 rear full floating axle with disc brakes and functioning e-brake
- ARB front and rear lockers (with dedicated compressor)
- Tundra front brake rotor & caliper upgrade
- 4 Plus front bumper with Warn 9.5cti-s winch
- 4x4 labs dual swing-out rear bumper
- White Knuckle Off-road sliders
- OME lift kit
- 40 gallon fuel tank
- Onboard air compressor with 1.5 gallon tank and remote hook up point on rear bumper
- Tuffy center console
- LED Digitails rear lights
- Speedhut gauges
- BMW E90 front seats
Here is a list of the more notable things I have addressed since we bought the truck. I have personally done most of the work, but there are a few items on here that Torfab took care of for me. I’ll go a little more in-depth on each of these items in future posts!
- Chassis and Quarter Panel Paint - (April 2019)
- New Carpet & Sound Deadening - (May 2019)
- Rear View Mirror with Backup Camera - (May 2019)
- Rear Electrical Build-out - (May 2019)
- Roof Rack and RTT - (May 2019)
- Transfer Case Rebuild - (May 2019)
- FJ62 Rear Seat - (April 2019 & March 2020)
- Front Shackle Mount Damage - (June 2019)
- Full Cooling System Refresh - (July 2019)
- Drawer System - (August 2019)
- 3-point Rear Seat Belts - (December 2019)
- Rear Airbags - (January 2020)
- Caster Shims and Leaf Spring Bushings - (April 2020)
- Refurbished Transmission (6L80) and 80 series transfer case with 3:1 gears - (December 2020)
- The Bean goes for bodywork/paint - (February 2021)
- The Bean is back together Again - (April 2022)
- 80 Series front axle and Torfab coil kit install - (February 2023)
A little about my wife and I:
My wife and I live on the Olympic Peninsula in Washington State (about 2hrs outside of Seattle). We were living in Seattle when we purchased the truck and have been lucky enough to get to know many of the cruiser enthusiasts in the area!
We try to get out exploring and camping as many weekends as possible. We have been on a bunch of trips throughout the Pacific Northwest with the Bean and absolutely love it! Our favorite trips have been in British Columbia, central WA, and Bend, OR. The first year we owned it, we put about 15K miles on the odometer. Sadly, last year was a lot less due to COVID and some transmission/transfer case issues we were having. It’s technically my daily driver as well, but I don’t do a ton of daily driving right now.
Here are some pictures from some places we have been:
Up high in the Cascades near Steven's Pass.
We took my parents for a short weekend camping trip into the Olympics.
My wife and I getting friendly with the vegetation in the Western Olympics.
Taking in the views on the Cascade Loop Highway.
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