Big Ugly

[Trollhole]

My first hardcore wheeler

History:

I hadn't expected to buy another pig as my list of current projects woulld last someone with my kind of time years. But I couldn't pass up helping Richard out and hated to see it get parted or sent to the crusher. SO I bought for $400 as a last resort. Somehow I was the only one stupid enough to buy it. So what do I have?

A basket case. But a great base to start a strickly wheeler.

I had a towing company meet me over to where it was. His first words were. Your an idiot. Great start. Had basically 4 flat tires and about 500 pounds of crap in the back that Richard had been so kind in throwing in. Dunno if that was a good idea. That fat bastard hooked some little tires to the rear and towed Big Ugly over to a friends house about 15 miles away at a whopping speed of 15 miles an hr. An hr later it was parked and I paid the man $60 dollars.

This was the $1 pig that was had on E-bay a few years ago. You want some history look here. https://forum.ih8mud.com/sale-parts/219438-73-fj55.html

So it's a 73 with a 60 front axle that is offcenter by 2 inches and steering that is all screwed up. Engine was running last I saw it. Ran pretty good.

So what I'm planning on doing.

SOA the front axle and center it.
Hysteer
Sourcing a 60 series rear axle.
Swapping in some 4:88's or 5:29s
some 37" or bigger tires
Already sold the current f motor in it for $150 minus the carb.
Rebuild my 76 2f I just yanked out of my 40 with some flattop pistons and a 3fe head I have laying around
Ditching the 3spd combo for a 4spd and slpit case I have laying around.
Bob the back all the way to the shackle hangers
Cut the rear cage off.
Cut the center rollbar spreader and weld in something that won't kill me or my passenger.
4 bucket seats
Paint the grill.
And wheel the piss out of it.

How does that sound?

Goal.

My goal is to do this build cheap. But reliable. Big and heavy is ok. I'm not looking to compete but just have some fun. Going to be trailer queen.
Couple of questions.

As far as drivetrains and engine combos. What out there is cheap and reliable. Are there army surplus engines and tranny's that would work for something like this? Diesels?

If I build a 2fe I'm looking at a min of 500-1000 to get it working. Are there drivetrains out there for this kind of money?

I'm not looking to go over 45mph.

Should I spend the money on the new gears or is there a better cheaper set of axles out there for the money?

 

[camcruiser13]

i think that you got a good deal and i like the future plans

 

[ridgerunner]

My goal is to do this build cheap. But reliable. Big and heavy is ok. I'm not looking to compete but just have some fun. Going to be trailer queen.
Couple of questions.

As far as drivetrains and engine combos. What out there is cheap and reliable. Are there army surplus engines and tranny's that would work for something like this? Diesels?

I'm not looking to go over 45mph.

I love diesels, but the reality is if you want cheap and you're not going to drive it on the road that much, a 420 or 465 is very adaptable to your 2F, and the plate style adapters are cheap. I sold a 465 a year ago with the plate style on it for something like $150 (iirc). put a transfer case saver on it and wheel.

yeah, 65:1 ain't nothing special anymore but you did say "cheap" and "reliable."

 

[green73]

since fuel economy nor speed are your goals, why not drop in a 22R or 22RE, 5 speed trans and dual cases from a mini truck? Run it off propane even. It would be alot of weight reduction too.

 

[Eskimo]

305 or 350/465/205. Q-jet on top if you're OK with a carb. You can't beat it for strength and cheap.

Ran that combo in mine for years... as have more than a few other Cruisers that have seen the inside of Terry's shop..

 

[IndianDoc]

Troll you big softie, you know why you did it. To help out a fellow UC"er and get another project, you don't need that 2 hours of sleep a week that you get now anywho!!!

 

[too tall]

I'd keep the 2f throw in a 420 or 465 and put a reduction box behind that . I'd keep the diffs w/stock gear sets cause they'll get very expensive when you start breakin' em . SOA weld up the thirds put on a track bar , pwr steering ,brakes and maybe some sort of cool exo cage so you can hang onto the glass for a bit. then Wheel the hell out of it .

 

[incogrhino]

My projects drivetrain: 78' fj40

Motor: 350 tbi 300$
Trans/TC: sm465/203 200$
Adapter:500$
T/C:splitcase 100$

Pretty cheap.I'm sure I'll hafta rebuild the trans some time.That and there's a bunch of stuff that goes along with it to get it all running.But it shouldn't be to bad when it's all said and done.Need to get a chip burned for the TBI and such.

 

[Medusa]

Each time you smash a body part on that old pig just cut it off. Eventually it will look like this and you will then truly have a hardcore FJ55 wheeler

 

[Tapage]

Nice proyect ... I like the 22RE idea with duals and 4.7 on it ..

 

[green73]

The only flaw in the mini truck drivetrain concept is that it is a centered driveshaft output. I am pretty sure a high deflection CV shaft would make it all good, but it is another variable to consider.

 

[89s rule]

The only flaw in the mini truck drivetrain concept is that it is a centered driveshaft output. I am pretty sure a high deflection CV shaft would make it all good, but it is another variable to consider.

80 series ff would cure that, and get the width up in the rear. Add the sky widening kit to the front or diy and your golden.

 

[72cruiser]

80 series ff would cure that, and get the width up in the rear. Add the sky widening kit to the front or diy and your golden.

semi-hijack...

anybody have experience with widening yota axles?
i've read a lot of stuff, and talked with some mini-truck guys about gettin a (my) fj62 front axle comparable in width to a (my) 80ff rear without using wheel spacers, but i always get lost with all the v6 hubs and turbo brakes talk or whatever the mini guys can spout off, ha ha.


i figure that this will either be very useful to me for my project or for marshall if i sell him my axles for this rig and pretend like i'll go full-width.


engine-wise, you could go for a 6.2 gm diesel...there's a place near me that sells em from army surplus but refreshed/painted/looked over for ~900 bucks. everything for the swap would be the same as an SBC swap minus the powersteering pump location and some small stuff like that; bellhousing, motor mounts - all the same. should be enough room in the 55 engine bay to put it in without much trouble...they can get shoehorned into a 40.

i'm tryin to convince myself this is what i want to do for my 40, but i seriously doubt mine will ever run again, i just need something to talk about and an excuse to get on MUD and drink beer w/ cruiser guys every once in a while ha ha.


good luck with the build marshall, it'll be cool to have both a DD and a wheeler pig.


malphrus

 

[FLYINGLOW]

since fuel economy nor speed are your goals, why not drop in a 22R or 22RE, 5 speed trans and dual cases from a mini truck? Run it off propane even. It would be alot of weight reduction too.

The only flaw in the mini truck drivetrain concept is that it is a centered driveshaft output. I am pretty sure a high deflection CV shaft would make it all good, but it is another variable to consider.

You could build a centered cruiser rear for pretty cheap but I don't think a mini tcase would hold up well to the weight of the truck... ya buy the doubler and upgrade the inputs but how far into the budget will that get you? I think the 420 or 465 would be the cheepest bang for the buck.

 

[Trollhole]

Thanks Malph.

I go to move the pig Thurs. Planning a club HAMON this weekend and might try to tackle a spring over. Might. If I do I got to get over to the Dodge place tomorrow and order some perches.

It's got a 60 front axle and I've sourced a 60 rear axle. I'm gonna have to do a gear swap anyway since 3.70 is not going to cut it.

Shall see what I can get done this weekend.

 

[Southeast Overland]

You need to come pick up that 60 rear axle! I've taken the springs and lift blocks off to make it easier to move.

 

[FJ60Cam]

semi-hijack...

anybody have experience with widening yota axles?
i've read a lot of stuff, and talked with some mini-truck guys about gettin a (my) fj62 front axle comparable in width to a (my) 80ff rear without using wheel spacers, but i always get lost with all the v6 hubs and turbo brakes talk or whatever the mini guys can spout off, ha ha.




malphrus

HERE'S one going on right now over in the 60's section...

...hijack off...

 

[72cruiser]

HERE'S one going on right now over in the 60's section...

...hijack off...

aren't those just the 2 5/8 sleeves on both sides? is that goin to be enough to close to the 80 rear?

actually...marshall, take this thread back, i apologize, ha ha. i'll start up my own thread when i get serious about it.

on a similar note though, i do have a hysteer setup for a stock width 6x series front axle that could be for sale...interested?


good luck workin on it this weekend, looks like y'all've got a lot goin on at the uber HAMOM sandwich or whatever it's called ha ha.


malphrus

 

[89s rule]

Just run the SKY kit, its alot easier and will get you close to the 80 series rear, unless you need it as wide as the one fred is building.

 

[72cruiser]

Just run the SKY kit, its alot easier and will get you close to the 80 series rear, unless you need it as wide as the one fred is building.

but with that widening kit, just as with wheel spacers, you are lengthening the moment arm on the outside of the knuckle, not good in my opinion. i'd rather have the length in the axle itself...