Builds Box Rocket 1995 FZJ80 Build

[MickeyB]

Here's some pics of the updates over the last few days. Some new 315s on the factory wheels. I'll be stripping and repainting the wheels in the next couple weeks just to get them cleaned up and looking nice. I also have a set of 1.5" spidertrax wheel spacers that will go on just to widen the stance a little.

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A few pics of the rear bumper. This thing took some elbow grease to get all cleaned up, but it turned out nice I think. I need to make final adjustment to the latch but it's all working well. This was a bumper kit designed by Wildyoats and there were about a dozen kits made a few years ago. I'm glad I got one of them while they were available. I really like the lines of the bumper and it works great.

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Finally a couple better photos of the ARB front bumper. This bumper is 15 years old and shows it. It took a lot of work to clean it up and there is a little pitting on the top surface, but it's still structurally sound. A winch will be added at some point but I like the clean front face and it will look nice with a haws fairlead.

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The front of the bumper was tough to get totally smooth so I did what I could to get it close and then used some scraps of carbon fiber vinyl I had and laid it down across the front. Turned out pretty good I think.

Just wondering what you used to paint your flares. Mine are in the same shape.

 

[Box Rocket]

are they the same both sides. Passenger side is shorter on the 94.

Same size.

 

[Box Rocket]

Just wondering what you used to paint your flares. Mine are in the same shape.

Plastidip.

 

[Broski]

Same size.

OK that's interesting, Where they land on the axle housing is higher on the passenger side. Its the Slinky front Bump stop that I like do they come the same size side to side as well ?

 

[Box Rocket]

OK that's interesting, Where they land on the axle housing is higher on the passenger side. Its the Slinky front Bump stop that I like do they come the same size side to side as well ?

The Slinky ones are the same side to side. I'll have to look again at the Timbrens. I was pretty sure they were the same size (the rears are) but I'll have to go back and take another look at the fronts. they might be slightly different but not enough that I noticed.

 

[MickeyB]

Plastidip.

Thxs, you use the flat black rattle cans?


Also, will this mess up the paint in areas that are peeling. Oh well guess it doesn’t really matter.

How is yours holding up?

 

[Box Rocket]

Thxs, you use the flat black rattle cans?


Also, will this mess up the paint in areas that are peeling. Oh well guess it doesn’t really matter.

How is yours holding up?

yep the regular black rattle cans. Won't mess up the paint at all. It will just peel off like a sticker if you don't like it. Mine is holding up really well.

 

[MickeyB]

yep the regular black rattle cans. Won't mess up the paint at all. It will just peel off like a sticker if you don't like it. Mine is holding up really well.

Sweet, thanks I was gonna repaint to factory colors but that gonna be around $300.00 just paint. So might as well give this a try

 

[Broski]

Adam Just some food for thought, With 35s I had no bump stop Extension front or rear minimal rubbing. With 37s on the front I have the 3.5" frame Bump stops with 1.5" extensions plus the Hitit66 1" inside the coil extensions had to cut 1.5" from the front Bumper & 1.5" from the rear of the wheel well opening and I still have substantial rubbing of the inner wheel wells & That's with 37 12.50
In the rear I have 2" extensions cut the wheel wells 1" in front 1.5" rear they tuck nicely but still rub the inner well & frame in the pictures you can see how close the tire are to the wheel well opening. One would think if you are adding 1" to the radius 35" tire to 37" tire, then 1" bump Stop extensions should do the trick. It just did not work that way for me. My Guess is you need every bit of the timbren rear stops if you want to keep your Flairs & not cut the openings, the front my need some massaging as well.

Dam they sure look good with 37s & work even better, and if your tires aren't rubbing a bit you need bigger tires

 

[Box Rocket]

Adam Just some food for thought, With 35s I had no bump stop Extension front or rear minimal rubbing. With 37s on the front I have the 3.5" frame Bump stops with 1.5" extensions plus the Hitit66 1" inside the coil extensions had to cut 1.5" from the front Bumper & 1.5" from the rear of the wheel well opening and I still have substantial rubbing of the inner wheel wells & That's with 37 12.50
In the rear I have 2" extensions cut the wheel wells 1" in front 1.5" rear they tuck nicely but still rub the inner well & frame in the pictures you can see how close the tire are to the wheel well opening. One would think if you are adding 1" to the radius 35" tire to 37" tire, then 1" bump Stop extensions should do the trick. It just did not work that way for me. My Guess is you need every bit of the timbren rear stops if you want to keep your Flairs & not cut the openings, the front my need some massaging as well.

Dam they sure look good with 37s & work even better, and if your tires aren't rubbing a bit you need bigger tires

Thanks. That's good info. I'll be interested to see how the axle relocation up front helps. I have already done some flare trimming and removed part of the lower inner fender in the front. I don't mind trimming the outer fender some too if necessary. Before I cut down the rear Timbrens I'll get it on a ramp and see how much bump it's going to need. I also plan to test the clearances without the wheel spacers.

Hopefully able to document all the necessary steps for data to share with others. But yes, if the tires aren't rubbing a bit, you can fit bigger ones.

 

[Box Rocket]

Saturday was spent doing my front axle relocation to improve tire/firewall clearance. Not a terrible job but maybe a bit slow because of my mostly basic tool set. EHO did not have any of the bracket plates on hand so I made my own from some 3/16 plate I had on hand.

Tools needed:
Angle Grinder with cutoff wheel to cut the plates.
18mm drill bit to drill the plates and frame brackets
22mm, 24mm sockets for the radius arm bolts.
Jackstands.
Hammer/drift to knock bolts out if they don't just slide out.
Antisieze for the bolts
Welder.


Moved the axle 30mm forward (~1.25"). Drove it around town Saturday night, and 200 miles on the highway yesterday. No change in driving behavior (as expected) but an improvement in tire clearance. This is a worth while mod to help fit larger tires (37s or larger) to minimize the amount of fender/flare trimming. There is still a bit of trimming but nothing extreme so far. Still need to do a full stuff flex test but I think I'm just about there with proper 37"tire fitment with the 3" Slinky kit.
Axle relocation by Adam Tolman, on Flickr

Axle relocation by Adam Tolman, on Flickr

Axle relocation by Adam Tolman, on Flickr

Axle relocation by Adam Tolman, on Flickr

Axle relocation by Adam Tolman, on Flickr

Axle relocation by Adam Tolman, on Flickr

Axle relocation by Adam Tolman, on Flickr

It was getting late and I still had a date with my wife so I didn't take additional pics of the welding process and only snapped one pic after it was all buttoned up. Fresh paint makes my welds look worse than they actually were, oh well.
Axle relocation by Adam Tolman, on Flickr

Coils are nice and straight now instead of the slight curve to the rear that you get with stock radius arms on a lifted 80.

 

[NateMob]

I have already done some flare trimming and removed part of the lower inner fender in the front.

Hopefully able to document all the necessary steps for data to share with others. But yes, if the tires aren't rubbing a bit, you can fit bigger ones.

I'd like to see where you've trimmed on the front of the wheel well if you have time to document it.

 

[Box Rocket]

I'd like to see where you've trimmed on the front of the wheel well if you have time to document it.

I don't think I'm quite done trimming but I'll try to document what I did when I get it done.

 

[upstate80]

OK last piece of the puzzle regarding bumpstops. I got a full set of bumpstops from Timbren. I've heard good feedback from @woody and others who have Timbrens and since woody also has the Slinky suspension I was particularly interested in his opinion of them. He's a fan, so I got some to address the rear, but was also sent a pair for the front if I want to try them. Here's what I got from Timbren.
Slinky Parts by Adam Tolman, on Flickr

The short ones are the fronts. They would need to have the bracket trimmed a little so that they don't contact the coil during compression. But when compressed they should be the same height as the Slinky bumpstops I just installed so if I decide to use these they should work fairly easily.
Front:
Slinky Parts by Adam Tolman, on Flickr

The rears are another story. I don't know how Timbren is designing these for the rear with that massive bracket. Even with a 6" lift these would be too tall. But at least its a simple cut and weld to shorten the brackets. These also would need to be trimmed to not contact the spring and tire in the rear but I can get these set to add the additional 1" to the rear for the 37's. My initial calculations end up with a bracket that's roughly 1.5" tall. I'll post an update when I get them modified and proper fitment is confirmed.
Rear:
Slinky Parts by Adam Tolman, on Flickr

From the pictures it looks like the only difference between the front and rear is the height of the bracket? If you were needing the rears to be 1.5 inches isn't that what the fronts are? Reason I ask as I am missing ALL bumpstops, and will be going down this path shortly.

 

[Box Rocket]

From the pictures is looks like only difference between the front and rear is the height of the bracket? If you were needing the rears to be 1.5 inches isnt that what the fronts are? Reason i ask as I am missing ALL bumpstops, and will be going down this path shortly.

It's possible that the fronts would work. But it's looking like it may need a bit more. I'm getting more exact measurements and slightly taller rear bumps are probably needed for the 37's. For 35s the front Timbrens might be just right.

 

[cody c]

Do you have any pics of how the truck sits with this mod? It is a really good idea. I have 38's and it only rubs on the back of the fender.

I'm gonna go bigger eventually, actually I want to move the bracket 1.5" - 2" forward and about that much down, which will need more than plates but what you did is smart/inexpensive and has some decent gains, more people should be doing that.

 

[upstate80]

It's possible that the fronts would work. But it's looking like it may need a bit more. I'm getting more exact measurements and slightly taller rear bumps are probably needed for the 37's. For 35s the front Timbrens might be just right.

Thanks for the info, pictures can sometimes be deceiving. I am on 37s as well and will we watching this closely. Most likely following in your footsteps

 

[Box Rocket]

Do you have any pics of how the truck sits with this mod? It is a really good idea. I have 38's and it only rubs on the back of the fender.

I'm gonna go bigger eventually, actually I want to move the bracket 1.5" - 2" forward and about that much down, which will need more than plates but what you did is smart/inexpensive and has some decent gains, more people should be doing that.

The thing to be careful with is if you go too far forward you might have clearance issues with the draglink and panhard. Would also need to be aware of the slip joint in the driveshaft and make sure you still have enough spline engagement at full droop.

 

[cody c]

The thing to be careful with is if you go too far forward you might have clearance issues with the draglink and panhard. Would also need to be aware of the slip joint in the driveshaft and make sure you still have enough spline engagement at full droop.

I don't want to muck up your thread, but there will be a SD60/14B and of course alot of fabrication involved, including of course panhard attachment and D60 high steer.

Where's the pics? Hows it feel on the freeway?

 

[Box Rocket]

Here's a bit more info as I find my way through the rabbit hole. Used the ramp at a local shop to check for tire clearance and get better bumpstop measurements. First off, the truck will go quite a bit farther up the ramp but I stopped where the tires were making contact so I can see where I may need to do a bit more trimming or spacing of the bumpstops.

The rear tires seem to be stuffing pretty well for the most part. As a reminder I have longer lower links (11mm) and 1.5" wheel spacers installed. The rear axle is centered well at ride height but because of longer lower links the tire moves to the rear as the suspension compresses. Even with the spacers it looks like it's going to tuck inside the wheel arch. I will still trim a bit of the flare, especially at the rear of the wheel arch. I think I will also trim a bit of the fender lip at the top of the wheel arch and some of the flare.
Bumpstops by Adam Tolman, on Flickr

Bumpstops by Adam Tolman, on Flickr

As mentioned the suspension will still compress farther in the rear, but at this point on the ramp (front tires were rubbing) there was ~4" of space between the frame bumpstop and the rear axle. My best guess at this point until I can trim up the front a bit is that a 5.5" rear bumpstop should be about right. We'll see how close my guess is at the next test.
Bumpstop measurements by Adam Tolman, on Flickr

Bumpstop measurements by Adam Tolman, on Flickr


The front is a little different story. The axle relocation mod looks to be very effective in improving tire clearance at the firewall. As the suspension compresses the arc of the radius arm pushes the tire forward for even better clearance when stuffed. However, it also causes some contact at the front of the wheel arch. I'm going to need to trim the bumper wings a little and do a little surgical hammer work to the inner fender in the front. The inside edge of the flare will get trimmed some, but I don't see anything too extreme to get this all sorted. Again, still lots of travel available in the suspension once I get the proper tire clearance.
Bumpstop measurements by Adam Tolman, on Flickr

Bumpstop measurements by Adam Tolman, on Flickr

Bumpstops by Adam Tolman, on Flickr

Bumpstops by Adam Tolman, on Flickr

Bumpstop measurements by Adam Tolman, on Flickr

More to come.