Builds BUILD THREAD FOR THE "German Shepherd"

[SUMMIT CRUISERS Jr]

Just put the depos back together after painting. I'll probably put them in next weekend once the bulbs come in. Can't wait to put them in!

 

[SUMMIT CRUISERS Jr]

Little teaser of the painted depos. Still waiting for relays and connectors to show up before the conversion to H1/H4 bulbs can start.

Meanwhile, this showed up the other day...

Pulling out the thirds tomorrow and then having the gears installed Wednesday.

 

[Geert]

Nice work!

 

[snatchmonkey]

Sweet ride. Good work.

 

[SUMMIT CRUISERS Jr]

Sweet ride. Good work.

Nice work!

Thanks!

Got the third members out the other day. New axle seals and rear axle bearings are on the way after we discovered a leak in the driver's rear axle.

Before we took the thirds out and cleaned up, we recorded some 0-60 times with the stock gears.
26.xx seconds on the first trial, and 22.xx seconds on the second trial. I will update with new times after the gears are broken in. I will also update the 0-60 thread.

 

[SUMMIT CRUISERS Jr]

Gears are in!
I've only driven it for about 30 minutes at less than half throttle (breaking in the gears gently) but it definitely has added more responsive feeling to the truck. It's nothing groundbreaking because it is still an underpowered truck, but hopefully it will perform much better on the highway without all the downshifting.

I repainted the rear diff cover to match the wheels and trim. Also added a Nitro sticker because I had one.

I started taking apart the front end tonight in preparing for the new DEPO headlights. Hopefully get those put in relatively quickly tomorrow!

 

[SUMMIT CRUISERS Jr]

I was always skeptical about regearing. It's a pretty big expense for what I was afraid wouldn't be that big of an upgrade, but after taking it out on the highway, it holds hills at 68-70 that it otherwise would have lost speed with a "running start" and then downshifted. I still haven't had it on the floor yet. Just about 1/2 throttle.

Big thanks to @thedoughboy for his write up on installing the Depos with the H1/H4 conversion in this thread.

https://forum.ih8mud.com/threads/depo-lights-with-a-slee-harness.823842/

Just using some cheap bulbs from eBay, the light improvement is drastically better controlled and cleaner than the old lights with the HIR conversions. I am still going to play around with adjusting them when I have time.

 

[Alleycats]

I really want to regear my 3FE 80 to 4:88 so I look forward to your real world feedback, like rpm at 65/70.

 

[SUMMIT CRUISERS Jr]

I really want to regear my 3FE 80 to 4:88 so I look forward to your real world feedback, like rpm at 65/70.

RPMs at 70mph were right at 2600. I didn't really make note of any other RPMs at different speeds, but I will as I drive it more. With the 33s and 4.88s, the speedo is off by a little more than 10% so going 70 reads out as 80! That also makes it seem a lot faster! Maybe people riding in it will shut up when they complain about being slow..."But the speedometer says we're going 80!"

Edit: Went out and took some notes over new speeds and rpms with the new gears.

60 mph shows 68 and 2300 rpm

65mph shows 73 and 2450

70 mph shows 79 and 2650

75 mph shows 86 at 2800

 

[Golgo13]

Wait a minute... 70 mph is 2650 rpm, but 75mph is 2400rpm? Maybe caught a down shift in there?

Also, I love this thread, your truck looks awesome and I'm glad to see what is done with the 3FE. I have a '92, but its been in the garage to 2.5 years. I also planned on switching to 33s and now I know the defeat can really help!

Thanks!

 

[SUMMIT CRUISERS Jr]

Wait a minute... 70 mph is 2650 rpm, but 75mph is 2400rpm? Maybe caught a down shift in there?

Also, I love this thread, your truck looks awesome and I'm glad to see what is done with the 3FE. I have a '92, but its been in the garage to 2.5 years. I also planned on switching to 33s and now I know the defeat can really help!

Thanks!

Thanks! Sorry about that. It was a typo. All fixed now. 2800 rpm at 75.

 

[Copenhagen1]

Since you are off about 10% on your speedometer, does that mean that 35's would basically give you 'factory' gearing?

Did you and your dad setup those gears? If so, I am very jealous. I want to regear my 92 but the labor price, even if I pull the thirds, keeps scaring me off.

 

[SUMMIT CRUISERS Jr]

Since you are off about 10% on your speedometer, does that mean that 35's would basically give you 'factory' gearing?

Did you and your dad setup those gears? If so, I am very jealous. I want to regear my 92 but the labor price, even if I pull the thirds, keeps scaring me off.

We did not set up the gears. Pulling the thirds took a day, and then I took them to a shop in Tulsa where they charged $400 to set up both. Another shop there wanted $600. The price and setting up of the gears always scared me away from them, and I even considered buying rear drawers instead of gears, but I'm glad I went with the gears. 37's compared to 31's is 19.4% difference. 4.88's compared to 4.11's is 18.7%. So 37's with 4.88's would be very close to stock as opposed to 35's and 4.88's.

 

[Florida 80]

Nice!! Cant wait to see the outcome on the 0-60. You guys have done a great job on your truck.

 

[SUMMIT CRUISERS Jr]

Nice!! Cant wait to see the outcome on the 0-60. You guys have done a great job on your truck.

Just tested 0-60 with the new 4.88s!
Improved the average time 2-3 seconds over stock. Not much, but I can now merge onto the highway at 60, and it is now a pleasure to drive on the highway.


Yesterday, prior to the 0-60 test, we redid the body mounts. When we built the sliders, we left a 1/2" in between the outriggers and the pinch weld of the body. A month or so ago, we noticed the body had settled down onto the sliders. To get that half inch gap back, we recut new body mounts out of urethane about 1/2" larger than the mounts we pulled out. After this was all said and down, we ended up gaining a half inch of lift. We didn't move the radiator, but the fan is now close to hitting the bottom of the fan shroud. It rides a little stiffer, and feels tighter. The old mounts were cracking and very soft. Definitely worn out after 360k miles.

The bigger ones went in the center of the body, with the smaller ones used as spacers on the front and rear mounts.

Yes, this one had a piece break off.

The 33x10.5 BFGs are starting to look too small. Especially considering they measured out to be less than 32" in diameter.

 

[interactivebagel]

Great work, man! Looks awesome!

 

[SUMMIT CRUISERS Jr]

I also put an Air Lift 1000 kit in the rear coils. Write up coming soon.

35s on 2013 FJ Cruiser Alloys.

https://forum.ih8mud.com/threads/installed-17-fj-alloys-and-35s.840540/

 

[SUMMIT CRUISERS Jr]

I forgot to write up the info on my Air Lift Install...anyways here it is

After ordering my 35s, I started looking for something to help with the sag in the rear suspension when I'm loaded with the RTT, all of the camping gear and supplies, and bikes. I came across the Air Lift 1000.

Part Number 60755

Unlike most things, this install went without an issue, and it was completed in less than two hours. Honestly, taking the springs out and stuffing the bags in took the most time. I had seen videos of people installing them without removing the springs, but I think that would be a PITA.

Had to enlarge the hole at the bottom where the spring sits. A plasma cutter made that very quick, Also removed the bump stop completely.

I used grommets everywhere the line passed through the frame, and I added a piece of rubber hose to the outside of the airline to keep it from rubbing directly on the newly enlarged hole.

Routing the airlines was really simple and straight forward. I wanted the valves hidden and secure. Behind the gas cap made a nice spot.

 

[SUMMIT CRUISERS Jr]

Last weekend I started my swing out build. Since going to 35s, I needed to be able to hold a spare, and I didn't like the idea of keeping it deflated underneath being a brand new tire and freshly painted wheel.

Here is the thread where I will be updating as I complete it.
https://forum.ih8mud.com/threads/factory-bumper-swing-out-build.846748/

 

[ColoradoFJ40]

I love your build.