So I am getting very close to my '83 FJ60 being back on the road and now have some choices to make. First, a bit of back story...my buddy and I went in together on a 90 FJ62 as a project we'd both work on. After 2 years of it sitting outside and him never asking about coming over to get started I offered to buy his half out. I got started and the rust was apocalyptic. I decided not to turn back as I saw it would be a cheap class in body work. I spent 6 months to get it largely solid again. But I'm positive it just hiding and waiting as the truck appears to have been near the coast its whole life. Out of the blue my brother called and asked if I'd be interested in a 1983 FJ60 in decent condition. It had a crunched left fender and the hood was a bit wonky too. The kicker was it was a 5 spd. No rust to speak of and he wanted $5K. I grabbed it. Put the 62 off to the side and got to work. Initially the idea was to freshen it up and sell it to fund the 62 project. But the more I got into it the more I preferred the 60. So now I'm going to keep it and have the 62 as a body parts rig, selling off the 62 specific stuff. Except for a couple things, which leads us to this post.
I'm about ready to buy new tires and so I'm at the crossroads of 33 vs 35 inch tires. I drove it from Arkansas on 33s and was happy with the performance. I learned later how much the 5spd mattered in that perception. However, I suspect that if I put 35s on it it would likely be back to 4 spd performance even with the 5spd gearbox. This got me thinking, what if I swapped over the 4.10 axles from the 62? That would solve the problem, right? I think someone in the forum mentioned this a couple years ago, but that was before I really knew the difference between the two models.
So is there anyone out there with a 5spd on 35s and 4.10 axles? If so, how does it behave around town and on the freeway? I'd like to maintain 70ish on the hwy if possible without winding the engine too tight.
I'm about ready to buy new tires and so I'm at the crossroads of 33 vs 35 inch tires. I drove it from Arkansas on 33s and was happy with the performance. I learned later how much the 5spd mattered in that perception. However, I suspect that if I put 35s on it it would likely be back to 4 spd performance even with the 5spd gearbox. This got me thinking, what if I swapped over the 4.10 axles from the 62? That would solve the problem, right? I think someone in the forum mentioned this a couple years ago, but that was before I really knew the difference between the two models.
So is there anyone out there with a 5spd on 35s and 4.10 axles? If so, how does it behave around town and on the freeway? I'd like to maintain 70ish on the hwy if possible without winding the engine too tight.
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