Dozer's Grey Ghost Gets a Vortec (FJ62/5.3L/4L60E)

[NCFJ]

This is a Flowmaster Super 44. This was not the first start up of the motor, just came back from a drive and was starting up to move it inside. Customer was looking for that "throaty growl" when you got on it. I prefer a bit quieter myself for a DD. Then again I think I own the only pickup in a ten mile radius without dual exhaust and throaty exhaust.

 

[Dozer18]

Well, we have most of it wrapped up and she went off to the exhaust shop today. I ended up going with a Walker 21423 Quiet Flow muffler, so we'll see how it sounds. The exhaust shop also mounts tires, so I ordered up a set of BFG A/T KO2s in 33x12.5. Pretty excited to get new shoes!

Once back from getting the exhaust done, there are still a few cats and dogs that remain. We need to change the brake fluid (and check/top off all the other fluids), fully charge the a/c, cut down and re-weld the transfer case shifter, take an inch or two out of the gas pedal, finish routing the wiring for the Lokar LED bezel, and get a front end alignment.

We never figured out exactly how to hook up the water temp sender, but we may have come up with a novel solution: I have an adapter from Advanced Adapters that the original sender screws into, and it looks like the adapter could fit in the same hole as the sight glass on the JTR radiator hose splicer I have. We'll try that on Friday.

Finally, the rear seat belts from Seat Belt Planet came in yesterday and we have to install those on Friday.

That's pretty much it other than some shakedown driving. I'll post more when it gets back from the exhaust shop. In the meantime, here's a pic of the Ghost on the flatbed; I hope this is the last time I ever see this scene!

 

[NCFJ]

There is a plug on the PS head by the fire wall, same as the DS head, backward. Pick up your temp there.

 

[cruiser enthuiser]

There is a plug on the PS head by the fire wall, same as the DS head, backward. Pick up your temp there.

Agreed. Installed my stock water temp sender here:

Details in my thread.

Congrats, You've got to be super stoked to get it back from the shop.

 

[Dsellers]

Little poser shot

 

[Dozer18]

Fellas, I apologize for the lack of updates lately - life got in the way. As you can see from the pic above, the Ghost is fully up and running and my brother is shaking it down daily. Though we had it running and ready for me to drive back to DC on the 9th, we didn't have the opportunity to really work out any kinks or safely test it out. As much as I wanted to drive it home anyway, I made the prudent call (rare for me!) to leave it with him to wrap up the last few remaining items, drive it hard, try to break it, and make sure it's really ready to go.

Besides that, it's in dire need of new front brakes, a knuckle rebuild, and a few other small things. That said, it will definitely be ready to roll when I go back and get it at the end of August. Dakota reports that it's running like a top, and he swears he got it up to 100 today - and I believe it! The first time I drove it after getting the exhaust done it almost scared me - cruising effortlessly at 70+ and begging me to drop the hammer further. Not to jinx it, but it's not leaking anywhere, the a/c is blowing super cold, and we couldn't be happier.

Here's a couple of pics I took the day I left it:

More to follow as we continue to finish it up over the next few weeks...

 

[Dozer18]

By the way, I wasn't planning to spend significant cash on anything other than the engine swap, but I have to say I couldn't be happier with the unplanned purchase of the OME suspension and the BFG KO2's. Both were badly needed and I'm super happy with the look. I ended up going with 33x12.5 tires, and I think they filled out the wheel wells perfectly. However, as you can see above there's a little bit of rake to it; I installed a light duty front and a medium duty rear OME kit, and that med duty kit is really beefy! I was planning for the long haul - swing-out bumper, rooftop tent, fridge, drawers, gear, etc, but I don't know if it'll make much difference.

That said, for anyone who has installed these OME kits, please take a look at the front shackles in the pic below; I'm not sure we installed them correctly. It seems that if they were reversed it might raise the front end up just a little...

 

[cruisermatt]

Awesome that it's working so well.

I know both you and your brother's locations say Brunswick
but is that a Florida plate and the St. Pete bridge I spy?

 

[Dozer18]

Haha, no... That's the Sidney Lanier bridge in Brunswick; I became a Florida resident when in flight school in Pensacola 19 years ago. ​

 

[sgiandubh]

Keep us posted on how the 12.5s do on stock rims please (wear, handling, etc). The dearth of decent load range C or D tires in 16" sizes has me looking to go back to 15". 33x10.5 are just a skosh narrow for my liking and would like to run the factory steelies as you have. Looks great and I'm stoked you have it on the road!

 

[bush]

I say shackle is correct. Mine is in the same orientation and the anti-inversion pin is supposed to hit the frame on extreme compression. Mine had a little rake as well and as much as I had seen others say it. It took about 1000 miles and driving around with it loaded up to get the springs to settle. My lean is pretty much within 1/4" and the rake is very slight ( as expected due to input form Bryce at cruiseroutfitters).

 

[onemanarmy]

can't say I've ever seen anyone mount 12.5 wide tires on the factory wheels. Most tire shops even act a bit hesitant to mount 10.5 wide tires on the stock wheels

 

[Dozer18]

can't say I've ever seen anyone mount 12.5 wide tires on the factory wheels. Most tire shops even act a bit hesitant to mount 10.5 wide tires on the stock wheels

@onemanarmy, thanks for bringing this up. There are many users on Mud who have run this setup, but there are also many who caution against it. Can you expound on your comment a little bit? Would love to hear other opinions (on both sides) as well.

For background, I was originally planning to put 10.5s on the stock rims, which is what I was previously running (Toyo Open Country A/T 31x10.5s). The OME opened up the wheel well so much I had to go with 33s (okay, really wanted to!), and at the last minute I ordered 12.5s because I wanted a bit more width. I didn't really think about the rim width, and the shop that installed them didn't bat an eye (nor did the shop that did the alignment).

After reading this I spent some time going through a lot of forums related to this subject, and for every person I found that expressed skepticism about running 12.5s on stock rims there was another person saying they had done it for years with no problems. I understand that BFG themselves recommend at least an 8.5" rim - which should give me some pause right there - but I don't know the science behind that. FWIW, I will be spending 90% of my time on-road or on graded national park roads, at least for the foreseeable future; I won't be airing down for rock crawling or desert running.

I do intend to upgrade the wheels at some point over the next year and would go with 15x8s; as it currently stands, the tires do not rub and have plenty of room (at least under normal conditions). Thoughts please!

 

[onemanarmy]

I think its fine as well (obviously it is)

I just personally had never seen the 12.5 on the sock 60 series wheel.

And just me personally, I'm not a fan of the tires sticking out past the fenders on ANY vehicle, and for sure kills the classic look of Land Cruisers....so the skinnier the tires and the more backspacing of the wheels is the proper look.

 

[Dozer18]

So my bro, @Dsellers, surprised me with this yesterday:

Very sweet custom-modified air intake inspired by Forge Specialties (@35inchoverdrive). I'm having serious withdrawals being away from the Ghost right now, but clearly it's in good hands...

We just ordered up some new EBC rotors and Green Stuff pads, Wagner brake shoes, new Wagner headlights (low and high beam), and a Blue Sea dual USB port. But I'm super stoked about this sweet intake!

 

[Dsellers]

Some new shoes

 

[Dozer18]

So, I figure it's about time for me to update this build thread, as a lot has gone into since I last really updated it in July of last year. I'd like to keep everything documented for posterity. If you recall, my brother and I had been racing against the clock to complete a 5.3 swap before I had to drive it back to DC in early July. Had we just done the swap, we would have made the timeline. However, we decided to essentially double the budget and do a lot of "while we're in here" upgrades, as well as suspension and various other things. When I left, it needed some solid shaking down, in addition to front brakes, a new stereo, and some other items. I left it with my brother for six more weeks, and here's what he knocked out:

- New front brake rotors and pads (Beck/Arnley from RockAuto; had a helluva hard time sourcing EBCs)
- New Kenwood DVD head unit and Kicker speakers all around
- Wired up the Lokar LED indicators and neutral safety switch
- Installed rear 3-point seat belts from Seat Belt Planet
- New Wagner sealed beam headlamps (that would eventually get replaced with Hella H4/H1)
- New rear brake shoes and hardware
- Front left knuckle rebuild (Terrain Tamer) and new tie rod ends, all from Cruiser Outfitters
- Blue Sea dual USB charger installed in the dash

Pics of the driver's side knuckle rebuild, rotors, and then the seat belts:

 

[Dozer18]

And some pics of the head unit and USB port (look in the middle of the dash just below the head unit):

 

[Dozer18]

So I went back to Georgia and drove her home at the end of August. Halfway through the trip up I-95 I noticed it was getting warmer inside and I had not turned off the a/c. However, it had definitely stopped working. Made it home, though, and when I checked it the next day, this is what I saw:

The clutch on the a/c had seized, so I removed the belt and left it alone since summer was pretty much over. I would wait until spring before putting on a new Denso a/c compressor, dryer, and new o-rings and belt.

 

[Dozer18]

We road-tripped it quite a bit last fall, testing out the Vortec and the rest of the upgrades as much as we could. Drove it seven hours to Asheville for Overland East; you can see it cruises very nicely above 75 at 2400 rpm and 13mpg... Those Derale electric fans and the new radiator have never allowed the engine to creep above 211 degrees, even on the hottest days of summer; the fans kick on at 209 and drive it right down to 190, then start the process over. We have the fan that sits over the a/c compressor hard-wired as well, so that whenever the A/C button is on, that particular fan is on.