Builds Evolution of a Land Cruiser: My 80's build thread (5 Viewers)

[Bimrunner]

Looks sharp! Excited to see the trail test flex shots!

Instagram . Looks BA!

 

[wlittleman]

I live and work in the Sacramento area. I hope to someday run across you or your rig. Damn impressive!

 

[bobbynelson0730]

for anyone wondering, this @4WheelUnderground kit wheels as good as it looks under @jcardona1 rig. Even without the pretty color scheme We need to wheel soon!

 

[jcardona1]

This weekend I took care of the rear end. Installed the 5" OME Comp coils and the 2.5" Radflos. Suspension feels MUCH better now. Old shocks were total crap. And the Comp coils are not stiff at all. Just a firm, non-floaty feel which is what I was after. Also painted the wheels and gave her a bath.

Comparison of the old, shot Bilsteins

And the coils

Fresh and clean. I think it's been a year and a half since I washed this thing

Need to finish the rear inner fenders next

Why should FJ55s have all the fun?

Nice visual of how flat the new front links are vs the back

 

[scrowley]

Looks like art work from the front! Great work. Bet you can't wait to test it out on the trail. Can't wait to see the pics!

 

[LFD2037]

REAR BUMPER PROGRESS

Did get a chance to do some welding this weekend. This thing goes together much easier than the front. There's really nothing to it! I ended up getting a single swingout instead of dual. Even though it needs more room to open, seems like it will be less of a hassle when trying to get in the tailgate. I only picked up the ladder and 2-can basket from Luke. I'm going to build my own tire carrier, will post pics of that as it comes along.

The point of no return, cutting several inches off the frame rail

Mock-up. Everything went together nicely

Here's a good visual of the clearance gained with a 4x4Labs bumper. My Sean Huston bumper was 26" from the ground at the rear-most corner. It stuck out a lot was squared off in the corners sacrificing lots of ground clearance. To be fair, I did gain about 1" in height after removing all the weight so let's say the Huston bumper was 27" off the ground not counting the weight sag. Still a big difference in approach angle.

Reminder of how it was before

Did you use your Hobart 140 to build this rear bumper? I'm sure you used #5 voltage but WFS was on what setting? Did you do the entire bumper w/the 140 w/single passes or do something different for the hitch & recovery points? Thanks.

 

[NLXTACY]

Time to update your avatar


















To that god damn sexy ass California Bear mug you use on Instagram

 

[jcardona1]

Did you use your Hobart 140 to build this rear bumper? I'm sure you used #5 voltage but WFS was on what setting? Did you do the entire bumper w/the 140 w/single passes or do something different for the hitch & recovery points? Thanks.

Yeah so far I've done all welding on this truck with the 140. I almost always weld on #5 unless I'm welding really thin stuff. When I did the bumper I think I was at a wire speed of 45+ which I now realize was too high. Every time I weld I feel like I get a little bit better. With the 3 link project everything was at #5 and a WFS of about 32~35 which gives much better results I think. I just need to work on being consistent. If I'm at a weird angle where I can't be comfortable like contorted underneath the truck, forget about it. Bird turd beads all day long. But when I'm in a comfortable spot they come out pretty decent:

Time to update your avatar To that god damn sexy ass California Bear mug you use on Instagram

That is way too much awesomeness for one thread. MUD servers can only take so much

 

[LFD2037]

I noticed a lot of your welds looked tits!!! I'm not too good at weird angles either, yet. Rig is super sick. Thanks for your input.

 

[nukegoat]

I just got back from running the hammers again. I hate my shocks now

 

[4WheelUnderground]

I know a guy.

 

[Pat80]

This truck is amazing, top work.

 

[Andrew Ling]

Looking amazing! Had to read from page 1 to page 80!

 

[BILT4ME]

So, some questions:
1) What is your total lift (VS Stock)
2) How does it drive on-road?
3) Let us know how it drives off-road (LOTS OF POSER PICS!)

Looking great Jose! You've taken this thing a LOOOOONNNNGGGG way!

 

[warezdog]

So when do you plan on re-running Rubicon with the new digs?

 

[Apounder]

Time to go with a wider stance?

 

[jcardona1]

I just got back from running the hammers again. I hate my shocks now

I can't remember your setup. You just changed the links and left coils/springs alone right? You're almost there, just cut off the towers and add some coilovers!

This truck is amazing, top work.

Looking amazing! Had to read from page 1 to page 80!

Thanks guys!

So, some questions:
1) What is your total lift (VS Stock)
2) How does it drive on-road?
3) Let us know how it drives off-road (LOTS OF POSER PICS!)

Looking great Jose! You've taken this thing a LOOOOONNNNGGGG way!

1) Total lift, no idea. Rear has 5" OME Comp coils so I'd say the front is close to that as it sits fairly level. I can tell you my frame height measured right under the front body mount is about 28" to the ground.

2) I haven't driven it at high speeds yet as I'm still tuning caster, dual rates, front ride height, toe. Once I get that dialed in I can give an honest answer. So far it's just been cruising around town and posing.

3) No idea yet. Still don't have a front driveshaft yet. I just got it extended, but I want to wait until I do the part time conversion before I put the shaft back in.

So when do you plan on re-running Rubicon with the new digs?

Sometime this summer for sure! Once the part time spool is in it'll be time to go wheeling.

 

[warezdog]

You're going with a DC front shaft right? Can't wait to see how it does Rubicon this time around and if you'll be able to follow the mini's.

 

[jcardona1]

I did do some more bro-crawlin last week after messing with the dual rate sliders. It's easy to see why guys with linked 80s say how bad the rear suspension becomes after you link it. With the stock radius arms, the front is so stiff that it forces the rear to do all the flexing which gives you the false impression that the rear suspension is awesome. NOT the case.

In this pic you can see that the front flexes so well now which means the rear isn't even doing anything because it's not being "forced to" by the stiff radius arms. I still had plenty of down travel left in the Radflos but until the front was maxed, the rear isn't gonna flex.

Pay attention to my rear tire in relation to the fender opening

I'll use Ammo's rig as an example because the it looks like we were about the same height. Notice how his rear tire is almost fully stuffed

And one more because it's COOL

 

[jcardona1]

You're going with a DC front shaft right? Can't wait to see how it does Rubicon this time around and if you'll be able to follow the mini's.

No just the stock shaft extended a few inches with thicker wall tubing. Because I'm going part time, the entire front end will be disconnected during normal driving so need for a DC shaft...I hope.