Builds "Falcor" the 1984 FJ60 (1 Viewer)

77CruiserDog · Apr 28, 2022

Here is the reason I’m going through all of the hardware clean up steps. The bolts and washers on the front wheel wells were covered with this insanely difficult to remove undercoating. Every method that would successfully remove the undercoating was harsh enough to remove the coating on the bolts too.

A combo of carb dip and a vibratory tumbler got them mostly clean.

Here they are at their worst and then the finished product.

Before:

After:

Roonie · May 2, 2022

Went to Stoup brewery per your recommendation earlier in the thread. They do have good burgers. My wife likes Red Mill favorite burger in Seattle. I would say this ties with that. She likes more complex burgers. We are always on the hunt for best burgers. Thanks for the recommendation.

77CruiserDog · May 2, 2022

Roonie said:
Went to Stoup brewery per your recommendation earlier in the thread. They do have good burgers. My wife likes Red Mill favorite burger in Seattle. I would say this ties with that. She likes more complex burgers. We are always on the hunt for best burgers. Thanks for the recommendation.

Red Mill is awesome for sure, possibly one of the best! The Bine in Bothell has a great burger as well, same goes for Beardslee Public House, also in Bothell.... both have excellent fries as well which is a really important aspect.

We're also always on the hunt for kick ass nachos... We just found what we believe to be the best in the area.... Pablo y Pablo in Woodinville, I believe they also have a location in Wallingford, however I've only been to the Woodinville location. Excellent!

77CruiserDog · May 5, 2022

Oregon LC said:
Do you have a RAL code for the items to be powder coated black? I'm going down a similar path right now with my FJ40.

They used BK08 for the black items and the one below for the white, which is actually a pretty good match.

77CruiserDog · May 11, 2022

Well.... I foolishly purchased and installed some 4 degree shims from SOR after my lift install to correct the caster, I didn't really think much of it. Fast forward only 3,000 miles and maybe 2 months of actual driving....

As I'm doing my rebuild I notice they look sort of corroded. So I ordered some higher quality ones from Cruiser Brothers and when I went to swap them out it quickly became obvious the ones I purchased from SOR were not quality, or safe. Please keep in mind, these have only 3,000 miles on them.

The centering pin hole is all wallowed out and much of the material is eatten away. In very simple terms, I don't believe SOR should sell these. They're poor quality.

At best it will cause a person more work and frustration. At worst they're dangerous.

On the plus side, I believe I've found the culprit of my constantly loose front u-bolts. Another Cruiser Brothers win.

77CruiserDog · May 11, 2022

77CruiserDog said:
Well.... I foolishly purchased and installed some 4 degree shims from SOR after my lift install to correct the caster, I didn't really think much of it. Fast forward only 3,000 miles and maybe 2 months of actual driving....

As I'm doing my rebuild I notice they look sort of corroded. So I ordered some higher quality ones from Cruiser Brothers and when I went to swap them out it quickly became obvious the ones I purchased from SOR were not quality, or safe. Please keep in mind, these have only 3,000 miles on them.

View attachment 3006147

The centering pin hole is all wallowed out and much of the material is eatten away. In very simple terms, I don't believe SOR should sell these. They're poor quality.

At best it will cause a person more work and frustration. At worst they're dangerous.

On the plus side, I believe I've found the culprit of my constantly loose front u-bolts. Another Cruiser Brothers win.

They're made by ProComp and when I reached out they were not really interested in doing anything about it.

I'll check with SOR but my last correspondence with SOR went so badly that I think I'm on their black list.... all because I reached out to them to let them know that someone elses order had arrived at my house in a box of parts from Cruiser Corps.... who by the way was amazing to work with.

77CruiserDog · May 15, 2022

2 torches at the same time, a set of vice grips and a whole lotta luck.

New studs and nuts, the old ones had some buggered threads.

kenavt · May 15, 2022

77CruiserDog said:
2 torches at the same time, a set of vice grips and a whole lotta luck.

View attachment 3009318

New studs and nuts, the old ones had some buggered threads.

Well done. Getting mine out were such a big PITA. Also luck and vise grips.

77CruiserDog · May 16, 2022

kenavt said:
Well done. Getting mine out were such a big PITA. Also luck and vise grips.

I learned that quality vice grips was the key here. I had a larger set that we'll call "non-oem" that I used for the first 5-6 attempts with lots of slipping. Then I grabbed the actual name brand Irwin "Vice-Grips" and the stud started turning with ease and the teeth of the vice grips didn't slip once.

77CruiserDog · May 17, 2022

Engine in

77CruiserDog · May 17, 2022

Trans & xfer case in!

Hokie LX · May 18, 2022

Truck is looking great! I wonder that after all the similar work I've done on my truck, if I should have just pulled the body. Looks a lot easier.

open country · May 18, 2022

Hokie LX said:
Truck is looking great! I wonder that after all the similar work I've done on my truck, if I should have just pulled the body. Looks a lot easier.

Body pull is looking inevitable for me if I ever want to "do it right" on rust repair. CruiserDog is making it look easy and somehow has a neatly organized 2 car garage in the process!

77CruiserDog · May 18, 2022

Hokie LX said:
Truck is looking great! I wonder that after all the similar work I've done on my truck, if I should have just pulled the body. Looks a lot easier.

open country said:
Body pull is looking inevitable for me if I ever want to "do it right" on rust repair. CruiserDog is making it look easy and somehow has a neatly organized 2 car garage in the process!

Thanks guys, after pulling the body off Scout and seeing how easy it was to do with just an engine hoist while checking out @LazarusTaxa it just made sense. The c-channel job alone made it worth the MAYBE 6 hours extra start to finish pulling the body off.

After that it’s cake. Trans/xfer case installed in about 20 minutes and that includes installing the clutch. The engine from stand to mounted was about 30 minutes. Both one man shows.

I can see a c-channel job taking a full weekend start to finish with the body on, I did it in about 3 hours with the body off.

The one helpful thing I have going for me is a patient wife, the garage is clean because there are fenders and a hood in the backyard like a proper hillbilly and boxes of powder coated parts on the dining room table.

Also, each time I’m done working in the garage I try to clean up as much as I can so when I start the next day or a week later I know where all of my tools are. (Thanks for teaching me that Dad!!)