Build "Falcor" the 1984 FJ60

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Full OME Ultimate kit from Cruiser Outfitters showed up yesterday, I was able to take some time to install it today.

Light Springs front and rear, shocks, shackles, pins, bushings, u-bolts and steering stabilizer and sway bar links. I also added some 4 degree shims in the front and the bump steer is completely gone! The old bushings were rock hard and the old shocks were pretty wasted.

It rides like a dream now! All of the issues with the prior suspension are gone. I just need to add a leaf to the front pack to level it out a bit.

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Here is a good example of why it rode so harsh. The spring leaves from the SOR springs are super thick. The new OME spring leaves are thinner.

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The whole process of ordering this suspension was made really easy by the folks at Cruiser Outfitters. They ask that you speak with them on the phone so they can go over your objectives and how you'll be using the vehicle. It took much of the guess work out of the process as OME doesn't really have a "kit" as much as you choose the correct items for your specific application.

I highly recommend them. It was a fantastic experience.

As I look back on my install, it was easier than what most here experience on their 60's because I'd just swapped out shackles.... but here's some tips I'll offer which might save you time or make this job easier.

1) Wear some decent Mechanix type gloves, they can be found at hardware stores. This is a must.
2) An impact driver took quite a bit of the work out of removing the rusty bolts and nuts. A dead blow hammer is your friend.
3) Two sets of jack stands, one set for just behind the fixed spring point on each side the frame to lift the vehicle up and then one set a few inches below the axle to support it as you replace the springs.
4) I replaced one spring at a time, I feel like it helped keep the axle relatively stable. I only had to use a ratchet strap to coax the locating pin of spring in to the spring pad of the axle one time.
5) The night before I removed all of the old shocks and built the shackles, pins, put the bushings in the new shocks, bushings in the new springs and essentially laid out all of the parts making sure the springs were oriented correctly (arrow to the fixed end mounting point) and "+" or "0" spring on the drivers side and so forth. This saved me a bit of time on installation day. Overall it took me 7 hours from start to finish. Looking back I might have broken in up and done the rear axle one day and the front another.


Hopefully that helps!
 
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We drove Falcor a lot this weekend. One of the trips was up to Snoqualmie Pass.... it was a dog!!! 4th gear, pedal stuffed to the mat, 50mph in the steeper section.

I think it would be smart to re-gear this thing. I'm seeing that most people are saying 4.11's with 33s is the way to go. Thoughts?
 
77CruiserDog said:
Yeah, I think there could have been a "helper" involved at some point. The previous owner said there was a mouse at some point....
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I inherited a 1980 toy pickup that broke in in the high Rockies. Everything has pine needles wedged in and no rodents to blame.
Everytime I work on it, I get reminded of my granddad and the adventures he took us on. I often imagine his joy if he could see my 60 today.
Thanks for the memory trigger. 😊
 
77CruiserDog said:
We drove Falcor a lot this weekend. One of the trips was up to Snoqualmie Pass.... it was a dog!!! 4th gear, pedal stuffed to the mat, 50mph in the steeper section.

I think it would be smart to re-gear this thing. I'm seeing that most people are saying 4.11's with 33s is the way to go. Thoughts?
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4th is 1:1 with the 4 speed or the 5-speed.
With my 33's, I grab 3rd if falls below 55 on the speedometer. Revving to 3500 passing, working, pulling a grade, for a minute or two is fine. When the grade allows more RPM then that, it about time time for 4th.

4.10s with 33's and H55 is like 235's and a 4-speed with 3.70's. except you can go 80 and you can pull stumps.
 
MoaByte said:
4th is 1:1 with the 4 speed or the 5-speed.
With my 33's, I grab 3rd if falls below 55 on the speedometer. Revving to 3500 passing, working, pulling a grade, for a minute or two is fine. When the grade allows more RPM then that, it about time time for 4th.

4.10s with 33's and H55 is like 235's and a 4-speed with 3.70's. except you can go 80 and you can pull stumps.
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Nice! 4.10s first, then 5 speed... because in it's current state this thing is good on the side streets and the local highways but when you want to do 60, it better be flat with a tail wind or I'm finding a Prius to draft behind. 👎
 
77CruiserDog said:
Nice! 4.10s first, then 5 speed... because in it's current state this thing is good on the side streets and the local highways but when you want to do 60, it better be flat with a tail wind or I'm finding a Prius to draft behind. 👎
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This is concerning me. The 60 (or earlier LC's) is not impressive on acceleration, but you should be able to drive just fine at 60-65.
 
MoaByte said:
This is concerning me. The 60 (or earlier LC's) is not impressive on acceleration, but you should be able to drive just fine at 60-65.
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Me too! I actually wondered if something was wrong with my carb so I ordered an inexpensive one from Amazon to try in place of the one I ordered from City Racer. It drives pretty much the same. I'm going to pull the plugs and check them out next. Timing is 7 degrees, it has decent vacuum at idle and starts and runs really well. The only thing that I don't have is a recurved dizzy after my de-smog but I can't expect that to make a huge difference.

I do know that the 33" tires made a difference.... but I'm also thinking there is something wrong.
 
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Think I saw you driving through Snoqualmie Saturday. A white FJ.
 
MoaByte said:
This is concerning me. The 60 (or earlier LC's) is not impressive on acceleration, but you should be able to drive just fine at 60-65.
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I'm not an expert, but you might need to retard your timing because of the desmog 1 or 2° The EGR used to pump spent gasses back into your intake, now you are getting full cylinders of air/fuel that need a less advanced timing curve. It might be pinging a bit, killing your power curve hence the need for recurving.

Also, your valve lash might be too loose.
Plugs say your a/f ratio and spark timing is pretty close so I don't know.
 
MoaByte said:
I'm not an expert, but you might need to retard your timing because of the desmog 1 or 2° The EGR used to pump spent gasses back into your intake, now you are getting full cylinders of air/fuel that need a less advanced timing curve. It might be pinging a bit, killing your power curve hence the need for recurving.

Also, your valve lash might be too loose.
Plugs say your a/f ratio and spark timing is pretty close so I don't know.
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MoaByte for the win.... sort of. You got me going down the right track. I popped the cap off, removed the rotor, took off the vac advance pot and arm, removed the breaker plate and saw that the plastic bushing that sits on the governor pin missing, which allows too much total advance and advance that starts too early.

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I used compressed air to blow out the remnants, cut a rubber vac hose plug with an approximate outer diameter of 1/4" and pushed it over the post. Reassembled and test drove. Now when I accelerate it feels like all the way through the RPM range I have a more consistent feel of power. Before, it used to drop off quite a bit as the RPMs got over maybe 2,000 or so.

I'm still going to adjust the timing down to about 5 degrees or so and I'll report back. Thanks!!! I'll buy you a beer when I head your way one of these days.
 
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77CruiserDog said:
That's one mighty nice looking rig Roonie!! I don't think I saw you, I would have remembered that one! Were you driving it?
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I was but it was parked a block off snoqualmie city center. I was stopping at the taco place there.
 
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