First Timer - '88 FJ62 Build Thread (1 Viewer)

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OME won't really give you a smooth ride.. I have had better experience with old flat springs being a "better" ride. The OME seem to be really stiff
 
OME sells springs for different applications (medium, heavy, etc) and there are many other manufactures out there that make good springs. A quality shock absorber will help immensely as well. However, Cruisers are heavy and leaf sprung on all 4 corners, won't ever match a coil spring and/or independent setup
 
Thank you for the kind words on the photos. And from reading around, it sounds like OME springs and shocks will be a good starting place, with some better shocks down the road. I'll start leaning in that direction.
 
Not much to share in the way of updates, but I have picked up a few goodies for the truck. I snagged a almost-new hi-lift jack, as well as shovels, an axe, and mounts/accessories for all of the above. I did some reading on what should be included in a proper recovery gear kit, so I purchased everything else to help make sure I don't find myself in a situation I can't get myself out of... hopefully.

Weekends have been busy lately, but on Sunday the girlfriend and I took the truck out to Cleghorn Ridge. Reading up, it sounded like a great place to push the truck, but also have an alternate route when my own limits were found. It was a great day out.

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Also, in my quest to rid myself of the wheels that came on the truck, I purchased a set of classic Lodio Drive wheels in 16x8. It'll take a couple of months for them to arrive from Japan, and then they'll need refinishing, but I am excited, nonetheless, to put something "period correct" on the truck.

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I will be getting a set of 16" 70-series steelies at some point, as I am a fan of the factory aesthetic. However, I did manage to pick these up for cheaper than a set of steel wheels, and being a bit quirky, I had to jump on them.
 
Still waiting on my wheels to arrive, but there's been some happenings in the mean time.

On Friday, I put in a call to our friends at Viair and they got the truck set up with some goodies. I went with a 2on2 On Board Air system - good for tires and air tools at the moment, and air lockers down the road. I know the York pump solution is typically favored, but Viair's systems are phenomenal, and I think this is going to suit my needs excellently. I'll be doing an installation at the rear of the truck.

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They also wanted to set the truck up with some lighting, and after some thinking, I felt a pair of 10" 5w Wurtons would suit the truck best. As for what they'll be mounted on...

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Everyone's favorite year-round Santa brought a big box today. I put in a call to ARB, and was excited to hear that they're familiar with what we do. We got them involved in the project as well, and after some decision making, I opted for the OME 3" Dakar lift, heavy duty in the front and medium duty in the rear. I went with the premium setup (greasable shackles, etc) after reading a number of threads here. I prefer to do things once and right.

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It sounds like the OME suspensions are the best out there for our trucks, so it was an obvious choice to talk to ARB first. While I was at it, I picked up their FJ62 front bumper / bull bar. The updated style bumper (apparently switched a few years ago) is definitely my favorite option for these trucks.
I'll be mounting the Wurton lights to the bumper. Hopefully I'll get everything installed this weekend - I'm waiting on one more box from ARB from North Carolina that contains the final lift components.

:cheers: Thank you Ryan at Viair/Wurton and Matt at ARB!
 
Excited to see how this build turns out!. I'm also contemplating on purchasing period correct JDM wheels for my rig as well, so far I've narrow it down to Volk or SSR wheels. You should enter your rig in this years J.C.C.S.
 
It's been a whole lot of months! I had to put the Land Cruiser on the back burner while I finished up a BMW project car of mine.
Anyway, I got the suspension and bumper installed!

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And this past weekend, we took another trip to Cleghorn. It seemed like a great place to try out the new equipment, as well as a good place to give my buddy a chance on both normal and tougher terrain on his first trip out.

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I put an article together on my website comparing the ARB lift kit equipped truck with its stock counterpart, if anyone is interested in giving it a read:

Tackling Cleghorn - The ARB-Equipped StanceWorks FJ62s Hit The Trail

There's also a lot more photos in the link, for those who want more. :)
 
Stance Works! No way. I've been drooling over that black coupe (E9). It's been popping up in my Instagram feed, most of your stuff does. Anyhow my '89 FJ62 has been my first non BMW and it's taken a bit to get over the performance change but, I love my rig.
 
Hey Mike - Love following your build and the Stanceworks site. We've got an 83' 300D Benz and now an FJ62 so straddling over into the off-road world has been a blast. I'm planning on similar upgrades. I'd like to install the OME suspension myself. How did the install go? I figure you've got a garage and all the right tools but I would rather save some money and do it myself. My truck isn't rusted so I assume all the parts should come off without much hassle. I'm also in LA so I'm sure I'll see you out on the trails at some point.
 
Thanks for the love, guys!

Hey Mike - Love following your build and the Stanceworks site. We've got an 83' 300D Benz and now an FJ62 so straddling over into the off-road world has been a blast. I'm planning on similar upgrades. I'd like to install the OME suspension myself. How did the install go? I figure you've got a garage and all the right tools but I would rather save some money and do it myself. My truck isn't rusted so I assume all the parts should come off without much hassle. I'm also in LA so I'm sure I'll see you out on the trails at some point.

Thanks!

The install went without a hitch, although I'm sure that it helped that none of my components had any rust what-so-ever. I didn't need to use the air impact or a breaker bar... it all broke loose and spun out by hand, and came apart very easily.
Going back together was simple as well. The whole job only took a couple of hours. I will note that it's important to make sure you put the springs in the right way. I put them in backwards and it is possible to bolt it all together and have it wrong. I had to do the job twice. Ooops! But again, it was very easy. Only took an afternoon, and that's doing all four springs two times.

Best of luck on your install!
 
Thanks for the love, guys!



Thanks!

The install went without a hitch, although I'm sure that it helped that none of my components had any rust what-so-ever. I didn't need to use the air impact or a breaker bar... it all broke loose and spun out by hand, and came apart very easily.
Going back together was simple as well. The whole job only took a couple of hours. I will note that it's important to make sure you put the springs in the right way. I put them in backwards and it is possible to bolt it all together and have it wrong. I had to do the job twice. Ooops! But again, it was very easy. Only took an afternoon, and that's doing all four springs two times.

Best of luck on your install!

Wow! That's great to hear and thanks for the tip regarding the springs. I also figure I should probably buy the full set so I know all the components are solid.
 
Went out this weekend, but didn't get in to much.
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I did find a big puddle of mud I had to drive through.
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I also added to the family recently: a truck-loving pup my girlfriend and I adopted.
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Winch is on the way and should arrive in a day or two!
 
The odometer issue is probably a bad speedometer cable. Not the odometer itself. Cruiserparts.net sells used ones for $40.

Regarding lighting; consider upgrading your headlights before going nuts on light bars etc. ARB, Hella, and other manufacturers make glass lenses which will accept blulbs of your choice instead of being stuck with horrible sealed beams.

Get a transmission cooler on that A440F auto trans! A gauge too.

The ARB bumper is an excellent choice. You can fit a warn M12000 in there with a very slight trim.
 

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