FJ40 LENGTHENING (1 Viewer)
- Thread starter MITSUTOY72
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- Thread starter
- #2
the second photograph (side view) is just a rendering; it's not the actual wheelbase of my rig.
Why do you want to lengthen it? You're preparing to undergo a tremendous amount of work here....
There was an article in Peterson's 4Wheel & Off Road magazine years ago, like 15 years ago about a guy adding to the middle of his Fj40 to make the wheel base longer. I've always wanted to stretch a Fj40 to fit on an 80 series frame. I don't know if they index their articles in any way, but it might be worth looking into.
You can make your fJ40 as long and tall as you want
- Thread starter
- #8
I want it stretched so that I can seat people at the back facing front and comfortably (same orientation as the driver and the front passenger) instead of the usual jump seat setup. I use my truck as a daily driver and I usually travel with friends/family during weekends. And it's quite unpleasant to be sitting at the back with your head turned to the side, looking at the direction where the vehicle is going, over long distances. So I thought about stretching the middle part of the frame so i can have good legroom and a little space for baggage at the back of the second row seat.
AlaskanWheeler
SILVER Star
Mid frame would be my choice as well, would eliminate the need to modify you leaf spring perches...
Check out this build thread of a local guy to this area that did a stretch, turned out really nice but, as you'll see from the thread, he put a lot of work into it:
https://forum.ih8mud.com/showthread.php?t=182303
https://forum.ih8mud.com/showthread.php?t=182303
- Thread starter
- #11
THANKS NorthFJ. Now I have ideas of adding length to my frame.
Good luck with your project!
Yeah good luck. I cut the whole rear of my 40 at one point and re-built the tub using brand new sheet metal and mandrel bent DOM tube. That was fine for my wheeler but it took FOREVER to get things right. Frankly, I think the effort involved with what you're envisioning will not be worth it. I bought an 80 series because it has the seating my 40 does not.
- Thread starter
- #14
Thanks. I will pursue my plan though especially now that i bought a new suv.
One thing I will add, don't cut and scab plate your FJ frame like the fellow in the linked post above. He made vertical cuts and used very small scab plates. If you cut your frame, it needs to be done at opposing 45 degree angles and the whole joint should be plated. Vertical cuts with little scab plates=very weak and I wouldn't trust that to hold for long.
And this is what I ended up doing when I cut the whole rear of my FJ40. All new sheet metal and DOM tubing which incorporates a factory Toyota tailgate from a 67'. I joined the floor in the rear where I believe you are thinking of doing the same. This was a HUGE amount of work to get things "right" and I can still bolt the factory hardtop in place (not that I ever will again).
And this is what I ended up doing when I cut the whole rear of my FJ40. All new sheet metal and DOM tubing which incorporates a factory Toyota tailgate from a 67'. I joined the floor in the rear where I believe you are thinking of doing the same. This was a HUGE amount of work to get things "right" and I can still bolt the factory hardtop in place (not that I ever will again).
- Thread starter
- #16
I can see that your FJ has a coil spring suspension. Is it stock from an FJ80 you you built it yourself from tubes? I have this setup that works well like a coil-sprung suspension but without the need of any trailing are/radius arm and lateral arm. I added coil spring instead to the stock setup but took out several leafs from the stock spring pack, leaving just three leaves. Then I inserted medium size coil spring in front, just after the plate that connects the front differential to the leaf pack. the same setup goes to the rear but the coil spring is way bigger there than the front. to counter the body roll when cornering, I have also fabricated stabiliser bars from mild steel (1") and devised a setup myself where I could add them to my modified suspension by just bolts and nuts and fabricated rubber bushes, without any body/frame mods. will post pix in a while..
The coil suspension (both front and rear) on my 69 FJ40 is all custom but it does use some readily available parts here in the USA. My friend (a mechanical genius, welder and fabricator) designed all the link brackets on CAD and they were laser cut and bent to spec. The rear coils are Currie Enterprises units for a Jeep TJ (I know). The bushings are all re-buildable Johnny Joints from Currie. The rear axle is a full float FZJ80 (which has actually survived thus far) and the front is a custom Dana 60. 4 link rear suspension and 5 link front suspension with pan hard bar. It was anything but simple but the ride is like a new vehicle and the suspension flex is....
Yours sounds like it is simple and made a big improvement over the stock FJ leaf springs. That's really half the battle.
Yours sounds like it is simple and made a big improvement over the stock FJ leaf springs. That's really half the battle.
