FJ55, what is necessary to out-preform an 80? (1 Viewer)

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I agree the OME lift is super cheap...can't wait to put one on the :princess: 80 series...

but...

depending on starting point...if you have both vehicles...then yes it will be cheaper to get that 80 series(locked) lifted and harder trail ready...

if you factor in the cost of the vehicle...you could have a 55, 4 Link, lockers, orion, PS and it would outpreform a modded 80 series for prolly just the cost of a stock 80 series.
 
snailwagon said:
After last weekend, I realized that on the dunes, a 55 cannot outperform an 80. Had to swallow a little pride there, I love 55's the best out of all cruisers.



ahhhh the million dollar example, whats the intended terrain???

alot of stuff going on in this thread, i'll stick to my original, anything can be built to outperform anything else. my reason for building my piggy isnt to outperform squat except maybe the stock performance it had. i just wanna have fun with my junk and i can do that next to any rig.
 
FJBen said:
if you factor in the cost of the vehicle...you could have a 55, 4 Link, lockers, orion, PS and it would outpreform a modded 80 series for prolly just the cost of a stock 80 series.


Not when you can pick up 93-94 locked 100k mile 80's for $6500. (I did over a year ago).

As 80's are getting cheaper and cheaper they become MORE economical to wheel than 40's, 55's, 60's etc. It is also very comfortable to DD an 80 with as much as 6" of lift.

That said, which of my trucks do I wheel? The 40. :confused:

Theres something about working on and wheeling a 30yr old truck that is so much more appealing to me.
 
CruisinGA said:
Not when you can pick up 93-94 locked 100k mile 80's for $6500. (I did over a year ago).

As 80's are getting cheaper and cheaper they become MORE economical to wheel than 40's, 55's, 60's etc. It is also very comfortable to DD an 80 with as much as 6" of lift.

That said, which of my trucks do I wheel? The 40. :confused:

Theres something about working on and wheeling a 30yr old truck that is so much more appealing to me.


Thats awesome, they aren't that price around here! lol...

I agree on the working...I open the hood on the 80 and just... :confused: mine is SOOOOO much simpler...and cheaper to repair...

by no means am I doggin' the 80...hell I'm just starting the build on the :princess: so she'll go wheelin more.
 
I guess I'll play too,
My 55 with a SBC and 3 speed will spank the 80 in a rolling acceleration test from 35 mph to 70 mph. Both are pretty much stock. I have wheeled both although not near as much as many of you have, and in order for my 55 to out perform my stock 80 it would need:

2-2.5 inch lift springs( to gain articulation and clear 33s)
Power steering
ARBs front and rear

That is it

The edelbrock carb works extremely well for moderate wheeling, so no need for FI

Oh yeah, It could use a better stereo that I can hear at HWY speeds.

And by the way, an 81 mini with ARBs will out perform either one :flipoff2:

MHO

Dan
 
I have an edlebrock in the bushes outside the shop I just pitched there after wheeling with it. I put on a Q-jet until I have the time to TBI it. What a POS that thing was. Off angle wasn't so bad. I could keep it running, but when it started getting jounced around it kept stalling.
 
Gumby said:
I have an edlebrock in the bushes outside the shop I just pitched there after wheeling with it. I put on a Q-jet until I have the time to TBI it. What a POS that thing was. Off angle wasn't so bad. I could keep it running, but when it started getting jounced around it kept stalling.


What size??? I have the 500 cfm carb and never had a peroblem with it stalling out or flooding, to include some pretty steep inclines and getting the rear end airborne a couple times. However, like I said before, I don't wheel nearly as hard as most of the rest of you, At least not in a 55 or an 80 :D
 
Ok, I guess I should have added all this info earlier...

-I wheel on the East Coast (mud, rocks, tight trails lined with trees)..
-I already have 2 80's, I am planning on selling the '91 with all the redneck mods to buy a 55..
-Road maners aren't a problem, I have an 80 for cushy ride, and this truck would be a true trail/poser truck (drive it to show it off, and wheel the fxxx out of it too)..
-I'm quessing on a $6k budget for the truck and the add-ons, and a whole summer to wrench and get it right..
-I want to stick with the I-6 and a manual tranny (I like shifting, not old enough to get tired of it)..
-Armor would be equally home-built/bought for either (ARB front on the 80, custom back....custom front on the 55, aftermarket back) with custom sliders on both..
-Lockers would be similar (80=E-locker Front/Aussie Rear, 55=Aussie Front & Rear)..
-Tires would be Michelin 9.0R XLs on both (for trails atleast, but MTRs for street on the 80)..

Questions:
-SOA or Aclan springs?
-Power Steering, what are my options?
-Interior, what needs to be done for trail comfort (seats, shifters, consoles)?
-Engine, anything need to be done other than a tune-up/rebuild?
-Rust, would all replacements have to be custom, or can I find some panels, etc.?


Feel free to add in anything I may have missed...but I seem to have gathered a good bit of info from this thread, thanks alot guys!
 
How big is a Michelin 9.0R XL? Don't know if you've wheeled old skool Cruisers, but the crawl ratio is pretty high. But that's just one of those things where it depends on what you're using it for.
 
I like the idea of the alcans better, but they are more money than a SOA, As far as interior goes, I think buckets of some sort are almost mandatory to keep you firmly planted in your spot. Cup holder or some kinda center console for beverages would be nice, As far as rust goes, you are better off doing custom work, ie integrated sliders, weld and grind etc for a trail rig. Piggy panels are too expensive to beat up on a regular basis.

I hope this helps, I don't have PS so I don't have an opinion there, nor have I ever worked on or wheeled with the stock F or 2f.
Good Luck,
Dan
 
alkaline747trio said:
Ok, I guess I should have added all this info earlier...

Questions:
-SOA or Aclan springs?
-Power Steering, what are my options?
-Interior, what needs to be done for trail comfort (seats, shifters, consoles)?
-Engine, anything need to be done other than a tune-up/rebuild?
-Rust, would all replacements have to be custom, or can I find some panels, etc.?


Feel free to add in anything I may have missed...but I seem to have gathered a good bit of info from this thread, thanks alot guys!


SOA...alcans are very nice, but if you are pure trail, just SOA with stock springs, nice height good flex.

- Power steering...use 60 series or Scout, pretty easy swap into a 55....

-Interior...get some good buckets from a junkyard car, herculine the interior to help with the sound, maybe even insulate the back, Tint (i know that sounds gay) but is nice to keep the temps down in a hot piggy...

Engine...get a rebuilt jimc/marks carb, tune that engine and go!

Panels...good luck, there are straight pigs left...but get used to body work...


GEARING! I'll add this for sure...I'm on 35's & 4.11's and need deeper gearing for offroad....I think money well spent would be an Orion t-case...instead of the crappy 28:1 low range you'd have around 60:1 gearing...with 4.11 gears...going slow will save lots of issues on the pig mainly body...
 
tucker74 said:
My point exactly - this was to Gary who put a 45 on a 80 chasis ...

:flipoff2:

Tucker


Thats funny...in just teasing my wife 2 days ago I told her I was gonna buy an FZJ80 rolled and put my 55 body on...she was like...whatever thats fine...

hmmmm....:idea:
 
FJBen said:
Thats funny...in just teasing my wife 2 days ago I told her I was gonna buy an FZJ80 rolled and put my 55 body on...she was like...whatever thats fine...

hmmmm....:idea:
I was looking at doing the same thing with a canadian mine HZJ79 - the frame specs are almost exactly the same. Couldn't pull it off - but 1HZ, H151, front coils, rear FF ... giving me wood just thinking about it now :)

If money only grew on trees -

Tucker
 
alkaline747trio said:
Looking at getting an FJ55, I've always loved the looks and they seem like even more of a tank than the 80. Just curious aboat what all would need to be done to have one out-preform a well equipped 80 (4" and 35's, rear locker)? Just trying to figure in my head the cost of the project...

Long time no post, but this outta do it. I was just down at IPOR checking out the progress on my 16 month total reno job (looks KICK ASS, btw) and I saw the most recent iteration of this job. It's kick ass. They had the motor pulled to paint the frame, but main, it's bitchin.

Rob
 
Rob,

I hope you are talking about my 55. Unless Lance has snuck another project in while I wasn't looking :) Your 40 looks great the mustard paint turned out sweet. It will be better than new when finished.

Here is a link to my site for my 55 buildup.
http://homepage.mac.com/ryanandjessaka/PhotoAlbum1.html

Do you have an estimated time of when your 40 will be finished. I can't wait to see it on the road.

Ryan.
 

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