FJ60+62+(Z)80+ v8

[MANUCHAO]

I second the 6L/ 4L80....

 

[cruisermatt]

Third... And an AWD 60 would kick ass

 

[SNLC]

Well, I got all the body mounts made except the farthest back ones. Working on the frame rail extension and then will be making the last body mounts.

Now that it is nearly done I am very curious how it will sit with weight on it. All the other FJ60/62 to FJZ80 mash up I have seen the body is mounted on the frame with stink bug built into it. As I mentioned before I didn't do that, I put the body on the frame level or nearly level. At the back where the wheel well is and basically what decides how low you can go on the frame with the body I gave it a 1/2-3/4" body lift. From there I kept the body level rather than tilting the front end down. I only have a .15* difference between frame and body so it's level on the frame. This leaves it with a 2 1/2" body lift up front though where the rad support meets the frame. Now I have no worries it will sit right and won't look funky. However, I think that the Slee 4" coils may be to much without say 37's. It is looking like I could easily run 35's with no lift or with a 2.5" lift. To me this is great even if I want the Slee coils under it, reason being less lift = less geometry out of whack in the suspension. I also have tons of room for a flat belly, exhaust routing (can even easily retain the stock exhaust shileds) , headers, a huge fuel tank in the back and easy to get at the top of the rear shocks. So I am happy with it. I did go back and forth on this, if I should set the body up level or slant the front down like others have done. After a discussion with my buddy who is far better at all this than me (he is also my mentor) I went with body level on frame. With some many coil spring options out there for 80's it just seemed like the right way to go. I also really hate stink bug on my Cruisers. I was curious yesterday so slapped some stock coils in the front and of course since there is no weight on it there is no difference right now over stock coils or Slee 4" coils. Remember folks, springs are rated in ftlbs per inch. So with no weight they are all the same, it is when you weight them up that matters.

Cheers

 

[MANUCHAO]

Ian, when I did my set up I too had it leveled front to back, also back then I still did not have a drawer system

However, once loaded with drawers, and full tank of gas 45 gal., it had a bit of a drop on the rear plus it bottomed out a couple of times on the maiden trip to DV.
Once I put the 4" HP Slee coils it leveled up did not matter if it was full or empty...
The only thing that changed was the ride, a bit harsh when empty.

The pics posted above were taken with the drawer system off of the rig, an empty gas tank and I believe the rear bumper was also off of the rig...

Give the smount of weight i have on the rear and roof I tried air bags at first....(hated it) and the slee's did the trick for me.....

That's what worked for my set up..
I agree with a smaller lift you will have less issues with drive line angles..

EDIT: Im running the Slee's mediums on the front and that also has help with leveling the rig...

 

[SNLC]

Ian, when I did my set up I too had it leveled front to back, also back then I still did not have a drawer system

However, once loaded with drawers, and full tank of gas 45 gal., it had a bit of a drop on the rear plus it bottomed out a couple of times on the maiden trip to DV.
Once I put the 4" HP Slee coils it leveled up did not matter if it was full or empty...
The only thing that changed was the ride, a bit harsh when empty.

The pics posted above were taken with the drawer system off of the rig, an empty gas tank and I believe the rear bumper was also off of the rig...

Give the smount of weight i have on the rear and roof I tried air bags at first....(hated it) and the slee's did the trick for me.....

That's what worked for my set up..
I agree with a smaller lift you will have less issues with drive line angles..

EDIT: Im running the Slee's mediums on the front and that also has help with leveling the rig...

Thanks for your input Frank. I went back and forth about it, had it both ways, ie lower and how I set it up. I played a lot with 80's suspension on my old 80 trying to get it just how I liked. 2.5" OME mediums up front, then the mediums plus MT spacers and even tried a shorter OME spacer. Finally went Slee coils and as was good. Same thing for the rear.

Any ways, the truck is spot on level but there is no power train in it and the entire interior is stripped. And then we have no add ons like rear bumper, ect ect ect. There is really no way to know how it will sit once loaded up, only time will tell.

Cheers

 

[SNLC]

So I put 500lbs or more in the engine bay, scrap steel. All my worries are gone! I am confident the truck will sit real nice now with no stink bug. On top of that, a 62 with coil springs! Oh man this thing is going to ride very nice.

Had to drive for 4hrs yesterday to get a $35 piece of steel to finish up the frame rail extension. All I have left now is a few hours of work and I am ready to yank the body one last time, do my final welding and that is it. I used 3/16's and 1/4" for the frame rail extension, it is super burely.

I will post a bunch of pics as things start to get finished up.

Cheers

 

[SNLC]

I know a few of you guys said get the 6L and drop it in. I am looking for opinions from anybody following this thread. I am going to need to sell this truck in the next 4 months because I am leaving the country and won't be back. So do you think it is easier to sell as a shell with no motor which allows somebody to put in whatever they want, ie keep it all Toyota. Or would It be better off tossing in the LQ4 and selling it. I can get the LQ4 for a good deal so don't feel like I would piss a bunch of money away getting it and dropping it in. It may make it harder to sell though. What are your thoughts?

Cheers

 

[77TLCFJ40]

I would think a complete "turn-key" truck is much more valuable and marketable to far more people than a "project".

 

[SNLC]

I would think a complete "turn-key" truck is much more valuable and marketable to far more people than a "project".

Ya but there is no way (that I can see right now) it would be "turn key" in the next 4 months. Even if I drop the motor in it it would still need wiring, exhaust and drivelines plus all the other stuff to finish off the build. So it would still be a project just not a shell of one.

Cheers

 

[TRAIL TAILOR]

2UZFE-SC mated to a A442F but that's me....

J

 

[megolfer]

Lq4 and 4l60 and be done

 

[micruz60]

Half complete project for sale.
Glws.
Helluva concept rig.

 

[SNLC]

Half complete project for sale.
Glws.
Helluva concept rig.

Not exactly a concept anymore now that it is built.

Last two body mounts are built, frame rail extension is done too. Now it is time to pull the body and do my final welding on all this, slap the body back on and then I think it is time to wash it. It hasn't been washed since 2011 when I got it!

Cheers

 

[SNLC]

Here is what I am talking about "body lift"....

That is 3/4s of an inch above the frame rail, so really only. 1/2" body lift here.

However with the body on the frame level that gives you an approximate 2 1/2" body lift up front.

These last two pics you can see the body is spot on level with the frame. As mentioned I put stock coils in the front and have about 500lbs sitting in the engine bay. The shop floor is slightly higher in the front of the truck due to floor drains. I am actually really happy with how it has played out and am feeling it will look great once a power train is in it.

Cheers

 

[cruisermatt]

Looks good dude. Those wheels/tires are rollers right? Decided on a size? 37's would be sweet...
I really want my rig to have the same stance just with links and leaves instead.

 

[SNLC]

Looks good dude. Those wheels/tires are rollers right? Decided on a size? 37's would be sweet...
I really want my rig to have the same stance just with links and leaves instead.

Ya pretty much on the wheels and tires. 37's, sure but I think it will look great on stockish coils with 35s. Keeps you from having to run much caster correction and like Frank said keeps driveline angles nice. It really just needs a 16-17"wheels with as much backspacing as possible and fairly narrow like 8" wide.

Cheers

 

[cruisermatt]

Ya pretty much on the wheels and tires. 37's, sure but I think it will look great on stockish coils with 35s. Keeps you from having to run much caster correction and like Frank said keeps driveline angles nice. It really just needs a 16-17"wheels with as much backspacing as possible and fairly narrow like 8" wide.

Cheers

Tacoma wheels have 5.5" of backspacing and are what I run, I have an 80 rear and anything with less backspacing sticks out way too far IMO. Yours doesn't look bad because the front matches at least.

 

[MANUCHAO]

@cruisermatt got a part# for them wheels?

Ian, too bad you have to sell it....
Hope it finds a home real soon....
Good luck with your new endeavors

Frank

 

[cruisermatt]

All 6-lug Tacoma wheels should have the same backspace, these are what I'm running though. They're the steelies that would come on a "base" model. 16"x7.5". Just be aware most tire places won't mount 315/75/16 like these on them because BFG wants an 8" rim.

 

[SNLC]

I chucked some Taco wheels 6yrs ago, oh well.

Cheers