FJ62 destruction --> turbo HZJ62 (1 Viewer)

[esh]

Well, I am ok with the Flowmaster, but I would do another one if I had the choice again. I am not against the deep tone the Flowmaster gives, but I'd rather it be as quiet as possible. Maybe try a Magnaflow or just a cheapo big muffler.

I have some more massively high quality pics of the gauges. Was able to clean up a lot of wiring and move the dual volt and turbo gauges higher up for better visibility and clean up around the tranny shifter area. Taking a hole saw to the UNLEADED FUEL ONLY sticker felt good.

Here are all the main gauges, now working properly even!

I hacked the blank for a new momentary glow plug switch, which freed up the other side of the steering column where the tcase button went for the turbo pressure gauge. Had to clock it to clear a dash support, but that actually puts cruising psi (about 5) to the top. Need to figure out a cleaner install, but this works (my mantra, hehe).

 

[esh]

My tires were getting worn, and I am headed to Utah for a week so I have been contemplating new tires and a change to 16s for better tire load rating. I am up to around 6400 fully fueled up and loaded with gear, and it will go up after adding lockers and an air system.

So after pondering the choices I got a set of Cooper STs. I've been happy with BFG ATs but they don't make them in a 255/85r16 size (33x10) and the Coopers are both reasonable for tire prices and pretty all terrain tread, plus they can be studded if the need arises.

I was going to go with the 16 hole black spare wheels but my tire shop didn't want to mount them because they were considered spare wheels (even after arguing how many trucks run around here with them mounted and no issues). So I caved and found a set of Tacoma 16x7s for $50. Except with 5" backspacing I got to spend another $200 on 1-1/4 spacers.

I will ultimately find another set of wheels, but these were cheap and available and didn't take much to balance. Would really like a set of the old Outback TX-1s that supposedly Staun will make some day.

Here are some tire comparisons between the Cooper 255/85r16, BFG AT 33x10.5x15 and a good BFG MT 33x9.5 I'll use for a spare for now. The Cooper actually measures to 33". With the wheels they are a little more inward than I'd wanted, but they'll work for now.

The AT is about 50%, the MT is about 90% tread.

Wasn't sure how the look would turn out, but I'm happy with the utility look of it.

The new tires might have got me 100 fewer RPMs, if that. 60mph is 2300 RPM, 65 is about 2400 RPM.

 

[klinetime574]

255/85/16 is my dream tire size. Thanks for posting those pictures!

 

[boots4]

Looks like the coopers may be a little better in the mud than the BFG due to the more open tread pattern. I do agree than you need a little more stance though and maybe in this case I'd paint the rims black. But it may be a waste if you plan on changing out the rims anyways. Did you notice a slight increase in EGTs?

Where you put your boost gauge is where I have my mech. water temp gauge. Do you not have that little trim piece anymore?

I was actually planning on cutting a piece out of aluminum and remount my gauge along with the control switch (below my gauge but not in the picture) for my fan controller to clean mine up a tad.

 

[GLTHFJ60]

Do you have a model number for that VDO quad gauge?
Do you have any info on how you integrated the factory wiring or did you use all custom sensors?

I've been looking around at solutions for my engine swap and that is the cleanest one yet.

 

[esh]

The clips of the piece where the turbo gauge sits all finally broke off, so I will think on it a while before doing a better mount. The area doesn't lend itself to a clean blank, but it is a great place for a gauge.


The VDO Vanguard quad gauge was an end of life item when I got it over a year ago. You might send an email to the guys at egauges.com and see if they have any left. You also might check the 240-33 ohm version if you want to pursue it (10-180 is way more common to VDO but I think egauges will cover most combinations). I use google images quite a bit for searches.

I have seen a picture of a new marine line from VDO- the Viewline Onyx series that looks to have a quad gauge. I don't see it on egauges.com but you could also ask them about it. It is a similar style to the Vanguard (nice, plain OEM look). The Viewline series looks to allow bezel changes for chrome, black and white. The line also has a neat speedo with indicators for ebrake, high beam, turn signals and a custom speed alarm.

my old quote

QTY   Item #               Description                         Price     Total
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
   1  110-209           Vanguard 4-ga Cluster with           $244.06   $244.06
                        10-180ohm-150p NLA

As to senders, the water temp was the trickiest, but a fluid connector place in town could do an adapter. It helps to order senders that are a "kit" and include some ring adapters to increase sizes. My motor used 1/8 BSP threads which are close enough to 1/8 NPT that you can crossthread without a problem, so that's what I did with the oil sender.

 

[torfab]

Those are pretty nice looking gauges, the 4-gauge cluster is awesome. I'm curious though, is there a reason you didn't go with factory FJ62 gauges?

 

[esh]

Factory gauges don't really tell you much; 180F vs the first tick mark for water temp as an example. I like the illusion of numbers, and aftermarket gauges are more responsive. What led to all that was a new large fuel tank I installed that came with a non-functional, hacked-up OEM sender.

Oh, my oil pressure sender or gauge was also broken. Some searches found that a 60 oil gauge was pretty sensitive and mine looked to have died.

 

[Tapage]

that was over the fence .. that VDO quad gauge it's just awesome ..

If I may ask .. name on dual battery V gauge .?

 

[esh]

RGB Electronics in Australia. I am not sure they sell that exact gauge anymore, but they still have a dual volt gauge. I found them on ebay.com.au

 

[GLTHFJ60]

The VDO Vanguard quad gauge was an end of life item when I got it over a year ago. You might send an email to the guys at egauges.com and see if they have any left. You also might check the 240-33 ohm version if you want to pursue it (10-180 is way more common to VDO but I think egauges will cover most combinations). I use google images quite a bit for searches.

I have seen a picture of a new marine line from VDO- the Viewline Onyx series that looks to have a quad gauge. I don't see it on egauges.com but you could also ask them about it. It is a similar style to the Vanguard (nice, plain OEM look). The Viewline series looks to allow bezel changes for chrome, black and white. The line also has a neat speedo with indicators for ebrake, high beam, turn signals and a custom speed alarm.

my old quote

QTY   Item #               Description                         Price     Total
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
   1  110-209           Vanguard 4-ga Cluster with           $244.06   $244.06
                        10-180ohm-150p NLA

As to senders, the water temp was the trickiest, but a fluid connector place in town could do an adapter. It helps to order senders that are a "kit" and include some ring adapters to increase sizes. My motor used 1/8 BSP threads which are close enough to 1/8 NPT that you can crossthread without a problem, so that's what I did with the oil sender.

I'll send egauges an email to see if they have any left. I did a bunch of searching earlier and found the Onyx series and that they make quad versions, but couldn't find any decent pictures to see if they matched yours on websites that sold them. Thanks for the info!

Did you use the stock harness for the sensors or run your own wires?

Why do I want the 240-33 version over the 10-180?

Factory gauges don't really tell you much; 180F vs the first tick mark for water temp as an example. I like the illusion of numbers, and aftermarket gauges are more responsive. What led to all that was a new large fuel tank I installed that came with a non-functional, hacked-up OEM sender.

Oh, my oil pressure sender or gauge was also broken. Some searches found that a 60 oil gauge was pretty sensitive and mine looked to have died.

This is exactly why I want a replacement. I love the stock configuration of gauges, but my oil pressure gauge is fried ( someone hooked up the sender wire wrong ) and the gauges themselves don't have actual measurements, just ranges ( cold to hot, high to low, etc. ). Obviously the volt meter does and the fuel gauge doesn't really need a number next to each tick mark, but knowing the actual water temperature and oil pressure is absolutely key.

I'd love to find this more accurate gauge, with units, to keep a closer eye on how my new motor is doing, while keeping the look stock overall. This style gauge is the way to do it.

Thanks a ton Esh!!!

 

[esh]

I hope you find something that works!

The alternate ohm gauge was just to suggest they might have those on a shelf. You would need to replace your fuel sender to match as well, but the VDO sender screw holes line up really well to the stock sender so that isn't much work.

I am using the stock wiring since they are direct connections. At some point I need to bundle them up at the gauges and use a block connector. I have plenty of connectors left over from the old EFI wiring that need to be pulled out of the truck.

 

[esh]

The destruction continues...

Kevin had a WagonGear prototype front seat box ready to check the fit in newer 60s so I headed over to do an install and test fit. You can't really fit the boxes without some semi-permanent modifications so I decided to commit and we started removing front seat attachment points.

He has more of a writeup in his thread- https://forum.ih8mud.com/showpost.php?p=8351336&postcount=191

I had some Recaros I liked out of a VW GLI and brought down a passenger seat with me. After some head scratching we worked out a way to make it fit. I do not recommend anyone attempting this. It is a PITA. The seats are nice and firm with good lumbar and keep you planted, but the 80s era VW seat mounts have nothing in common with anything. As nothing on my truck is normal, we set the seat up for the driver's side. Which actually works out as the wear areas are now opposite what they were and seat back adjustment is on the outside, similar to stock toyota. Seat back adjustment is infinite and is another reason I wanted these seats. It is a joy to have the seat back set just right.

Here is one of the seats, the grey matching my brown interior perfectly.

This is why you do not want to do this install.

But if you want to do it, I might as well show the process.
A few cuts later the main pieces are gone.

A few more has things cleaned up. I really liked the height adjust the seats came with, but it is a pretty convoluted setup and we couldn't make it work.

Now to reconstruct a base. The trick with Kevin's seat box is to keep things as low profile as possible and keep a normal seat position. It is easy to noticed the slightest change. The VW Recaros are a little thicker and sit taller than OEM, plus the seat box brings up height a small amount. That is fine with me as the Toyota seats sit a little too low.

Some square tube and a piece of angle tacked onto the seat frame and checked for squareness.

If you have ever bought a WagonGear product you know he is particular. So he is measuring the slider frame to be attached, making sure sliders are parallel. Sliders don't work as well if they are crooked!

The TIG treatment, which is so much smoother than a MIG welder would be. No need to wrap up the cloth against splatter burns.

The result. The slider arm had to be hacked to keep a low profile. From above it looks stock in that spot.

All that remains is to drill some holes on the seat box and bolt it on.

Good results!

We mounted seats as inward as possible, and even so the driver's is slightly outward of the steering center (about the same as OEM position). The mount is way more solid that OEM with the seat box and it feels sturdy. You do have to pitch over the side bolsters a little to get in, but the better ride comfort is worth it. Only thing left to do is a long distance trial.

 

[esh]

I also replaced my starter. Over the winter it was getting harder and harder to engage after glow, likely from worn contacts. I found a Chinese replacement starter pretty cheap on Ebay and installed it. The OEM starter will get cleaned up contacts replaced for a spare. Now the motor starts with the barest of bumps from the key.

 

[Dirtgypsy]

Kevin's seat boxes are nothing short of art as well as is all his items. The truck is looking great ken! Any plans on heading up north to Portland anytime soon?

I picked up a 40 project and was wanting to pick your brain a bit.

Clint

 

[effjay60]

I have those seats in my 62 also. Very nice seats.

 

[esh]

Did a bunch of rewiring and installation of electronics into the seat box. I have the amps mounted to the lids, a Bluesea fuseblock, eq in the Tuffy and a 12V socket for the fridge. Also have the HAM radio mounted on the Tuffy and a control cable run to near the stereo where the radio head lives. When I clean up the unkempt wiring and make some other adjustments I will add pics.


Also installed some awesome strip lighting for camping. Stole the idea from a guy in Jefferson State Cruisers. They put out sweet light for a camp site to do any setup. I am thinking of wiring them into the dome light circuit.

Two strips wrap around the sides and back of the truck. I think they were $10-15 each. They have some sections that are dead, but I can live with that.

 

[elephantsCBR]

There are a couple sets of those LED's on eBay. The 15-16$$ and then like 19-25$$. Those extra bucks are worth it. I've bought a couple sets of each for various projects. One blue set from each. The cheap one has the same issue as you, and my good set hadn't had a set of 3 stop yet. I have one of each price range on each side of my 62 and the 19-25$$ is brighter, and all stay lit. I will say my only regret is choosing blue. The light output is horrible compared to the white.

Thanks Cody Sent from my iPhone using IH8MUD

 

[esh]

Love your truck. It looks BURLY! Thanks for the LED strip info. I copied it into the Cheap Mods thread.

 

[esh]

Forgot to add!

I changed out my winch line for synthetic rope. Ryan at ASR Offroad is a local guy and great to work with. He gave the club a group buy discount. I had a poly rope guide hung on the shop wall for many years from a parts trade with Sky Offroad. I did a somewhat ok but hokey attachment, doing a battery cable end crimp to it. I see why the newer Warn ZEONs have a better attachment point for rope now.

Haven't had a chance to use it yet.