Builds Fly By Night (10 Viewers)

[RUSH55]

Mmmmmm coils
Nah. Gonna stick with good ol’ leaf-springs, that’ll be plenty enough hassle

Ron, I thought your outboard job was great How much did you have to outboard each hanger? Was it like 1” to an 1-1/2”?
Thinking about going with 60 series axles because enough money won’t be spent on everything else - besides being 70mm wider, what are the other advantages of having them?

 

[scrapdaddy]

Yes @ 1 1/2" on each side. I used them because it's what I had and the 60 axle had disc brakes and stronger parts. I did have to change out the ring and pinion gears to 4:11 as they were the 3:70 gears.

 

[Ol Yeller]

60 axles is where I’m heading (s l o w l y) I understand they have stronger splines etc and obviously the disks, the outboarding kit would make quick work of that part of the front end.
For rear I’ve read it’s better to just redo the axle perches and leave the frame alone?

 

[scrapdaddy]

One thing I remember is thinking it would be very tight in there with the long range tank and spring hanger bolts, I was glad I out-boarded them.

 

[RUSH55]

Removed my nice new rear driveshaft as well as the front.
Pulled tranny and t-case.
Removed exhaust.
Bittersweet saying goodbye to the SM420 and 3spd. case. Such an awesome off road combo - the 68:1 overall low was more than slow enough for anything and everything I ever wheeled. The lack of overdrive has always been a drawback while cruising highways at 3,000rpm.

 

[61twpw]

Good progress, pretty much just a shell now. Sure looks like another one of us trying to emulate JMack and Scrapdaddy. Keep up the good work!

 

[sahelzer]

I have tumbler with Key from 1977 FJ55 I got from Schmukster years ago (has one of his yellow tags).
I have it for sale in the classifieds but will donate to your cause for the cost of shipping if you want it.

 

[RUSH55]

Wow! Yes, I’ll take it!

 

[RUSH55]

Good progress, pretty much just a shell now. Sure looks like another one of us trying to emulate JMack and Scrapdaddy. Keep up the good work!

Thanks Bill! The easy part is gonna be coming to an end soon. Pull the engine and tub and it’ll be all uphill from there

 

[scrapdaddy]

You're all in now! Like you said, going back together is the fun part.

 

[RUSH55]

Probably one of the funnest parts will be pestering you for info Ron JK, I’ll try not to be too much of a pain, but I can’t promise anything.

 

[61twpw]

Just got to remember to do one system at a time ( note to self ). Going to be awesome when you’re done!

 

[RUSH55]

2F engine out. Another bittersweet moment. My Dad did an “in-frame” rebuild on this in ‘96, meaning, AFAIK, the bores are original, the crank journals are original, original cam. Not bad, a pretty decent 40 year run. It’s not intended to return into this vehicle, but everything is subject to change.

 

[RUSH55]

Removed more parts (not worth taking pics of) -
Front shocks, fuel lines, fuel tank vent line, exhaust shield, engine and bell housing mounts.

Also gathering the few remaining pieces to assemble this rotisserie. Have been planning on having a field service mechanic come by the house and lift the tub off with his crane, but since I try as much as possible not to rely on help, think I can just lift it with the cherry picker and set some 4x4’s under it on some kind of cribbing and just roll the chassis out and slide the rotisserie in place. A shop with an overhead hoist would be just waay too convenient.

 

[scrapdaddy]

There's a way to use the cherry picker inside the cab and bolt to the floor using the seat belt holes.

 

[RUSH55]

Picked up a small parts cache in Williams AZ today. Wanted to make sure nothing usable went to the scrapper before this group had a chance to see what all was there.
It’s not much, but an interesting story anyways.
Supposedly, the original rig was a 71 FJ55 that was imported in the 70’s. Right hand drive. The story was that it rolled onto its top at some point in the late 80’s and then just sat until recently (semi-recently?). It was dismantled and I picked up what was left.

After an initial examination, I thought this was a FJ40 frame. But after looking a little closer, it looks like someone chopped the frame at the rear.

 

[RUSH55]

The only really cool thing that I can use is the grill, which is in better shape than mine.

 

[RUSH55]

Other parts in this buy was a fuel tank, hood, some FJ40 seat frames, marker lights, tail lights, and a couple boxes of miscellanity.

 

[61twpw]

That fellow in Williams was the one selling ambulance doors a few months ago. He never would tell me what he sold them for. Always nice to get more parts. Grill looks nice.

 

[RUSH55]

That fellow in Williams was the one selling ambulance doors a few months ago. He never would tell me what he sold them for.

Oh really? Interesting. I was hoping he was gonna have more (had an inner fender/core support in a pic on CL).