Frankie - '87 FJ-60 Refurbishment Plus a Few Mods

[60Works]

Thanks, Lated. I like the quote in your signature line. So true.

Here are some pictures of the removal of the axles. This actually happened before installing most of the wiring but it seems to be easier to follow or share an idea when posting by system.

I don't have the luxury of a lift, so jack stands had to do. There's a trade off between height and stability. When removing leaf spring pins from a 25 year old vehicle, you have to hammer on them pretty hard. It can get a little scary seeing the truck sway on the stands while underneath it so I make a point of placing tires or additional blocks under the frame so if it does fall it might not squish me completely. FYI - most jack stands are rated as a pair. So a 4,000 lb stand is really only good for 2,000 lbs.

The rear axle's shackle pins came out without an argument but the forward pins were rust-fused to the OEM rubber bushings and refused to budge. I had to use a propane torch to burn/melt them enough to extract the pin.

 

[60Works]

The front axle was less rusty and came out fairly easily.

 

[60Works]

The brake shields on both the front and rear are flimsy and will bend under the full weight of the axle. I found that putting the tires back on both protected the shields and made it easier to move the assemblies around.

 

[60Works]

I'm skipping a few steps of pictures. This parts kinda boring anyway.

I hauled the axles to a sand blasting company then directly on to the painters. I knew that would leave areas unpainted and uncleaned which would require touch up later. The trade off was the simplicity of not having to tape off each part individually and not having any contaminates inside the axles or in the bearings.

On the next truck I'm hand prepping the metal to avoid sand blasting. POR doesn't seem to like a bare metal surface and it should save a few dollars that could go to parts.

I got those dogs in and out of that trailer by myself without a crane. It was about as dumb as hauling a Cruiser with a Cruiser.

It'll never look that clean again.

 

[60Works]

New OME springs!

It's making the frame look pretty bad.

 

[cruisermatt]

What are doing shocks wise, stock?

 

[rustybucket]

Okay, now the next question, which 4x4 magazine are you going to submit your bumper to bumper total restoration?
Have you calculated how many man hours into this restore? This its the best restoration job I have ever seen.

 

[cruisermatt]

I wish more 60 series were getting restored, and I wonder when it will be as popular to restore a 60 series as it is to do a 40 right now. 5 years? 10 years?

 

[Major Nelson]

why not just hit the frame with some Chassis paint while you have the axles off....I used some of the eastwood rust encapsulator and chassis paint on my 40....not perfect but 100x better looking. This build is amazing by the way.

 

[60Works]

The shocks are also OME and came with the heavy/medium kit. I don't know if 60's will ever be as popular as 40's for rebuilding, Cruisermatt. They are so much more practical that we continue to use them as intended. Kind of a coupe vs. sedan thing for collector value. This project started as a replacement camping vehicle for me. I'm just not good at doing things half way. I mean, if you're going to have something completely apart to replace the bearings and seals, why not take the extra time to paint it too? Little by little Frankie's become a bit of a cream puff and I've had to find a different Cruiser for camping.

Now all the carefully chosen trick parts; bumpers, sliders, skid plate, roof rack, etc. purchased for this 'camping' truck have been reallocated for the next project. And I'm thinking, "Whoa! How did this happen? If I never finish my projects when will I find time to actually drive one?" Land Cruisers are definitely an addiction.

I appreciate your compliment that a magazine might be interested in covering my Cruiser, Rustybucket. Thank you. The project is coming along but I still have a long way to go. I think Joe E has the cleanest chassis/drive train restoration I've seen so far. His Cruiser really is a beaut.

I haven't logged my hours but I have kept my receipts. And have purposely NOT totaled them.

I've ignored the ugly frame so far, Nelson, because I intend to split the fame/chassis again and tidy up all the remaining uglies. Originally I wanted to galvanize the frame but from what I've read galvanizing doesn't look that great after a few years and it probably wouldn't protect the frame much better than, as you suggest, Eastwood or POR or Rust Bullet.

Like for most of us, it will come down to free time and shop space.

 

[60Works]

Here's the front axle ready to be disassembled.

Knuckles really are one of the dirtiest jobs on Land Cruisers.

I chose to do the to 4-Runner brake caliper upgrade. Thank you to all the previous posters who show how. Here is a picture of how much material has to be cut off the brake shield to clear the larger caliper.

 

[60Works]

Side by side.

In progress.

I was very careful when painting the hubs to have the disk mating surface absolutely clean of paint or rust. I didn't want anything to induce a pulse in the feel of the brakes.

 

[Rob Faucett]

What piece of equipment is in that facility when it's not being used to rebuild Landcruisers?!

 

[Rob Faucett]

1 DIN brackets for stock posts

My 1 DIN brackets look very similar. I went with wider (about 2") aluminum so I could adjust the radio chassis forward and aft.

I don't have a side shot, Greg, and its all back together. Sorry. The brackets are pretty simple, they run wide to use the factory bolts, which are 1 DIN wide, then angle in so 1 screw per side catches the radio chassis. Here's another, closer shot:

View attachment 752952

 

[60Works]

The replacement rotors are DBA's slotted. The color swabs are heat sensitive paint that will turn brown if the rotors reach certain temp limits. I went with semi-metallic Hawk pads and kept the stock master.

It may seem overkill but I (and probably you too) have long been disappointed in my Cruiser's braking. I tried to build it as tight as possible without changing rotor size. The end result of the caliper, rotor, and pad upgrade isn't as dramatic as I had hoped. The pedal is firm, with a nice progressive action, and without excessive travel. The braking is pretty good but still not... modern.

About this time I acquired a very clean FJ-62 and it's brakes, all stock Toyota, were exceptional. They could lock up 30" tires on dry pavement with only moderately high pedal pressure. I now think the issue, with both Juggernaught and Frankie, is in the booster and am looking forward to trying one from a 4-Runner, 80, or Tundra. I'll have to read up on which choices have been the most successful.

Because someone might notice it; yes, I packed the birfields with non-moly grease. It's Mobil 28, a Type II, clay based, fully synthetic wheel bearing grease that is spec'd for aircraft and has a -40 to 100°C operating range. Working in aviation I frequently have lubricants on the shelf that I can't use on aircraft because the tins have expiration dates. My Land Cruisers aren't nearly so picky. Mobil 28 is an exceptional grease that, while not as good at high loads as a lithium-soap based grease with 10% moly, is sufficient for the use I expect Frankie to see. I have noticed the oil/clay separating somewhat, which acts a little like a leaking axle seal in that a little red oil sometimes oozes out the bearing cap if I don't drive with the hubs locked to stir it up every other month or so. I haven't had problems with it swelling Toyota's rubber seals yet.

It is a conundrum that the wheel bearings and birfields take different greases, which can mix in the hub. Type I (lithium soap) and Type II (clay based) greases, when mixed, degrade each other, leaving parts vulnerable to abrasion. I have yet to find a grease that has both 'wheel bearings' and 'high-load sliding parts' in its application guide. There are probably dozens of threads already about this if I were to search. If anyone has a solution I'd be interested.

Anyway, here's the axle ready to go with new Joint Fuji tie and relay rod ends.

FWIW - I've found that covering the floor with painter's canvas does a pretty good job of cleaning the globs of black grease off of shoes so it doesn't track (into your wife's kitchen or, worse, into your Cruiser). When a layer gets really dirty I'll fold it over on itself and gain another few days of protection.

 

[Big Cruiser Guy]

I've ignored the ugly frame so far, Nelson, because I intend to split the fame/chassis again and tidy up all the remaining uglies. Originally I wanted to galvanize the frame but from what I've read galvanizing doesn't look that great after a few years and it probably wouldn't protect the frame much better than, as you suggest, Eastwood or POR or Rust Bullet.

Like for most of us, it will come down to free time and shop space.

I went a little overboard on my frame. having battled rust issues in the past, I had the frame sandblasted, then galvanized, then powdercoated.

Yes, it's yellow. Looks really good under the rig, gets a lot of attention.

 

[60Works]

Any trouble with the powder coat sticking to the galvanizing, Guy? I'm sure the yellow makes for a great conversation piece. I will probably stay boring and keep it either black or grey.

 

[60Works]

Sliding it under.

Here's the hub dial with new bolts and the lettering painted. The wheels are Mickey Thompson Classic Locks. Sorry for being a poser with the fake bead locks. I like the look and we have so few wheel choices. They clear the tie rod ends and the 4-Runner caliper with room to spare and no need for spacers. Because MT only polishes the aluminum I had the wheels clear coated to try and avoid having to constantly maintain the finish.

 

[gregnash]

I have seen Guy's frame personally first hand at one of our meetings. That thing is AWESOME, while I would have never thought to pick yellow it definitely is an attention getter and looks great under his clean cruiser!

 

[Big Cruiser Guy]

Any trouble with the powder coat sticking to the galvanizing, Guy? I'm sure the yellow makes for a great conversation piece. I will probably stay boring and keep it either black or grey.

View attachment 781374

View attachment 781375

No issues at all. Nice thick coating. Been banged around a bit off-road with no consequences.

I have seen Guy's frame personally first hand at one of our meetings. That thing is AWESOME, while I would have never thought to pick yellow it definitely is an attention getter and looks great under his clean cruiser!

Thanks for the kind words.
Gary (Mudrak) gave me an odd look when I mentioned doing it yellow, but even he admitted it looks good once reassembled.
Since my rig isn't exactly a factory-perfect resto, to say the least, it works well for me.