Happy New BJ74 owner

[ducatiman81211]

Wanted to say Hi; Bought/Buying a sweet BJ74 with 13bt, locked and loaded! 60,000 original miles.
Now Selling my 1988 FJ62 expedition truck and now building up the 74 with; Spring over axle lift, and 4.56 gears?, repaint same gray color and repaint roof, bigger exhuast size?, gauges for pyro, and boost. Snorkel,pre-cleaner, hot water shower, compressor, BFG Mud 35's, Bull bar, swing away rear bumper, sliders, and building trailer to pull/sleep.

Need advice help; on the 24/12 volt converter;it's not hooked up and looks like wires were cut, I need to know how to check if it's working/works< as stereo, cigarette lighter needs to work soon...may be shot?

Also, any tips for tuning, and gearing if you've run 35's with yours? SOA? Has OME heavy/medium now... want more...Going shackle reversal also, and going with wheel flares.
Running different blends of diesel, wvo, kerosene, and LOVE IT!

Thanks, this truck is so frickin' cool! I will not go back to gas, and also going for a troopy soon too! Addicted to 70's!

 

[Clint79]

Nice plans mate sound like its going to be good fun
can we get sum more pics

 

[Gib009]

Sounds like you have got your plans sorted pretty well already. 4.56 according to my gear calculator will bring the gears back to stock with 35s... just slightly higher but you wont notice. 35s on stock gearing isnt too bad, its great on the road but at times you need lower gearing on the tracks. I am used to the gearing now and at times prefer it offroad. Low range second is still as beastly as it was before except your not running out of puff so soon. For the wheeling i do- rocks/mud/beach it works quite nicely.

Do your research on SOA here is a good list of what is involved
IH8MUD.com SOA Technical Section

Doing a SOA just to fit 35s seems a bit pointless to me. Considering you can fit them on your current setup with just moving the diff forward a bit. More lift will look great up untill you roll it on something that you could have easily done before.

I have found a 3inch straight through works well with my 13BT, boost and pyro gauges are a good idea.

Easiest thing i did when i was doing my convertor was to just rip the whole thing out and start again. You will know what wires are good and wont be relying on someone elses dodgy wiring for it to work.

 

[lshobie]

Check lowenbrau's build on his BJ74, he did a spring over and built a very capable truck.

 

[ducatiman81211]

Thanks for the help!

I will look @ doing the shackle reversal, move axle 1.5 inches forward and 35"s. Do not want top heavy truck!

 

[Radd Cruisers]

SOA does not make the unit that much more top heavy, and that's easily countered by better articulation... I have done lots of SOAs and in most cases the truck has driven better and been more stable off-road rather than less stable.

I would not do a shackle reversal. Total waste of time...

24-12V converters - there are lots of different kinds available, you really need to know what your loads and usage is going to be before you invest in one.

~John

 

[Devils Paw 80]

Where ya going that OME, 33's, lockers and BJ power can't take you? X2 on more photos please.

 

[Eric Winkworth]

SOA does not make the unit that much more top heavy, and that's easily countered by better articulation... I have done lots of SOAs and in most cases the truck has driven better and been more stable off-road rather than less stable.

I would not do a shackle reversal. Total waste of time...

24-12V converters - there are lots of different kinds available, you really need to know what your loads and usage is going to be before you invest in one.

~John

so why exactly were these trucks ever engineered to have the springs under the axle?

is this true?
More control with SUA.
More expensive to lift SUA.
More chance of axle wrap with SOA.?

 

[Puerto Rico 4x4]

Are you in the continental US ? How did you manage the importation of the 74 ?

 

[ducatiman81211]

Thanks

Here's a few pictures. I appreciate the help, advice!

 

[Dieseler]

x2 on importing a 1987 into the US its only 22 going on 23 years must be 25 or older????

 

[Radd Cruisers]

so why exactly were these trucks ever engineered to have the springs under the axle?

is this true?
More control with SUA.
More expensive to lift SUA.
More chance of axle wrap with SOA.?

1. I have no idea why Toyota engineered some of its truck SOA and some SUA... that's up to them. I own and drive both SUA and SOA, have done many, many spring overs... I prefer an SOA truck for off-roading, there is really no comparison in most types of terrain as long as the lift is conservative (keep the C of G as low as possible for cresting objects etc.).

There are certain engineering principles behind it, I'm sure, but if you want a vehicle that has optimum off-road prowess, then SOA is considerably better than SUA if you do it right.

2. More control with SUA? No, I don't agree... but "more control" can mean many things.

3. Lifting SOA is not an inexpensive venture - if you are doing it right. It also is not something that most people can accomplish in one weekend. There's a lot to do, especially with cutting and turning the front end (and the associated rebuild that comes with that).

4. SOA and axle wrap - depends on what you're meaning is. There is certainly more torque on the spring, but it is all manageable. Driving style has a lot to do with whether wrap is going to be a problem or not. There are many different methods of keeping spring wrap at reasonable levels, some work well and others not so well. Certainly some of the best articulating SOA trucks use very tired springs to begin with, and that has something to do with wrap and related pinion breakage (in hard use with large tires).

~John

 

[BeratE]

Thanks for the photos! I see that you were trailering something, how'd that go? I am really curious how much that extra 10 inches does for you in trailerability. Just barely enough wheel base to feel under control, or still not quite enough?

 

[boogie74]

Hello!!!

I regularly tow with my 74. The 6x4 trailer, 12ft tinnie and boot loaded
with camping gear and my 15ft half cab boat with a days fishing equipment.
All those trailerables pose no problem for the 74. The tinnie on a day trip feels
like there is nothing hooked up behind the cruiser.

The only time my cruiser struggled was when I helped my ex tow
her Hilux on a tandem car trailer. The BJ struggled to get up to 90k's
an hour on that trip. As I was driving I was worried I was F@#k'n my
rig but it made the 150km trip no worries.

Wish I had the pyro on my cruiser that day

These are tough vehicles. I think the general rule is that you shouldn't tow
something that is too much longer than the tow vehicle.

Someone might be able to clarify towing lengths and weights?

 

[BeratE]

I appreciate the feedback. Every story I hear about these little 4 cylinder engines makes me appreciate them more. Can't wait to join the BJ74 club!

 

[ducatiman81211]

Thanks for the interest. I and the truck are now temporarily here only, in the USA getting a makeover with some over-landing mods done @ Proffitt's Cruisers; They have built up an awesome FJ62 for my travels in the past, and so they only work on my trucks now. Truck keeps non usa plates on it and leaves after a "visit" here. Thanks again for interest.

 

[boogie74]

Hi Mike,

I just visited your website. You have been to some awesome
places. Good luck on the up coming trip and keep us all posted
on your adventures.

Cheers mate.

 

[jayrunner]

Very cool website good luck on your travels.

 

[benniebez]

I will not go for the soa if you want to do much offroad work, as the LC will be much more TOP HEAVY on side inlines. I went the shackle reversal route , with quite a lot of experimenting to get the Death Wobble out of the rig. All came mostly towards the castor. I love the SR, will only go SOA when realy doing a extreme rig, but then the wheels must be moved outwards to make the LC wider.

With 33" it runs quite nice and there is a couple of mods to improve the power. I also moved the diff fwd. by using the secondary wholes for the centre pin, on the base plate of the spring/shock absorber. Going to 35" you will have to regear ( 4.88 IMHO) and probably a 2" body lift or a 4" suspension lift.

Mine is running on the original springs with xtended shackles, ± 100mm/4".

 

[benniebez]

Exit before rear wheel, no boxes. Beautifull sound and responsive.