As the title indicates, I'm new here. Traded an 85 Ranger 4x4 to a friend for his 86 fj60. First Cruiser I've owned, but I'm pleased with what I've got. "George" is his name, and he's kind of a lumbering beast. I've got some vague plans to get him into shape for my needs... my wife and I are going to be new parents in late April, and we've recently acquired supervision of her sister's 11 year old daughter. Long story about her niece, but she was one of the reasons we recently moved from western WA to Missoula, MT. Poor kid needs some stability in her world... so we needed a bigger rig.
The ranger was tolerable (for a POS)... I paid $500 for it with a bad tranny, then put about another 1k into it (used 5-speed and various swap-over parts, new hoses, belts, fluids, etc). I traded it straight across for the cruiser. A friend needed a pickup for his business and the 60 was an "extra" rig that he didn't use. He does have an 80, so he's not giving up on the FJ family of rigs.
As I said before, george is a bit of a lumbering beast, and needs some attention. He's got a little rust at his left rear wheel arch that will likely be addressed by judicious use of a sawzall/cutoff wheel/shears and covered with flares of some form. (I know MAF sells them, but 5 bones seems a little steep for $50 or so bucks worth of plastic. Any other good sources of decent looking flares?)
His suspension is getting pretty tired, with about 192K on the clock, so I'll probably tackle that and the steering at the same time. I'm kinda thinking OME's, with a mid/heavy spring rate, shocks, bushings, etc, new tie-rod ends, drag link, and anything else worn in the front end. He came with a parts rig (sort of), with a fresh short block, new rear drive-line, and miscellaneous parts. I may rebuild a component at a time (front axle, rear axle, transfer case) and I'll probably look into a 5-speed at some point in time.
I think I'll stick with the I-6, they are one of the smoother engine designs, but I'm not sure exactly what I want to do with it, induction-wise. I'm a little surprised there aren't more intake manifolds built for the 2F, as I've not found any mention of anything other than OEM. A turbo would be cool, or maybe a paxton-style supercharger. I like forced induction as it's not as susceptible to losses at altitude, but this is something likely a ways down the road.
His interior is in pretty good shape, but I'll likely make some simple mods. I've got some ideas, but they're hard to explain. Pictures will be much easier, so I'll post them when I get done with them.
I've rambled enough,
Eric aka Gumbydood
The ranger was tolerable (for a POS)... I paid $500 for it with a bad tranny, then put about another 1k into it (used 5-speed and various swap-over parts, new hoses, belts, fluids, etc). I traded it straight across for the cruiser. A friend needed a pickup for his business and the 60 was an "extra" rig that he didn't use. He does have an 80, so he's not giving up on the FJ family of rigs.
As I said before, george is a bit of a lumbering beast, and needs some attention. He's got a little rust at his left rear wheel arch that will likely be addressed by judicious use of a sawzall/cutoff wheel/shears and covered with flares of some form. (I know MAF sells them, but 5 bones seems a little steep for $50 or so bucks worth of plastic. Any other good sources of decent looking flares?)
His suspension is getting pretty tired, with about 192K on the clock, so I'll probably tackle that and the steering at the same time. I'm kinda thinking OME's, with a mid/heavy spring rate, shocks, bushings, etc, new tie-rod ends, drag link, and anything else worn in the front end. He came with a parts rig (sort of), with a fresh short block, new rear drive-line, and miscellaneous parts. I may rebuild a component at a time (front axle, rear axle, transfer case) and I'll probably look into a 5-speed at some point in time.
I think I'll stick with the I-6, they are one of the smoother engine designs, but I'm not sure exactly what I want to do with it, induction-wise. I'm a little surprised there aren't more intake manifolds built for the 2F, as I've not found any mention of anything other than OEM. A turbo would be cool, or maybe a paxton-style supercharger. I like forced induction as it's not as susceptible to losses at altitude, but this is something likely a ways down the road.
His interior is in pretty good shape, but I'll likely make some simple mods. I've got some ideas, but they're hard to explain. Pictures will be much easier, so I'll post them when I get done with them.
I've rambled enough,
Eric aka Gumbydood
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