Here we go! Onto the FJ60 bandwaggon. Dsalni Build. (5 Viewers)

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Mar 3, 2020
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north carolina
What's up guys, after some searching, I was lucky to find a local to me project FJ60. I'll admit that this is more of a project that my current skill set can handle, but with the help of some skilled friends I'm ready to take on the build. The PO was in the process of fixing the PPO's crap SOA job that involved airbags... The truck is definitely in need of everything - mechanical and cosmetic work.

My plan is going to be slightly different than the PO's, when it comes to lockers front and back, and 35's. I do plan on still using Chevy 63" springs in the back, and stock FJ60 rear springs up front, SOA.

Rear axle will be my starting point with this build, since most of the dots have already been connected, so to speak.

Wish me luck!

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got this sweet bonus with the truck!!

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Looks like a great starting point! Make sure all your bolts are “good-n-tight” when you’re all finished.

What size tires will you be going with if not 35’s? (Assuming I read your post correctly.)
 
Looks like a great starting point! Make sure all your bolts are “good-n-tight” when you’re all finished.

What size tires will you be going with if not 35’s? (Assuming I read your post correctly.)

Good question. It looks like the SOA set up that I've inherited will leave me with quite a bit of a lift. I'll just have to see once everything's in place how things look. At this point I'm just doing a ton of research and collecting images of various wheel/tire/ride height options.
 
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So I'm at a fork in the road. Doing lots of digging around regarding SOA set ups, wheel/tire sizes, etc. The ideal look I'm after is something like 60 that was covered in Mike's article - beefy 34" tire with a small wheel gap. I don't plan to rock crawl - just road trips to the beach for the most part. I started visualizing my ideal build - so this is a 2D work in progress as well.
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In other words, the SOA set up that i've inherited is completely unneccessary. I need to figure out what needs to be done with my axles in order to revert back to a SUA set up, considering everything stock has been shaved off of the axle housings.
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My truck originally had the typical 3” SUA Land Cruiser springs. Then i swapped out the rear springs for a brand new set of 63” Chevy 3/4 ton 3 in lift springs (SUA). The main purpose was for more flex rock crawling. In comparison, with the 63’s, the truck sat 1” lower in the back, the ride was much smoother, road handling was sloppier and load carrying capacity reduced. You would think the opposite would occur with a set of 3/4 ton springs, but on a 60 due to where the springs are located, they support more weight than they do on a 3/4 ton truck. If you have your heart set on some 63” springs i would recommend an added sixth leaf or air bags ( I air bagged mine).


If you are going with 33”-34” tires and rear SUA 63”, 3” lift springs are needed. If you SOA’d the front, even with stock springs, the front would sit too high in comparison to the back. With a 3” lift SUA in the front, it would match the back better.

My other 60 that I daily drive has 34” tires with common 3” lift Cruiser springs, SUA. Even though the ride is slightly harsher, I prefer driving it because it’s more stable and handles better.

Since the PO cut off all perches and braketry, it will be more of a challenge to find all the metric/Toyota parts (perches, spring mounts, hdwr, etc) as opposed to after market SAE stuff. The Toyota springs are wider and hardware is beefier. If they left the spring mounts on the frame, it probably won't be overly challenging to go with Cruiser springs.


If you’re not going to run 35” or bigger tires, I’d be inclined to go SUA with Land Cruiser 2-1/2” or 3” lift springs.
 
Thanks so much, FL cruiser. I'm not at all set on going with the 63" Chevy springs, espcially since it looks like they're 1/2 ton, not 3/4. The PO mentioned that he was planning on having a low SOA setup - so maybe that's why he chose the 1/2 ton springs. But even his "low" set up would be a bit much for me.

Does anyone know of any sources for stock sized spring brackets and perches, if I chose to revert back to stock width springs?
 
Does anyone know of any sources for stock sized spring brackets and perches, if I chose to revert back to stock width springs?
Not sure on brackets, but ruffstuff makes perches for a few different axle sizes. I think fj60 is 3.25”

 
Most all the hardware being sold is for 5/8 leaf spring bolts, some 9/16. Land Cruiser bolts are 18mm as are ID's of the bushings. Frame mounts and shackles would need re-drilled to 18mm. Or some steel sleeves would need to be made with 5/8" ID and 18mm OD to take up the slop between the bolts and bushings.

It was years ago when I was in this situation. I was young and poor. The thought of drilling all those big holes and the cost of brand new 18MM bolts was overwhelming. I found some conduit or other random tubing, i forget, and cut it up for bushings. Not the optimal way of doing it. IIRC, I couldn't just find a used set of 18mm bolts. My cruiser had 18mm pins welded to the shackles.
 
My memory is coming back to me. Another time I found aftermarket shackles with 3/4" holes. I made bushings just for the bolt holes on the shackle to take up the slop between the 18mm bolt and larger 3/4" shackle hole. Since the bushings only need to be 1/4" wide or whatever the width of your shackle is , it's easy to to drill out the ID of a small piece of 3/4" OD tubing to fit your bolt. 3/4" OD tubing is easy to find and readily available. I think the shackles are still set up that way on my truck. At the time I didn't weld or fabricate.

Now days I'd buy some 1/4" x 2" steel, make my own shackles and drill whatever size holes that are needed.

At the time I couldn't find any leaf spring bushings that fit cruiser springs that had a different size ID to fit smaller 5/8 bolts or larger 3/4 bolts. It's probably still the same way.

Some ideas for your research. Find out how wide Cruiser springs are. the different widths and hole sizes of aftermarket shackles, perches and brackets, also the availability of 18mm bolts.
Yes Ruffstuff is a great source!! Barnes4WD too.
 
It won’t be the cheapest, but the best result
for your frame brackets would be to just have a yard like Classic Cruisers remove all the brackets from a junk frame and then you can just weld them onto yours, then you can just bolt an OME or whatever on.

As for housings you can use those spring perches, or trade me for a set of un-modded housings I have if you feel like driving down to orlando. :)
 
It won’t be the cheapest, but the best result
for your frame brackets would be to just have a yard like Classic Cruisers remove all the brackets from a junk frame and then you can just weld them onto yours, then you can just bolt an OME or whatever on.

As for housings you can use those spring perches, or trade me for a set of un-modded housings I have if you feel like driving down to orlando. :)
Good idea - shot Classic Cruisers a message.

Spring perch-wise - you think I could cut away the current welded-on SOA perches, and re-weld them to the bottom of the axle housing?
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Good idea - shot Classic Cruisers a message.

Spring perch-wise - you think I could cut away the current welded-on SOA perches, and re-weld them to the bottom of the axle housing?
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No. you do not want to use a spring perch designed for SOA in a SUA application.
They are longer and the spring wont want to curve up around them as easily.

I use Moroso 85090 for SUA perches in my shop.

The front is going to be tricky as it meshes with the diff.

Like I said, open trade offer on a pair of bare housings with all brackets intact…
I would be cutting them off eventually anyways.

Highly recommend a set of +4 U-bolt flip kits since you’ll have to buy U-bolts and plates anyways.
 
No. you do not want to use a spring perch designed for SOA in a SUA application.
They are longer and the spring wont want to curve up around them as easily.

I use Moroso 85090 for SUA perches in my shop.

The front is going to be tricky as it meshes with the diff.

Like I said, open trade offer on a pair of bare housings with all brackets intact…
I would be cutting them off eventually anyways.

Highly recommend a set of +4 U-bolt flip kits since you’ll have to buy U-bolts and plates anyways.
Do you use the Moroso's for both front and rear axles?
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