Iron Pig Off Road FJ55 Project (2 Viewers)

[IPOR]

I'm getting psyched for the upcoming wheeling season. Got a trip to Paragon in a couple weeks with the BBRC club and need to get my wheeling truck back on the road. (It has been sitting since GSMTR last year.)

Thought I'd share some pics of the project as it unfolds. Now, bear with me here, I know I'm on the 40/55 forum and some of these pics might look out of place until later in the build.

Here's how the project got started: Bone stock, clean FJ60 with bad motor.

 

[IPOR]

So we replace the motor, perform a SOA conversion and throw in a few parts...

38x14.5 TSL-SX, set of 5
Warn 8274 winch
ARB bull bar
Iron Pig Rear Bumper with Tire Carrier
Iron Pig Rock Sliders
4.88 gears
Lock Right lockers front and rear
Procar Seats
Tuffy Console
4x4 Labs Hysteer
New knuckle & wheel bearings/seals
Newfield high strength Birfields
1.5" wheel spacers (set of 4)
Stainless Steel extended brake lines
Cobra 29 NW LTD CB radio (peak tuned)
Iron Pig Anti-wrap bar
Front axle cut/turned for SOA
Tom Woods Driveshafts front and rear - 1310 CV's with long travel splines

Lance
www.ironpigoffroad.com

 

[IPOR]

Now that rig was pretty beastly, but I broke some glass down in Tellico last year and decided that I didn't want that to happen any more. I also caught some heat from people who saw the 60 with company name on the side and thought I was simply confused over the whole "Iron Pig" thing. (We're a Toyota 4x4 specialty shop, not just an FJ55 shop) So I did a little body work.

Lance
www.ironpigoffroad.com

(no more glass = no more broken glass)

 

[IPOR]

Those who know me would say I'm a bit of an FJ55 nut. (as if the business name www.ironpigoffroad.com doesn't give that away...)

Between that and just getting tired of the battery of "hey, you know that's not a pig, right?" comments I had to do something. So I called up my buddy BK out in Harrisonburg and told him I needed a 55 clip. Not only did I get the clip, but the 55 title, and BK's VA tags: IRON PIG.

Thanks for the hook up Brian, this is what the 55 looks like now!


Lance
www.ironpigoffroad.com

 

[IPOR]

Couple more pics for you...

I know it breaks from traditional cage building not to just throw some u-hoops in with some cross bracing, but everyone seems to have a buggy like that these days, and it just didn't have enough character for me. I wanted to build an FJ55.

You should be able to see from these pics that I bent the main tubes to follow the original body lines of the FJ55 - the a-pillar slopes up,back and in like the original windshield frame, then runs parallel to the body. (that was not an easy bend to calculate due to the 3 dimensional aspect of the bend!) Even the rear "hoop" is a 3-D bend, up - forward and in.

Other than being about 2' shorter, it should look more or less like a pig, as if someone peeled the sheetmetal off and this is the skeleton underneath.

The cage is not finished, of course. There will be cross bracing and occupant safety rails installed... haven't gotten there yet.

Lance
www.ironpigoffroad.com

 

[offrd63]

lookin good

aw

 

[bkfj40]

that's lookin' sweet....I'm glad the clip worked out for ya - clip came off a parts pig from Chuck - Yotahilux.

I can't wait to see it in action

bk

 

[Kaderabek]

What Lance fails to mention here is the degree of difficulty involved in this project due to sub-zero, meat locker like working conditions in his shop.

Looks cool, my friend. Lots of progress since we were there.

We're off to Texas this afternoon to test Pete's front axle.

TJK

 

[tucker74]

Looking good Lance - love the pig clip! Thanks again on the PS brackets, setup is working great -

Tucker

 

[FJ40Jim]

New math:
FJ60 + FJ55 = FJ65!

 

[fj55-100]

Dude that fully rocks , another pig on the road .
Evan

 

[scottryana]

Lance,

That looks pretty sweet! I like how you kept the body lines of the 55, even though it is caged. It is good to see your project rolled out and being worked on... now for that 80 series you have sitting in the back I will be down Wednesday to fix those wheels, and hopefully I will have the A/C parts for my project.

Maybe I can get a ride in the FJ57.5 while I am waiting to finish my project.

Ryan.

 

[dieselcruiserhead]

wow

 

[Clutchee]

Great work Lance!


You never quit amazing the cruiser audience....looking forward to seeing you at GSMTR!

 

[pappy]

New math:
FJ60 + FJ55 = FJ65!

Shouldn't that be (FJ60+FJ55)/2 = FJ57.5?

 

[Gundy]

Evil genius at work! For some reason I'm not surprized.
Nice work. I'll save some nectarine exilar for you at GSMTR.
See you there old friend. Brother Barry would be proud.

 

[IPOR]

Got the rear bumper and fuel tank in today. I'm running the stock 60 tank, which I moved forward about 6" or so. Had to fab a new mounting system. It's a tight fit, which made it tough to do, but if it works out as planned it will be worth the effort.

Tomorrow I need to get the radiator in and clean up the front clip. I still need to do the exhaust, power steering pump, skid plate and new anti-wrap bar.

I should have more pics for you tomorrow. Gotta go home and take care of the kids (then do the work that I should have been doing at the office today...).

Lance
www.ironpigoffroad.com

 

[James w]

wow thats sweet.

Book marked

 

[IPOR]

OK, sorry for the delayed picture posting... got distracted with real work for a couple days...

Here are some pics of the gas tank. It's completely above the framerail, and the mounting system is also part of the rear "bumper"/skid plate.

Lance
www.ironpigoffroad.com

 

[IPOR]

One more...

Lance
www.ironpigoffroad.com