FULL DISCLOSURE UP FRONT- I take no credit for the ideas that follow; in fact, there's probably not a single original idea in the entire list. All of this was compiled from a whole lot of web wheeling and very little actual wheeling. I've read what has worked well for others, and this is my attempt to see if I can replicate a lot of other folks' very well documented hard work and success stories.
This build really hasn't gotten off the ground yet, but I figured I would start the thread to begin to document things. This is a 1977 FJ that belonged to Bodean's father-in-law. The plan, to borrow a description from another build thread I was reading recently, is to build a moderately capable wheeler with decent road manners. I have no intentions of ever driving this truck across the country, but I would like to be able to cruise around town on the weekends etc.
I've bounced a lot of ideas off many of you, and I'm appreciative of all the feedback I've received to this point. Below I'll outline the plans as they exist today. Quite a bit of this is still up in the air, so please feel free to comment and pick it apart. First, a couple of 'before' pics:
The plans:
Axles
JT
This build really hasn't gotten off the ground yet, but I figured I would start the thread to begin to document things. This is a 1977 FJ that belonged to Bodean's father-in-law. The plan, to borrow a description from another build thread I was reading recently, is to build a moderately capable wheeler with decent road manners. I have no intentions of ever driving this truck across the country, but I would like to be able to cruise around town on the weekends etc.
I've bounced a lot of ideas off many of you, and I'm appreciative of all the feedback I've received to this point. Below I'll outline the plans as they exist today. Quite a bit of this is still up in the air, so please feel free to comment and pick it apart. First, a couple of 'before' pics:
The plans:
Axles
- Front Axle
Suspension- ARB - Done
- 4.88 - Done
- Longfield 30 spline superset - Done
- Longfield chromoly hub gears - Done
- 60 series knuckles w/ Aisin hubs - Done
- ARP hub and knuckle studs - Done
- Full knuckle rebuild (bearings, seals, etc) - Done
- New Aisan lockouts - Done
- New fasteners all around - Done
- Marlin knuckle ball gussets - Done
- ARB - Done
- 4.88 - Done
- Poly Performance chromoly semi-float shafts - Done
- New bearings and seals - Done
- RuffStuff diff cover Done
Spring under (NOTE - I've found that the SUA/SOA debate is a heated one that extends even into our local club. For now, the plan is to go with SUA...comments for or against are welcome, though.)HFS 4" leaf springsHFS 2.5" greasable shackles (NOTE - not sure about these...I don't want too much lift, but I need enough to clear 37's (see tire section below) and be able to utilize a high steer kit (see steering section below)...again, I welcome comments)- Spring over of course (wisdom of crowd dictated) - Done
- Ruff Stuff SOA kit - Done
- FJ-60 rear springs on each corner...flipped around with military wrap spring re-drilled - Done
- Ruff Stuff anti-wrap bar kit - Done
- F-250 shock towers - Done
- I plan to set it all up first, get measurements, and order shocks afterwards....so, TBD on shocks for now...ended up going with Bilstein 5125's (14" front, 11" rear) - Done
Mini truck booster- Mid 90's 4runner booster - Done
- 80 series non-ABS master cylinder - Done
- Can someone school me on line locks? I was going through Todd's build thread again recently and came across the LL section. Is this worth doing since I'll have it all apart and will be re-plumbing brake lines anyway?
- Front Brakes
Steering- New 60 series vented rotors - Done
- Mid 90's 4runner 4 piston calipers - Done
- Rear disc conversion 'kit' from Poser - caliper brackets, banjo bolts, rotors, hoses, tombstone brackets, etc - Done
- Mid 80's monte carlo calipers - Done
- Some flavor of proportioning valve - Done
- Saginaw PS conversion (NOTE - I don't have plans to install ram assist initially, but I've been toying with the idea of trying to source a ported box so I don't have to take it off and ship it out in the future if I decide to go that route. Pursue that or just cross that bridge when I get there...if ever?) - Ended up using 4x4labs frame mount kit - Done
- 4x4labs 6 stud 'frombe steer' steering kit with 80 series TRE's - Ended up with GM 1 ton TRE's - Done
- Pump, pump bracket, pulley, cooler, hoses, etc from Georg - Done
- AFI full kit with distributor - Done
- Downey air cleaner, adapter plate, throttle cable, etc - Done
DUI- New battery - Done
- New RuffStuff battery tray - Done
- New water pump - Done
- New thermostat - Done
- New rear main seal - Done
- New oil pan gasket - Done
- New plugs and wires - Done
- Radiator refurbished - Done
- General cleaning and painting all around - Done
- and who knows what else...this is a 'fingers crossed' area right now
- Orion - Done
- H41...maybe (NOTE - I'd really like to follow Lash's lead here and get an H41 mated to the Orion for the additional lower gearing. I still owe Georg a call to discuss some of this but certainly welcome comments/suggestions.) - Ended up going this route...rebuilt H41 mated to Orion, both from Georg - Done
- New clutch - Done
- New cluter master and slave cylinders - Done
- Flywheel resurfaced - Done
- Metal Tech family cage - Done
- Metal Tech nose guard
- Metal Tech stinger (I understand this and the nose guard are CLC requirements)
- Iron Pig skid plate
4plus u-bolt flip kits front and rear- HFS 8274 front bumper - Done
- 37" KM2's courtesy of some horse trading with Mr. Grogan and Mr. Tolleson (thanks guys!) - Done
- Wheels - who knows...the plainer the better. Personally I really like the stock wheels that had hub caps, but I can't find something comparable in 16x8 (have looked at the Wheel Vintiques 12 Series Smoothie Wheels). I'll probably end up with something pretty basic. (NOTE - comments on ideal total backspacing would be great. If I understand things correctly, the stock BS was around 3.5" and, with disc brakes all around, something in the neighborhood of 3" - 3.25" is ideal. For a little bit wider stance, I'm currently shooting for a total of 2.5" (either wheels with 2.5" of BS or wheels with 4" of BS combined with 1.5" spacers)...thoughts?) - Ended up with basic black, 16", D window, steel wheels from Summit with 2.5" of BS - Done
- Probably new wheel studs and lug nuts all around - Done
- Tuffy console - Done
- Stereo of some sort
- ARB high output compressor (free now with the purchase of 2 lockers...well the marketing folks say it's free anyway) - Done
- Seats...front buckets and a rear bench...TBD...ended up going with PRP Daily Driver seats - Done
- Some sort of swing out rear tire carrier
- An 8274...I spent a whole lot of time reading several 8274 rebuild threads, so I'm on the lookout for a cheap one to try to bring back to life - Done
JT
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what kind of shape is the body in? No rust? Does it run yet? Your list is spot on, this is going to be a awesome build. 
