Builds Just another 79 build..... (2 Viewers)

[c2dfj45]

Still playing with springs and mulling over tire sizing....and wheel sizes. 33s are looking really small. Thinking 35s now....which...seem to do really well on HDJ81s...which this thing has kind of become. I want to do 17s....so that means new wheels. Love the steelies....so I think 17x7.5 FJ Cruiser wheels will fit the bill. Of course the $100 set of 4 is never around on Craigslist when you need them. Ha.

Went with a 4" rear spring and kept the 30mm spacer on the rear and we are still about an inch short. I did not run the airbags on these springs....first thing we will do is put them in to see if we can bump it up a little. I don't mind the airbags. We may just end up dropping the front spring down from a 4" to a 3" coil.....might be easiest. The issue with that is.....once we add the winch/bar/battery, it will come down....so it might be just perfect. Like the #2 truck. But that might be a few months out.....need to address other projects.

#1 meet #2....not quite on level ground....rear of #1 is on the concrete..about an inch higher than the rocks.

Level ground. 33s look like 29s. I remember when 33s seemed HUGE. I kind of have a feeling these wheels and tires may go on the Troopy at some point.

 

[Gun Runner 5]

So the 33’s or the new 29’s. Darn, I just bought them.

 

[c2dfj45]

So the 33’s or the new 29’s. Darn, I just bought them.

Well I ordered up a set of 35s so we'll see how that works out

Spent this week working on customer work but had a chance and was able to build an exhaust for the truck. More like just a section of exhaust. Really happy with it. It's quiet and I think it flows really well....3" all the way from turbo back. Aeroturbine 3030XL muffler. We had a small resonator from the old truck that we left on....even left the old cat on but gutted it out. At some point I'll take that portion out but not overly worried about it.

Old Cadillac Escalade ESV muffler.....only way I could get that 1FZ to be quiet. HUGE muffler. I hated the way that 1FZ sounded.

Our little baby resonator....this crosses over the top of the transfer case

Muffler section

We have been trying to build the exhausts to use the OEM Toyota rubber mounts for support. I really like them sitting on the rubber mounts vs being suspended from them. This exhaust however has a couple of both

Aeroturbine muffler needed a mount to be welded on.

 

[c2dfj45]

Topside of the mount

Maybe one day we'll get this thing thermal coated but I doubt it.....maybe coated with dirt. REALLY challenging to route the exhaust thru the rear coil sprung suspension....with the new lift it was a little easier....more room.

 

[c2dfj45]

With the exhaust on, I spent the rest of the week doing short test drives....playing with the fueling. Pretty happy where we are. 14.3 pounds of boost, 1000-1100 EGT really putting my foot in it. Truck feels really good....smoke is a bit of a haze under acceleration. Still have the smoke puff when I really romp on it at idle(maybe up to 2200 or so RPM). Maybe that's OK? Not sure. Sure drives nice. I really like the automatic. Shifts firm, shifts at the right speeds....feels great. Going to be good for road work and I think offroad it will be a beast.

Also playing with shock settings. The Dobinsons MRAs are SUPER nice....but they certainly need some setup. So far it seems like max high speed and low speed compression settings with minimal rebound feels best on the road for this truck and the springs it has in it. A bit like a boat when they are lower. Off road the lower settings will be great.

Settings for the high and low speed on the reservoirs.

Rebound on base of shock....under the boot which is why it's not secured just yet.

 

[2fpower]

Big day today....obviously got the truck running. Couple small issues but nothing major. The 1FZ tach doesn't work with the 1HDT so this mess was immediately created......and most likely resolved.
View attachment 2419174

This is pretty interesting....to get the tach to work, the guts of the 1FZ tach were put in a 24v 70 housing with the 70 face. I vaguely remember when this was all done a back in the teens . It's pretty ingenious how the guy did it. Definitely homebuilt. But it worked.

View attachment 2419173

I have always tried when I buy a motor to get 2 things....the harness from the truck and the gauge cluster. Always. Good reason for it too. We were able to scavenge the guts from the HDJ81s tach and swap out for the 1FZ. Fit the same for the most part. Really different.....HDJ81 on left, 1FZ on right
View attachment 2419176View attachment 2419180

any idea what 1FZ year/ model that came out of? I thought you had pulled it from my 80 series rig but they look substantially different. Pretty sure that 1fz gauge is what I am needing.

 

[c2dfj45]

any idea what 1FZ year/ model that came out of? I thought you had pulled it from my 80 series rig but they look substantially different. Pretty sure that 1fz gauge is what I am needing.

My donor truck was a 96 FZJ80.

 

[c2dfj45]

Not a whole lot happening on Numero Uno.....shop is back to being busy so customer stuff needs to get done. There really isn't too much more to do on it other than log some miles.

I found a single FJ Cruiser wheel for test fitting. My wheel and tire guy is talking me into running some Hercules Terra Trac T/G tires......I value his opinion BUT he's a Jeep guy. I feel special though that he was able to take away time from dreaming about which Jeep Honor Badges he was going to try for and recommend some tires If you don't know what a Jeep Honor Badge is, it's quite entertaining.

17x7.5 FJ is the FJ Cruiser wheel size...running with a 315/70/17 Hercules tire so a 35x12.50. It's a nice tire. E ply. Kind of wanted a C or D but E might have to do. Tomorrow we are going to mount up a 285/75/17.....that is about a 34.2" if I remember correctly. It's a C ply. Looks a bit narrower....looks really good. It's the right size but I like the 315s. We'll have to see how the 315 fits out back...it's a bit of a challenge on these 80 axles that are under the narrow 79 rear bed.....tires really poke out...even with flares.

Good looking tire. Reasonably priced too.

Good on the front

I heard a "FINALLY....some REAL tires on the truck vs your off road space savers". Ouch. Also heard from the aforementioned Jeep nerd, "Wow....welcome to the big leagues". So I'm guessing they like the 35s. They do look good.

 

[TonyP]

Those 17 inch steels look pretty good. I was curious if a 17 would look too big, guess not.
Good to know for when I pick a wheel to fit in the fenders.

 

[c2dfj45]

Those 17 inch steels look pretty good. I was curious if a 17 would look too big, guess not.
Good to know for when I pick a wheel to fit in the fenders.

I was apprehensive at first but not any longer......I'm really digging the 17" steel wheels. Lots of tires to choose from too. Seems to be a very popular size right now.

 

[c2dfj45]

Swapped the 35 to the rear this AM.....looks pretty good.

Pokes out more than I am used to on this truck but maybe I need to expand my horizons...

 

[c2dfj45]

Played with the powdercoating setup today....50% was good...50% not so good. Trying different powders to see which one works best for us.

Our extremely hi-tech side draft spray booth.....it used to be a Fuel Safe tank for a Shelby Cobra It is half assed at best. It was not working very well today at all...

The best of the parts we did today.

 

[c2dfj45]

Modified the seat mount bracket today.....same thing as the #2 truck. The front mounts get cut off and moved about an inch forward.....the rears bolt right in that way.

#2 truck's bracket....this is how far they're out. I believe these brackets are for a 75 series truck.

Front tabs cut off, moved, welded, painted.

Fits just right....just needs a seat to go on it. Tomorrow that happens. We used some black texture spray paint to blend in the areas we had to grind for welding and the top side areas that got burnt off during the welding. Hard to tell it was even modded.

 

[c2dfj45]

Got the seat in....learned something interesting today. On #2, I ordered a LEFT side Planted seat bracket. The Scheelmann supplied seat tracks fit right on. Ordered the same one for this truck, the Scheelmann supplied seat tracks did not fit right on. I was discussing with my tech who has Scheelmanns in his F250.....when he bought his planted brackets, they came 2 different ways...for Recaro....or for everything else. So I'm guessing that Planted has 2 tops for their brackets...one for the Recaro(I want to say they were about 1/4" off) and one for other seats tracks. I must have got the Recaro one. We popped a couple of new holes in it and all was good. Kind of a head scratcher though.

Number 1's bracket....seat fit right in.

Not off by much but just enough to be a real pain. Way easier when they drop in.

 

[c2dfj45]

These seats are really something special. Completely transforms the truck and its driving experience.

We were at a big Ferrari event several years back and there were a few cars with different color seats...it was odd looking but it must have seared its way into my brain because I'm kind of digging the 2 different color seats. Cool.

 

[c2dfj45]

Today was also tire day.....I 'think' I settled on tires. Ended up having to buy 3 FJ Cruiser wheels from Toyota. Ouch. Had a lead on 4 but they turned out to be Made In China. No thanks on that. So 3 new, one used.....still need one.

315/70/17s vs the 285/75/17s(on the left)

315s

285s

315s on the passenger side, 285s on the drivers side

 

[TonyP]

Any rubbing at full lock with the 315?
Both look good to me, but obviously the 315s look better

 

[c2dfj45]

The winner is the 285.....mainly because it fits the rear better and it's rated for a 7.5" rim....the 315 specs an 8 and up.

315s sure look good but the rears are a little too big....

 

[c2dfj45]

Finished up a 4" lift on a Raptor with 37s.....SO WIDE. Massive truck...makes the 79 look like a toy. I'll take the 79 every day all day.

 

[c2dfj45]

Any rubbing at full lock with the 315?
Both look good to me, but obviously the 315s look better

Didn't feel any rubbing....I'll check it out closer tomorrow when I move it in the AM. I think it will be OK. Not sure how it will do in the rear under compression....might rub. That rear axle pokes out just a tad too much. Kind of why I liked the skinny wheels and tires BUT....these do look good. And yeah...the 35s are better