So the past year has interesting. Looking back at how one life event sets the motion of change in your every day life. Long story short.
Life at the shop..... (1 Viewer)
- Thread starter Manitou Decline
- Start date
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- #2
Well a year ago I rolled my FJ60. Normally this is an upsetting event in life, but even on that day I was all smiles. Maybe the forces of life intervened with my emotions to show me that this was a good thing. Looking back now, rolling my 60 was what I needed in life. After a few a months of fighting with insurance and I was finally ready to accept their offer. I knew I was going to fix the 60, I loved it too much. So I got the money and called up Zac. I met Zac one night walking to the bar and he was standing outside with his 60. I talked with him bit, he was an alright guy. I knew Zac sold 60 parts so I asked him if he had a 60 tub. He just picked up a 62 in AZ, a real gem of a barn find. A Truly rust free all around, He was actually planning on flipping it. After telling him my situation, he decided that we would strip it instead. I know the Cruiser Gods hated for doing this. Well work began (my restoration project thread covers this part of the story). Almost a year went by of us working in the shop together. We became great friends. Now I can say I actually work at the shop officially. Well this is where this thread begins......
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- #3
So the shop is Nomad Cruisers @Nomadcruisers44. Our backgrounds: I have been a diesel tech for the last 15 yrs. I work on everything from forklifts up to 50k lbs container movers. I don't enjoy my full time because I never get to turn wrenches anymore. After I leave work I go to the shop and get my Zen filled wrench time. Zac, he got raised in an upholstery shop.... literally. I am sure his dad violated (and still does with grand daughter) child labor laws. Think of his business like the upholstery shop version of Bob's Burgers only with 5 kids. Zac stepped away from his dad's shop to start his own business doing mainly Land Cruisers upholstery, small repairs, and some body work . That's the quick version of the backgrounds.
So I will be posting up things going on at the shop. Between projects (got a 1UZ 60 swap coming up), customer car care, people of the MUD community stopping in, and the shenanigans. Yes shenanigans are needed keep the moods high and light spirited. We always taking a break from work to talk with ( I don't want to use the term customers because we consider all these people friends but they give us money to do what we love) so Friends with benefits.
So I will be posting up things going on at the shop. Between projects (got a 1UZ 60 swap coming up), customer car care, people of the MUD community stopping in, and the shenanigans. Yes shenanigans are needed keep the moods high and light spirited. We always taking a break from work to talk with ( I don't want to use the term customers because we consider all these people friends but they give us money to do what we love) so Friends with benefits.
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- #4
Currently in the shop we have an FJ60 that I am working on. This cruiser was an anniversary gift to her husband. Since they got it a couple years back, they haven't been able to truly enjoy it. They haven't gotten to KNOW that feeling we all get in our Cruisers (especially the 60 drivers because we know they are the sexy ones). Well she has took this cruiser to 5 different shops and no one has been able to get it to run right. It has a rough low idle and a rough top idle. Between 1000-2500 rpms is runs like a dream. One shop even tossed a new carb on. I told her to bring it to the shop. We looked over and drew up a quote. Told her what needed to be addressed now and what we could later on in time. She asked 3 things of us.... make it run right, fix all the leaks (one shop told her nothing was leaking), and make the brakes work again. She asked that we keep it under $5k. DONE.
First... our personal favorite job. We are weird and love doing knuckles.
Well this project has already been started and finished. So here is some knuckle porn for you.
Set that bearing preload and getting measurements for new shims. I know "Just put the old one back how you took the off". Well this is acceptable, sometimes. If you know for a fact that they are still the ones installed at the factory, acceptable. But most of you that say use the old ones can't honestly know that unless you are still the 1 owner. Plus on this vehicle, the washer that sits between the bearing and inner wheel nut had worn grooves on the nut and bearing sides. A true sign that a dumbass was in there before and I can't trust them or the shims.
And that sweet sweet air tight packing sound of grease when you load the axle back in.
First... our personal favorite job. We are weird and love doing knuckles.
Well this project has already been started and finished. So here is some knuckle porn for you.
Set that bearing preload and getting measurements for new shims. I know "Just put the old one back how you took the off". Well this is acceptable, sometimes. If you know for a fact that they are still the ones installed at the factory, acceptable. But most of you that say use the old ones can't honestly know that unless you are still the 1 owner. Plus on this vehicle, the washer that sits between the bearing and inner wheel nut had worn grooves on the nut and bearing sides. A true sign that a dumbass was in there before and I can't trust them or the shims.
And that sweet sweet air tight packing sound of grease when you load the axle back in.
- Thread starter
- #5
And to finish you off.....
Ok now go smoke a cigarette, get some Gatorade, a sandwich, and come back for more....
Ok now go smoke a cigarette, get some Gatorade, a sandwich, and come back for more....
- Thread starter
- #6
A quick editor's note/ shout out.... @Beastiethe70 Maggie.... this could have been us, but you never called me. 
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- #7
Since braking was one of the customer's concerns. I did replace the brake pads and rotors with the knuckle job. I have to order the steel braided lines to replace those crappy rubber ones.
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- #8
The next leak addressed....
Back of the oil pan. Now at first I thought it was the rear main. I drop the flywheel inspection cover. Cleaned it all up and after a day of sitting, the gasket was wet again but the flywheel was still dry on the engine side. Got a new gasket from the dealership. Drained the oil the night before so it had 24 hrs to drip it all the oil out. Cleaned up the bottom of the block.
Torqued all the bolts to 7 ft lbs. Decided to let the rvt sit overnight with everything torqued. I used RVT on the block side. There was a few gashes or imperfections I didn't care much for. None were where the leaking was from. So more of a safety net precaution.
Back of the oil pan. Now at first I thought it was the rear main. I drop the flywheel inspection cover. Cleaned it all up and after a day of sitting, the gasket was wet again but the flywheel was still dry on the engine side. Got a new gasket from the dealership. Drained the oil the night before so it had 24 hrs to drip it all the oil out. Cleaned up the bottom of the block.
Torqued all the bolts to 7 ft lbs. Decided to let the rvt sit overnight with everything torqued. I used RVT on the block side. There was a few gashes or imperfections I didn't care much for. None were where the leaking was from. So more of a safety net precaution.
Keep us posted if you hear back from Maggie.
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- #10
Yeah she asked me to come and watch her do her knuckles. Be her quality assurance person. I will just assume that she lost the business card in all of her camping she had packed in that 70
Do you know how many women have lured me over just to do their knuckles ?? I’m glad I’m not the only one this has happened to.
Now I won’t do a knuckle job until like the 5th date. I finally learned my lesson.
- Thread starter
- #12
So currently the brown 60 is still on the lift. Waiting for insulator on the fuel pump to come in. Also waiting for a rebuild kit for the transfercase.
Also in the shop an LS 6.0 swapped 60, "Crush" is its name. A shop down the street did the swap. Now if you use the A/C, it blows the fuse to the electronic fans and causes it to overheat. The owner brought it to us to figure out what is going on. Our shop has done a lot of work for him so he trusts us to get it right.
Lastly the project that Zac has been working on. Not a Cruiser, but it is a dope little project that a customer built himself. He got a Defender body and put it on a Mazda Miata drive train. Those cars are unibody, so he had to custom make build a frame around the drive train. He is having Zac do all the interior for it. It's interesting for sure.
Also in the shop an LS 6.0 swapped 60, "Crush" is its name. A shop down the street did the swap. Now if you use the A/C, it blows the fuse to the electronic fans and causes it to overheat. The owner brought it to us to figure out what is going on. Our shop has done a lot of work for him so he trusts us to get it right.
Lastly the project that Zac has been working on. Not a Cruiser, but it is a dope little project that a customer built himself. He got a Defender body and put it on a Mazda Miata drive train. Those cars are unibody, so he had to custom make build a frame around the drive train. He is having Zac do all the interior for it. It's interesting for sure.
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- #13
Ok so an update on what's going on in the shop. Crush the orange 60 is back in for the body to get the cancer out. Bobby (the owner) always gets mad with the 60 then wants to sell it. Well after we got the cooling in the LS taken care of, he is finally keeping it and letting us finally repair the body. It was really the only left on it. We've done the interior for him....
We took care of the LS overheating issue
We put the Manefre HD 4" lift on it. My personal favorite lift to do with the reverse hangers.
Now is just all body attention.
We took care of the LS overheating issue
We put the Manefre HD 4" lift on it. My personal favorite lift to do with the reverse hangers.
Now is just all body attention.
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- #14
So the usual spots need attention
The A pillars had some bad bubbles in the paint. So after cleaning that up, we found some bad cancer.
So lots of sanding and welding ahead. No bondo filling here.
The A pillars had some bad bubbles in the paint. So after cleaning that up, we found some bad cancer.
So lots of sanding and welding ahead. No bondo filling here.
