Builds Lil' Tubby Build-up Thread (1 Viewer)

[TRAILTOYZ]

Lil' Tubby Build-up Thread *updated w/pics

So I picked this '75 FJ40 up for $1k a few months ago just to beat around in and use as a hunting rig. I wasn't going to dump any $$ into it...just change the oil maybe and vacuum some of the dirt out of the seats. But we all know that plans do change So 3 months later I'm almost trail-ready and it looks a little different.

Future plans include Saginaw PS, lockrights, shackle reversal, dual batt. & some cozy PRP seats tucked into a little custom cage.


Here's what I started with:

Driving this thing 20 miles home was like riding a drunk elephant! I really did risk my life. After taking a good look at it when I got it home, I noticed that the front DS spring pack was missing 3 leaves and had a 1" gap between the housing and spring plates! The PS front drum was packed with this nasty silty grease and all the TRE's were falling apart. They guy told me that he'd been driving it back and forth down the highway all summer to work...either he's a lot braver than me or a good liar.

Over the next several months I'm going to transform this old heap into a mud-friendly Moose slayer! Attention will be paid to reliability, functionality and creature comfort (at least as much comfort as you can get out of an old 40) and it will remain street legal.

I may even flip the bezel and keep track of how many people say "hey your bezel is upside down"

 

[TRAILTOYZ]

So what should I use for fender flares?

Used an AFW motorsports winch bumper for a Heep YJ...traded some stuff for an M8000 and threw some lights on the front. 37x13 Boggers fit perfect with 2" spacers all around. I flipped the rear springs (wasn't lazy for once and re-drilled em too) and will prob go with a BTF rear bumper soon and outboard some XJ leafs for more travel and a better ride. I'm leaving it spring-under for low COG.

I still need to weld in the rear wheelwells, but a large action packer will fit perfect between them with room for extra stuff in the back. Once I finish fitting and re-fiberglassing the cap (Thanks Mark) to match the narrowed hard top, I'd like to fab a custom hatch/sunroof that can pop open while hunting. The lip is gone on the cap, but I'm just building a rim for it out of some 3"x 3/16" strap. I'll rivet the cap down and seal it up real good and it should work great.

I mounted an axe and shovel on the insides of the hardtop, and am building a custom mount for the 6K pull-pal on the inside of the rear door. I used an old rack off of a snowmachine and welded it right to the single rear door to use as a gas can/cooler holder. Still need to run a couple pieces of tube down to support the bottom.

 

[TRAILTOYZ]

A couple more pics. Man this thing needs paint! and fenderwells....and exhaust...tune-up...

Used a couple headrests that we had laying around out of our 2001 Honda Oddysey van. Only the second-row seat ones fit perfect

 

[NZ Crawler]

ok so time to quit lurkin'
Man this truck is awsome! Love the dovetailed hard top.
Goin to be awsome to see how this turns out

David

 

[72cruiser]

i am absolutely lovin the dovetailed hardtop...effin awesome man.

the one ambulance door is a really nice touch


more pics!

malphrus

 

[camcruiser13]

i am absolutely lovin the dovetailed hardtop...effin awesome man.

the one ambulance door is a really nice touch


more pics!

malphrus

x2

thats bad

 

[concretejungle]

those rear tires sure are going to make the interior really muddy. May even want a helmet to keep a rock from going through the back of your dome.

 

[TRAILTOYZ]

Thanks guys, I'll get some more pics up tonite. And trust me, it'll have fenderwells before it gets wheeled. I've got plenty of 3/16 steel treadplate set aside for the job

 

[Advent]

How much total lift are you running?

I think an Offenhauser would work nicely as part of your tune-up

 

[JRFJ4-]

Dovetail

I'm diggin the dovetail also.

Sweet.


JR

 

[TRAILTOYZ]

I think total lift is about 1.5". I got the 1.5" longer shackles from CCOT and the front has a few extra leaves in it. I'll prob do the OME 2.5" later on down the road when I upgrade the axles. My daughter hid my digital somewhere so I couldn't get any more pics up tonite

 

[RVBtruck]

Looks to be a wicked project from what started as a cheap play toy But hey we all do it or we wouldn't be in the "hardcore forum" would we.

 

[TRAILTOYZ]

Here are some more pics. Planning on finishing up the hardtop tonite and bleeding the brakes..then I can drive it over to my buddys shop and cut out the wheelwells with the plasma. Should be fun!

Some camera views & underbody rear-facing mount location. Have one in the front crossmember and rear rack as well

 

[TRAILTOYZ]

rear view cam, rock lights

 

[TRAILTOYZ]

the frontend. Solenoid mounted in the grille, thinking about doing a grille hoop and tying it into the bumper. Going to pick up some UHMW for the fender flares. Should be nice and flexy when bouncing off trees & rocks

 

[NW-sickboy]

digging iT!

 

[landbruiser1]

Sweet bumper and the dovetail looks awesome.

 

[TRAILTOYZ]

GraciasGracias. I'm working on the in-cab winch controls tonite. Shoulda waited to install the winch solenoids in the grille...haveta move the radiator again Hopefully I'll have time this weekend to grab some 3" strap and build the horseshoe/fiberglass cap frame and get the top all done. Then it's just fenderwells and go wheel some trails before all the mud freezes

I've got a local plastics shop slicin' up some black HDPE for flares, and I need to swing by NAPA and pick up some new mudflaps so I can DD it this winter and scare all the soccer moms in their Volvos The cops around here are like flies on a fresh pile when they see a new rig driving around.

 

[TRAILTOYZ]

Well, I flushed and bled the brake system today and finished up all the wiring so I took the cruiser for a drive for the first time. I found out 3 things:

1. You could scramble an egg while doing 20MPH in a cruiser with out of round 37" boggers.

2. Sag conversion will be coming sooner than expected

3. Regardless of how well you treat 4 wheel drum brakes, they still stink.

It's a fun little rig though, rides great with stock springs and long travel nitro shocks. The neighbors were prob whining though since it was around 8pm and exhaust is still an item on the list Whats wrong with an open header?

 

[90 Weight]

what kinda camera system/screen is that?