McGuire's '87 FJ60 Build: SOA/ 12H-T swap (1 Viewer)

[mcguirejohnson]

Finished up the steering and mounted up the hydro steer. Also welded some bump stops on.








Trying to get a little done each day after school this week so that I can have it rolling by this weekend!

 

[Captain Sanuk]

The stance is nice! do you think you will have to do some fender trimming with the 37s on?

 

[mcguirejohnson]

The stance is nice! do you think you will have to do some fender trimming with the 37s on?

I think they will fit without any trimming. If I had to make more room, I would probably use a 1" body lift. I don't want to use the sawzall on this rig

Mj

 

[mcguirejohnson]

Got the front bumper mounted up tonight. Kinda bummed because I could have had it going, but my hopes were crushed due to a bad brake line... I am going to order one in the morning so hopefully it will be done by Friday!

 

[Captain Sanuk]

looking good buddy!

 

[mcguirejohnson]

Well I took it for a test drive tonight! Felt pretty good, just need to adjust some stuff. I have a question for those who are SO, is there a trick to adjusting the rear brakes? The spring is making it difficult to get a screwdriver in there.

Mj

 

[mcguirejohnson]

looking good buddy!

Thank you!

 

[The Phoenician]

Well I took it for a test drive tonight! Felt pretty good, just need to adjust some stuff. I have a question for those who are SO, is there a trick to adjusting the rear brakes? The spring is making it difficult to get a screwdriver in there.

Mj

I adjusted mine when I had the drum off, but I've seen others manage to do it through the rear hole. Not much help I know.

 

[mcguirejohnson]

I adjusted mine when I had the drum off, but I've seen others manage to do it through the rear hole. Not much help I know.

I might just have to do that. I tried to get a screwdriver through the rear hole but it wouldn't work. Thank you!

mj

 

[mcguirejohnson]

Well thought I should let y'all know how it all turned out! I am very impressed with how it rides and handles! Went on about a 2 hour drive and couldn't get rid of the grin on my face! I have to admit that I missed getting stopped by people at gas stations asking me what kind of truck it is haha. The ride is WAY smoother than the lift spring/shackle reversal combo was. Which is awesome because I was getting real tired of feeling like I was riding on a wild bronco.. I've never done that before but that's the best way that I can describe it. I'm going to be heading up to hidden falls next week which is our local OHV park and will let y'all know how it does! Here are some pics of the first drive today:

 

[TLC83]

The truck looks good! Looks like the dog is satisfied with it!

 

[bluehawk]

That is great that you are all finished up with the SO. I haven't had time to do a whole lot on mine. Been busy helping a friend on rebuilding his front axle, knuckle rebuild and associated things on his 80 series. Mine is next though. Great job and congrats on the work done.

 

[mcguirejohnson]

The truck looks good! Looks like the dog is satisfied with it!

Thank you! And yes she missed the ol cruiser!

 

[mcguirejohnson]

That is great that you are all finished up with the SO. I haven't had time to do a whole lot on mine. Been busy helping a friend on rebuilding his front axle, knuckle rebuild and associated things on his 80 series. Mine is next though. Great job and congrats on the work done.

Thank you! It definitely feels good to have it completed! How much do you have left?

Mj

 

[mcguirejohnson]

Well guys I know it's only been a couple of days since I finished up the SO conversion on my 60.. I take that back it's a never ending process.. Anyways thought I should give y'all a sneak peak of the next project that my dad and I starting. I will start off with a little history about what we are doing.

When I was 10 my dad and I drove the cruiser home from My grandfathers house in North Carolina. This was a very interesting trip considering there was no steering dampener, the springs were beyond worn out, and we had a huge plank of wood strapped to the roof( it later became a workbench for our shop). Anyways my dad freshened everything up and drove it for 4 years until he received a company car. At this point I was chomping at the bit to fix it up for my 16th birthday. So during that time to present we rebuilt the motor, installed a 5 speed, put bumpers and a winch on, went from a "HFS" lift to a "Man-a-Fre safari" lift with shackle reversal to the SO setup which I just completed. Well needless to say my dad really misses the good ol saggin wagon..

Now onto the new project.. Throughout the years we have collected two parts rigs. Both are 86 models and they have opposite problems. The blue one we purchased was missing it's heart and was involved in a drivers side collision. The result was a bent frame and a bad front fender. Then a few years later we found the white one on mud. It was in a rollover, and the only salvageable body part was the rear hatch and tailgate. The good part about this find is that it has a straight frame and a good drivetrain along with a OME lift and 33 in tires! My dad had been pondering the idea of putting the blue body on the white cruisers frame and making it into a nice clean looking stock rig. We got really lucky and found a really clean 60 at our local pick and pull that was totaled due too a crushed A-piller from a side collision. This is where we found a very clean set of grey seats and all of the interior, along with a new front fender and valence for the blue body. Now that all of the parts are collected and I finally finished the SO on my rig my dad decided it is time to get project "FRANKENSTEIN" going! This is going to be a slow build and will probably take all the way until the end of summer to complete.. My dad is going to make an account of his own so we will start a new build thread and both chime in on it frequently. Here are a few pictures to give y'all a preview of what is too come:

















Took this pic a couple years ago. Merica.





Mj

 

[TRAIL TAILOR]

Well you just can't have ONE.. EVERYONE KNOWS THAT!..

Looks like fun,

J

 

[mcguirejohnson]

Well you just can't have ONE.. EVERYONE KNOWS THAT!.. Looks like fun, J

That is very true! It's going to be fun building one up from scrap!

Mj

 

[TRAIL TAILOR]

That is very true! It's going to be fun building one up from scrap!

Mj

My spare in a few months... thoughts of a 4BT, SOA, chopped 60 TRUCK..are going through my head...

J

 

[mcguirejohnson]

My spare in a few months... thoughts of a 4BT, SOA, chopped 60 TRUCK..are going through my head... J

That sounds like a great plan! I like the look of chopped up 60s. I saw one on pirate a while back that had an aluminum utility rack and it looked SWEET! I just can't do that to my rig
It's too clean.. You will not regret the SOA. I love mine so far and it handles great, rides great, looks great, etc.. I am actually saving up for a 4bt swap.. Can't decide to go the Isuzu or cummins route.. It's going to be a while since my funds are pretty depleted.

Mj

 

[Bama4door]

That sounds like a great plan! I like the look of chopped up 60s. I saw one on pirate a while back that had an aluminum utility rack and it looked SWEET! I just can't do that to my rig
It's too clean.. You will not regret the SOA. I love mine so far and it handles great, rides great, looks great, etc.. I am actually saving up for a 4bt swap.. Can't decide to go the Isuzu or cummins route.. It's going to be a while since my funds are pretty depleted.

Mj

Have I missed something or have you not posted a pic of the full rig after the SOA outside of the garage??