My First Piggie

[djoeyd114]

Well now that I have my silver star I figured I had better post up my Pig. She is a '72 that has not had an easy life! Someone swapped a '79 2F in it at some point, but kept the three speed. She runs and moves, but as usual the drums are fried and have very little pedal (I can't hold her on an incline). It looks like they put the F carb back on her (cable type), but someone did put 6 into 1 headers on it at some time, along with dual tanks. The only saving grace for me is that they bypassed the emission controls but they are still there (I hate living in e-test country).

The bad parts of her are:
Minor rust on the rockers (they will need to be replaced but aren’t that bad)
Rust hole in Passenger front fender
Minor rust in tailgate
Minor rust in both front doors
Rust holes in floor pans above the forward body mounts (driver and passenger side)
2F was rebuilt 4 years ago but sat (now that she runs again, the front main has started leaking, it will not be the last leaky seal from sitting)
Interior is SHOT
The PO broke the lower Drivers door hinge off at the door (hinge is fine door is F'ed) and then proceeded to bugger weld it with a buzz box and a blind fold from the looks of it.

Aside from the two holes in the driver and passenger pans, the floors are solid, and the think drives extremely well. None of the rust scares me, coming from Michigan.

I want to build it into a Camping/trail rig (nothing too extreme). I have a FJ60 front axle that I started stripping tonight for the Disk Brake Conversion. I am going for a SUA lift, and running 33's.

I am really excited to work on this Pig, I sold my 40 because of my growing family, and I told my wife I needed to get a Pig eventually. My 4 year old constantly asked me to buy another Land Cruiser, especially when he was playing in his Gaucho. He used to love to play in the 40, and referred to it as his truck. Once I found this project, my wife negotiated the on the girl for a father’s day present, but she had to spill the beans to go pick it up. She ended up getting it for 600

I only have one picture for now, I will try to post more that I took when we cleaned it out, it’s time to put the little guys to bed now!

 

[djoeyd114]

More Pictures

Kids went to bed easier than I thought!

 

[djoeyd114]

Last one for tonight

Last one for tonight

 

[scrapdaddy]

Very nice of your wife! you have a great start, with that amount of rust. Have fun with it.

 

[JackA]

Congrats on the new project. I won't be the only one in the state with a blue and white piggie. I have a few parts you may want, like a turn signal, a straight valance, marker lights, and probably some other things....cheap. Can't wait to see how you fix it up.

 

[djoeyd114]

Jack, I will send you a pm. I'm very interested

 

[djoeyd114]

So I guess I am changing directions now. I just bought a very nice used Profits SOA axle, with a high steer setup for very cheap thanks to a fellow local cruiser head. So I guess I am going SOA instead, I will post pictures tomorrow night. Now I just have to start tearing down my 60 series axle and staring the swap process.

Oh and the high steer is a proffits as well, from the looks of it.

 

[RUSH55]

That's one of the better looking pigs I've seen in awhile, as far as "new to pigs", or "my first pig project" goes. Nice find.

 

[romegadave]

Congrats on the new rig---you'll look back at these pics and feel a lot better as time goes by. Plus you've got to remember that no matter what you have one of the most unique vehicles in your hood!!

 

[PabloCruise]

So I guess I am changing directions now. I just bought a very nice used Profits SOA axle, with a high steer setup for very cheap thanks to a fellow local cruiser head. So I guess I am going SOA instead, I will post pictures tomorrow night. Now I just have to start tearing down my 60 series axle and staring the swap process.

Oh and the high steer is a proffits as well, from the looks of it.

Sounds like a good score, but you may want to plan a strategy up front vs. responding to a good axle deal. That way you do not get half-way into project and decide you do not like the direction you are heading.
Enough unsolicited opinions...

 

[djoeyd114]

Pablo, that's why I post here! You guys know a hell of a lot more than I. I kinda figured a 4 inches SUA I was about in the same boat modification wise as SOA, so I read the threads and decided to take the leap, just when that SOA fell into my lap. Timing is everything sometimes I guess. I will start a build threat shortly, my progress has been hit or miss with the 110 degree weather, my garage is a oven!

Dave and rush, thanks. None of my neighbors know what it is. One of my contractors at work was looking at my laptop though and when he saw these pictures (in the middle of a meeting) shouted 'you have a pig?'. Everyone though he was nuts, turns out he has a 100 series but at least knew what he was looking at.

 

[PabloCruise]

I have never done a SOA, but from what I hear, it gets you a good 6" of lift (on stock springs).

 

[Pighead]

Then again, sometimes you have to have a little Faith in the 'Cruiser Karma.
Oftentimes, when a SOA axle falls into your lap (And, a Proffit's axle at that) it's a sign from above that you need to do an SOA. Sure, it could turn into a money-pit headache that gets sold in a basket in a few years, but it could be a sweet ride too..it all depends how the OP handles this quest.

Sounds like a good score, but you may want to plan a strategy up front vs. responding to a good axle deal. That way you do not get half-way into project and decide you do not like the direction you are heading.
Enough unsolicited opinions...

 

[djoeyd114]

Then again, sometimes you have to have a little Faith in the 'Cruiser Karma.
Oftentimes, when a SOA axle falls into your lap (And, a Proffit's axle at that) it's a sign from above that you need to do an SOA. Sure, it could turn into a money-pit headache that gets sold in a basket in a few years, but it could be a sweet ride too..it all depends how the OP handles this quest.

Amen, especially when I scored it and the high steer for a hundred bucks...

 

[PabloCruise]

Then again, sometimes you have to have a little Faith in the 'Cruiser Karma.
Oftentimes, when a SOA axle falls into your lap (And, a Proffit's axle at that) it's a sign from above that you need to do an SOA. Sure, it could turn into a money-pit headache that gets sold in a basket in a few years, but it could be a sweet ride too..it all depends how the OP handles this quest.

Agreed!

I just get sad seeing someone trying to sell boxes of parts that were once a mighty Iron Pig for pennies on the dollar.

Use the Force!

 

[lowtideride]

I just read what you wanted to do with the rig, I would not go down the SOA path. I have had two rigs SOA one of them was a wagon. You have to have strong springs, super strong wrap bars, decent bump stops, lower gearing, sway bars are nice depending on spring/shock combinations, longer brake lines...

If you just want it to be a mild wheeler just bite the bullet for some lift springs/shocks, it will be MUCH cheaper in the long run. Plus the rig will be on the road that much quicker.

Do not fret! Rebuild the axle housing you just got, with new bearings, seal, brakes and when the lift come just roll it under. Just my 2 cents take it with a grain of salt, I've been down that road before...

 

[Pighead]

Then again, I resisted the SOA for too long. Tried a few different lifts, bought a lot of tires (31s, 32s, 33s) in the 18 years before I finally went to the 35s then 37s after my SOA (8 years ago). You could save yourself a lot of time and money and jump straight to the SOA.

 

[scrapdaddy]

Decisions!! Decisions!! You'll find your path.

 

[Pighead]

FYI, your fender flares are the same front to rear (if you swap sides) That is, your right front fender flare is the same as your left rear fender flare. and vice-versa.
So, if you need to repair a right rear fender flare, find a good left front fender flare. Cut them all off and weld up the good one.

 

[djoeyd114]

Thanks/Progress update

Pighead, thanks for the heads up and advice... It’s always appreciated!

I know I said I wanted a mild trail rig, but given the amount of lift I was shooting for, I kinda think SOA is the way I should be going.

The reasoning is: I wanted to go SOA on my 40, but she was restored, so no way in hell I was cutting her up. I kinda figured I would end up SOA with the 55, but given the cost of Alcan springs, and all new suspension components any way I will be about the same point cost wise. I was going to do a shackle reversal anyway, and my entire suspension is toast (with the exception of the springs). Every bushing is literally falling apart, tie rod ends, shocks, etc. I also was going to do a disk brake conversion, and a 3rd member rebuild (since my pinion seal leaks really bad), so I might as well bite the proverbial bullet.

I will keep the 2F in her with the 3 speed for now. I will upgrade to a 4 speed eventually after she is back on the road.

I attached pictures of the FJ60 axle I bought for the disk brake conversion, and the $100 Proffitt's axle and high steer I bought.

On Friday (I took the day off work) my oldest and I put a new Clutch Slave in, cleaned out the master, and flushed the lines. We also finished cutting all the old coolant lines out of her and the heater lines. Hey at least I have a working clutch now!

This morning we pushed out the FJ60 Axle, Power Washed it up a bit and started stripping it. After I blew off the 1" of grease and dirt, I pulled the Passenger knuckle off, using 1973Guppie's write up. I did have an issue with the steering ark, and had to remove it using one of the spring plates off of the FJ60 Axle, a socket and a C clamp. I broke one c clamp, but the second held and pressed the girl out. I will tear down the other side when it gets cooler, it was 112 when I came back in!

I am also building a Dimensioned AutoCAD drawing of the Alignment tool and having one built for me by my dad. He owns a machine shop back east, so I figured it would be cheaper to have one built than buy one.

As far as cooling system woe's go I found that the PO had ran only water in it, and blew a line (rather it rotted off). The pig sat with water in the block for 4 years, partially filled and EVERYTHING is rusted up. In chasing the corrosion I felt it would be good to pull the Thermostat, and found that the PO had built a gasket out of Permatex on the water outlet. In trying to remove the outlet, I also found that the thermostat housing was loose, and that it had broken at the tabs mounting it to the head. I also found a bit of rot in my radiator, so the game plan for the cooling system is:

Buy aftermarket Radiator (the speedway aluminum) and have the guys at work Tig the mounts where I need them.

Wait on my Thermostat housing from Proffitts

Rebuild the system and bypass the heater for now

Descale the s*** out of the block

I did flush the block with the garden hose, and ended up getting all kinds of FeO2 goodness out of there, I am sure there is more to be had. No water in the oil though, yet...

While I am putting parts together for the SOA, I am going to go through both tanks, drop them clean them, check wiring, replace fuel lines, etc. I also want to clean up some of the "Custom" wiring mess that has occurred, I may put in a new Fuse Block.

In prepping for my next Junkyard run, I had a few questions:

What fuse block should I be hunting for?
If a Toyota IFS power steering box an acceptable swap for a minitruck/FJ60?

More progress updates to follow as they come!