My new 60, phase 1 begins. And some questions...

[YupYup]

Fantastic job you're doing. I hope to gut my interior this summer (I don't have a garage and I don't like working outside at -20F).

I look forward to future updates. Thank you.

 

[jaxonm]

Big Update... Lots O' Pics

Ok, so it's been a while since I've posted on this thread. Not that I haven't been working on the 60, I just haven't been posting. One thing I have learned about the process of doing major automotive work, and then reporting it n a forum is; don't predict how long something is going to take. There are countless things (work, , life in general, etc) trying to keep you away from getting your projects complete. That said, here we go.

I'm doing this work at my dad's place. He has a great shop with all the tools necessary. Unfortunately with 2 LARGE vehicles (an FJ60 and a 1964 Cadillac Eldorado convertible), there isn's a ton of room left. So, the plan was to get the 60 through the shop to the tented area out back. Unfortunately, that meant waiting to get the Caddy together enough to roll out. Hence, the first big wait.

Finally, the Caddy was ready to pull out into the yard. Before pulling the 2 behemoths back in, we took the opportunity to clean the shop up. First, a couple of glamour shots:

This is said Cadillac, finally sitting on its own airbags, ready to roll out

This is the shop, mid-cleanup. My "assistant", the (at the time) 6 month old black lab puppy Luke, really isn't helping too much.

After the shop was cleaned and ready, we backed the 60 into place, and used it to haul the Cad back into its spot.
Got the 60 all jacked up and secured, and started digging in.

On stands

Both axles came out without much hassle at all. No torches necessary, all the bushings played nicely.

What a mess

The next step was to tear apart the front end into its component parts. Separate that which needed to be cleaned/painted/powder coated, and that which is the potential junk pile. In the process, I came across a few VERY good reasons to be doing this. In short, if your ~30 year old vehicle has original running gear, you might want to dig in and make sure everything down there is in good shape.

Busted front U-Joint

Busted TRE

Beyond the obviously broken, the resulting pile of parts that will be sent to media blasting and powder coating

Ok, obviously not all of this is going, but you get the idea.



.

 

[jaxonm]

More...

Next, its time to start in on the frame modifications.

This needs to go

Gone, and frame rails cleaned up

New spring hangers mocked up

Some welds

Both hangers are completely circumference welded.

New braces

Braces installed, and frame painted

 

[jaxonm]

Still more...

Got a delivery back from the powder coater.

Unfortunately, in the rush to get everything out the door, I knew I didn't have everything ready to go. The most important thing for me, is to get all of the real large parts out. The remaining small parts (rear backing plates, small brackets, etc), I can blast and coat here. For example:

This is a rear backing plate that I just pulled out of the blasting cabinet. I've given it a thorough wash down with a pre painting cleaner.

Attaching the electrode

Powder applied

Preheat oven to 450.
Place part in the oven.

Wait for the powder to flow.
Drop the temp to 400 and set timer to 20 mins.
Enjoy one of these.

Comes out looking like this

Also did a bunch of these

In short… LOTS of cleaning and prepping.

Also completely cleaned and painted the frame horns, the inner wheel wells, core support, etc.
DS front

DS rear

Core

Diffs

 

[jaxonm]

What? I said it was a big update...

Assembly begins.

I rebuilt the entire rear axel on the bench. Which explains why I didn't take any pics of this process. But, it was pretty simple. I built up the rear brakes on the bench. New wheel cylinders, new shoes, new drums, new wheel studs, had all the hardware and springs soaking in dip for a week to get it nice and clean.

Diff, brakes, axles, c-clips, inspection cover etc. Then, haul that thing back behind the 60 and...

Brakes

Axle assembly in place

Springs!

Hub to hub, man this thing is gonna sit tall!

 

[jaxonm]

...

Once the rear was all assembled and in, it was time to start on the front end. I had a lot of reservations about this process, because I wanted to do a complete, including knuckle bearing preload. I bought the tool and followed the process. Be VERY sure to read the instructions carefully. If you have access to a computer in your shop (or a smartphone) bookmark some of the more detailed threads on MUD. It will prove to be VERY helpful.

The knuckle

I didn't want to make the same mistake as I did with the rear. So, rather than do a complete bench build on the front, I figured that now would be a good time to get this thing hung in, while its still in its "lighter" form.

 

[jaxonm]

Thats it for now. What's left to do? Well, here is my to-do list;
•*Pulling apart the Birfs; clean, inspect, fresh lube, install.
•*Install spindles, backing plates, new wheel bearings, hubs new rotors and new wheel studs .
•*Rebuild front calipers and install
•*Tighten and adjust all steering components
• Back to front: check all nuts/bolts
•*Trial fit drive shafts. If all works out ok, clean, paint (powder coat?) rebuild, install.
•*Lubricate!

Which, brings me to my next question. What lubrication are you guys using? I would like to move over to synthetic. What do you guys think about that. Which brand? Has anyone had any issues with syn? Good? Bad?

At any rate, I am hoping to have this thing on its wheels, ready to go (with the exception of drive shafts), by the end of this weekend!! But like I said, I really shouldnt try and predict time frames.

Im off for a Enjoy!

 

[shotgun12321]

Wow man.....just wow. That thing is gonna be a thing of beauty. Keep up the good work.

 

[Miloslavich]

Awesome work so far bud!

your rig is gonna be incredible when you are through with it.

decide on tires yet?

 

[Mace]

rear shackles are on backwards.

 

[GLTHFJ60]

I use dino oils on my rig but I end up swapping them out pretty frequently for one reason or another. Some guys in my club like the Amsoil synthetics.

Good work so far, just correct the shackles!

 

[jaxonm]

rear shackles are on backwards.

Dyslexics of the world.. UNITE!! But thanks for pointing out my deficiencies, Mace.

I kid.

Anyway, I noticed that I f'ed that one up when I was going over the pictures later that night. The issue has since been resolved, I just didn't have time to capture a new photo prior to posting.

Mace, I am actually very interested in your opinion of the use of synthetics in the axle. Also, what grease are you guys using? Mobile 1? Amsoil? Moly? Just curious what works best on these rigs.

Thanks all for your kind words and advice.

 

[jaxonm]

decide on tires yet?

Im thinking somewhere in the 33x12.5 neighborhood. But, Im thinking of a wheel diameter large enough to eliminate the TRE clearance issue. However, finding a steel wheel in those dimensions (16/17 x 10), without having them custom made, might be an issue.

 

[shotgun12321]

Im thinking somewhere in the 33x12.5 neighborhood. But, Im thinking of a wheel diameter large enough to eliminate the TRE clearance issue. However, finding a steel wheel in those dimensions (16/17 x 10), without having them custom made, might be an issue.

Check out the 4WheelParts Rockcrawler (ProComp) series....I think they make em in that size.....backspacing might be an issue though.

 

[jaxonm]

...backspacing might be an issue though.

Correct me if I'm wrong, but the main reason the backspacing is an issue is because of TRE interference. But if you got the wheel diameter great enough to clear the TRE, no more backspacing issue. Well, at least not because of the TRE.

Right?

Anyone happen to know if a 16 or 17 inch wheel will clear the TRE?

 

[shotgun12321]

i think 16 needs proper backspacing to work, but 17 should be good either way. Someone correct me if i'm wrong there.

 

[Welltech]

Wow - impressive.

 

[MANUCHAO]

Nice work yah doing on this here rig... keep the pics coming...

 

[dadscruiser]

lookin good

Nice job ,wish i had that kind of time,anyway in the future if you still want HEI,you can get the module itself for about 15-18 dollars and wire directly to your distributor as long as its isolated on a bracket that is insulated from heat tranfer it'll work great i did this with an old CJ-7 i restored and reliability and simplicity was great , GREAT JOB on the FJ

 

[jaxonm]

Well, I didn't get nearly as much done this past weekend as I wanted to, but I've got a 3 day weekend coming up so maybe I'll make up for it then.

What I DID get done, is the hubs. All cleaned up, powder coated, rebuilt, wheel bearing races replaced and everything is lubed and ready to go. Couple quick picks;

Post media blasting

Post powder coating and assembly

Also got a buch of odds and ends done in prep for a very productive upcoming weekend.