Hi - New to forum and recently acquired a new (to me) 1978 FJ40. I love all classic vehicles but have mostly done cars up to this point (have a 73 vette I have done all of the work on and sold a 57 bel air which I did everything on as well except body work) so the FJ and old rigs are new to me.
So I am trying to figure out what suspension and or lift I may have on my rig. As any good noob should, I did a search on the forums and learned a few things:
1) Front OEM shackles are 2 3/4"
2) At stock, top of spring to frame should be about 12"
3) To run 33's, you need to have either lift or fender wells cut (I am running 33x10.5 on 15 rims)
Here are the measurements I took last night
Front Suspension
- Shackles 2 3/4" center to center (mounted in stock forward position)
- Spring Length approx 42" center to center (as crow flies)
- Top of spring to frame approx 9 3/4"
Rear Suspension
- Shackles 6" center to center mounted at rear
- Spring Length approx 48"
- Top of Spring to Frame 10 3/4" to 11"
Here are my questions
1) I would like to swap out my suspension but still allow me to park my FJ in the garage. I would like to stay around the same ride height maybe slightly higher. So is my system stock ride height? Lower? 2" lift? It "looks" higher so is it a simple spring lift? Then again the spring to frame distance is low.
2) Any recommendations on all around systems that wont break the bank? The rig will see some light OHV but also a lot of tooling around at the beach, etc. Would like to replace springs, shocks and hardware at once.
3) Does the shackle relocation on the front suspension make that big a different such as on the Cool Cruiser kit?
Pic for reference
Thanks in advance
Shane
Portland OR
So I am trying to figure out what suspension and or lift I may have on my rig. As any good noob should, I did a search on the forums and learned a few things:
1) Front OEM shackles are 2 3/4"
2) At stock, top of spring to frame should be about 12"
3) To run 33's, you need to have either lift or fender wells cut (I am running 33x10.5 on 15 rims)
Here are the measurements I took last night
Front Suspension
- Shackles 2 3/4" center to center (mounted in stock forward position)
- Spring Length approx 42" center to center (as crow flies)
- Top of spring to frame approx 9 3/4"
Rear Suspension
- Shackles 6" center to center mounted at rear
- Spring Length approx 48"
- Top of Spring to Frame 10 3/4" to 11"
Here are my questions
1) I would like to swap out my suspension but still allow me to park my FJ in the garage. I would like to stay around the same ride height maybe slightly higher. So is my system stock ride height? Lower? 2" lift? It "looks" higher so is it a simple spring lift? Then again the spring to frame distance is low.
2) Any recommendations on all around systems that wont break the bank? The rig will see some light OHV but also a lot of tooling around at the beach, etc. Would like to replace springs, shocks and hardware at once.
3) Does the shackle relocation on the front suspension make that big a different such as on the Cool Cruiser kit?
Pic for reference
Thanks in advance
Shane
Portland OR