Oyaji's FJ60

[orangefj45]

Cheesy saying but you "took lemons and made lemonade" - nice work...

my grandpa used to say "ya can't make chicken salad outta chicken s***". i guess in this case lemonade was made.

been a cool project so far john, and the rig has definetly come a long ways. se you in a few days for another "one-day pit stop".

thanks for the props!

georg @ valley hybrids

 

[vipergrhd]

meet and greet

Hi John,

Thanks for the comments. Let me start by saying that I'm glad you're not asking about the price of building this truck, because I truly don't want to think about it. LOL

The truck is really almost ready for a trip I want to take to MOAB in the spring. We'll see how it goes. The paint, while it looks nice in the photos, is $hit, but the truck runs great. The front bumper is, in fact, the new ARB. I mated the top and bottom halves of my 8274 this weekend and confirmed that the drum turns. I picked up a take off cable and roller fairlead from Toby Lavender and should have the winch installed this week sometime. I finalized the sale of my M416, so Georg will order my rear locker today, and I'll spend some time with him in Stockton for the install on Friday.

I agree that we should meet up sometime. I've been trying to get with the Santa Cruz Cruiser guys, too. There are two of them on this board, I know one who works at Winchester Auto, there is one in Watsonville, and there's a bada$$ed cruiser always parked at a house just off of Soquel. We should try to do a meet and greet in San Jose, or something.

That would be great to have have a meet n greet somewhere in the bay area,i'm sure a lot of locals here in the bay area would be interested.we had a small get together last few weeks at my house (daughters b-day) Mrlocksmith (Mark W.) Cabrito (Michael G.) and Norcalborn (Shane) they are all regulars here on mud.looking forward to meeting you.

John

 

[OyajiJon]

been a cool project so far john, and the rig has definetly come a long ways. se you in a few days for another "one-day pit stop".

Thanks Georg, I'm looking forward to another day of learning!

John, we need to find a time and place. I have to look, but is there a Bay Area "club" in the Clubhouse section? I'll see what the schedule looks like in the coming weeks and PM you to figure something out. We'll need to get the word out to the local fellas.

 

[vipergrhd]

That will be great,just give me a heads up on when.i'm sure a lot of the locals will surely come.

John

 

[OyajiJon]

I got up to see Georg yesterday, and he installed my rear ARB locker. We discussed where to mount my tank/compressor for the VIAIR kit I got from IPOR during the group buy, so I'll need to get that going soon. Here is a pic showing proof of the work.

I also picked up and installed my 4+ Plus rear bumper. A big thanks to Nick (Georg's apprentice) for helping me get it mounted and kindly pointing out my ineptitude. Here are some poseur pics...

I also got fitted for my custom seat frames by Don (FC187) and will post pics when they're done.

It was a great day. Thanks Georg, Don and Co.!

 

[orangefj45]

that bumper made such a difference, looks awesome now!!!!

thanks again for having me do some of the work on your cruiser, i appreciate it!

georg @ valley hybrids

 

[OyajiJon]

I finally got those skinny saw blade wheels off the rig today. I replaced them with a set of old school Enkei two piece 15x8 aluminum wheels that were spray painted black when I got them. If anyone has a line on any of them, I'd like to purchase one for a spare. Here are a couple of pics.

I also got some pictures of my new seat bracket from Don@FC Fab. I'm really excited to pick it up and get it installed. I'll finally have a comfortable angle to the seat for the long drives I like to take. My request was a seat pan that has a comfortable seating angle, that uses the factory mount points, that is set up for 5 point harnesses, and that will accommodate my Tuffy console. Here are some pics of his impressive art work.

 

[Dynosoar]

Nice work on the seat frames. Holly s*** that is a great idea!


Dynosoar

 

[orangefj45]

it looks even better in person!

 

[Welltech]

Can I get more information on the seat frames? How much leg room did you get as a result.

I finally got those skinny saw blade wheels off the rig today. I replaced them with a set of old school Enkei two piece 15x8 aluminum wheels that were spray painted black when I got them. If anyone has a line on any of them, I'd like to purchase one for a spare. Here are a couple of pics.

I also got some pictures of my new seat bracket from Don@FC Fab. I'm really excited to pick it up and get it installed. I'll finally have a comfortable angle to the seat for the long drives I like to take. My request was a seat pan that has a comfortable seating angle, that uses the factory mount points, that is set up for 5 point harnesses, and that will accommodate my Tuffy console. Here are some pics of his impressive art work.

 

[OyajiJon]

Yes, Don is an AMAZING fabricator. I mentioned what I wanted, he stacked wood blocks in my rig to get the right seat angle and took the measurements, and then he worked his magic and sent me pics. I'm very thankful that he took some time to do this "small" job.

As far as gained leg room goes, I tossed the factory seats out after my first 5 hour drive in it. I don't have numbers to compare as I've been driving on the mickey mouse brackets I built pretty much since I've owned it. The real advantage is getting rid of the flat seating profile this rig had. Every vehicle I've found to be comfortable had a seat bottom that could be adjusted so there is a downward slope to the rear of the vehicle for leg support. We'll see if I accomplished that when I get the frame installed.

it looks even better in person!

Go ahead and rub it in, Georg! I'm trying to figure out a time to come and get the beast! Is it heavy?

Thanks for the comments.

 

[sl33py]

Wow Jon. Nice work and a beautiful cruiser. Way to keep on keeping on... Had to be tough to do that much work on a "low mileage" 60. BUT it looks like it's paid off and you have a truck most of us can be envious of.

I'm really curious about the seat brackets... I'm a tall guy (6'8"), but mostly torso (35-36" inseam). Stock seats and setup work OK for me, but not comfy by any means. I like the stock seats so planned on adding the new foam, maybe the rail extension someone had forever ago, and like the slight "tilt" idea you have here. Wonder how hard it would be to add that to the extension on stock seat for a bit more comfort while looking stock...

Nice work and Congrats on a sweet truck!!

 

[GLTHFJ60]

Those seat brackets look great! What seats do you plan to mount on them?

 

[ntsqd]

I finally got those skinny saw blade wheels off the rig today. I replaced them with a set of old school Enkei two piece 15x8 aluminum wheels that were spray painted black when I got them. If anyone has a line on any of them, I'd like to purchase one for a spare. Here are a couple of pics.

"Wallace"'s wheel's:

IME they're rather thin in the rim halves. I'm planning on going to some M/T's or Outlaw II's in the future. How soon are you wanting them?

 

[OyajiJon]

Rob, thanks for the compliment, but your rig is no slouch! I've read up on some of your stuff and envy the things you've done on yours as well. I'm planning on looking into the LED interior lighting and sound deadening eventually. I've got a set of aftermarket sliding rear windows sitting in the garage that I haven't convinced myself I can install without them leaking yet. To answer your question, I think I posted pics of my custom bent u-channel risers that I made to make the seating position more "chair" like. I wanted to get away from them because the seating position ended up high enough that I had to crane my neck down to see stoplights. If I didn't get Don to work out these brackets, I would have likely cut a wedge out of the risers and hammered/welded the top down at an angle to see if that would help. If you want the risers to play with after I get my bracket in, let me know, and we can work out something for the cost of some beer and shipping.

Johnny, I'm going to put the same seats in that I have now. I made the u-riser to bolt between my aftermarket seats and the factory slider. The sliders that Don mounted to my new bracket are the ones that came from Hunsaker with the seats. Here's a picture.

NTSQD, I'd love to work something out with you for those wheels. I'm not in a huge hurry, and I have orders to report to SoCal in April. Maybe we can work something out? How much are you looking to get for them? PM me if you'd like. Thanks!

 

[orangefj45]

Go ahead and rub it in, Georg! I'm trying to figure out a time to come and get the beast! Is it heavy?

Thanks for the comments.

heavy? have you ever picked up a piece of unobtanium?! can't be weighed!!!! ;p

 

[shotgun12321]

not sure if I missed it somewhere. But what seats are those Jon? How you like em?

 

[OyajiJon]

They are Hunsaker Synkro seats, and I absolutely love them! Unfortunately, it looks like Hunsaker has gone under, and that's a shame because they made some really nice products.

Georg, if the warranty work on the radiator gets done quickly enough, I'll be making a mad dash your way. I don't think I can wait another week knowing that seat frame is done...

 

[sl33py]

Rob, thanks for the compliment, but your rig is no slouch! I've read up on some of your stuff and envy the things you've done on yours as well. I'm planning on looking into the LED interior lighting and sound deadening eventually. I've got a set of aftermarket sliding rear windows sitting in the garage that I haven't convinced myself I can install without them leaking yet. To answer your question, I think I posted pics of my custom bent u-channel risers that I made to make the seating position more "chair" like. I wanted to get away from them because the seating position ended up high enough that I had to crane my neck down to see stoplights. If I didn't get Don to work out these brackets, I would have likely cut a wedge out of the risers and hammered/welded the top down at an angle to see if that would help. If you want the risers to play with after I get my bracket in, let me know, and we can work out something for the cost of some beer and shipping.

LOL - those were old posts then... My blue cruiser is "resting" currently in the garage... One day it will be back on the road. unlike you who went from 0-60 in 2.5 seconds in comparison.

I'll hold off on the seat brackets you fabbed up - i hate craning forward to see lights and already have to do that now (damn torso!). I'll figure something out when i'm wrapping up interior bits and do the seat foam (at least in the driver seat).

I updated my old LED thread w/ some new options and refreshed old pic links so they show up again. Feel free to PM me if you have any questions - i'd be happy to help.

Love and miss your neck of the woods! I grew up just outside SC by lompico (iirc). Was a Jr. Lifeguard at the boardwalk during the summer(s), while mom worked (kept me and bro out of trouble - mostly). Competed with Monterey's equivalent summer day camp/group... was a lot of fun.

Keep up the great work and love the pics! Way to make us slackers really feel like slackers! lol

 

[OyajiJon]

My son plays soccer for the Santa Cruz County traveling team, and I LOVE that town. Too bad the Navy doesn't have any ships there...

I fully intend to hit you up for advice regarding some LED upgrades. Thanks for the offer. Where is "Emerald City?"

With tonight's upgrade, I'm nearing the end of the "build phase" on my rig and hope to be putting it through some paces in the very near future. Once I finish my thesis and graduate, it will be hard to keep me from getting out and enjoying this thing for what it is. Thanks, again, for the comments!