Builds Putting the rust demon at bay (11 Viewers)

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Just curious if your Land Cruiser was in a commercial recently? I was at the gas station getting gas here in NY, and a Starbucks commercial has a Land Cruiser driving off in the distance with a blue fender. Looked like it was from a drone maybe. Next time I get gas, I will try and snap a pic.
Someone owes me some money!!!It’d be fun to see, but no one wants pictures of my pos.
 
Someone owes me some money!!!It’d be fun to see, but no one wants pictures of my pos.

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Looked similar, I guess it’s the right front fender. Hard to see in the pic. This one also has red on the tailgate.
 
Nope not mine, but it looks fun anyway.
 
Here’s the axle all dressed up and ready to party
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I probably stared at the new brake lines too long, before I came up with this set up. I still have room to slip the strap between the brake line and housing when putting it on the trailer.
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It’s somewhat tight packaging on the passenger side. The bender I was using wouldn’t make the second part of the curve. Thankfully you can bend the brake lines by hand if needed. Shocks aren’t in yet, I need to find a solution to this. The threads are shot on both the upper and lower mounts.
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The smallest part of this stage was the relocation of the axle. I drilled the perches and ubolt plate to push the axle 1.5” backward. This gives it a better look and should keep the tire out of the front of the fender. Now I’ll need to open up the back to allow for more flex. To this end I picked up some TJ flares for $20 (I just realized they are in the rack in this pic). I’m not sold on the look yet, so not sure where I’ll go with it.
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So the laundry list for the next time I get in the garage:
  1. Mount compressor
  2. Locate switches for ARB
  3. Run airlines
  4. Mount proportioning valve for rear brakes (I thought I had good bias until I got on a dirt road)
  5. Open up wheel wells
  6. Rear bumpstops
 
I know running brake lines are a pita. I see some issues that might arise in the future. Your tombstone and brakeline connection will interfere with the bump stop and possibly get crushed, also the way the lines are configured it will make removing the ubolts more difficult. Make sure the shock doesn't rub on you lines. I ran my lines while the axle was installed and trial fit shocks and such, to make sure I had good clearances. If you look at how the stock lines were run, these issues were taken into consideration. When I ran my lines, I made sure I would hope to never have to mess with the lines. I found trying to find a happy location where caliper soft lines meet the hard lines can be difficult and creative. If I need to remove my axle all I have to do is disconnect the soft brake line where it meets the frame, and easily remove the ubolts and shocks . I hope this helps. Good luck.
 
I know running brake lines are a pita. I see some issues that might arise in the future. Your tombstone and brakeline connection will interfere with the bump stop and possibly get crushed, also the way the lines are configured it will make removing the ubolts more difficult. I hope this helps. Good luck.
s***e!!! I didn’t think about the bump stops. Back to the drawing board. Maybe it’s a good thing I don’t have the bumpstops in yet. I did consider the ubolts and they are quite easy. Regardless , the tombstones will have to move. Oddly enough I went out for some mild wheeling today in the sand dunes. No drama, but I’ll be moving them anyway.
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Home engineered vehicles are always interesting. My engine goes around town and crawls great. However, when I go up a decent grade(10%) it overheats and starts chugging. It seemed I wasn’t getting enough gas and running lean. I’m running a mechanical pump with a backup electrical inline pump. I have tried the electrical pump pushing the fuel through the mechanical pump with little effect. This led me to bypass the mechanical pump altogether. In disconnecting the pressure line two things reared their head: 1) broke the mechanical pump taking the pressure line off, sh*te. 2) found the fuel line to be like this:
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I wish I could blame the infamous PO, but my finger prints are on this thing.
So I straight lined from the electric pump to the carb. Drives nice, so let’s head home up the 10% grade. Pulls strong( very happy), might have gotten a little throttle happy on said grade. Starts to overheat (maybe a little delayed in the climb), so pull over. Barely out of the traffics way, it dies and won’t restart. Assuming the timing has slipped again, I start fiddling with the distributor. When I notice the electric pump is pushing enough gas that it’s leaking out the carb. Arghh, it was pulling so good!!! Sure it got a little hot, but not all that bad. I leave the truck on the side of the road and pick it up in the morning.
So I need a fuel regulator. it’s Sunday- so theres only one parts store open. The only regulator they have is a Mr Gasket, never my first choice. I buy it and hope the best. After much fiddling, I get the truck running again. Break out the timing light and reset the timing. Looking good, but Mr Gasket strikes again. The fuel regulator leaks no matter how tight I get the fittings. Hard to say for sure, but I’m pretty sure it is leaking from the body.
So this is home engineering- there are ups and downs. Plan is to install a well rated (Holley) regulator and gauge. If this works I may delete the mechanical pump altogether and carry a spare.
 
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Holley regulator in, running better-still a little fine tuning needed. I think the timing is off again...
We went camping in Island Park last weekend and the day before we left I was cruising the classifieds and found the answer to the timing issue.
So this happened:
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Unfortunately, this also happened:
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But ultimately this happened:
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It’s in the garage, out of the rain. The cruiser is stuck until I figure out how I’m getting on the stand.
It’s a 5.3 I found for $500. It was the best price I’ve found. (Of course, a 6.0 with similar miles for $800 popped up two days later.) My 350 is ok, but I had an itch for something else. I’d considered an EFI Kit, but t wanted more than just TBI fuel management, I wanted the promise of newer technologies. An extra 100hp didn’t hurt, either. I’m still wincing at the thought of spending another $1000-1500 in bits and pieces. It won’t go in until winter at best, God knows I have enough half finished projects to work on for now. Maybe an NV4500 will fall in my lap as well... then I’ll need split case too. It never ends.
 
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Maybe an NV450 will fall in my lap as well... then I’ll need split case too. It never ends.
So this budget thingy is killing me. I may have found a split case attached to an Fj62. Is this really worth the coin in upgrading for strength? For contrast: I’m currently running a sm465/3speed combo-gearing is good and I don’t have an NV4500, so I’d be using the SM465. Truck sees mostly highway miles, but I like to crawl when I go to Moab.
Gratuitous pic:
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A split case is nice but shouldn't be too much money. How much are they asking? Does it bolt to a sm465?
I thought I had seen threads that talked about putting it behind the SM465, but AA doesn't list a 4wd adapter. Given the amount of highway I do, the NV4500 is the tranny of choice. Due length and cost its out of the question currently. I found your thread on putting the splitcase in and now given the cost, I'll just wait til an Orion is needed or I have nothing else to spend my money on. Truth is the new engine has me dreaming of things that could happen...
 
I have a sm465 and a orion. With 35s and 4.11s my rpms aren't too bad on the highway. If I wanted a little better rpm i would go to 3.73s. Being that u have bigger tires, i think you'll be ok with the 465 personally.
You're probably right and I really don't have the budget anyway. Upgrades are a so much fun to scheme with... $500 for a fj62 is tempting though. I really don't have any desire for the vehicle per se, but the axles and t-case have possibilities...
 
You're probably right and I really don't have the budget anyway. Upgrades are a so much fun to scheme with... $500 for a fj62 is tempting though. I really don't have any desire for the vehicle per se, but the axles and t-case have possibilities...
Well if the whole fj62 is 500.00 then u should get it. Steal the axles, booster and master and rear springs and sell the carcass.
 
Well if the whole fj62 is 500.00 then u should get it. Steal the axles, booster and master and rear springs and sell the carcass.
If I can get the seller to respond we'll see... It doesn't have title so I need to figure that out. I'm good on the brake set up, but the axles and tcase are intriguing.
 
Quick question for the ls crowd. Since I’m using the current trans/tcase, my engine will stay in the same place as the current 350? I realize I need adapters for the mounts.
 
On you ls swap, they are the same on the back side just the crank site .400 further forward, the 6.0 flywheel works and comes with a spacer on the backside the rest is the same as a sbc. (350 flywheel has a different pattern and ballance) They make motor mount adapters dirty dingo are popular and reasonable in price.. look at some builds.. you can do an ls swap cheep just takes some learning and time...
 
It was good day, Finally finished the hook up on my ARB install. I seem to get hung up on simple things and the wiring is always a struggle. Got to hang out with some old friends who were in town. Found something else I lust for. The capper was the drive home at sunset. Pure joy- perfect temps, didn't overheat on the pass and the view wasn't bad
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Life is good.
 
So a very nice gentleman informed me that I had 30 days to get a side mirror to compliment the rear view mirror. Oddly enough the wife had asked when I was going to get some last week. So that’s two against one.
So here’s the needs and desires for the mirrors:
  1. Need to be low profile
  2. Easily replaceable
  3. Sturdy enough to take a few branches
  4. Not cost as much as the oem units
  5. Satisfy the law
Version 1.0
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Not bad, I can’t take the credit though, i found a video of someone reviewing an Outlaw Offroad product. It was a simple enough product and it met my criteria. Off to the scrap pile...
It needed to be a thin wall to clear the hinge and the rib. Found some old cheap lawn furniture-perfect size and wall thickness. A quick cut to create the bend at the windshield and another to get away from the body. A slot to clear the door hinge and some hose clamps to snug it up.
Looks better with some dirt on it. Version 2.0
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Couple issues-
  1. Hose clamps are ugly
  2. Needs paint, I’m thinking pewter
  3. It vibrates
Yeah there’s some vibration, but 35” MTs will have that effect. Even sitting still idling it has some vibration. It’s quite bearable and simply touching it will steady the image.

I’m all ears on getting rid of the hose clamps.

So that was a long post for a mirror...
 

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