- Thread starter
- #481
I do not. I got them done at Rain City Wheel Repair here in Kirkland Washington. The owner told me he sprays all the bumpers and off-road things people bring him with this same stuff.
Build Red Dawn (60 converted 62 Build Thread w/ R2.8)
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Ah gotcha. It didn’t look like there was a winch in that comparison pic on the left.
- Thread starter
- #483
Thanks for the measurements!
- Thread starter
- #484
Added a leaf to the fronts this weekend. Painted everything. It wasn't the real fix. Getting a set of heavies really did it.
35.75 to fender on drivers side
36.25 on passenger side
I need to drive it a little still, but I don't think that gets me where I should be.
35.75 to fender on drivers side
36.25 on passenger side
I need to drive it a little still, but I don't think that gets me where I should be.
Last edited:
- Joined
- Jul 26, 2014
- Threads
- 7
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- 149
What did you paint the leaves with? Did you grease in between them or any other product? I've read more than I care to admit about paint/not painting leaf springs and there doesn't seem to be a consensus.
- Thread starter
- #486
I just used POR top coat. They were pretty rusty given that they were only a few years old. I guess ignorance is bliss for me.
- Thread starter
- #487
Hey everyone. It's been a while. I took a year off from the truck kind of. Some of it forced and some of it just because of other priorities. Had some house projects for one which consisted of a new roof and a backyard reno. A few new automotive additions and some new fun tools. So here's what's happened, with a tiny truck update thrown in for good measure.
Coolest thing maybe is that we bought a Ranger Rapter.
It's a hoot. We did the ProCal tune to it so it makes 455hp and 536 lb-ft. Really enjoy it.
I bought a CNC machine and tucked it in the back corner of the garage.
I've made a few things on it. The most recent I'll share in a week or so when it's all done. I had back surgery which was terrible. Herniated L4 and L5 that needed clean up. I feel much better now but could barely walk or sleep for the 4 months before the procedure. And the latest thing is this cupholder. I made one ages ago that some of you liked but I did a new version.
So I should be around more now that I'm back up and vertical. Been plugging away at some of the stuff on the LC. The rear air locker is leaking which is a bummer. Also going to do a real simple build out for the rear of the truck to mount my fridge finally.
Coolest thing maybe is that we bought a Ranger Rapter.
It's a hoot. We did the ProCal tune to it so it makes 455hp and 536 lb-ft. Really enjoy it.
I bought a CNC machine and tucked it in the back corner of the garage.
I've made a few things on it. The most recent I'll share in a week or so when it's all done. I had back surgery which was terrible. Herniated L4 and L5 that needed clean up. I feel much better now but could barely walk or sleep for the 4 months before the procedure. And the latest thing is this cupholder. I made one ages ago that some of you liked but I did a new version.
So I should be around more now that I'm back up and vertical. Been plugging away at some of the stuff on the LC. The rear air locker is leaking which is a bummer. Also going to do a real simple build out for the rear of the truck to mount my fridge finally.
- Thread starter
- #488
This was really my first machining project. Kind of swung for the fences here. I've always seen these panels on the back hatch of the land cruiser. I'm pretty certain there were for access during the build of the trucks. Running wire and the sprayer hose. Maybe they have another use, some of you might have opinions. But they are just sitting there.... waiting. When the hatch or liftback is open these panels are about 7 feet in the air and could sure serve some sort of purpose right? I mean certainly feels that way.
So I embarked on a journey to put a couple lights in something and some multi-purpose threaded locations for an eyelet and possibly some other junk. I settled on a ram mount to start. I don't know, put a tablet mount on there and watch movies at the campsite or something. This kind of lead me to doing something with 1/4-20 threads as that is a common thread for an eyelet, ram mount, even camera tripod equipment. The main feature was the lights though. I ended up with a CAD design like this.
I wanted it to look kind of like the original panel with recesses around the screws. I think I achieved that in the design but machining it proved difficult. 3D printing one worked well as a test fit and I tried out the lighting which was promising. Really gave me some motivation to keep going.
I set off on learning CAM which took ages. Also the part gets quite thin so I was testing the work holding I could accomplish. I had a couple failures along the way. Here's one where I caught one of the thin edges and tore it off with the endmill.
Anyway. I finally got all the machining worked out and installed it unpainted as a fit. Which was really promising. Could tell I was really going to like it. The eyelet obviously wont' support a ton of weight. Eventually if you put too much on it the weight would overcome the the gas shocks and pull the hatch down. Now you could clip the gas shocks to keep them up or put a pro rod in. Some of you have probably done this. I figured it would be nice to run a line to a tree to hang wet clothes from, or hanging something low mass when you're setup for camp. I will keep searching for other 1/4-20 accessories holler if you think of something that would be cool to have in a camping bag. I'm going to leave the holes empty until setting up somewhere so I don't accidentally smash and eyelet or ram mount into something.
So then I took it apart again, sanded and painted it, then polished and did the final wiring. I am not a great painter but I think the illusion works. The pic below is before polish.
One light is white and the other is yellow for camping (as you can see). Pretty proud of the end result. I have a more simple version that we should have available on @Cruiser Cult in the not too distant future (unpainted). The bigger panel looks prime for some serious lighting as well. So will make something for there too. Thanks for following along as usual. Happy Memorial Day!
So I embarked on a journey to put a couple lights in something and some multi-purpose threaded locations for an eyelet and possibly some other junk. I settled on a ram mount to start. I don't know, put a tablet mount on there and watch movies at the campsite or something. This kind of lead me to doing something with 1/4-20 threads as that is a common thread for an eyelet, ram mount, even camera tripod equipment. The main feature was the lights though. I ended up with a CAD design like this.
I wanted it to look kind of like the original panel with recesses around the screws. I think I achieved that in the design but machining it proved difficult. 3D printing one worked well as a test fit and I tried out the lighting which was promising. Really gave me some motivation to keep going.
I set off on learning CAM which took ages. Also the part gets quite thin so I was testing the work holding I could accomplish. I had a couple failures along the way. Here's one where I caught one of the thin edges and tore it off with the endmill.
Anyway. I finally got all the machining worked out and installed it unpainted as a fit. Which was really promising. Could tell I was really going to like it. The eyelet obviously wont' support a ton of weight. Eventually if you put too much on it the weight would overcome the the gas shocks and pull the hatch down. Now you could clip the gas shocks to keep them up or put a pro rod in. Some of you have probably done this. I figured it would be nice to run a line to a tree to hang wet clothes from, or hanging something low mass when you're setup for camp. I will keep searching for other 1/4-20 accessories holler if you think of something that would be cool to have in a camping bag. I'm going to leave the holes empty until setting up somewhere so I don't accidentally smash and eyelet or ram mount into something.
So then I took it apart again, sanded and painted it, then polished and did the final wiring. I am not a great painter but I think the illusion works. The pic below is before polish.
One light is white and the other is yellow for camping (as you can see). Pretty proud of the end result. I have a more simple version that we should have available on @Cruiser Cult in the not too distant future (unpainted). The bigger panel looks prime for some serious lighting as well. So will make something for there too. Thanks for following along as usual. Happy Memorial Day!
Wow! Wow! Wow!
Great work! I'm down for one of these! Please let me know when available? Father's Day is coming up and I'm going to ask for one.
Thank you!
Great work! I'm down for one of these! Please let me know when available? Father's Day is coming up and I'm going to ask for one.
Thank you!
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- 638
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- Winter Park, Florida
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- www.cruisermatts.com
That is such a cool idea! I was just thinking about how much I wanted to add lights to my tailgate. I’ll be buying one for sure.
- Thread starter
- #491
Did another project over the last month. Finally buttoned it up yesterday. I've had an ARB fridge for ages. Even hard wired in the ARB harness to my house battery. I knew that driving around with it just sitting in the cargo area wasn't smart so I typically left it in the shed and only took it out for trips. Even on trips it would bang around and felt unsafe. I like the idea of having something that is reversible and didn't want to just start drilling holes in the floor. For ages those 4 cargo tie downs in the FJ62 (sorry 60 owners) have just looked like prime places to build out a flexible cargo solution. I wasn't sure what I would do or want long term so I decided to turn the tie down points into risers mounts for some basic aluminum extrusion. I came up with a concept and 3d printed, fit checked and then decided to machine them out. I've made a few changes since this was all done.
It's hilarious that I cut the carpet for these tie downs ages ago, but never really realized how much I missed by?
It took a ton of measuring and prototyping to get the distances close. One thing I wanted to achieve is that all four risers are the same part. So the whole thing is symmetrical. The truck tie downs are at different widths front to back. That is to say that the ones near the back seat are closer together than the ones near the tailgate. So I had to "split the difference" and flip the risers around. A photo will show it later and hopefully that makes sense. You'll see that I slotted all the holes in my part so the slop could be taken up and part of that was to accommodate any poor measuring I did. I also wanted to make sure I could square up the extrusion rails. The 3d printed parts were good but they can bend easily when you're putting this kind of stress on them so I wasn't fully convinced after just printing them. One of the pictures below shows one really bent. Not sure if that was mounting or just being out in the sun with PLA. I was trying to pull down the extrusion to the carpet so it was nice and tight.
I had to buy some 2x4 extrusion. Which is the biggest chunk of aluminum I've ever bought. Put it in the falling bandsaw and cut out four blocks. It took ages to cut.
You can see those crusty tie downs in the background ha! My part is in that block of aluminum somewhere. Just got to get it out.
Here is the basic process. 3 operations in total, the last being the slotted holes in the base. The next version if I ever make them isn't as bulky and has more clearance for the bolted holes. It's getting fun to do these projects on the CNC. I'm no professional and in fact I broke my first endmill making these. Learning a ton and it keeps me busy.
All four of them are DA sanded. The machining marks were a bit unsightly so I decided to just touch them up. Once it's all done I don't think you'll see these, but I like them better with this satin finish.
I used 1x2 extrusion for the basic rails. You'll see them here in a second. I had to buy these main pieces cut to specific length and have them end tapped. I guess I could do that myself but it just seemed easier to order it that way. I was a bit nervous that I goofed the lengths. I left all the fasteners loose so I could shimmy stuff around and get it square. I left that gap at the top so I could slide the t-nuts in without having to undo it. One of the changes I made to the model after all this was to shorten the end of the riser so the same could be done for the sides.
Here's the first rail in place. Did pretty well on the fore and aft measurements so the whole thing snugs up nicely with the slotted holes.
The main square. So many options for sliding the cross beams where I want them. Can lay whatever I want right on top of this platform.
Adding more pieces and ready for the fridge slider. I wanted the fridge to be over as close the wheel well as it could be so I put that 4" side piece in to kick the slider over. The longer piece near the front too. I could shorten it up if I didn't want it visible I guess?
I have had this slider for years. It's awesome to finally see it installed.
Little bit of wiring to clean up. I printed some t-nut wire ziptie pieces for @NookShneer and he project he was doing but they don't fit my extrusion so I'll have to find something different.
My now "vintage" ARB fridge in place. The slide amount is good. I can't go any further forward because of the design. To be honest, there is only a few inches before the tailgate would become a problem when closed. I like it. I'm going to try and convince a coworker to CNC route a nice piece of plywood for the empty space. I contemplated a drawer but I don't know if I'm ready for that yet. Maybe I'll shop around. Thanks for reading along. @red66toy says he already wants a set of these so they must be cool. Sorry to any FJ60 owners I guess drilling and nutting these down would be an option?
It's hilarious that I cut the carpet for these tie downs ages ago, but never really realized how much I missed by?
It took a ton of measuring and prototyping to get the distances close. One thing I wanted to achieve is that all four risers are the same part. So the whole thing is symmetrical. The truck tie downs are at different widths front to back. That is to say that the ones near the back seat are closer together than the ones near the tailgate. So I had to "split the difference" and flip the risers around. A photo will show it later and hopefully that makes sense. You'll see that I slotted all the holes in my part so the slop could be taken up and part of that was to accommodate any poor measuring I did. I also wanted to make sure I could square up the extrusion rails. The 3d printed parts were good but they can bend easily when you're putting this kind of stress on them so I wasn't fully convinced after just printing them. One of the pictures below shows one really bent. Not sure if that was mounting or just being out in the sun with PLA. I was trying to pull down the extrusion to the carpet so it was nice and tight.
I had to buy some 2x4 extrusion. Which is the biggest chunk of aluminum I've ever bought. Put it in the falling bandsaw and cut out four blocks. It took ages to cut.
You can see those crusty tie downs in the background ha! My part is in that block of aluminum somewhere. Just got to get it out.
Here is the basic process. 3 operations in total, the last being the slotted holes in the base. The next version if I ever make them isn't as bulky and has more clearance for the bolted holes. It's getting fun to do these projects on the CNC. I'm no professional and in fact I broke my first endmill making these. Learning a ton and it keeps me busy.
All four of them are DA sanded. The machining marks were a bit unsightly so I decided to just touch them up. Once it's all done I don't think you'll see these, but I like them better with this satin finish.
I used 1x2 extrusion for the basic rails. You'll see them here in a second. I had to buy these main pieces cut to specific length and have them end tapped. I guess I could do that myself but it just seemed easier to order it that way. I was a bit nervous that I goofed the lengths. I left all the fasteners loose so I could shimmy stuff around and get it square. I left that gap at the top so I could slide the t-nuts in without having to undo it. One of the changes I made to the model after all this was to shorten the end of the riser so the same could be done for the sides.
Here's the first rail in place. Did pretty well on the fore and aft measurements so the whole thing snugs up nicely with the slotted holes.
The main square. So many options for sliding the cross beams where I want them. Can lay whatever I want right on top of this platform.
Adding more pieces and ready for the fridge slider. I wanted the fridge to be over as close the wheel well as it could be so I put that 4" side piece in to kick the slider over. The longer piece near the front too. I could shorten it up if I didn't want it visible I guess?
I have had this slider for years. It's awesome to finally see it installed.
Little bit of wiring to clean up. I printed some t-nut wire ziptie pieces for @NookShneer and he project he was doing but they don't fit my extrusion so I'll have to find something different.
My now "vintage" ARB fridge in place. The slide amount is good. I can't go any further forward because of the design. To be honest, there is only a few inches before the tailgate would become a problem when closed. I like it. I'm going to try and convince a coworker to CNC route a nice piece of plywood for the empty space. I contemplated a drawer but I don't know if I'm ready for that yet. Maybe I'll shop around. Thanks for reading along. @red66toy says he already wants a set of these so they must be cool. Sorry to any FJ60 owners I guess drilling and nutting these down would be an option?
- Thread starter
- #492
For anyone curious. I made a more simple version of the rear hatch light with two color options to sell on cruiser cult.
60 Series Rear Hatch Light
Tired of sitting in the dark on those lonely nights? Sure, you’ve got a 60 Series and the tailgate makes the perfect hangout spot — but why do it without light? No more fumbling for a headlamp. No more searching for that blinding cargo light pointed in the wrong direction. We’ve streamlined the...
cruiser-cult.myshopify.com
- Thread starter
- #493
Little update. I didn't get this PCCV alignment quite right when I did the intake for the truck originally. You can see the molded rubber hose that Cummins provided is kinked a bit off. No fault of theirs. It probably works fine, but it's always bothered me.
Decided on an aluminum pipe with some silicone couplers.
Polished it up a little to try and match the radiator pipes
And some t-bolt couplers to finish it off. Looking at it now, I might shorten one of the silicone couplers to get it straight with the engine.
Only a few mor things to get buttoned up before I list it for sale. @torfab got my air locker fixed up, damn thing was leaking.
Decided on an aluminum pipe with some silicone couplers.
Polished it up a little to try and match the radiator pipes
And some t-bolt couplers to finish it off. Looking at it now, I might shorten one of the silicone couplers to get it straight with the engine.
Only a few mor things to get buttoned up before I list it for sale. @torfab got my air locker fixed up, damn thing was leaking.
Been following your adventures on IG for a while. Very inspiring build. Hope to see this red beast around the PNW one of these days!
- Thread starter
- #496
Rear fog lights. I've had thes Sylvania X-Cubes lying around for a very long time. I like the form factor of them and that they have two possible light outputs. One is a fog function which is decently bright, not sure how much you really need for a rear fog but they seem bright enough. The other function is an "X" sort of ambient light. So it's a 3 terminal fog light. The X ambient lighting will be something that I'll address in a future post. I'll get this out of the way too; I love fog lights, I think lights are just cool in general, but I like things to be kinda clean and sleek. So I had an idea to make a retractable fog light. Something like what you see on the Baja Designs light bars with the solenoid that adjust the beams direction. I worked up a prototype but abandoned it. It felt like a big lift to run some controls all the way to the back and some sort of solenoid that will just get blasted by rain spray and other junk. So I decided on a more manual approach and I think it turned out pretty good.
Basic idea is to tuck them up in this dead area between the rear bumper and the frame cross member. So I did some paper templates and started along this path with a simple plate. These threaded locations were extra, not sure if the stock bumper uses them for anything. You can imagine how crusty they were though. Had to get some taps to clean them out. Fine thread oddly enough.
My Aluminum TIG skills are a little soft lately.
Left and a right. The are basically mirror images of each other. The brackets bolt to the bottom of the frame in those threaded holes and also use one threaded location on the upright so they end up being pretty stiff. Pretty happy with the look. I didn't get a good picture but I machined a pivot point that is blind one side and threaded on the other. Then one socket head cap screw basically pinches the fog light and keeps it from rotating. I've driven the truck a few times and they haven't come loose so I consider that a win.
Pretty subdued little lights. Should be cool. They look fine if I had them down all the time, but tucking them up is such a nice option. I promise to get some new lighting shots in the dark.
Basic idea is to tuck them up in this dead area between the rear bumper and the frame cross member. So I did some paper templates and started along this path with a simple plate. These threaded locations were extra, not sure if the stock bumper uses them for anything. You can imagine how crusty they were though. Had to get some taps to clean them out. Fine thread oddly enough.
My Aluminum TIG skills are a little soft lately.
Left and a right. The are basically mirror images of each other. The brackets bolt to the bottom of the frame in those threaded holes and also use one threaded location on the upright so they end up being pretty stiff. Pretty happy with the look. I didn't get a good picture but I machined a pivot point that is blind one side and threaded on the other. Then one socket head cap screw basically pinches the fog light and keeps it from rotating. I've driven the truck a few times and they haven't come loose so I consider that a win.
Pretty subdued little lights. Should be cool. They look fine if I had them down all the time, but tucking them up is such a nice option. I promise to get some new lighting shots in the dark.
- Thread starter
- #497
I was goofing around with the glovebox again and got it all buttoned up. Also put together a spare tire lug socket, fuse and rear fog tool holder. The allen key is the size needed to loosen the rear fogs and flop them down. The keen eye will see the "rock light" switch in the glove box which I also did. Two pods on each step side, one on each side of front bumper mount, and those X ambient lights for the rear fogs are the last little bit to give an almost 360° rock / camp / puddle lighting function. Again, I promise to get new lighting photos soon. I also found a pretty slick spot for a front facing camera that I prewired for ages ago. This will be a bit of photo potpourri.
Finished glovebox. 3 spots for additional loads on the house battery. "Rock lights"?
This spot on the passenger side front bumper mount has a light pod for the rock lights, the ARB turn signal indicator harness and in there is also the outdoor temperature sensor.
Similar thing on the passenger side but this one has the C-Tek battery tender location and no outdoor temp sensor.
The temp sensor panel is in the glovebox and is turned on with the push button.
56.8 degrees today. I guess I'll keep my phone in my pocket for a few more minutes instead of checking the weather
Such a stupid thing to put in a truck but stupidity has never stopped me before.
This little guy fits nice and snug in the glove box and has a double sided socket and extension. One fits the spare tire lugs on the Kaymar and the other side fits the actual lug nuts. Just got to remember to take an impact. It also has spare fuses for the two Eaton fuse panels, the fuse puller and the allen key for those rear fogs.
Simple bracket for the step side puddle light mounts. The same one was used in all four locations.
Front facing camera in the front cross member. Give me a real good look at those pesky parking blocks.
Finished glovebox. 3 spots for additional loads on the house battery. "Rock lights"?
This spot on the passenger side front bumper mount has a light pod for the rock lights, the ARB turn signal indicator harness and in there is also the outdoor temperature sensor.
Similar thing on the passenger side but this one has the C-Tek battery tender location and no outdoor temp sensor.
The temp sensor panel is in the glovebox and is turned on with the push button.
56.8 degrees today. I guess I'll keep my phone in my pocket for a few more minutes instead of checking the weather
Such a stupid thing to put in a truck but stupidity has never stopped me before.
This little guy fits nice and snug in the glove box and has a double sided socket and extension. One fits the spare tire lugs on the Kaymar and the other side fits the actual lug nuts. Just got to remember to take an impact. It also has spare fuses for the two Eaton fuse panels, the fuse puller and the allen key for those rear fogs.
Simple bracket for the step side puddle light mounts. The same one was used in all four locations.
Front facing camera in the front cross member. Give me a real good look at those pesky parking blocks.
saw the post on IG, any ideas what's next?
- Thread starter
- #500
I've had this '56 F100 taking up space in the garage for a very long time. It belonged to my late brother in-law. After my back surgery a few years ago, I realized I needed to start working on it or we won't be able to enjoy it while still "young"