"Revamp" - My project FJ60 (SBC + Ranger OD / OME / etc...)

[orion]

Revamp : noun - The act of improving the form, structure, or appearance of something.

...

Hello all...new around these parts, but I've been active on 'Mud for a while. Bought and built up a GX470 last year, but the allure of a FJ60 finally got the best of me.

To be honest, my brother (@ufg8r) started me down this road years ago when he bought his FJ60. I've always been a sportscar guy, but after having a couple kids...I've found that it's a lot nicer to spend a weekend with them bouncing around in the truck with you, rather than them sitting in the infield of a road course watching me turn laps.

Anyway, after wheeling the GX470 a couple times, I realized I wanted a dedicated off road / weekend rig...rather than a daily driver that I took off road occasionally.

To that end, I scoured the classifieds and Craigslist...and finally came across an '87 Landcruiser in Orlando (bought it from another forum member!).

Details on the rig:

V8 swap (SBC, 305), mated to the stock drive train with a Ranger overdrive box (27% overdrive)
+ Champion aluminum radiator and working A/C (important here in sunny Florida!)
OME lift with ES9000 shocks up front, OME shocks in the rear
33x12.50 BFG all terrains on 15x8 ProComp steelies
142,000 miles on the chassis, around 5k on all the upgraded parts

Sellers pics:

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Overall, it's a nice truck that's a little rough around the edges. Rust in the usual spots, leaky oil pan gasket, front shocks are too short, pass. side exhaust is mostly made from flex-pipe, leaky transfer case output seal, etc...but I was looking for something I could improve upon.

So I got a great start...lots of nice parts...just needs some TLC.

I titled the thread "Revamp"...as this truck needs a redo in a lot of areas, along with a few upgrades. I've owned it now for 3 full months, and made the changes detailed in the next few posts.

- Brian

 

[orion]

I bought the truck in Orlando (I live outside Jacksonville), and took the long way home; through Ocala and Gainesville, as we attended a wedding there 3 hours after buying the truck!. Made it home without issue (other than me stalling it when leaving toll booths!)

Parked outside the wedding reception:

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The first thing to address was the throttle cable. It's a Lokar or maybe Specter, and was really tough to depress the gas pedal. Turns out, the angle at which it passed through the firewall was off by a good 1/4", so it was rubbing on the ferrule and causing a ton of friction. Redrilled the gas pedal, lubed the cable, and it was better...but had to be addressed twice more before I had it *just right*.

Next up: I'm a tall guy, with long legs...so going into 1st gear hit my right knee, and reverse caused me to have to slide way over in the seat to get the shifter over and back.

To remedy this, I pie-cut the base of the shifter, bent it over, and rewelded it...which moved the shift knob over to the pass. side right at 2 inches.

Now, it's perfect. Right where I reach out with my right hand...there's the shift knob. And no more contortions to get into reverse!

Next up: Straightening the bent front bumper. The pic says it all:

(this was 90% there...almost straight again)

I also washed it and hit it with a coat of polish to try and protect the paint.

Another appearance item: Although black wheels are fine, I prefer some contrast with the tire...and these old ProComps's were a little faded/oxidized.

Pulled them off, and hit them with a coat of bronze wheel paint:

Reinstalled with new lug nuts (when I got the rig, there were maybe 6 different types of lug nuts on it):

At this point, I was feeling pretty good about the truck, and decided to take it on a little excursion to a local-ish state forest:

Was a nice day with the family...but I did have a little mechanical hiccup...

(continued, below)

 

[orion]

After pulling back into the driveway, one of my daughters said "daddy, your truck is leaking".

I popped the hood and found that the lower radiator hose had been rubbed through by the serpentine belt. The pic below shows the coolant spraying out, although it's a terrible shot:

But hey...better at home than in the woods!

Fixed that with a new hose (cut it a little longer, so it had some more room at the bend)...

On to the next issue: Electrical connections. The A/C had a relay added (bolted to the fender, near the battery), along with another relay and battery cables that were too long.

I pulled the battery to try and clean all that up, and the battery tray basically fell apart in my hands:

The two tabs on top in that pic were really just the plastic covering...no structure. So that became the project rather than wire clean-up.

I had an aluminum tray left over from a display cabinet at a place I used to work...and it fit the battery area pretty well (side to side). So I cut it down the middle (lengthwise), and slid it inside itself (doubling up the bottom metal for extra strength). Riveted it back together, repainted and reinstalled the OEM brace, and bolted it back in place:

Perfect fit, and one less thing to worry about (for a long time!).

More to come, stay tuned. I'm posting the last 3 months work of work in one shot here today, so if it seems like were moving along really quickly...that's why.

- Brian

 

[orion]

Along the way, and in between the stuff I've already posted...I had a bunch of other little odds and ends to attend to:

Free'd up the drivers side rear door handle - It was gunked up and would stick up when you opened the door. I took the door apart, removed the handle, lubed and cleaned it...and it's good as new.

Added rubber floor mats, new LED license plate lights (motorcycle-style lights, they bolt the plate onto the bracket), removed the front sway bar (one of the brackets is housed, will think about putting it back on later), ran a constant +12v wire to the radio (head unit is in a Tuffy locking center console, so I had to fish a wire to it), etc...

...

Something that really annoyed me: The rear hatch would not turn (or lock). I thought the key was wrong, but figured maybe it was just frozen (tumblers stuck?)...so I pulled it all apart:

Got it COMPLETELY disassembled, and it was just corroded / gunked up. Cleaned and lubed it, got it all back together...and I can finally lock my truck!

I also picked up a set of replacement front marker lights. The originals looked like so:

...and there was nothing behind the lens. No bulb, no socket, nothing.

New one installed:

I know, I know...I'm getting into some real interesting and technical stuff here.

Bare with me, it gets better.

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Continuing on the lighting theme...the previous owner had installed one of those LED panel replacement bulbs (with the festoon adapter) in the dome light. But the rear cargo light needed some improvement.

Headed to Amazon and ordered a 36mm long festoon (4 LED) = Much more light:

Another nit-picky item...the rear bumper (custom by the PO, with a swingout and tire carrier) was held in place by a 'bolt', for lack of a better term. You swing it closed, then insert the bolt to secure the swingarm. But it needed something else, like a t-handle on top. Figured that was a great place for a bottle opener.

Took an old wrench, cut the end for a bottle opener and welded that on:

OK, now on to some actual tech...

(continued below)

 

[orion]

One thing that always bothered me was the throttle response. I attributed it to the iffy throttle cable, but thought something still seemed 'off'...and it was really choked off if you tried to "floor it", and run the RPMs up.

Pulled the air cleaner to investigate one night, and found that the carb primaries were hitting the intake manifold. At best, the most throttle I had ever experienced in this truck was about 35%...and the secondaries had never even opened up! No wonder it seemed choked off.

EDIT: Hard to see in this pic, even with the orange circle showing the problem area...but look close:

Turns out, the carb (an Edelbrock) was a standard square-bore pattern bolted to the OEM Chevy intake (spread bore pattern)...!!!!!

Simple fix: Bought an adapter to remedy this particular problem...

The extra height necessitated ANOTHER revision of the throttle cable, but all told...it was an improvement. The proper air flow into the intake manifold resulted in better low end throttle modulation, and being able to open up the secondaries unleashed the massive power of this old 305 V8 (I'm kidding - I don't think it makes much more than 200hp).

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After sorting out the carb...and aside from a little tinkering...all I did for a couple weeks was enjoy driving my wagon.

Took it to St. Augustine beach one day, and back to the state forest:

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Loving everything about it, except the front end being lower than the rear really bothers me for some reason.

So to get a little more lift, I picked up a shackle reversal (please save the comments and debate on this, I know it's a controversial subject! ) --->

I'll probably pick up (or make) some longer shackles for the rear, if it's not level.

I started on the SR 2 weeks ago...and should have it back on it wheels tonight. I only get a chance to work on the truck night and weekends, so it's slow going for bigger projects with cutting/grinding/welding (too loud when the kids are sleeping).

I'm also adding a winch plate (between the front frame rails, and reusing the stock bumper...but narrowing it by ~7 inches on either end). Since all that work is in the same area code, I'm knocking it out at the same time.

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I have a few more pics to post, but that will have to wait until tonight (I should really get back to work!)

Thanks for looking, and stay tuned for more...

- Brian

 

[cruisermatt]

Also consider your gearing is pretty tall, with the Ranger in Overdrive along with 3.70's and 33's.

An H55f and 4.88's would be a sweet setup, you'd get a ton of low end but it wouldn't sacrifice the top end because it f the double overdrive. It's why the Ranger is so awesome.

 

[DoubleNickels]

Cool stuff, thanks for sharing. I straightened my front bumper the same way, and found my side lamps in the same state too (lenses there, bulbs and sockets gone).

Looking forward to seeing more!

 

[Mace]

The pic of your rims on the truck. How much thread engagement do those lug nuts have? It looks very minimal..

 

[orion]

Also consider your gearing is pretty tall, with the Ranger in Overdrive along with 3.70's and 33's.

An H55f and 4.88's would be a sweet setup, you'd get a ton of low end but it wouldn't sacrifice the top end because it f the double overdrive. It's why the Ranger is so awesome.

A good thought.

I'll probably keep it simple, and regear with 4.56 or 4.88 when the time comes...depends on what tire ends up on it, long term.

Cool stuff, thanks for sharing. I straightened my front bumper the same way, and found my side lamps in the same state too (lenses there, bulbs and sockets gone).

Looking forward to seeing more!

Thanks. Think I'm going to swap out to LED bulbs for those side markers...might be the heat of that little bulb that's wrecking the housings and cover.

The pic of your rims on the truck. How much thread engagement do those lug nuts have? It looks very minimal..

It's 7-8 turns, easy. The lug nuts are about 7/8" tall, and the wheel stud ends right inside the end of the lug nut. I think that pic must be an optical illusion. They are stock wheel studs, with only the thickness of the steel wheel (3/16" thick at the mounting surface?)...no spacers.

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Continuing on with the "build"...

First step in the shackle reversal, or the winch plate install...was to get the stock bumper off. That took drilling the 4 upper (chrome) bumper bolts out, and snapping the heads off the bottom ones.

To remove the rivets from the brackets, I resorted to drilling the centers to weaken them...then cut the heads off with an air chisel:

That's no fun - It's truly as hard to remove those rivets as I have read. Noisy job, too.

(continued below)...

 

[orion]

With that out of the way, on to the winch mount...

I'm using a Harbor Freight winch plate (they had good reviews...!??!?!?!)...so I cut a couple inches off each end, and slid it between the frame rails:

Sticks out around 3" when it's as far back as it can go...I settled on 3.5" out from the front of the frame horns, to give me room for the nuts at the back of the SR bracket.

Oh yeah, almost forgot (sorry, skipping around a little here)...

The front shocks that were on the truck ("92151" stamped on the body...which I believe corresponds to a ES9000 shock, #921518) are too short at full droop, by around 1.25" --->

That's really gonna be a problem, with an additional 1.5" of lift up front.

For now, I'm cheating a little and just gonna use shock extenders (they thread onto the top of the shaft and add 3" of length)...will get proper length shocks once I've tested/sorted out the rest of the front suspension.

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OK, signing off for now. Will post a couple more pics of the near-finished winch plate tomorrow. Shackle reversal brackets are on (progress from tonight).

As of this moment - The truck is back on it's own wheels, but every nut and bolts needs tightening. Job for tomorrow night, I suppose.

Thanks for reading...

- Brian

 

[ufg8r]

Nice progress Brian, looking good!

 

[cruisermatt]

Weld the shackle reversal on...

 

[orion]

Nice progress Brian, looking good!

Thanks man...!

Weld the shackle reversal on...

I thought about it, but my welder is a Lincoln 110v...so I'm concerned about proper penetration of the 1/4" plate the brackets are made from. I might weld the edges of the brackets once it's all tightened down and aligned, to add some rigidity. But as it sits, it's held in place by (6) 7/16 diameter grade 8 bolts...so it's S-O-L-I-D.

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Couple more pics of the winch plate and SR progress...

Mockup showing the location of everything being bolted on. Again, the winch plate sticks out almost exactly 3.5" from the end of the frame:

(those 3/8" bolts are just for mockup)

Skipping forward a few days...I added 2x2 (1/8" thick) angle to the top and bottom of the frame, to add some strength (and provide an extension / mounting surface for the stock bumper brackets).

Also picked up 2 new tow hooks (only one shown installed here) -->

Other side:

There are (3) 3/8-16 Grade 8 bolts holding the winch plate on, on both side. Should be sufficient.

Overall, I'm happy with how it turned out. Tonight I'll get the shocks back in, and tighten all the bolts.

...

Next up: Spartan locker for the rear, among other things.

Thanks for reading!

- Brian

 

[cruisermatt]

Every non-factory weld on your truck before yours were done on a 110. That will be fine, max it out and go slow wire speed and slow travel speed.

I would also consider adding something under that plate as a precaution to it flexing.

 

[tgadd]

I don't have anything to say on the shackle reversal. I will say I like the bronze wheels!

 

[orion]

Every non-factory weld on your truck before yours were done on a 110. That will be fine, max it out and go slow wire speed and slow travel speed.

I would also consider adding something under that plate as a precaution to it flexing.

Yeah, but none of those welds are holding the suspension on...!

Besides, from what John said when I bought it...all the thicker stuff (rear bumper build, mainly) was done by someone with a 220v machine (tacked only by his 110v).

And I had a similar thought on the winch plate - In fact, I thought I might add some angle iron under the front winch bolts as a brace, plus a place to mount the front of a small 'skid plate'...not so much for rocks or obstacles, but to keep mud + water from flying right up to below where the mechanical fan can spray it everywhere.

I don't have anything to say on the shackle reversal. I will say I like the bronze wheels!

Thanks...I like the contrast with the tires, and white + bronze always looks good.

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So last night, I got all the suspension bolts torqued...and while I was under there, I noticed that the front center brake line (rubber one from the chassis to the axle) is almost taut at ride height.

From a quick search on here, it looks like the SOA guys use NAPA part number 38009, which is a 22.5" long replacement brake line. I'll have to hunt one of those down, post-haste.

Other than that - Shocks are in, with the 3inch "extenders" bolted onto the threaded upper mount...and surprisingly, they might work just fine now. They are only 8" travel shocks, but I had to compress them by 1" to get them installed, and there's 6.5" of up-travel before the axle hits the factory bump stops...so by my math, I have 1/2-inch of up travel left! They will likely limit droop, but they did before as well (without issue).

Again, they will get replaced at some point...but maybe further down the road. We'll see.

I'll get some 'finished' pics up later today, if possible.

- Brian

 

[orion]

Update time!

Got an extended brake line - Found and decided to try a #BHA36888 from Autozone...and it's perfect length (17.5"), the right thread/pitch (10x1 male/female)...BUT the male end was too short to seat/seal on the axle side! Dammit. Maybe (2) more threads and it would have sealed.

I went ahead and installed it, just married up to the OEM line (seals perfect there)...and I'll get the Napa one I referenced above on order. At least I can drive it!

So I rolled it out of the garage...and found that the front end came up over 2". Huh? And the front driveshaft is too short, at that height.

Got to thinking, and realized - My SBC conversion took around 200lbs off the front of the truck.

After some searching on here, I found a couple recommendations on removing a leaf from my front OME springs. The shortest (bottom) leaf was said to be fine to remove - So out it went.

Front of the truck dropped nearly an inch, and the driveshaft looks to be in a good spot. Also sits level (which is what got me started on this project to begin with!). All told, I gained 1.25" of lift from the SR + removing the one leaf. IMO, that's perfect. If I add a heavy bumper, or if the winch brings it down too much...I can just slide that leaf back in there.

Here's how it sits:

You can kinda see the OEM front bumper back on there...

I cut 7 inches off each end, and remounted it on the stock mounts. The mounts are extended by 3 inches (I actually used the factory front frame holes for the rear of the mounts + redrilled the lower hole). This puts the bumper 1/4" away from the fairlead mount on the winch plate.

I'm going to put the factory caps back on the bumper, here's one mocked up (not secured with anything):

And here's one from the top...you can see where I notched the bumper for the drivers side tow hook that I added. I will have to trim the top of the bumper to fit around a winch, but I'll save that for once I have a winch bolted on. --->

Overall, I'm very happy with how it came out. The narrowed bumper makes it looks less goofy, having been pushed out 3". Was simply too wide before.

Ride is great with the SR and removed leaf...very happy there, too.

Next up: Spartan locker + redoing the pass. side exhaust (it's all flex pipe).

- Brian

 

[Mace]

If the DS is too short at ride height (before you pulled the leaf out) it's not going to work at all off road. The Shackle reversal really makes the axle swing a lot more dramatically from the driveshafts point of view. You are likely going to need a new driveshaft with a long travel splined section.

 

[orion]

^^^ Yeah, I'm afraid you're right. I'm gong to find a place to flex the front suspension, and see how it looks.

Before removing the lower leaf, the ride height was only 1" away from full droop...so I'm hopeful that it will be OK with the limited 'flex'...but we'll see.

- Brian

 

[orion]

Been a couple weeks since my last update...

I've been tinkering with the truck a little when I have time, mainly nights and weekends.

After some poking around, I determined that I need to replace my trans mount (but a used / good condition one was included when I bought the truck!). So that's on the short list...

Also, I have a Spartan locker that needs to go in the rear end. The truck is sitting on jackstands currently, I'll hopefully start on that tonight.

I have found time to finish the front bumper: Redrilled/opened up all the mounting holes on the stock brackets, and reinstalled it with some 1/2" stainless steel 'carriage bolts'. They are not chrome, but they still look same as stock.

I also decided to add some flush mount LED fog lights to the bumper. I chose some 60-degree flood lights off Amazon (Kawell brand)...good reviews, and under $30 if I recall correctly. Chose the floods because the flat area (front of the bumper) is angled down around 15-degrees...so the spot lights would have been just pointing at the ground.

Easy install - Measure twice, cut 2 large holes, drill 8x, and mount 'em up (I used some stainless button head fasteners, rather than the bulky-looking allen bolts that were included with the lights).


OK, enough rambling...here's a pic:

I'm really pleased with how it looks.

Thanks for reading.

- Brian