Roscoe: the 60 series journey begins... (1 Viewer)

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Joined
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Location
Nashville
Hey mud,

After some serious 60 series fever and mega lurking in this section, I finally sold my 80 and picked up my new to me fj62 today. I knew it was a sacrifice of comfort and more modern drivetrain, but the classic bones of these rigs are undeniable...

The seller had named the rig "Roscoe" and I am running with it, great name!

I am going to use this thread as a build/modification journal of what I do to Roscoe over time. The plan for the rig will be a daily driver and exploration/camping rig. I need it to do mild-moderately difficult trails and be able to work as a base for up to week long trips in the bush for the future...

1988 FJ62
310,000 miles (roughly)
4 speed manual transmission (from fj60) along with Tcase
2.5-3" TPI "Smoky Mountain" suspension with OME shocks
33x10.5x15 tires on aftermarket rims
Factory roof rack
Old School stripes
Honda prelude front seats
Overall clean interior


The plan:

-Front bumper (not sure yet??)
-Rear bumper (not sure yet??? would love a bumper that could have tire carrier/jerry can holder pop on only for trips (pipe dream, LOL)
-Sliders (brand unknown)
-Full length roof rack
-16" wheels with 255/85/16 tires
-Dan's Drawer system (local custom fabricator), with vintage woodgrain finish
-Rear locker
-Dual batteries

The mega dream:

-80 series frame/coils swap
-12H-T diesel conversion/ H55 transmission
-35" tires

Anyway, the truck is a lot of fun to drive, and I am glad to be in a vintage wagon. Hoping I can soak up the knowledge on this forum and learn about my truck.

These are the only two pics I have right now on my laptop.

cheers, mud!

Joel
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Hey Joel. Cole introduced us at GSMTR 2017. Neat 62. I really dig the stripes.
I saw you add looking for stock seats, I'd advise against that, anything other then the stock seats is an upgrade. Stick with what you got!
 
Congrats Joel ... I know you’ve had wagon fever for a long time, pleased you finally got to scratch the itch!

Looking forward to seeing Roscoe progress and help with the build any way I can
 
Nice looking truck! Congrats :)
 
Couple more pics of Roscoe. As you can see, my 9 year old and my wife are stoked with the new direction...

It has been a blast to drive the past week, and I am really liking the manual transmission with the 3FE. Really would be a great combo in my 40! I am having so much fun with it, I am on the fence what to do next. I have about $3,500 to spend on it for the rest of this year.

I know I need to baseline the fluids, etc... first. Then I have a steering wobble upon hard braking (TREs?) that needs to be addressed.

Based on my lift, what are others' opinions as to what size tires you would run, and would love opinions on my current wheels vs. something else that may look good with my old school pinstripes.

Anyway, loving 60 life, can't wait to go camping this fall!


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Welcome. Love the stripes. Mine is just a big red box. I've been trying to decide what kind of stripes or graphics to use to break up all the red. Good luck with your build!
 
Couple more pics of Roscoe. As you can see, my 9 year old and my wife are stoked with the new direction...

It has been a blast to drive the past week, and I am really liking the manual transmission with the 3FE. Really would be a great combo in my 40! I am having so much fun with it, I am on the fence what to do next. I have about $3,500 to spend on it for the rest of this year.

I know I need to baseline the fluids, etc... first. Then I have a steering wobble upon hard braking (TREs?) that needs to be addressed.

Based on my lift, what are others' opinions as to what size tires you would run, and would love opinions on my current wheels vs. something else that may look good with my old school pinstripes.

Anyway, loving 60 life, can't wait to go camping this fall!


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Love it!!

Looking good! Glad you were able to finally sell the 80 and pick up the 62! I know we have both been looking for awhile. I saw that one posted and love the stripes.

I’m a fan of the stock chrome rims in 60 series, as well as the 40 Steelies and hubcaps.

I finally got a 60 as well, but haven’t posted anything yet.
 
Spend the remaining funds on safety and reliability options first. Followed up with an extra custom build item to keep it interesting. My .02
 
For your braking wobble, get the alignment checked. May be related to the lift.
 
Agreed... at this point I would spend money on the safety and reliability items before proceeding any further with the truck. Make sure those things are in good working order and then proceed with other fun stuff!

As for you tire question, what size are on there now? I feel like they fill the wheel wells nicely but those rims need to go!
 
I am typically in the camp of "keep it original" BUT @cruisermatt is right! I really like those seats. Have a very JDM GX flavor that looks at home there. Nice looking 60 series, if you think you like the 4 speed (if or when it takes a dump) swap the H55f in there and you have a dream combo (4.11 gears and .08 overdrive whith 33" tires)
 
I have seen you patiently pace the classifieds for quite a while. Looks like your patience paid off big time. Fantastic looking rig!

I have a white 62 also and white is my least favorite color on these rigs. I was seriously toying with a respray/color change but your rig looks great with the graphics breaking up the white. Like others have mentioned I may have to look in to something like that for mine.

Welcome to the 60 series addicts online meeting space
 
Agreed... at this point I would spend money on the safety and reliability items before proceeding any further with the truck. Make sure those things are in good working order and then proceed with other fun stuff!

As for you tire question, what size are on there now? I feel like they fill the wheel wells nicely but those rims need to go!

The tires that are on there now are 33x10.5x15 and they are about 6 years old... I have a buddy that has some original 60 rims that he may part with...

I am typically in the camp of "keep it original" BUT @cruisermatt is right! I really like those seats. Have a very JDM GX flavor that looks at home there. Nice looking 60 series, if you think you like the 4 speed (if or when it takes a dump) swap the H55f in there and you have a dream combo (4.11 gears and .08 overdrive whith 33" tires)[/QUO TE]

Thanks, man. The PO swapped in fj60 gears in the diffs (3.70?) when he did the 4 speed conversion. The truck has some great pep with the manual tranny for sure. At 70 mph I am at 2700 RPM or thereabouts...
 

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