Build Sandy the Tan FJ60

[GLTHFJ60]

Quick wash today top and bottom to clean her up after Relic Run.

View attachment 3306423
View attachment 3306424

That's gotta be satisfying after spending so long under a roof.

 

[Hokie LX]

That's gotta be satisfying after spending so long under a roof.

Extremely satisfying! First time it’s been washed since before fall crawl.

 

[Hokie LX]

Couple other additions I forgot to mention.

Picked up a barely used set of canvas SOR seat covers (front and rear) which I’m really digging. A friend had given me a 60 driver seat with new foam and a vinyl cover to replace my driver seat that was torn up like most. The vinyl was killing me in the summer. These should help with that any unify the interior and protect my factory pass and rear seat which are in pretty nice shape.

I also put in a set of LED headlights which I’m also liking. Did some night wheeling this past weekend and these made a huge difference. I liked the look of the Koito lights but they weren’t cutting it. These have a nice cutoff and perform well.

 

[Hokie LX]

Finally got the roof rust repair thread created.

How to Guide: Roof Rust Repair by Removing Roof Skin FJ60/62

Hi all, Before I start, I want to give another huge shout out to @GLTHFJ60 who was instrumental in making this project happen and I cannot thank him enough for his guidance and help along the way! For those following my build thread, I have already detailed it there but I wanted to make a...

forum.ih8mud.com

 

[klinetime574]

Great work on Sandy. Don’t know how I’ve missed this thread. Read the whole thing last night and this morning. Awesome work!

 

[Hokie LX]

My one stone armrests came in today for the 60. Really happy with them and they’re comfortable. I ordered both sides and am excited to try them out on the trip to GSMTR in June.

 

[Hokie LX]

Rear 3rd was taken out today to go to ECGS for an air locker install.

Took the opportunity to clean up and paint the rear drums that I didn’t paint before they went on and rusted basically immediately.

 

[Hokie LX]

Just got back Sunday from GSMTR in TN which was a blast! Sandy performed flawlessly all the way there, wheeling, and on the drive home. Luckily no damage was taken other than some slider and underbody dings.

The day before we left, I threw in my ARB locker that I had East Coast Gear Supply put in. They were awesome to deal with as usual. I had to use it in a couple places at Windrock and man does it make things easier!

I put the switches up in the panel I bought a while ago.

 

[Hokie LX]

STLCA puts on a great event and it was a lot of fun. This is my second year going. Met some new people and caught up with some old friends as well. Couple pics from the week. No real action shots unfortunately.

The One Stone armrests I put in were a game changer on the 400 mile trip out and back. Really comfortable!

Overall the truck got ~15mpg on the highway portion of the trip out and back which I was really happy with since we were cruising 65-75mph.

 

[Hokie LX]

Sandy helped me with some landscaping work the other day. The wife won't question the utility of a winch again!

 

[BrickRunner]

Sandy helped me with some landscaping work the other day. The wife won't question the utility of a winch again!

View attachment 3384783

View attachment 3384784

I've done more stump/concrete post pulling than actual recovery with mine.

 

[Hokie LX]

I realized during a heavy rain the other day that the rear hatch was leaking. I'm not sure how long it's been leaking but I suspect not long since I camped in the rain earlier this year and it didn't leak then.

Anyway, got new seals ordered. The upper lift gate sweeper seal as well as the entire hatch seal. Ordered from Summit Racing as they have great pricing on Precision Rubber seals.

Upper sweeper seal: Precision Replacement Parts GWT 5130 81 Precision Replacement Parts Liftgate Seals | Summit Racing - https://www.summitracing.com/parts/PQP-GWT-5130-81
Rear hatch surround seal: Precision Replacement Parts DWB 5130 81 Precision Replacement Parts Door Seals | Summit Racing - https://www.summitracing.com/parts/PQP-DWB-5130-81

Upon removing my upper sweeper seal I noted it was very degraded and had been chunking off. I was able to remove/replace with the hatch in place. I also took the time to really clean out the decades worth of mud and gunk that had accumulated around the hatch surround seal and mounting faces. Once cleaned up, I got the new one installed.

The longest part of this job was removing and unbolting my drawer setup to remove the lower metal kick plate which overlaps the seal. Got both new seals reinstalled and even with my best efforts with the hose, no water leaks!

 

[Hokie LX]

New truck day the other day for @GLTHFJ60 after he won (stole) a sweet 1997 ford super duty dump truck at a local auction.

Successful trip to go pick it up but I also ended up picking up a nail in the tire which I discovered the next morning. Luckily discount tire got me all patched and plugged and rebalanced under warranty

 

[Hokie LX]

Got most of my Dobinson's kit in yesterday. Still waiting on front shocks to show up...they're on backorder. The front procomp shocks currently don't even reach the front shock mounts on the new springs. I also will need to get longer sway bar links as my "extended links" are too short now.

The truck has had an ancient OME kit and ProComp shocks since I bought it and the PO told they are both...ancient.. I crushed the driver rear shock pretty good at GSMTR last year too. Suspension had been on the list for a while now and finally got around to doing it before prices went up Jan 1st of this year.

I went with IMS shocks and heavies F&R (HJ61-7L-F, HJ61-8L-R) as I like the flexibility of having extra leafs on hand for the future. Right now I have all the leafs in and will drive it once the front shocks show up and decide if I should pull a leaf or not. Overall I'm happy with the kit. Install was straightforward and I gained 2"+ of lift all around over my old OME kit. However, my lean is back which I'm unhappy with. The leafs were put in as labeled but I have a 1" difference right to left.

Shock comparison

Front leaf comparison

Before:

After:

Looking forward to driving it once the front shocks come in and see the difference!

 

[Hokie LX]

I also signed up for SAS #8 this year so I'll be taking Sandy cross country to Ouray, CO in August. Looking forward to getting back out to that event as it is the event that prompted me to get the 60 in the first place! My brother and I took his 62 out there in 2021 and I fell in love with the 60s. Bought Sandy a few months later.

I am already making a list of things that need to be done to it before the trip. With a newborn at home, I'll need to start knocking the items on the list out now as I don't have a ton of free time anymore. The dobinsons kit was the first item of the to do list.

 

[reddog90]

Got most of my Dobinson's kit in yesterday. Still waiting on front shocks to show up...they're on backorder. The front procomp shocks currently don't even reach the front shock mounts on the new springs. I also will need to get longer sway bar links as my "extended links" are too short now.

The truck has had an ancient OME kit and ProComp shocks since I bought it and the PO told they are both...ancient.. I crushed the driver rear shock pretty good at GSMTR last year too. Suspension had been on the list for a while now and finally got around to doing it before prices went up Jan 1st of this year.

I went with IMS shocks and heavies F&R (HJ61-7L-F, HJ61-8L-R) as I like the flexibility of having extra leafs on hand for the future. Right now I have all the leafs in and will drive it once the front shocks show up and decide if I should pull a leaf or not. Overall I'm happy with the kit. Install was straightforward and I gained 2"+ of lift all around over my old OME kit. However, my lean is back which I'm unhappy with. The leafs were put in as labeled but I have a 1" difference right to left.

Shock comparison
View attachment 3534420

Front leaf comparison
View attachment 3534422

Before:
View attachment 3534423

After:
View attachment 3534425


Looking forward to driving it once the front shocks come in and see the difference!

I have the same kit waiting at the freight terminal for me, front shocks supposed to come in February. Is your lean in front and back or just one end? Did you order center bolt spacers from Cruiser Outfitters?

 

[Hokie LX]

I have the same kit waiting at the freight terminal for me, front shocks supposed to come in February. Is your lean in front and back or just one end? Did you order center bolt spacers from Cruiser Outfitters?

The right side is higher F&R. 1" difference up front and 1.5" in the rear.

Will probably end up swapping rear spring packs L to R and see if that helps.

I used the rubber isolators and u-cup in the back that was on my OME kit. Not sure if that's the proper way to do it or not...

 

[CruiserTrash]

The right side is higher F&R. 1" difference up front and 1.5" in the rear.

Will probably end up swapping rear spring packs L to R and see if that helps.

I used the rubber isolators and u-cup in the back that was on my OME kit. Not sure if that's the proper way to do it or not...

FWIW I always advocate against using the rubber pads with aftermarket suspension. The OEM spring packs are just the right thickness where the metal channel on top contacts the lower plate right as you get the u-bolts to their torque spec, and so the torque both adequately squeezes the springs in place and results in metal-on-metal contact. Something firm to torque against, especially for 90-110ft-lb. Aftermarket spring packs are thicker, so the metal channel on top will never contact the lower plate - you end up putting all the toque onto the rubber pads. A couple things happen: the rubber moves around and the u-bolts lose torque, the rubber pads squish out and lose their shape, or - what has happened to me - you can never get full torque on the u-bolt nuts because the pads endlessly deform. I suppose you could also end up cutting or tearing the rubber pads and losing chunks of them, which would make things REAL loose REAL fast. In other words, the rubber pads don't work the same for aftermarket springs as they did for the original setup. There are other people who religiously reuse them, and they may jump in here. I think their physics is incorrect though.

There's an Old Man Emu part number you can get called "CBS01" (works for Dobby springs too). The upper spring plate in the rear is welded to the axle and it has a hole in the center. Normally the metal channel that holds the top rubber pad has a little thing that fits in there. with that gone all you have is the center pin of the spring, which is a smaller diameter than the hole. Your springs packs WILL shift around. The OME CBS01 is simply a little shim (looks like a donut) to keep the leaf springs centered on the axle and in one place. Inside diameter accepts the leaf pack center pin, outside diameter is the same as the hole in the axle plate.

The suspension looks great on your truck by the way. Dobinsons gang!

 

[open country]

New stance is great, assuming it will settle some and hopefully you can even out the left/right difference. Is it the classic Aussie "driver's side" issue? Or have they corrected instructions for US kits?

Re: rubber isolators, I wasted $100 on new ones to put on my OME setup after R&R on my rear axle. As @CruiserTrash mentions, I could never hit 90lbs torque and the rubber just flexed to the point of being useless anyway. I ordered the OME center pin spacer from @cruiseroutfit that I plan to put on to remove the caps/isolators.

 

[reddog90]

FWIW I always advocate against using the rubber pads with aftermarket suspension. The OEM spring packs are just the right thickness where the metal channel on top contacts the lower plate right as you get the u-bolts to their torque spec, and so the torque both adequately squeezes the springs in place and results in metal-on-metal contact. Something firm to torque against, especially for 90-110ft-lb. Aftermarket spring packs are thicker, so the metal channel on top will never contact the lower plate - you end up putting all the toque onto the rubber pads. A couple things happen: the rubber moves around and the u-bolts lose torque, the rubber pads squish out and lose their shape, or - what has happened to me - you can never get full torque on the u-bolt nuts because the pads endlessly deform. I suppose you could also end up cutting or tearing the rubber pads and losing chunks of them, which would make things REAL loose REAL fast. In other words, the rubber pads don't work the same for aftermarket springs as they did for the original setup. There are other people who religiously reuse them, and they may jump in here. I think their physics is incorrect though.

There's an Old Man Emu part number you can get called "CBS01" (works for Dobby springs too). The upper spring plate in the rear is welded to the axle and it has a hole in the center. Normally the metal channel that holds the top rubber pad has a little thing that fits in there. with that gone all you have is the center pin of the spring, which is a smaller diameter than the hole. Your springs packs WILL shift around. The OME CBS01 is simply a little shim (looks like a donut) to keep the leaf springs centered on the axle and in one place. Inside diameter accepts the leaf pack center pin, outside diameter is the same as the hole in the axle plate.

The suspension looks great on your truck by the way. Dobinsons gang!

Center Bolt Spacer - Stainless Steel - Fits 6x Applications (CROUTSSCBS)

Center Bolt Spacer - Stainless Steel - Fits 6x/7x Applications (CROUTSSCBS)

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