Build Sandy the Tan FJ60

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Hokie LX said:
New seat for the 60. Wanted something new that was hopefully more comfortable than the stock seats and this one delivers. They’re back ordered in this color so passenger seat will come later. It’s a Bestop Trailmax II Pro in their spice color with the fabric insert. They fit great in the 60, color matches the interior well, and I’m very happy with it. Whipped up some quick adapters out of steel flat bar and bolted them to the factory sliders. I also took the opportunity to move the seat back 2” for more space and driving comfort.

I had been eying the procar elite seats pretty hard but ended up going with these and am happy with them!

Yes it’s a J**p seat…

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Do you know if the right hand seat would be a mirror of the left hand seat with the same functionality?
 
Got the front Dobinsons shocks installed today that showed up a few weeks ago. I also replaced all the shock hardware F&R with new Toyota bolts/washers. I’ll put some miles on it then retorque and trim the ubolts and should be good to go! Just need to get the steering box back in and I’ll be ready to drive it again.

I have a spare PS box coming from @Rockymtnreaper that I’ll install while I reseal my PS box. We have our ONSC Relic Run event next weekend so truck will be able to make it. Thanks Tucker!

Old ProComp shocks from decades ago.
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New hotness
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Rockymtnreaper said:
It should make it to your place today! 😎 The new Dobinsons kit should make it ride so much better! I am curious about your thoughts on it!
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I’ll let you know once I get some miles on it. Will have a 2 hour drive to my event next weekend which should be a nice baseline along with some wheeling.


In other news, I was able to snag a few PS box rebuild kits that surprisingly showed up from Amayama. These are now discontinued so frantically had to track down some remaining stock as the gates kit I bought is incomplete for my square pattern box. This should solve that issue.

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Goodie box from @Rockymtnreaper showed up the other day. Got the box cleaned up with some degreaser, wire brush and pressure washer and installed and Sandy is driving again! Hoping to put some miles on it this week to get a feel for the new Dobinsons and fix any issues that may have cropped up in the last few months of sitting before my next wheeling event in 2 weeks.

The original box will get rebuilt as I have time. Hopefully in the next few weeks and will go back in and then this new box will get rebuilt as a spare.

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Put about 25 miles on Sandy today. Initial impressions of the dobinsons are really good. The shock/spring combo feels much better on road than my ancient blown out, crushed procomp shocks...shocker. I have the sway bar disconnected for now and will keep it that way through the wheeling trip in a couple weeks then decide if I want to keep it on the truck or not. With the fresh springs/shocks the body roll really isn't as bad as I had expected. Overall so far, I am very happy with the dobinsons and I'm excited to try them out offroad in a couple weeks. The shock length will be a HUGE improvement compared to the procomp shocks on there. I bet the dobinsons are 6-8" longer which should help a lot wheeling taking advantage of the droop in the springs.

As for the steering box, no leaks but I do need to adjust the screw on it as there's a ton of play in it.

I'm happy to have the truck back on the road!
 
Working on my to do list for the first wheeling event of the year that I leave for on Thursday.

- adjusted the set screw on the new used steering box to tighten it up.
- retorqued and trimmed ubolts from Dobinsons install.
- replaced rear side marker that lost a fight with a tree at Fall Crawl a couple years ago.
- finally added a second hood hinge that the truck was missing when I bought it.
- started prepping the radiator skid plate I got last year. it was a little rusty so it was wire wheeled and ospho’d. Going to paint tomorrow.


Still to do:
- adjust clutch slave to raise engagement point a little. There’s currently some dead pedal at the top.
- adjust the brake booster rod out a hair as the brake pedal also has a small dead spot at the top.
- grease zerks
- give her a mechanical once over and a wash and she’ll be good to go!

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Clutch slave adjusted, new skid installed, zerks greased, ac belt tightened. All she needs is a bath and we're ready for Carolina Relic Run this weekend.

I have been toying with the brake booster adjustment rod for a while now, basically since I installed the new booster. I’m not sure if it’s a booster issue or a master issue but whenever I adjust it out far enough to get rid of the slop in the brake pedal, it ends up locking the brakes and won’t release at varying levels depending on the rod adjustment length. The only way to get it to not lock the brakes is to have half of the pedal travel essentially loose. The brakes work great once they down the pedal stroke and I haven't had any issues driving it as such for the past year. It's more annoying than anything that the pedal has that much travel before brakes engage. I will adjust the pedal stop to try and limit it but I still think there is something else going on.

Any ideas from the masses?
 
I just fought this.

I used a booster tool to set it at first. Brakes felt amazing cold but would drag when hot. The truck wouldn’t move when foot was off the brake after a drive.

I had to lower the clevis on the brake pedal more than I felt comfortable with and it loosened the “preload” on the master/booster.

I just loosened the stop nut and threaded the knurled portion of the booster rod in with a channel lock a bit til the pedal lowered and it relaxed a bit.

I like a high and firm pedal, and this is just a hair below that but the booster makes up for it.


This is the tool I used for the engine bay portion.
 
Hokie LX said:
Clutch slave adjusted, new skid installed, zerks greased, ac belt tightened. All she needs is a bath and we're ready for Carolina Relic Run this weekend.

I have been toying with the brake booster adjustment rod for a while now, basically since I installed the new booster. I’m not sure if it’s a booster issue or a master issue but whenever I adjust it out far enough to get rid of the slop in the brake pedal, it ends up locking the brakes and won’t release at varying levels depending on the rod adjustment length. The only way to get it to not lock the brakes is to have half of the pedal travel essentially loose. The brakes work great once they down the pedal stroke and I haven't had any issues driving it as such for the past year. It's more annoying than anything that the pedal has that much travel before brakes engage. I will adjust the pedal stop to try and limit it but I still think there is something else going on.

Any ideas from the masses?
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Lets take it for a test ride I can bring my OEM adjuster tool
 
All sorted, I hope. Ended up shortening the pedal-booster rod all the way in so it hit the back of the pedal, adjusted the pedal stop to match. Ended up extending the booster-master rod a hair (1/8 turn) and seems to be the sweet spot. Pedal feel is much improved and no dragging, that I've experienced yet.

cruisermatt said:
Lets take it for a test ride I can bring my OEM adjuster tool
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That'd be awesome, thanks! It'll be good to double check with the tool since I won't get one here before the event.
 
be careful with that because you can have dragging and not feel it until after +hour drive the brakes will eventually slowly lock up.
 
cruisermatt said:
be careful with that because you can have dragging and not feel it until after +hour drive the brakes will eventually slowly lock up.
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I plan to take it for a longer drive tomorrow to check. Which one of my adjustments raised concern, the booster master rod extension?
 
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No concern as long as you are sure it's not dragging - just that sometimes it can seem like is not dragging because it is so slight. This will eventually heat up the front brakes enough to boil them. This actually just happened at my shop recently

Have you also verified that your rear drums are adjusted out properly? Rear brakes should have some light drag when spinning wheel by hand that can really affect immediate pedal effectiveness as well.
 
cruisermatt said:
No concern as long as you are sure it's not dragging - just that sometimes it can seem like is not dragging because it is so slight. This will eventually heat up the front brakes enough to boil them. This actually just happened at my shop recently

Have you also verified that your rear drums are adjusted out properly? Rear brakes should have some light drag when spinning wheel by hand that can really affect immediate pedal effectiveness as well.
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I have a very very slight incline at the top of my driveway which I use as a calibrated and scientific gauge. Usually the truck will free roll very slowly in neutral and it is now after the 5 min test drive. The longer drive tomorrow will be more telling. It’ll be good to check with your tool this week though.

I’m going to double check drums tomorrow. Was actually just texting @HemiAlex about this a few minutes ago. They lock up what I think to be too quickly before fronts are getting full brakes so going to check them and make sure they’re properly adjusted
 
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