Builds Sandy the Tan FJ60

[Hokie LX]

Nice! Such a great save/rescue on this truck. Grease those spring pins.

PSA…if the bushings ever deteriorate like that with greasable shackle pins in, the bushing debris material will pack and clog the grease ports on the pins. All my greasable pins were clogged when the OME bushings crumbled away. Had to use some thin wire to clean the pin holes out, and flush new grease via the grease gun on the bench.

Your photo reminded me of my crumbled bushings.

Thank you!

Good note! I'll keep that in mind going forward. I greased the new bushings really well while putting them in and once they were in and tightened up so hopefully they'll fair better than the OME ones that were in there and were ancient.

 

[reddog90]

How much rake do you have now?

 

[Hokie LX]

How much rake do you have now?

Center of hub to fender is ~1" higher in the front. Truck looks level though instead of having a massive rake like before.

 

[Hokie LX]

Just got the mail today and my t-case shifter extension arrived from @LandCruiserPhil!

Had to throw it on quickly. Looks great and will put the t-case shifter in a better spot.

 

[Hokie LX]

Started my project today to get the chassis cleaned up and coated. Got the rear bumper removed, started taking the brackets off of the frame and started wire wheeling the rear half. Will take the next few days to finish prepping the frame and then applying the coating.

The inside of the frame will get Corroseal and then Eastwood internal frame coating followed by some Fluid film.

The outside of the chassis will get POR15 applied with Top Coat. Fluid film will go in some tight areas just for good measure but the whole chassis won't get coated.

Taking the bumper off reminded me of the trailer brake wiring from one of the POs which had to go since I won't be towing with this thing, especially anything that would need a trailer brake. Been meaning to take this off for a while now.

Hard to show but got my new ignition cylinder from @ToyotaMatt that is keyed to match my doors. Happy to finally have the whole truck using one key.

 

[Hokie LX]

Edit: just got notified that this is my 1000th post on Mud! Only took me close to 6 years

Now we have some real motivation to get the frame coating done!

Next is getting these prepped and painted

 

[77CruiserDog]

Spent some time today digging into the cooling system now that all of my parts are here that I ordered. Cooling system was top of the list of things to fix after the clutch was fixed. It had developed a few leaks during our trip home and so the truck has sat since it got home until I can get the whole cooling system replaced. The truck has a CSF radiator from 2019 which was installed so that will stay.

I found the pinhole leak in the smallest coolant hose which a previous shop installed some random tubing which swelled when the coolant got hot. Seems it would swell to the point where the AC compressor belt would rub it and then it wore through.

Lots of random hose clamps and hoses were used in the previous cooling system refresh. Lots of leaks. It will all get replaced with OEM hardware and hoses.
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Parts on deck. 3FE fan clutch going in as well.

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I'll be replacing the PS pump as well while I have the space open and doing a LOT of cleaning from the leaking PS pump which has caused a lot of build up in the engine bay.
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That hose being rubbed through by the belt looks just like mine did before I replaced it. Mine wasn't at the point of leaking but I wonder if this is something to keep an eye on in the future.

 

[77CruiserDog]

Cooling system is now leak free. Took some readjusting of the two lower radiator pipes up to the waterpump to really get it perfect. Took her for a test drive to a buddy's house and no leaks over ~50 miles or so. Will keep an eye on it going forward just to make sure.

Otherwise, I've been cleaning up the interior more for sound deadening installation. Been working on the 1st and second row floors and existing sound insulation. Cleaning, degreasing, vacuuming, rinse and repeat. The front factory insulation will definitely need to come out as it's breaking down and just goo in some spots. The second row is iffy. There's an area in the middle that's failed so the entire second row insulation may come out too. Putting new insulation over failed insulation with an air gap defeats the purpose so I'm wanting to take it all out to ensure good adhesion. This pic is after some cleaning. Still some more to do prior to laying down the sound deadening.
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Already have the 3rd row and quarters mostly done. Still need to clean and line the outer fender wells in the quarter panel area.
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Didn't get to touch the truck much today but I did fix the horn. The PO had wired up a switch horn on the dash due to the factory horn not working. I bought some new parts and got it working again this evening. Hooked up the factory wiring again to the horn and removed more additional wiring from the truck added in its past life. Love getting rid of all of these wires!

Horn button:
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New parts next to the old ones:

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Now the horn will actually work in traffic if I have a panic situation and don't remember to hit the external button.

It sure feels good to get rid of the aftermarket stuff, especially when you can combine that with adding new OEM stuff to actually repair the issue correctly. Nice work!!

 

[77CruiserDog]

Awesome build/transformation!!! So fun to read this! Nice work.

 

[Hokie LX]

That hose being rubbed through by the belt looks just like mine did before I replaced it. Mine wasn't at the point of leaking but I wonder if this is something to keep an eye on in the future.

I was definitely surprised to see that as I hadn't seen it before. Maybe that's a common thing when using non-standard hose.

Awesome build/transformation!!! So fun to read this! Nice work.

Thank you!

 

[77CruiserDog]

Just got the mail today and my t-case shifter extension arrived from @LandCruiserPhil!

Had to throw it on quickly. Looks great and will put the t-case shifter in a better spot.

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This is why I love reading people's builds. I'd never heard of this and want one!!

 

[mojo1848]

New City Racer Intake tube installed this morning.
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Mine is missing this air intake hose, thinking of ordering the part. Does the air intake end fit inside anywhere behind the grille or attach anywhere specific? I've seen some images where it looks like it inserts behind the headlight, but that is right where the wires for the headlights are located.

 

[Major Nelson]

Nothing special today but did an oil change.

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finally! Think I've found the oil I want to use going forward for the 2F!

 

[Hokie LX]

Mine is missing this air intake hose, thinking of ordering the part. Does the air intake end fit inside anywhere behind the grille or attach anywhere specific? I've seen some images where it looks like it inserts behind the headlight, but that is right where the wires for the headlights are located.

If you’re looking at the back of the driver headlight, there is another hole towards the outside of the fender which locates the other end of the intake hose.

finally! Think I've found the oil I want to use going forward for the 2F!

I did a lot of reading and found this to be a good option. I’m also a huge fan of Amsoil products

 

[Hokie LX]

Not much progress the past week. My wife and I lost our pup of 16 years and I took some time away from the truck as a result. Finally felt like getting back to it today and continued my undercoating process.

I wirewheeled the whole frame a week and a half ago and gave it a couple rounds of degreasing. Axles will get pulled once frame is done and get their treatment.

Got the corroseal sprayed inside the frame and will now wait for it to dry before applying the Eastwood internal frame coating.

Once inside is coated with Eastwood, I’ll work on the outside using POR and then fluid film will go inside and out.

 

[mojo1848]

Not much progress the past week. My wife and I lost our pup of 16 years and I took some time away from the truck as a result. Finally felt like getting back to it today and continued my undercoating process.

I wirewheeled the whole frame a week and a half ago and gave it a couple rounds of degreasing. Axles will get pulled once frame is done and get their treatment.

Got the corroseal sprayed inside the frame and will now wait for it to dry before applying the Eastwood internal frame coating.

Once inside is coated with Eastwood, I’ll work on the outside using POR and then fluid film will go inside and out.

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Sorry to hear about your pup. They are always tough to lose...

 

[77CruiserDog]

Not much progress the past week. My wife and I lost our pup of 16 years and I took some time away from the truck as a result. Finally felt like getting back to it today and continued my undercoating process.

I wirewheeled the whole frame a week and a half ago and gave it a couple rounds of degreasing. Axles will get pulled once frame is done and get their treatment.

Got the corroseal sprayed inside the frame and will now wait for it to dry before applying the Eastwood internal frame coating.

Once inside is coated with Eastwood, I’ll work on the outside using POR and then fluid film will go inside and out.

View attachment 2921754

Losing a dog is so hard, I'm sorry. I suppose the only thing anyone can do is just keep moving forward. Having a project sure does help.

 

[Hokie LX]

Sorry to hear about your pup. They are always tough to lose...

Losing a dog is so hard, I'm sorry. I suppose the only thing anyone can do is just keep moving forward. Having a project sure does help.

Thanks guys. I appreciate that.

The truck is a good outlet and distraction since there’s plenty to do. Trying to take advantage of the 70* weather to get this undercoating done!

 

[Hokie LX]

Been slowly working on the frame coating project over the past few weeks in the limited free time I've had. Did the following process and just sprayed the Eastwood today.

1. Remove all hoses, hard lines, etc from the frame rails. Remove exhaust shielding for access to top of frame rails.
2. Grind the entire frame with wire wheel front to back.
3. Clean frame with soap/water and re-spray out the inside of the frame as I did a few posts back.
4. Degrease 2x inside and out
5. Apply Corroseal inside frame
6. Etch outside of frame with POR Metal etch
7. Apply 2 base coats of POR15
8. Apply 2 top coats of POR 15 DTM top coat
9. Apply Eastwood Interior frame coating to inside of frame

All that's left is to reattach the stuff I took off of the frame and truck to do the project. We have a local club event next weekend so the axles will get done after that event as well as the front end rebuild and new brake system.

Before pics of the frame as it was when I bought the truck:

 

[Hokie LX]

Wire wheeling removed all of the surface rust and discovered that all the rust was just surface. Bare frame looked great minus some of the flash rust from the water. These pics were after the corroseal was applied inside and outside was etched so there's some white residue.