September POTM - FJ55TLC

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FJ55,

I had to laugh, reading that whole thing, I'm saying where's the pictures. Then I got to the bottom. :) I'd like to see your overhead. I've been doing alot of thinking about how to build mine.

Thanks, Ron
 
Ok, I took some pictures after work. I removed the old and trusty Warn hubs and replaced them with some Aisin hubs I bought used. I rebuilt them and painted the body black and the knob yellow. There is a third spare Aisin hub in the middle of my spare tire carrier. I built a full width truss for the front axle from knuckle to knuckle and 1/4" plate on the differential cover just because I thought it would make it stouter. And I could not have given myself a hernia with the stock axle. The truss also has the spring mounts and shock mounts in it, all one big welded piece. All new seals and heavy wiper seal plates too. I also had to put yellow shock boots on it of course. You can see the on u-bolt on the passenger side u-bolt plate and the two bolts. So far so good.

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Here is the rear axle. I decided not to build a truss for it but I did add the 1/4" plate to the differential cover even though the cover on a full float is welded on. I thought it could use some armor. I put chrome-moly axles on it and case hardened studs. I put those case hardened studs on the front axle too. I welded the traction bar mounts on the axle but have not finished the traction bar itself yet. I also need to tidy up the rear brake lines with mounts that I have made for them that I still need to weld on. All that needs to be done before any serious off road trips. The rear axle does not seem to flex like it used to so far. Maybe if I used a bigger rock?

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Here are pictures of the over head console. They turned out kind of crappy because of the sun. On the far left, which you cant see, are all my switches for driving lights, fog lights, back-up lights, rock lights, and under body lights for right and/or left side. Then I built in a little storage box that latches closed. Beside that is my GPS. Very handy those things are. To the right of the GPS is the 7 inch screen for the front and rear camera. I have a switch beside the screen. Up position shows the front view and down shows the rear view. Middle is off. I will lower the rear camera when I finish the rear winch install so there wont be so much of the spare tire. Beside the screen to the right is another storage box. The console is made with 1/8" steel bent at a 90 degree angle. I cut it to fit tight against the windshield and roof line. I need to add a couple inches of tint to the top of the windshield so you cant see the wiring in the console. I used the mounting holes for the stock sunvisors and rear view mirror to hold the front of the console and I made pins that go through just above the front door weather strip that hold the back of the console. By removing those pins the console can tilt down, allowing access to the inside of the console and the backs of the switches, power supplies, and wiring. The factory sunvisors did not fit because their mount is now flat, so I used first generation 4runner sunvisor that I vinyl painted to match the rest of the interior. The stock rear view mirror did not adjust far enought to see out the back so I had to buy a cheap one from an auto parts store, but it gets the job done. The only problem I have with it is it hangs down a bit too far. I built the bucket seat mounts before I added the over head console so I need to redo the seat mounts to lower the seats about an inch, then all will be good. I actually have new Tundra power, heated, leather seats that will require new mounts anyway. Yet another project in a long list of projects.

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Thanks guys! Honestly, the screen, both cameras, and the switch was all about $50.00 off of Amazon. The cameras are water proof (though yet to be thoroughly tested) and the screen has two inputs. I have the cameras on one of the inputs so if I wanted to add a dvd player or something I could on the second input.
 
Ok, due to overwhelming reponse from the icey river crossing picture (ok, just MNP1), I thought I would post a short video of the adventure. The ice was about 6 inches or so at its thickest. Not thick enough to hold a fj55. We had broken trail in the snow up to that point. As soon as I realized that none of the other trucks with me were going to cross after me, I backed back out. Not sure how much deeper the water was going to be on the other side and the sun had already set. Sorry about the loud power steering belt noise, it really not that loud but the camera sure picks it up. And I will try to teach these guys how to hold a camera still too. Here is the link:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Rb__otEMxFI&feature=youtu.be
 
fj55tlc said:
Thanks guys! Honestly, the screen, both cameras, and the switch was all about $50.00 off of Amazon. The cameras are water proof (though yet to be thoroughly tested) and the screen has two inputs. I have the cameras on one of the inputs so if I wanted to add a dvd player or something I could on the second input.
Click to expand...

Seriously?!? I'm going to check that out!
 
Yes, seriously. The trick I found is, do your research, be sure of what you want, and watch Amazon. There are lots of diffrent kinds of cameras and screens. I chose ones that were not the junk cheap ones but not high end either. As long as the camera were water proof and durable, I was interested. There are kits you can buy, which are expensive. Watch the prices on Amazon, they fluctuate a lot. Buy them when they are cheap and spend enough to get free shipping. Another project I am watching the prices for on Amazon is a solar panel for the roof to keep my batteries charged when it sits.
 
Actually, I am a charter member of the Colorado Land Cruiser Club. I assisted Steve Smith when he started it way back in 95/96. Mine was the second fj55 in the club and the first to go on any trail rides as a club. I am planning to be at the Rising Sun rally next month. See you there if you are planning to attend.
 
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