You haven't had it for 12 years, you didn't have to own up to that, could have blamed the prior owner.
She's back! (1 Viewer)
- Thread starter bernefj60
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You haven't had it for 12 years, you didn't have to own up to that, could have blamed the prior owner.
- Thread starter
- #22
Probably could have, but considering I got the tailpipe and muffler back that I gave him, I'm not sure he did much more than basic maintenance.You haven't had it for 12 years, you didn't have to own up to that, could have blamed the prior owner.
- Thread starter
- #23
Mine is totally desmogged, but I gutted the smog pump and reinstalled it, then hooked up the hoses to random ports. I leaned it out a bit and bumped up the idle to 850 to pass, but pass it did!
Love the patina,actually looks just like mine lol..
I see you’re running dual batteries,I wanna do this someday,how are they wired up?
I see you’re running dual batteries,I wanna do this someday,how are they wired up?
If I had that mother my commute to work would be much easier. I would just dare anyone to cut over in front of me. In a truck like that you never have to stop, just merge.
IPOR
IronPigOffroad.com
That thing looks great Rob. Nice to have it back in the family. We have to take it and the once again mine 55 down to the farm with the boys this summer. Tube the river, midnight wheeling and teach them how to eat Cheetos and beer for breakfast.
I gotta admit , Berne, after reviewing the pictures in your initial posting, your Wagon with the hood down, the doors shut and the windows rolled up presents a solid and striking silhouette on the tarmac. Its upright stance, although immobile, appears to be charging forward. All I can say is “Build it and drive it like you stoled it”.
- Thread starter
- #28
UPDATE:
Well, I just drove it 60 miles down to Iron Pig Off Road to hang out with my buddy Lance and, while I cruised down there at 70 without a problem, it was a noisy ride. I told Lance when I got there it reminded me of the time that he and I drove all night to Asheville (NC) from Northern VA to pick up a Deuce and a half. The ride down in my Yukon Denali was nice. The ride back in the Deuce, less so. Anyway, my ride to IPOR was like that. I doubt that any sane person would have felt comfortable. I, on the other hand, was perfectly content.
Full Disclosure: Lance and I have been friends for 28 years. Like, 'he was the best man in my wedding' friends. Also, Lance and I built my truck together nearly 20 years ago, so there's that.
That said, I can't recommend his shop enough. Not only does Lance have a ton of knowledge, he's got a ton of fab talent. The tools there make me green with envy, and in so many ways, his shop is the epitome of what you expect a Cruiser shop to be. Huge, well stocked and well staffed, clean, and packed with cool projects! I have always trusted Lance implicitly (if you ever saw my 40, you'd know why) and so he was the first guy I called when I was thinking of getting the old girl back.
Anyway, I drove down Sunday to hang out and see what we should do with my junk and, after 7 hours of yakking and catching up, we decided I should take one of his trucks home and leave mine there. We've got a lot going on, but we're doing it together on the weekends, so updates will be on Monday's.
Plan so far is to make is to first make it safe, reliable, and presentable. that means:
-Pressure wash the whole thing (Lance did that today - he said it was a total mess)
-Cut out all the rust and rebuild the entire rear frame section from the bend back.
-Cut out the middle inner frame rails and weld in new plates
-New rear quarters and wheel wells.
-Treat all surface rust and spray with undercoating below and rust converter elsewhere.
-Prime the whole thing for paint.
-Entirely new exhaust (my headers had a three inch long hole in the #3 tube at the bottom of the bend) made from thick stainless. Lance doesn't F around, lol.
-Engine reseal
-replace t-case/trans seal (so we can get rid of the ghetto-fabulous transfer tub between the two.)
- New shocks all around
-New wheels and tires (the SSR's are great, but since the front, top shock bushings had been missing for so long, the front tires have flat spots all over them and ride like they're square)
I'm sure I'm forgetting stuff, but Lance @IPOR can chime in with whatever I've left out.
Anyway, it'll be fun to dig back into a truck we built so long ago, and laugh at all the stupid s*** we did when we were kids. Hell, we already had a few laughs at some of the redneck engineering remnants that we found! You have to remember that when we built this thing (1998), we were only one of maybe 2 or 3 FJ60's NATIONWIDE that were sprung-over, so we were making it up as we went along. We probably changed the front axle position 2 or three times, and built several high steer arms (the last of which is still in use). We played with a few different setups to prevent axle wrap (none of which worked all that well - finally just had stiffer springs made), and I just cut off an all-thread/black pipe tube front sway bar setup that worked well enough, but was pretty rough.
I'll try to post pictures (@IPOR may post some, too) as we go. I'll also try to get some pics (when Lance isn't looking) of the sweet projects he's got going on. (like the FJ45 frame off getting a very new to the market diesel crate engine).
Below are some pics (photo credit Lance @IPOR) taking during and after the pressure washing. You'll see some of the awesome fab work I did waaaay back in the day, lol. Anyway, more to come next Monday after we/Lance have tended to the frame. Should be a pretty stark transformation!
Well, I just drove it 60 miles down to Iron Pig Off Road to hang out with my buddy Lance and, while I cruised down there at 70 without a problem, it was a noisy ride. I told Lance when I got there it reminded me of the time that he and I drove all night to Asheville (NC) from Northern VA to pick up a Deuce and a half. The ride down in my Yukon Denali was nice. The ride back in the Deuce, less so. Anyway, my ride to IPOR was like that. I doubt that any sane person would have felt comfortable. I, on the other hand, was perfectly content.
Full Disclosure: Lance and I have been friends for 28 years. Like, 'he was the best man in my wedding' friends. Also, Lance and I built my truck together nearly 20 years ago, so there's that.
That said, I can't recommend his shop enough. Not only does Lance have a ton of knowledge, he's got a ton of fab talent. The tools there make me green with envy, and in so many ways, his shop is the epitome of what you expect a Cruiser shop to be. Huge, well stocked and well staffed, clean, and packed with cool projects! I have always trusted Lance implicitly (if you ever saw my 40, you'd know why) and so he was the first guy I called when I was thinking of getting the old girl back.
Anyway, I drove down Sunday to hang out and see what we should do with my junk and, after 7 hours of yakking and catching up, we decided I should take one of his trucks home and leave mine there. We've got a lot going on, but we're doing it together on the weekends, so updates will be on Monday's.
Plan so far is to make is to first make it safe, reliable, and presentable. that means:
-Pressure wash the whole thing (Lance did that today - he said it was a total mess)
-Cut out all the rust and rebuild the entire rear frame section from the bend back.
-Cut out the middle inner frame rails and weld in new plates
-New rear quarters and wheel wells.
-Treat all surface rust and spray with undercoating below and rust converter elsewhere.
-Prime the whole thing for paint.
-Entirely new exhaust (my headers had a three inch long hole in the #3 tube at the bottom of the bend) made from thick stainless. Lance doesn't F around, lol.
-Engine reseal
-replace t-case/trans seal (so we can get rid of the ghetto-fabulous transfer tub between the two.)
- New shocks all around
-New wheels and tires (the SSR's are great, but since the front, top shock bushings had been missing for so long, the front tires have flat spots all over them and ride like they're square)
I'm sure I'm forgetting stuff, but Lance @IPOR can chime in with whatever I've left out.
Anyway, it'll be fun to dig back into a truck we built so long ago, and laugh at all the stupid s*** we did when we were kids. Hell, we already had a few laughs at some of the redneck engineering remnants that we found! You have to remember that when we built this thing (1998), we were only one of maybe 2 or 3 FJ60's NATIONWIDE that were sprung-over, so we were making it up as we went along. We probably changed the front axle position 2 or three times, and built several high steer arms (the last of which is still in use). We played with a few different setups to prevent axle wrap (none of which worked all that well - finally just had stiffer springs made), and I just cut off an all-thread/black pipe tube front sway bar setup that worked well enough, but was pretty rough.
I'll try to post pictures (@IPOR may post some, too) as we go. I'll also try to get some pics (when Lance isn't looking) of the sweet projects he's got going on. (like the FJ45 frame off getting a very new to the market diesel crate engine).
Below are some pics (photo credit Lance @IPOR) taking during and after the pressure washing. You'll see some of the awesome fab work I did waaaay back in the day, lol. Anyway, more to come next Monday after we/Lance have tended to the frame. Should be a pretty stark transformation!
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- #29
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- #30
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- #31
And the last of the damage we're going to fix. Note the giant hole in the exhaust tube in the last pic.
- Thread starter
- #32
Simply. It has a battery isolator (it's like a SurePower Battery isolator) that is (supposed to) prevent drain from the second battery when the first one dies. It worked/works fine, but I'm not certain it's working all that well now. The install, while done with the correct heavy duty cable, isn't all that clean, either).
I replaced the starter on Sunday (great deal from Rock auto) and charged both batteries and it starts up much more easily now, so maybe that was the problem (ignition switch is sticky - we're replacing that, too).
Lance installed a really sweet system on my (now sold) 07 Denali that was light years more advanced and super clean. If I recall the kit that he designed for that was about $600, but that truck was way more complex than a 60. I'll let him tell you what the best options are. The battery trays are stock toyota, that much I do know. One of the things @IPOR is known for is how clean their electrical work is; so call them up and they'll design something that's right for you.
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I’m actually a bit curious of how you mounted said pipe sway bar - got any pics of that? I’ve been wanting to do the same (in principle) thing but haven’t figured out exactly how to stuff it in there.
- Thread starter
- #34
It wasn't hard. I got the sway bar and mounts from a 62 and just bolted them up. Then I bought some threaded rod, bushings, washers, and 6" of ½ black pipe and made my own end links. It worked well, but they weren't easily disconnected. I'll fab up some quick disconnects when I figure everything else out.
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- 14,261
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Oh, nevermind then. I thought you used a pipe as the actual sway bar. I want a frame-mounted sway bar, think Currie Anti-rock style
IPOR
IronPigOffroad.com
Some pictures after 3 hours of pressure washing...
IPOR
IronPigOffroad.com
Rob cut out the spare tire carrier and we removed the LH inner frame.
IPOR
IronPigOffroad.com
We're going to need to replace 32" of the rear frame. That means removing two body mounts and a shackle hanger from each side. I made some new frame rails out of 2x4x1/4" and drilled/tapped them for factory bumper and recovery mount/trailer hitch points.
- Thread starter
- #39
Some pics from last weekend. Not much going on but I did get a first coat of rust converter on the frame (and everything else that was rusty). The last pic is a sneak peak on what’s to come. 
IPOR
IronPigOffroad.com
I called my friends at Wolf Steel and had them send us some rear quarters and rockers. We were able to get some paint on a few pieces today - just some primer to protect them while we wait to fit them. I put some high temp ceramic runs on Rob's header for him too...
